My first laptop, what can i expect to play

Hey all, im new to the forum and just brought a new laptop (specs in my sig) afew days ago, i am basically a complete newbi to pc gaming.
I didnt buy the laptop spacifically for gaming and am aware that the laptop specs arn't anything special.
I do like to game and was wondering what i could expect to play with this machine, im really interested in games like oblivion and any other rpg's as well as rts games.
I dont care if i cant play at full settings just so long as its playable im happy, all ive been using for gaming over the past years is a psp so im sure the graphics will look aload better even on medium settings.
Thanks for any suggestions, tips etc.
Cheerz

 

you can play everything on that laptop but on most of the new games u gotta turn down the settings a little bit. The gsmes will look much better than ur PSP games for sure. evevn on lowest detail

 

Ok great thanks for the good news, so i should be able to play oblivion and nwn2 at near to full settings?
Also i may as well ask here, when lowering settings to get better performance what settings are the best to turn down first, ie shading, etc, but still keep the overall game looking good?
My friend said if i cant run oblivion at full settings it is really important to keep the distance turned up, so what sort of thing do you all sacrafice.
Thanks

 

NeverWinter Knights 2 you can max, oblivion close to max.

 

Ok great, so is there a set formular to dropping the settings when trying to increase game performance, or is it more like a trial and error type thing, where different games behave differently depending on what is lowered?
Thanks for the assistance guys, the only way i know how the really learn new things is buy asking questions. Cheerz

 

different games perform differently for different computers. you should be able to run mostly everything on a Medium settings, and older games on higher settings.

many games, like games on the source engine (HL2, TF2, L4D, CSS) are very tweakable. and you can probably use your ATI control panel to tweak other things.

usually the set formula, by most standards, is to set the shader option down, as that usually is one of the most intensive parts on the GPU. resolution should be dropped as well, but sometimes lower resolution allows you to play with shaders on high. also, AA and AF settings should be turned down to increase frame rates. then it becomes more of a trial and error thing. for most games, texture settings doesn't bring your fps down significantly, and the small loss at keeping high textures can be tollerated.

other than that, it goes to trial and error.

 

Adding to Levenly, shadows are also usually a performance killer.

As for NWN2, I am not sure at your resolution, but you will have a difficult time maxing it anyway. It is a game that looks good but is very intensive. I would advise you to turn shadows off completely and no AA. There are a lot of video settings and I can't remember them all, so you'll have to go through each one.

 

Whoah - back up here. He can't play NWN2 and Oblivion at or near max, not even close. My 8800GT on my desktop can't max those out, and it pumps out twice the rendering that the 3650 does.

Futhermore, NWN2 is actually harder on the system than Oblivion. Expect to play NWN2 and Oblivion on medium settings at native resolution, but probably still some slow point. Keep draw distances down and reduce shadow quality.

I've played Stalker shadow of chernobyl on my lappy with a mix of high and medium textures, but had to turn shadows to static. Dynamic lighting and shadows, along with far draw distances, are what kills performance most. That, and anti-aliasing. Just keep it off.

 

Cheffy, he indeed can run those games with near max settings. Max settings not including AF or AA. Of course, some settings will have to be turned down to keep a great experience, but even with my 9500M GS I had several settings on max and just a some in mid or low.

For your card, or any card, shadows will be the primary performance hit, then probably shaders. Other than that, you should be fine with most games available. Enjoy your new purchase!

 

It seems max settings can have different meanings, so that may be an issue. To me, max is running at native resolution with all options on/high, v-sync on, at least 2xAA, AF enabled. In your case with my understanding of max, I know you won't be able to achieve that. Of course that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it at medium settings.

 

i could almmost Max oblivion with my brother AMD 4400 CPU and a Radeon 9800XT and 1 GB ram

 

dude,
my desktop with a pentium d 3.0ghz / geforce 8600 gts 256 gddr3 / 2gb ram can close to max out oblivion (everything full, 1440x900, no aa no af, grass on mid distance)...the 8800 should be wayy beter

 

Hum his native resultion is the lowly 1280x800, he can play all the game Oblivion, and NWN2 completely maxed out without any problem... Hell I could play nearly maxed out(HDR means no AA) at 1280x800 on my crappy GDDR2 8600m GT.

 

LOL... cheffy got a defective card.

 

Ok guys thanks for all the posts, ive noted down ur recommendations for lowering settings.
Actually, as i said at the start i didnt buy this machine ith the intention of playing all the latest games, and it came as a pleasent surprise when i was told that it could run some if not most of the newer games out.
I have been gaming with a psp, havent had a console since the ps1. I am sure that for myself playing these games at medium settings will still look fantastic to my eyes.
the main problem i have is not understanding half of what is said, if i look at a game im interested in im not really sure of what the requirements actually mean, and i dont know what the gpu i have is equlivent to, so cant make an educated guess at its playablity.
Anyway, this topic has helped me alot already as has the site, thanks alot guys i appreciate your patience with a comeplete newbi like myself.

 

Hey as long as you don't get crazy and start playing Crysis on ultra high you should be good.

In the meantime, here's a laptop similar to your's (Asus M50 with same GPU but different CPU) and some benchmarks, both synthetic and in-game. http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/asus-m50sa---ati-hd-3650-484/6

 

you can experiment. sometimes people prefer to give up in game settings first, others give up aa and af, which is edge softening and detail sharpening that is usually set in your control panel. others prefer to keep the settings up and lower the resolution. sometimes the limiting factor is only one of the above, so you might, for example, not see any performance increase if you just drop the anti aliasing, or you might not see any performance increase if you just drop the resolution. so experiment to find out which factor results in the best overall performance and visual quality. it will be different for each game as well.

that said, check out fallout 3. i think its your kind of game.

 

Thanks for that billiam.
Ill go take a look now and the link you provided.
Ill be back in half an hr with questions related to benchmarks lol .

 

ok ill do that, ummm ive got a fair bit to learn havent i lol.
Ive read just about every review out for fallout3 and i am dead keen to play it, but when i liked at the required specs sheet it seemed quite intense, i dont have a load of money so cant afford to go around buying games that i cant play, so im being alittle hesident to start out with.
If my system can run and play fallout3 ill be going to get it asap.
Cheers for the help.
Takecare.
P/S my first three game buys are going to be oblivion goty, generals, and either nwn2 or fallout3 if i can infact play it.

 

You can definitely play Fallout 3. I have a 2600 and I can play it on highish settings. It's a pretty awesome game.

 

mtness, your friend was right. On games you want to keep most of the game altering things like draw distance higher as lowering that can lead to opponents having the advantage. I as a rule try to max out any competative features and reduce "pretty" features first.

 

ok thanks for that link, it seems as if the benchmarks came out alittle above average on most of the tests, i can only guess as to what some of it ment, but it seems as though everyones advice about most games at alittle above medium settings seems to be spot on.
Ramon noodle ok great, it looks like its going to be a expensive week buying games, but im hoping these three games should keep me busy for a while, and i was reading that dlc is becoming availible for fo3 shortly.

 

ok, yeah my mate said if i was to drop the distance setting things would look very foggy and unclear, which goes exactly with what u say, if i cant even see a bowman shooting at me how am i going to take him out :-/ .
Cheers for the tips, i cant buy any games too monday as i live in a rural area and will have to travel around 6hrs to a city big enough to have a gaming store lol, its going to be a long weekend.

 

yeah make sure you turn off shadows, any sort of anti-aliasing and reflection settings those are the hardest to run.

 

You should get slightly better performance than that, as that laptop was tested with a GDDR2 3650 and I believe you have the GDDR3 version which will be better at your resolution.

 

what makes u thonk i have the GDDR3 i may have made a mistake in stating my specs under gpu it says' ATI mobility Radeon HD3650 dedicated video memory 512mb dedicated. I took that to mean my gpu had 512mb but after reading abit im not to sure anymore lol
can u shead any lite on the situation, as i may need to update my specssheet, cheers

 

Oh, well I'm not 100% but I thought the 1gb version was GDDR2 while the 512mb version was GDDR3. I don't think there is a 512mb GDDR2 version of the mobility 3650 but I could be wrong...

 

Mate ill have to take ur word for it, im in well over my head here lol.
Anyway a really appreciate urs and everyone elses patience with me thanks alot.
Oh is the specs information in my sig accurate or does the gpu specs need changing?

 

Perhaps some of the smug posters here could actually listen to what they're proposing - I keep hearing people say "nearly maxed out", only to be followed with "but you need to turn off x, y, z." Sorry, that's not "maxed out".

No one here can max out oblivion on a 3650. Sorry dudes, not happening. With draw distances at medium, no af and no aa that is not "maxed out".

Even at 1280 x 800 that card is not going to support very high textures and models with anything more than basic shading and lighting. Again - not maxed out, or even near.

NWN2 is a very demanding game. With full settings, my 8800 gt dropped to 15-20 fps during bigger battle scenes. And no, it's definitely not defective - I get ~13000 in 3dmark06. When I tried completely maxing out Stalker SOC with my 3650 using dynamic lighting and 2x aa, fps was 10-15 just walking around without much going on. Again, not a "defective card". Just someone who's actually honest about their fps. Anyone who disagrees can feel free to show some screenshot scores proving their 3650 or 9500 gs is apparently defying the laws of physics.

So mtness, let's put it this way. You'll be able to play most any game you like, but you will definitely find yourself turning down the settings for the more demanding ones. But you should be able to play at native resolution with some tweaking of textures and shadows on games like oblivion and NWN. Fallout 3 is not overly demanding for a newer game, and you should be able to play that at reasonable settings, although definitely not "maxed out".

 

Cheffy, thanks for your input, it seems as though diferent people interpret max settings to mean different things.
Im happy that i am able to play most games out there, i dont particularly mind if they arnt at max settings, as long as the game looks and sounds good, and i can run around without feeling like im in a ultra-slow-mo 'matrix' move ill be quite content.
Ill be getting the games early next week so ill be able to post exactly what settings i can run it at then.
Anyways thanks for your help.
Takecare

 

To me max settings is All settings as high as they'll go except for AA, which in my opinion is useless.

edit: i love mini marshmallows!!

 

Your notebook on the other hand is smoking!!!