can x200t run starcraft 2?

wondering...

 

you would struggle with the 4500 MHD.

If you use the DIY Vidock with an ATI 5770 graphics card then it is a different story.

 

I will just say this now...No way!

 

crap........

 

these laptop are not for games. But as said you can get a DIY vidock and ati 5770 to boost your GPU power.

 

I'm sure it will play Starcraft 2, but definitely not on any high settings. Won't look pretty, but it'll play it.

 

We've found in the DIY ViDock thread that ATI cards are underperforming on a Intel expresscard x1 1.0 link, giving only 70-80% proper x1 1.0 performance. NVidia GTX4xx are not affected and outperform HD5xxx cards. So while a GTX460 might cost $40 more than a HD5770, the performance difference more than justifies the small premium. GTX455 scheduled for release in August will narrow the pricegap pushing the HD5770 out of DIY ViDock contention altogether.

So then consider a US$300 GTX460-768MB DIY ViDock. This will give a massive 3D gaming performance improvement on a x200t. Starcaft 2 will be no problem. NFS Shift has very smooth framerates on 1920x1080 with full detail on a T6600-2.2+GTX470. GTX460 can be o/c to GTX470 levels. X200t should be a PNP solution as well, just like the existing T4x0/X200 implementations are.

 

@Nando4, does the new Nvidia video card can support 3 LCD outputs? or is it a 2 display output solution?

 

Tried it before on my X200. Can run quite smoothly on all low (around 30fps). Your CPU is the only problem, but it's only a bit weaker than P8400.

 

Apologies for the minor deviation from topic. To answer lead_orgs point. This article described 'NVidia Surround', the equivalent of Eyefinity with some important points:

- a Radeon single-gpu HD5xxx series can output up to 3 displays AND span 3D graphics across those displays.

- A NVidia single-gpu can output only to two displays. To span graphics across those displays requires a SLI setup.

 

the ATI 5870 Eyefinity edition has 6 mini-DP ports, which can support 6 LCD.

 

lead_org: this external set up looks complicated and expensive, and not portable.... I guess I'll just wait for a couple of years til I upgrade and hopefully future tablets will be able to run this game smoothly without this set-up.

what video card does the current x201t have? How come lenovo does not give any options or information on the video card during customise and buy?

 

intel 5700 MHD is the current GPU on the X201t. There is no other options for GPU on the X20x/t laptop.

If you can put off the purchase and gaming then why not. I keep my Thinkstation S10 with ATI 4870 for games, but i haven't switched it on for a while.

 

I see. Thanks for all the advice.

 

I've played the StarCraft II beta with the same "Media Accelerator" and a slightly weaker processor. The game is playable on low settings, but the frame rate is not going to be good enough for higher-caliber play, considering the need for micromanagement during battles (which will obviously provide the lowest frame rate). Also sometimes upsetting is difficulty in selecting a specific worker from a mineral field by the time you have two per.

Note that the AI in SC2 requires considerably more processing power than the first, so that combined with other factors of the campaign will actually make single player run less fluently than multiplayer.

 

I can play SC2 (beta) on my x200 with everything turned WAAAAY down, just barely.

 

I still don't get why you would want to play such a game on a very small computer? These notebooks are geared towards people who want long battery life, small footprint, faster than netbook performance and the occasional card game or two. Fitting a dedicated GPU in such a small computer would turn it into something else, and would totally market a different sector of people. Such a GPU would bring shorter battery life, more heat and a thicker notebook. If you're really concerned about gaming on a small notebook, I would look into the Alienware M11x.

 

I have two external monitors one 27" and one 24" connect to by x200t when I am at home, so I thought StarCraft 2 would be a bonus if my laptop would be able to run it. And play it on my U2711.
No, I am not into pc games, that's why I said I am happy to waiting 5 or 10 years when future tablet are able to run this game any modification to my laptop. Because StarCraft 2 seen to be a good game. In the meantime, I have ps3 to take care of gaming needs.

 

running SC2 on a 27 inch LCD?

I think you would need something equivalent to a ATI 4870.... or more like ATI 5850.

 

yeah, I know it's not worth it. For the price of 5850, I can buy another console.

 

Suggest wait a few weeks for the 75W TDP desktop NVidia GTS4xx to be released to be used in a DIY ViDock. Will mean a tiny 12V/75W compact AC adapter setup and total cost likely will be ~US$200. SC2 will be no problem.

 

thanks for the info, with this set up the game be able to be played at a 2560x1440 resolution?

 

I run NFS Shift on a T6600-2.2+GTX470@x1 at 1920x1080, full detail with great smoothness. I believe SC2 is not anywhere near as gpu demanding so I'd say it will run without any problems.

 

nando4 why do you always use USD pricing even for Australian members? I mean most of us buy in Australia using AUD.

 

So as you guys have said, by using an external video card, I can boost the GPU power of the laptop, I was thinking that by adding a powerful video card, I should be able to run more than 2 external monitors? Maybe two or three U2711 (at 2560x1440 each).

possible?

 

you can connect up to 6 external LCD using the ATI 5870 Eyefinity edition.

 

If you're going that route, why not just get a much more powerful desktop? Even though you can add a DIY video option to the 200t, the CPU will be the limiting factor. Sure office stuff is nice and speedy on the 200t, but I'm sure that would change when you start trying to do other stuff, especially integrating desktop drivers to the x200t. The x201t is more powerful, but even with that solution you will be getting a scaled down version of the CPU compared to the desktop version.

I guess it's not for me to understand, more so than to wish you good luck with your project.

 

yeah, I know. I'll probably get out of the x-series what I upgrade in the future to something more powerful. Maybe to a T or W series.

lead_org, with the DIY video card, will it be prevent by the ultradock?

 

theoretically it shouldn't as the expresscard slot should still work.

 

does my x200t have a PCI-e slot? if yes where?

 

hmmm...........

If you're talking about the slot for the wireless card, it is under the keyboard. You will also have to remove the palm rest in order to replace or add a pcie card.

If you're talking about a PCIe slot for dedicated video cards, then no.

 

I was referring to the PCI-e slot in this thread. I don't which slot he was talking about, I would assume he was referring to the PCIe for dedicated video cards.

If x200t does not have PCIe slot for video cards, then ATI-Eyfinity will not be possible?

 

The type of video card the DIY dock will use, would be a PCIe card. So he is referring to the DIY dock, that I believe would connect from your computers express slot. I have not looked into the DIY project, but I might be interested and have the time to look at it more later on.

 

Taking a peek at nando4's links in his signature, the DIY dock does indeed connect to the computer via express slot.

 

I am confused, is that the 54mm slot which is located above the wireless on-off switch?

 

Yes. The Vi-Dock would include a card that you would plug into that slot.

 

Yes Sir!

You can use either of these type cards in your Express slot ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54

 

I agree with MidnightSun, except it does look "pretty" to me.

But I don't have the X200t, I have the X201 and it plays Starcraft II just fine. Right after installation I checked the settings and yes, it does default to low settings but the game looks good, even on low settings and the play is good and smooth. I haven't tried to play it on higher settings because I'm fine with it the way it is and don't want to risk slowing the play or getting "stuttering", choppiness, etc. If it works, don't fix it, as they say.

 

the Intel 5700 MHD on the X201 is a fair whack faster than the Intel 4500 MHD on the X200, i think the former doubles the performance on the latter integrated gpu.

 

Yes, good point.

 

Horrible point in my opinion, as the video graphics in either machine is not for gaming. With that being said...the graphics solution in the x200t will also play startcraft 2 at low settings.

 

It was only a comparison of two integrated graphics solutions. No one is saying any of the X20(x) models are for gaming. (At least I hope no one is saying that).

 

I hear ya!

It’s just that sometimes we have to be careful at what we throw out there. When people hear something like “Double the performance”, they might actually think they have a gaming machine on their hands. Sort of like comparing Core i CPUs to C2D CPUs. Most don’t even know that there are C2D CPUs out performing some of their Core i brothering. I’ve even heard of one guy selling his notebook with x9100 CPU, and buying one with a Corei3 CPU and swear he has upgraded. When few know, a C2D running at 3GHz+ will hold it’s on against the best of them as far as notebook CPUs go.

 

why there are so many classification of cpu on the market by intel anyway, makes selection virtually impossible for somebody who does know much about computers.

 

That is true in the sense that most just shop and let the salesman make up their mind for them. Which in most cases, is an over kill! It’s always best to know what your needs are before a purchase, and make sure you know what you’re going after once that decision has been made. It’s not hard to search the internet weeks before a purchase, that will save a lot in the long run.

If you’re a gamer, then don’t look into getting an x200 series laptop and be disappointed later. Because your frustration erks someone who does know how good something is based on what it was marketed for, just to have it bashed by someone who didn’t know really what the purpose of their purchase was to begin with.

Here is a place to check out CPU and GPU values. It’s not 100 percent accurate, but it sure beats the heck out of just guessing.


Mobile CPUs

Notebookcheck: Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist

Mobile GPUs

Notebookcheck: Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List

 

This s very true. If you need something the size and weight of an X-series and gaming is a secondary or tertiary concern however, the X200 will play older titles fairly decently. Another factor I've overlooked is selecting the maximum performance power plan... having the CPU running full tilt does give a bit of a boost to the integrated GPU. Either way, it's a decent enough system if I want to do some light gaming on the go.

 

Simple, Intel is using the multi segmented marketing method, it has a product to suit every market segments, from the value conscious to the professional applications (i.e. Servers).

Also, Intel are heavy on the price skimming practice.. i5 dual core versus the i7 dual core is a classic example.

 

Like what?

 

I have played Age of Empires 3 and 2 on it.... Red Alert 2 works pretty well too so is the Command and Conquer General. Command and Conquer 3 in absolutely lowest setting just barely playable.

 

I respect your opinion, I think it is better to buy an overpowered laptop than one that just suit your current needs.

People do change, and so do their computing needs. Paying more for a more powerful computer kind of acts like a form of insurance.