Forums » General Gaming

• Farkas

  

  • 14 posts
   

  April 30, 2013 3:16 AM EDT

  Just what the title says. I play on 360 and want to try some RP mods. Note that I am restricted to laptop size. What will it take to get good performance with several good mods running? Last modded game I played was Oblivion and it just about killed my pc (the same one I use today, so its time for a new one). Any recommended laptop models?

  Also, any recommended mods for a hardcore RPer?

• Tony Maund

  

  • 111 posts
   

  April 30, 2013 8:41 AM EDT

  Well I have what is now regarded as a rather old Mesh Elite Pro pc which is ideal for games like Oblivion. I had mine custom made, but if you are looking for a second hand pc to run Oblivion and even Skyrim (though at a slow frame rate on some combat - 30ish) this is fine
  
  Here's my machine spec:
  Quad core AMD Phenom X4 Black 9950 2600 MHz
  
  Gigabyte GAM68M S2P v1 MOBO with Realtek onboard HD Audio
  8Gb RAM
  Northbridge AMD K10 IMC with Southbridge nVIDIA 7025 -630a chipset
  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550Ti GPU (1Gb memory)
  Windows 7 HP 64 bit (will run on vista)
  DirectX 11
  
  My set up is about 5 years old so a machine similar in spec to this should cost you just a couple of hundred dollars or GBP. Chances are people are throwing these things away by now so you should be able to pick it up for a song. 
  
  I ran about 80 mods on Oblivion and I have something like 60 mods on Skyrim currently (it also meets minimum, skyrim specs easily). I'm perfectly ok with the way it runs!
  
  

• Farkas

  

  • 14 posts
   

  April 30, 2013 4:44 PM EDT

  I'm not particularly computer savvy, but google is only showing these as desktops. As noted in the original post, I'm limited to laptops due to size and mobility. Am I missing something? I should also mention that I could probably come up with up to $1000 for this due to the need to replace my old laptop ( it was a low end model 7 years ago).

• Tony Maund

  

  • 111 posts
   

  April 30, 2013 7:24 PM EDT

  Sorry misread your original post but the spec is ok as a rule of thumb for comparison.
  
  The problem with laptops is the GPU. Only the latest ones carry graphics chipsets like the Nvidia GeForce GT 630

  The ASUS N56VM is a good bet and comes in (using the ERM) at just under US$1000
  
  However, the fps might come up a bit on the low side for gaming . According to my info this model (one of the best) tested out on Crysis at 18 on a 1024 x 768 display res
  
  Next step up from that is pretty much a top end laptop running an Intel Core i7 processor and an HD AMD Radeon Graphics chipset at about double the price Alienware do some but at that end for real performance it's still the Apple Macbook Pro's running as the main event!
  
  

• Farkas

  

  • 14 posts
   

  May 1, 2013 2:00 AM EDT

  Thanks for the info, but I have one more question. Skyrim is the only game I currently play- I'm not a big gamer, but I love the ES series. Would I be better off saving my $$ a bit longer so I could get a better laptop? Or do you think the ASUS N56VM (or comparable) would perform satisfactorily? After my Oblivion experience, I'm a bit gun-shy to buy one that may barely work.

  Thanks again for the help!

• Robin Westerbeeke

  

  • 40 posts
   

  May 1, 2013 4:39 AM EDT

  Running Skyrim really isn't the problem. Getting good graphics on it is if you want a laptop. If any of the mods you are using are graphics enhancing there is a likely chance it will drop your FPS even more. To get a steady 30+ FPS on high or ultra settings you would need and i5 or i7 and woul defenitely want at least an GTX 660m or one of the newer high end Radeon series as above poster commented. Either way these do not come cheap. I'm pretty sure it would amount to at least 1000 dollars if you want something effective, especially if you like ES games and want your laptop to maybe run ES 6 in the future or be able to run ESO on good FPS (if you are into mmo's). I would then advise against buying one because if ES games is all you will ever play I would stick to 360 as it is much cheaper and you can upgrade to 720 in a few years when the 2nd more stable range of xboxes is released. Which is probably when ES6 will be out. Buying a 1000 dollar laptop just for one series of games is really cost inefficient and you ARE going to regret it. If you are that adament on running mods i'd try and figure out if that restriction for laptops you have is really unavoidable. Becuz you can prolly get a pc for 300-400 dollars less and then upgrade it for 200-300 when the time is right.
  
  I myself went from PC to Xbox because I couldn't care upgrading PC's all the time. I care for nice performance on games (no lags no stuttering etc) and for games like skyrim it always requires a high end machine. So you need to stay up to date constantly. This is very hard to do on a laptop since you can't really easily replace the parts. So if you have the money a PC is always a better investment than a laptop and staying Xbox is definitely the cheapest investment.

• Dieter

  

  • 952 posts
   

  May 1, 2013 5:45 AM EDT

  Nope, my laptop has an Nvidia GTX540m and it runs Skyrim fine on high (AA disabled to save FPS though, just a stupid effect anyway) with a lot of mods. As long ad you don't run an ENB on it you should get a decent FPS with mods. The CPU is reasonably important for Skyrim as well but you really don't need anything that high end for Skyrim.

• Farkas

  

  • 14 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 12:42 AM EDT

  Found a good deal on an ASUS G75VW. With shipping (it costs a lot to my part of Alaska) it should make the budget. Is this satisfactory for Skyrim? If it is, I want to jump on it before I loose the deal. Sorry if this is a "duh" question, but I don't know computers that well.

• Ponty

  

  • 708 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 12:50 AM EDT

  That looks more than good enough. I have an ASUS U36S that can run Skyrim, BF3 and ME3 on medium (minus graphics mods). Cost me a bit of $1k over a year ago!

  Just make sure you optimize your settings (particularly stuff like distant lighting/terrain) to get the most out of your machine.

• Farkas

  

  • 14 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 3:09 AM EDT

  Thanks!

• Berecio Escobar

  

  • 6 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 3:11 AM EDT

  I recently purchased a laptop from newegg.  It is a little out of the range but will last you for at least a few years.  It has been outstanding so far.  Runs Skyrim on ultra and looks and runs great.

  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408

  Posted this and saw that you had stumbled upon a similar model, perhaps for less.  You'll be happy with it!

• RuneRed

  

  • 856 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 3:27 AM EDT

  I use an asus G73Jh series laptop and  I run skyrim at highest settings (plus I use any graphic enhancement mod that I wish) - I highly recommend it.

• Farkas

  

  • 14 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 4:17 AM EDT

  Is it safe to buy used off Amazon? Found a G73JH for a good price but it says returns only accepted on new computers.

• Robin Westerbeeke

  

  • 40 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 8:45 AM EDT

  I think it's all preference though. What you describe I do not view as high settings. Anyone's PC or Laptop can run Skyrim on high when they start to take away from things that really add true beauty to the game's graphics. Also your GPU is a factory overclocked one based on an older chip. It was considered a upper mid-range GPU at the time of its release. There are many 600 series that are outperformed by yours. Sometimes it's all about buying at the right time and getting that lucky strike on a good price/performance gpu. Right now there is no such GPU available so he either has to settle for a laptop that is a hundred or a few bucks more to get a lower high-end card or take an average mid-range card that will run Skyrim fine ofcourse but is in now way future proof. Laptops are just really expensive and I'd just go for PC.
  
  @OP
  Why are you even restricted to laptop size? Is it because of room, not having a desk or some other type of 'excuse' basically? Cuz if that is the reason I'd just simply take the only step you need to be taking and that is making sure you CAN get a PC. Cuz obviously if you have a thousand dollars to spend then there is no laptop on this earth that would give you more performance than a PC could for the same money.

• Dieter

  

  • 952 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 11:38 AM EDT

  Yeah, AA is true beauty. The smallest yet most demanding effect ever created.

• RuneRed

  

  • 856 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 11:43 AM EDT

  that would scare me off ...caveat emptor

• Dieter

  

  • 952 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 11:57 AM EDT

  *sarcasm*

• Matt Feeney the New Guy

  

  • 1124 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 11:59 AM EDT

  *Because it wasn't obvious* :P
• Dieter

  

  • 952 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 12:01 PM EDT

  You know not everyone gets it. Deep inside you just know.

• Robin Westerbeeke

  

  • 40 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 12:51 PM EDT

  Well might not be for you but when playing on a machine that can crank it all up to the max I definitely see the difference between no AA and max setting. Everything just looks much more smooth. Especially when viewing stuff from a small distance. It can really break immersion for me when I see the world sort of unpolished. It's definitely very demanding on the system but it's also much more than a small effect.

• Dieter

  

  • 952 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 12:56 PM EDT

  No it's not that's just nitpicking. Jagged edges show up only on certain shapes from certain angles and 95% of the time you won't even notice jaggies.

• Bryn

  

  • 1913 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 1:12 PM EDT

  I agree with Dieter, and in my opinion, most mods like better males/females, retextures, better cities, or anything to make things look "better" look worse in my opinion... People look like cartoons with weird eyes, towns become too dark to see at some points or look like they are too bright... Creatures look strange... I'll take Xbox skyrim over modded skyrim
• Vazgen

  

  • 1483 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 1:47 PM EDT

  I disagree. Sure there are a lot of weird mods that make your characters look like anime and a lot of weird addition mods but there are also a whole lot of lore friendly mods that are a huge addition to the game and immersion. Like this one: SMIM

  Here is a 0.01% of what it does, but you should get the idea

  

• Matt Feeney the New Guy

  

  • 1124 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 1:52 PM EDT

  Okay, I like a lot of mods, but my graphics don't look like that on an Xbox.
• Vazgen

  

  • 1483 posts
   

  May 2, 2013 2:27 PM EDT

  I haven't played on Xbox and watched this video to see a comparison: link. From what I've seen Xbox graphics are a little blurred in comparison to PC. It makes this little things less noticeable. Take dwemer cog for example: Comparison.