Laptop for Skyrim

[daverboon]

I'm looking for a new laptop that will run Skyrim on high or better settings smoothly. The computer store suggested the Lenovo ideapad y570. It's an ok laptop, has the i7 2670 2.2, 8 gigs but I don't know how well the GT 555 graphix will do on Skyrim.

Another I found highly rated is Asus g74sx-rh71. Same i7 2670 2.2, 12 gigs with a 3 gig dedicated gtx 560m. I'm staying away from alienware since I've heard they don't perform so well for the price tag. I'd like to say money is no issue but alas I'm on a budget. I think I have the right idea going with the Asus but I would like some input from the gamers here before I buy. I've factored in my use of it and if it can run Skyrim like my desktop can then it can run everything else I would use it for. Running Battlefield 3 with some nice visuals would be a bonus but I don't even have that yet and not sure if i'll even get it. So there it is, I got a couple months still before I have the money.

[Korodic]

how much they asking for their laptops? I just got a good deal on my laptop from www.malibal.com with a Clevo brand. Also www.Xoticpc.com has some good deals. And there's always newegg <3

 

For my specs I paid 1400. Half the price of an alienware, at the same amount of power if not better. :armscrossed:

 

I had asked before about the GTX 560m and people said it should work good. But I wanted the 6990m cause it wasn't too much more for what i was already paying. Then I wanted more... and then I got this beast. :D

[daverboon]

how much they asking for their laptops? I just got a good deal on my laptop from www.malibal.com with a Clevo brand. Also www.Xoticpc.com has some good deals. And there's always newegg <3

 

For my specs I paid 1400. Half the price of an alienware, at the same amount of power if not better. :armscrossed:

 

I had asked before about the GTX 560m and people said it should work good. But I wanted the 6990m cause it wasn't too much more for what i was already paying. Then I wanted more... and then I got this beast. :D

The Asus one is currently $1499 at Tigerdirect. There's another Asus G74SX-TH71 for $100 less and it's almost identical. 500ghdd instead of 750, reso drops from 1920x1080 to 1600x900, the cpu goes up slightly from 2.2 to 2.26. I would go for the lesser since the loss is minor but I've gotten used to playin on 1080 reso and for $100 more why not. What machine are you using? I'm in Canada and don't have a CC so my purchase has to be in store or ask a friend to use their card.

[eltucu]

i7 2670 is a really nice CPU (kinda like a i5 2300, lower clocked but with hyper threading) but you wont be able to play at 1080p with ultra settings on a mobility GPU (at least not without those crazy priced 580M/6990 mobility GPUs).

 

Ultra high end mobility GPUs are a lil bit slower than mid-high end GPUs for desktops (for example, a crazy GPU on a laptop would be the one that powers a GTX 560 Ti on a desktop). And that particular range of gfx cards dont do too well on 1080p unless you start to cut anti aliasing, af and some settings.

 

That 560M packs less punch than the 550 Ti of your sig for example.

 

Anyway, if you dont expect crazy things, that Asus should be pretty nice.

Edited February 2, 2012 by eltucu

[katling]

Mate, I've got a Toshiba Satellite, i5 2410 2.3ghz, 4gb, GeForce GT 525M and I could run Skyrim on it on High with no problems. Not a single CTD. Only cost me $750 (in Malaysia admittedly). Not sure how mine would run BF3 as a comparison but it also ran Dragon Age 2 without a problem.

[daverboon]

i7 2670 is a really nice CPU (kinda like a i5 2300, lower clocked but with hyper threading) but you wont be able to play at 1080p with ultra settings on a mobility GPU (at least not without those crazy priced 580M/6990 mobility GPUs).

 

Ultra high end mobility GPUs are a lil bit slower than mid-high end GPUs for desktops (for example, a crazy GPU on a laptop would be the one that powers a GTX 560 Ti on a desktop). And that particular range of gfx cards dont do too well on 1080p unless you start to cut anti aliasing, af and some settings.

 

That 560M packs less punch than the 550 Ti of your sig for example.

 

Anyway, if you dont expect crazy things, that Asus should be pretty nice.

Glad I asked, my desktop won't run ultimate without a huge fps loss so I just play with the default high settings and just turn up distance options on some things. Running less then 1080 is not a game breaker so I'm not worried bout that. Price wise I'm trying to find a quality laptop between 15"-17" under $2000 that'll do a nice job on Skyrims visuals. I'll be using mods anyway so visuals can always be enhanced with texture mods.

 

[Edit] Found a nice lookin Quadro http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834158169CVF

not a bad price either.

Edited February 2, 2012 by daverboon

[eltucu]

Glad I asked, my desktop won't run ultimate without a huge fps loss so I just play with the default high settings and just turn up distance options on some things. Running less then 1080 is not a game breaker so I'm not worried bout that. Price wise I'm trying to find a quality laptop between 15"-17" under $2000 that'll do a nice job on Skyrims visuals. I'll be using mods anyway so visuals can always be enhanced with texture mods.

The point is that texture mods cost performance and memory, and you wont be having that much of that with mobility GPUs. You will play fine on stock settings though.

 

Hell, im playing with a GTX 560 Ti 1Gb, on a 17 inch monitor, and my vRAM usage goes to 950Mb all the time, without texture mods (actually one, for the sky textures).

 

[Edit] Found a nice lookin Quadro http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834158169CVF

not a bad price either.

DONT go Quadro for gaming. For quadro cards you pay a very, very high price for OpenGL features (quad buffers) that you dont use in gaming. They're high priced cuz they perform better in aspects that pure brute force of common cards doesnt cut it.

 

For example, you can bet that rendering on Maya and 3D Max on that card will be faster than in the 560M, even if that Quadro 1000M has actually half the shaders/cuda cores than a 560M (192 against 96). But for gaming its a different story.

 

You'd getting the performance of a GT525M (pratically same specs as the Quadro 1000M, 96 shaders for both, Quadro is at 700Mhz, 525M is at 600Mhz) with that quadro card for gaming. So better go with the 560M (192 shaders, 700Mhz, wider memory bus, etc).

Edited February 2, 2012 by eltucu

[daverboon]

Glad I asked, my desktop won't run ultimate without a huge fps loss so I just play with the default high settings and just turn up distance options on some things. Running less then 1080 is not a game breaker so I'm not worried bout that. Price wise I'm trying to find a quality laptop between 15"-17" under $2000 that'll do a nice job on Skyrims visuals. I'll be using mods anyway so visuals can always be enhanced with texture mods.

The point is that texture mods cost performance and memory, and you wont be having that much of that with mobility GPUs. You will play fine on stock settings though.

 

Hell, im playing with a GTX 560 Ti 1Gb, on a 17 inch monitor, and my vRAM usage goes to 950Mb all the time, without texture mods (actually one, for the sky textures).

 

[Edit] Found a nice lookin Quadro http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834158169CVF

not a bad price either.

DONT go Quadro for gaming. For quadro cards you pay a very, very high price for OpenGL features (quad buffers) that you dont use in gaming. They're high priced cuz they perform better in aspects that pure brute force of common cards doesnt cut it.

 

For example, you can bet that rendering on Maya and 3D Max on that card will be faster than in the 560M, even if that Quadro 1000M has actually half the shaders/cuda cores than a 560M (192 against 96). But for gaming its a different story.

 

You'd getting the performance of a GT525M (pratically same specs as the Quadro 1000M, 96 shaders for both, Quadro is at 700Mhz, 525M is at 600Mhz) with that quadro card for gaming. So better go with the 560M (192 shaders, 700Mhz, wider memory bus, etc).

I knew they were good for animation programs but I always just figured they'd be good for gaming to. Well I guess the Asus is the route to go. It fits my budget, has some good specs to. I got a couple months to find a better deal still, ty for the assistance in this delicate matter.

[xrws31]

I have the ASUS N53SN with Intel Core i7-2630QM, 8GB RAM, a 2GB GeForce GT 550M, and a 1920x1080 display. Cost me £850, and that was several months back so I daresay there's equivalent stuff for cheaper now.

 

I can play High settings just fine, even with lots of texture mods. If I want to go up to Ultra, or if I have some of the heavier graphics mods running, then I have to drop the resolution to 1600x900 to maintain a decent FPS. I do very occasionally CTD (once or twice a week), but I couldn't tell you why, and it doesn't bother me.

 

One thing to remember, is that nearly all Intel laptops use Optimus now. Optimus can be a royal pain in the arse. Using FXAA or ENB (or any other d3d9.dll reliant mod) causes the game to revert to using the Intel GPU, not the GeForce, making the game unplayable. Unless you have some very advanced BIOS options, there's no way to force the game to use the GeForce (no, nVidia control panel does *not* work, despite what some think). The new ENBInjector does work with Optimus, but the older versions don't. So just watch out for that if gfx mods are a big thing for you.

Edited February 2, 2012 by xrws31

[daverboon]

I have the ASUS N53SN with Intel Core i7-2630QM, 8GB RAM, a 2GB GeForce GT 550M, and a 1920x1080 display. Cost me £850, and that was several months back so I daresay there's equivalent stuff for cheaper now.

 

I can play High settings just fine, even with lots of texture mods. If I want to go up to Ultra, or if I have some of the heavier graphics mods running, then I have to drop the resolution to 1600x900 to maintain a decent FPS. I do very occasionally CTD (once or twice a week), but I couldn't tell you why, and it doesn't bother me.

 

One thing to remember, is that nearly all Intel laptops use Optimus now. Optimus can be a royal pain in the arse. Using FXAA or ENB (or any other d3d9.dll reliant mod) causes the game to revert to using the Intel GPU, not the GeForce, making the game unplayable. Unless you have some very advanced BIOS options, there's no way to force the game to use the GeForce (no, nVidia control panel does *not* work, despite what some think). The new ENBInjector does work with Optimus, but the older versions don't. So just watch out for that if gfx mods are a big thing for you.

Aye I was browsing some other forums on the subject, my main reason is so I can take the game with me to the trailer and packing up my desktop each just seems like a hassle. I don't suppose there's a desktop build I could find that would be fairly portable?