Increasing Video Memory

[caterpie]

I just got a new laptop and bought Skyrim after the 15 day return policy and found out it works sorta. The screen looks weird when I go through certain lighting, my mouse has a horrid delay reaction when I click (have to hold it down a second or so to attack), and I was wondering if it is possible to somehow dedicate one of my processors to nothing but graphics to increase performance. And please no remarks about buying a new computer, I just want to know if it is possible to increase video memory.

[hoofhearted4]

are you using an external video card or an internal integrated one? (im assuming an external one)

 

if its an external one (meaning an actual video card) then AFAIK you cant increase your VRAM. if its integrated, you can have your physical RAM be used with your integrated GPU RAM. idk how, but i know its possible. Google will be your friend on that issue (or someone here lol)

 

try lowering the settings a little, and make sure you have no background programs running and whatnot as that can slow down your game.

[FMod]

No, increasing VRAM is not possible. It wouldn't help you if it was possible though.

ASPIRE 7551-7422 seems to have HD 4250, which is less powerful than the Xbox 360 GPU, in fact only 1/3 as powerful. It's not up to the demands of Skyrim, you need to at least match Xbox or PS3 for it.

 

CPU can't process modern graphics (no DX/OpenGL interface), wouldn't be good at it anyway. Your performance is worse than it should be, but even then Skyrim just isn't a laptop game.

[bben46]

Nearly all laptops share ram between system and video ram. Increasing system ram MAY help some. But probably not a lot. That video subsystem is just too weak for serious gaming.

 

The people who write advertising typically don't have a clue what they are saying - they just throw a bunch of buzzwords around to get people to buy. When the advertising says "Good for gaming", what they mean is playing solitaire or 10 year old 2D platform games. Look at the system specs to see what is really in a computer.

[caterpie]

No, increasing VRAM is not possible. It wouldn't help you if it was possible though.

ASPIRE 7551-7422 seems to have HD 4250, which is less powerful than the Xbox 360 GPU, in fact only 1/3 as powerful. It's not up to the demands of Skyrim, you need to at least match Xbox or PS3 for it.

 

CPU can't process modern graphics (no DX/OpenGL interface), wouldn't be good at it anyway. Your performance is worse than it should be, but even then Skyrim just isn't a laptop game.

I have seen two other laptops play it quite well, one on near highest graphics.

[caterpie]

Nearly all laptops share ram between system and video ram. Increasing system ram MAY help some. But probably not a lot. That video subsystem is just too weak for serious gaming.

 

The people who write advertising typically don't have a clue what they are saying - they just throw a bunch of buzzwords around to get people to buy. When the advertising says "Good for gaming", what they mean is playing solitaire or 10 year old 2D platform games. Look at the system specs to see what is really in a computer.

I just was wondering how you look up the graphics for computers then. I can only find out how much it has after buying the cp and it takes me too long to search the net. Or can I get the name of a site that can show a listing of graphic memory and such for future purchases I want to make without leaving it to chance.

[FMod]

Acer Aspire 7551-7422 already has 4GB of RAM, which means that the video chip gets the full 512MB it can use. It's the chip that is the weak spot.

 

I have seen two other laptops play it quite well, one on near highest graphics.

Were they by any chance proper gaming laptops?

 

But RV620 that you have is a 2008 graphics chip... and then someone puts it into a 2011-2012 17" laptop, I'm speechless. Good job Acer.

Basically you got screwed. It's not like they at least gave you a gaming 2008 chip, it wasn't meant for games even then. Even the GPU in low-end C-30 netbooks is more powerful (yours still beats the Atom though).

 

I don't suppose you can get your money back, can you? That would be the best course of action if possible.

 

 

 

I just was wondering how you look up the graphics for computers then. I can only find out how much it has after buying the cp and it takes me too long to search the net. Or can I get the name of a site that can show a listing of graphic memory and such for future purchases I want to make without leaving it to chance.

There is one:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

It lists chips in order of benchmark results. Keep in mind that memory doesn't really matter: 512MB of VRAM is plenty for Skyrim. Hey, it's more than PS3 has.

Edited May 27, 2012 by FMod

[hoofhearted4]

to find out your system Specs click Start and Right click Computer and click Properties. this will give you a simple overview of your PC.

 

for a more in depth listing download Speccy its free and will tell you whats in your PC. as well as Temps, which ive heard are actually pretty accurate.

 

also This website can give you a rough estimate if your computer can play a game. all it does is see what your computer has for hardware and match it to the minimum and recommended requirements for a game. again just gives you a rough idea of how well your laptop will match up with a game.

Edited May 28, 2012 by hoofhearted4

[caterpie]

Acer Aspire 7551-7422 already has 4GB of RAM, which means that the video chip gets the full 512MB it can use. It's the chip that is the weak spot.

 

I have seen two other laptops play it quite well, one on near highest graphics.

Were they by any chance proper gaming laptops?

 

But RV620 that you have is a 2008 graphics chip... and then someone puts it into a 2011-2012 17" laptop, I'm speechless. Good job Acer.

Basically you got screwed. It's not like they at least gave you a gaming 2008 chip, it wasn't meant for games even then. Even the GPU in low-end C-30 netbooks is more powerful (yours still beats the Atom though).

 

I don't suppose you can get your money back, can you? That would be the best course of action if possible.

 

 

 

I just was wondering how you look up the graphics for computers then. I can only find out how much it has after buying the cp and it takes me too long to search the net. Or can I get the name of a site that can show a listing of graphic memory and such for future purchases I want to make without leaving it to chance.

There is one:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

It lists chips in order of benchmark results. Keep in mind that memory doesn't really matter: 512MB of VRAM is plenty for Skyrim. Hey, it's more than PS3 has.

One of the computers was not much more expensive than this one and the other was an old 2008 or so toshiba that was pretty good. And what do you mean my chip set is the weak spot?

Edited May 28, 2012 by caterpie

[RitualBlack]

You may be talking about the toshiba qosmio. The 2008 one had sli 9800m which is why it was so powerful. It is roughly equal to a modern upper-mid class single mobile card and at its time of release the laptop probably cost over $1800. It is very important to look at both the card benchmarks and the model of the card. For example, an amd 6350m dispite being released in 2010 is much much less powerful than a mobility 3870 which was released in 2008.

 

Notebookcheck is a pretty good site for looking up mobile cards so I would definitely use it as a utility when picking out a laptop.