HL2 on a notebook

[Ravan]

hello all, i have recently brought a notebook for doing my a-level work and well i got bored of solitare after the second game and am looking towards running HL2 on me notebook. i ran the demo of of steam and as expectedit was very low on the framrate, eve with all the settings on lowest seetings running at 640x480

so im looking at getting a gfx card for me notebook but i jus look not understanding anything feeling very small and inferiour

the qustion boils down to wot do i get to run hl2 at a standard that is reasonable and not gonna to stutter every 5 seconds or when more chaacters move on to screen!!!


my specs on me notebook are as follows


windows xp home sp2
intel celeron m 380 1.6 ghz processor
1GB DDR2 ram
direct x 9.0 c
also a monitor graphics driver being a intel mobile 915gm/gms, 915GML express
also a 15.4" wxga TFT LCD monitor


all copied from dxdiag

thanks anyonewho can help it will be much appreicated

 

[Cormeh]

I would say that your processor would need replacing too. 1.6 celeron shouldn't really be attempting to run HL2.

 

[Ravan]

ok, wot sort of processor should hl2 run

ilooked i the min spec and it is stating 1.2ghz and a 512 or 256 ram

or is tht jus for desktops (not much of a computer person)

 

[Cole]

Well Celerons are complete crap.
You see that Celeron may be able to work at 1.6ghz, but how much it does just sucks. It's like an AMD Athlon 3500+ can be clocked at 2.4ghz and has been able to beat 3.5ghz P4's.
Basically the Amd one works slower, but can do alot more every cycle. A P4 works faster but does less every cycle. A Celeron is a slow piece of shit that does crap per cycle.

So you may be able to run it but it wont be at all good.

Though your graphics card would not be able to run the game.

 

[Beerdude26]

windows xp home sp2
- Good.
intel celeron m 380 1.6 ghz processor
- Not good. Ask someone who knows a lot about computers to see if your motherboard can be updated with a newer CPU.
1GB DDR2 ram
- Good.
direct x 9.0 c
- Good.
also a monitor graphics driver being a intel mobile 915gm/gms, 915GML express
- Abysmal. Again, ask someone who knows a lot about computers to see if your motherboard can be updated with a graphic card.
also a 15.4" wxga TFT LCD monitor
- Good.

 

[Ravan]

how would i find out wot motherboard tht i have without removing any screws,
i against tht

 

[Beerdude26]

Well, the original box is a good idea to start looking
If you don't have it anymore, you could try looking for a name of the notebook (like Dell Mobility or whatever if it's from Dell).

 

[Ravan]

well it is a acer aspire 3614 if tht would make sense to u but yh i shall have to look into this a bit further than i originall thought

 

[Beerdude26]

Hmm... It seems your notebook supports PCI Express, which is the newest of graphic card technology.

But this page here (link) says absolutely nothing about that, or an AGP slot (an older, but still very widely used graphic card technology).

Try calling Acer Support for this question:
"Does my Acer Aspire 3614 support PCI-Express or AGP?"

 

[Ennui]

so im looking at getting a gfx card for me notebook but i jus look not understanding anything feeling very small and inferiour

Oh man, I love you for saying that.

Sorry I can't help, I don't know much of anything as far as upgrading laptops go, but good luck

 

[pomegranate]

Um..
It's a notebook.
You can't upgrade the graphics card, or the processor. And no, you can't change the motherboard.
Thread over.

 

[Beerdude26]

Um..
It's a notebook.
You can't upgrade the graphics card, or the processor. And no, you can't change the motherboard.
Thread over.

Then why are there "mobility" graphic cards
http://www.ati.com/products/mobile.html

 

[pomegranate]

Then why are there "mobility" graphic cards
http://www.ati.com/products/mobile.html

Mobility graphics cards can only be built into a laptop when it is being built by the manufacturer. The connections and construction of the card and the rest of the laptop aren't designed in a way that allows you to take out the card and replace it.

 

[Ravan]

tht is a good qeustion

i looked at ati's site for pci express cards and looked towards a 9600


why cant u upgrade notebooks then?
they not that special

 

[Ravioli]

i think he means "how can you upgrade a notebook" i mean..its made of paper! Are you gona get a new front cover?

Lol (i was quoting pomegranate)

 

[pomegranate]

tht is a good qeustion

i looked at ati's site for pci express cards and looked towards a 9600


why cant u upgrade notebooks then?
they not that special

Look, take my word for it, it's completely established aspect of notebooks (at the moment) that you can't upgrade their graphics card. Notebooks are "that special", when you bear in mind how much effort and extra engineering goes into them, compared to desktops, for the sake of size, weight and power consumption.

Look at it from another perspective: all graphics cards released for desktops plug into the computer motherboard on a AGP, PCI or PCI-express slot. Laptops don't have these slots. I guess because they're too big, or maybe power inefficient. I don't know that much about portable graphics cards, but I understand that the general principle is that the motherboard for each laptop has to be designed specifically to use a particular series of graphics card, which is then more or less 'welded' onto the motherboard, with lots of permanent connections.
Also bear in mind that notebook designers are not likely to design a laptop with significant empty space inside - desktop graphics cards vary considerably in size.

The only things you can upgrade on a notebook are the harddisk, the RAM, and at a push the optical (CD/DVD) drive. This is because these have industry standardised, 'swapable' connections, so designers can use off-the-shelf components. There is no standardised connection for mobile graphics cards (the equiv in desktops being AGP/PCI-E), though I guess there may be in the near future...

 

[Beerdude26]

Mobility graphics cards can only be built into a laptop when it is being built by the manufacturer. The connections and construction of the card and the rest of the laptop aren't designed in a way that allows you to take out the card and replace it.

Oh well, guess he'll just have to cut away some (hopefully unnecessary) hardware to make place for the card

WARNING : Do not do this in real life.

 

[pomegranate]

Oh well, guess he'll just have to cut away some (hopefully unnecessary) hardware to make place for the card

WARNING : Do not do this in real life.

I realise you're joking, but I'll take the oppportunity to reinforce the point that the connections beteween a notebook motherboard and a mobile GPU are not 'user servicable'. So it wouldn't make any difference how much extraneous hardware one was to cut out...

 

[Beerdude26]

I realise you're joking, but I'll take the oppportunity to reinforce the point that the connections beteween a notebook motherboard and a mobile GPU are not 'user servicable'. So it wouldn't make any difference how much extraneous hardware one was to cut out...

Anything is possible with enough duct tape.

 

[Eejit]

That's not true of all laptops pomegranate. Some can indeed be upgraded. e.g. ones with MXM.

 

[pomegranate]

There is no standardised connection for mobile graphics cards (the equiv in desktops being AGP/PCI-E), though I guess there may be in the near future...

That's not true of all laptops pomegranate. Some can indeed be upgraded. e.g. ones with MXM.

I stand gladly corrected!
Though for almost all existing laptops, what I said holds true.

 

[Elendil_]

It runs just fine on my 1.7Ghz Pentium M notebook at maximum details.
Your problem isn't the CPU as many people here says (Intel notebook's CPUs are really excellent - and I'm an AMD fan) but the video card. I have a Geforce6800Go 256mb.

 

[Beerdude26]

It runs just fine on my 1.7Ghz Pentium M notebook at maximum details.
Your problem isn't the CPU as many people here says (Intel notebook's CPUs are really excellent - and I'm an AMD fan) but the video card. I have a Geforce6800Go 256mb.

Odd that your CPU isn't bottlenecking the card :|

 

[Eejit]

I have a 1.87Ghz Pentium M on my notebook, with same GPU as Elendil, even Lost Coast runs well since I got the latest Forceware drivers adapted by the manufacturer (i.e. not even the latest ones. They're too damn slow ).

 

[Barney Fife]

I hate to agree with the rest of the guys, but Celeron is not a gamers processor of choice, matter of fact Celeron is the Poor-Man's Processor of choice. The only thing Celeron is good for is to get your mail and still not dependable to do so as it may crash halfway.

how would i find out wot motherboard tht i have without removing any screws, i against tht

As far as what CPU/GPU your laptop motherboard supports, I hate to tell you that too but the answer is almost if not absolutely NONE.
Most MOBO only support one type of CPU brand/socket and those are desktop MOBOs and are high-end desktop MOBOs. When we talk about celeron in a laptop your options are extremely thin if not none. as cheap as Celeron is, it usually comes with low-end MOBOs and don't support nothing else.
As far as Laptops concern they come as it they are (no upgrades) the only place you may have access to is the memory and HDD if you get lucky, some Laptops don't even let you have access to none of the above. Here GeeksOnCall we simply tell customers to buy new laptops when theirs reach or come close to their lifespan they are not service friendly and every PC technician will gladly tell you he/she hates working on laptop. The only problem laptop has is the lack of space unlike desktop and therefore designed in such without no future upgrades, and if you have hadrware problem on a laptop mind as well buy a new because service will cost you the same.
You cannot upgrade CPU or the GPU. Don't take my word for it you can do more search and I hope am wrong on this.
Log-on to your Laptop manufacturer Acer support page and look it up. Give them a call and ask around. I hope you get lucky.

Good luck.