Acer Laptop

Sinful One · 09-10-2009, 02:53 PM

Not sure if this is the correct forum but it seemed like it, please move if appropriate....

I need to buy a laptop and would like it if it run EQ2 at least on low settings, i have found an Acer 5536-744G which seems good, the only thing is im not sure about the graphics chip in it.

I know EQ2 does not rely quite so much on GPU speed but thought i would check with you guys.

Processor	AMD Turion? X2 RM-74 - 2.2 GHz - 1.8 GHz HT - 1 MB L2 cache
Operating System	Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
RAM	4 GB
Graphics card	Integrated
Screen type	CrystalBrite? TFT LCD
Screen resolution	1366 x 768
Screen size	15.6"

Hard drive	500GB SATA Graphics chip is a ATI Radeon HD 3200 Any information would be great, thanks

rexkwondo · 09-15-2009, 03:20 PM

I'm not the authority on this stuff, but since no one else has responded, I'm going to go ahead and say that usually integrated graphics aren't very good. You want to get a dedicated graphics card if possible. I would say that that laptop would possibly play EQ2 on the lowest settings, but the performance still wouldn't be that great.

MurFalad · 09-16-2009, 05:38 AM

I'd say that laptop is going to be limited probably to low settings of EQ2, as rexkwondo said the 3200 is the built into motherboard video so its going to be very poor (although looking at the chart better then I thought it would be, and at least its not the intel video chipset, you can kiss goodbye to any performance with that!).

If you have to buy a laptop (if not then a desktop will always give better value) then I'd recommend trying to find one with some sort of dedicated graphics card. I brought a Toshiba P200-1EE a year or 2 ago and that has a 1.5Ghz core 2 plus a ATI HD2600 card in it which allows me to run EQ2 at around balanced smoothly @1440x900.

These days for a new laptop the equivalent card is the HD3600 which is ~20% faster, if you want to get an idea of what sort of performance a graphics card is I'd check out this list from toms hardware.

Doing a search on the site you sent for a laptop with a dedicated graphics card I did find an HP DV6-1210SA for about the same price that said it had a dedicated ATi graphics card (Ati 4530 described here), this card is just slightly better then the HD2600 I have, I'd recommend it over that choice but have never brought a HP myself so its your money and therefore your decision, but I think you might be able to do better if you can find a laptop with the same sort of graphics but a better processor.

While graphics helps EQ2 a lot the processor is still important, I use a AMD for my desktop but they do seem to be a tad slower then Intels per a Mhz (although you pay for what you get and seem to get equal or better performance for the price in my opinion if you don't overclock from AMD), I'd check out the performance charts for them at toms hardware to give yourself an idea of how fast each processor is, from looking through it it did seem to indicate a core 2 duo of 2Ghz would be a improvement over a 2.1Ghz Turin, lots of charts to wade through though to make a decision so I'll leave that with you.

(Not plugging toms deliberately, just haven't found a more convenient source of information though ).

Good luck.

TSR-DanielH · 09-17-2009, 03:50 PM

Without knowing what integrated graphics card the system is using, it would be hard to say whether or not you will be able to run the game. Even with a decent integrated card the game wont run that well, but if it's an older chip then it might not be able to boot at all.

ex250mike · 09-18-2009, 07:49 PM

My mom has a nearly identical HP laptop. The only difference is hers has a 17" screen and runs at 1440x900.

I loaded up eq2 to see if it would run. It ran fine on balanced settings around TD. It would run on high but not well with other players around.

This was was without any tweaking to vista or the default eq settings. I imagine it would run better with the vista bloatware off and eq graphics tweaked a bit.

At the time the same machine with a 4830 was $300 more. While I'm sure that would be a big improvement it would have been a 60% increase in price.

ex250mike · 09-18-2009, 07:56 PM

I just checked the $300 upgrade was for a 4650, not a 4830.

09-17-2009, 03:50 PM	#4
TSR-DanielH Customer Service Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 5,593	Without knowing what integrated graphics card the system is using, it would be hard to say whether or not you will be able to run the game. Even with a decent integrated card the game wont run that well, but if it's an older chip then it might not be able to boot at all. __________________ Daniel H Technical Support Representative Sony Online Entertainment

09-15-2009, 03:20 PM	#2
rexkwondo Loremaster Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 30	I'm not the authority on this stuff, but since no one else has responded, I'm going to go ahead and say that usually integrated graphics aren't very good. You want to get a dedicated graphics card if possible. I would say that that laptop would possibly play EQ2 on the lowest settings, but the performance still wouldn't be that great.

09-16-2009, 05:38 AM	#3
MurFalad Loremaster Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Tonbridge, UK Posts: 1,360	I'd say that laptop is going to be limited probably to low settings of EQ2, as rexkwondo said the 3200 is the built into motherboard video so its going to be very poor (although looking at the chart better then I thought it would be, and at least its not the intel video chipset, you can kiss goodbye to any performance with that!). If you have to buy a laptop (if not then a desktop will always give better value) then I'd recommend trying to find one with some sort of dedicated graphics card. I brought a Toshiba P200-1EE a year or 2 ago and that has a 1.5Ghz core 2 plus a ATI HD2600 card in it which allows me to run EQ2 at around balanced smoothly @1440x900. These days for a new laptop the equivalent card is the HD3600 which is ~20% faster, if you want to get an idea of what sort of performance a graphics card is I'd check out this list from toms hardware. Doing a search on the site you sent for a laptop with a dedicated graphics card I did find an HP DV6-1210SA for about the same price that said it had a dedicated ATi graphics card (Ati 4530 described here), this card is just slightly better then the HD2600 I have, I'd recommend it over that choice but have never brought a HP myself so its your money and therefore your decision, but I think you might be able to do better if you can find a laptop with the same sort of graphics but a better processor. While graphics helps EQ2 a lot the processor is still important, I use a AMD for my desktop but they do seem to be a tad slower then Intels per a Mhz (although you pay for what you get and seem to get equal or better performance for the price in my opinion if you don't overclock from AMD), I'd check out the performance charts for them at toms hardware to give yourself an idea of how fast each processor is, from looking through it it did seem to indicate a core 2 duo of 2Ghz would be a improvement over a 2.1Ghz Turin, lots of charts to wade through though to make a decision so I'll leave that with you. (Not plugging toms deliberately, just haven't found a more convenient source of information though ). Good luck.

09-18-2009, 07:49 PM	#5
ex250mike Loremaster Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3	My mom has a nearly identical HP laptop. The only difference is hers has a 17" screen and runs at 1440x900. I loaded up eq2 to see if it would run. It ran fine on balanced settings around TD. It would run on high but not well with other players around. This was was without any tweaking to vista or the default eq settings. I imagine it would run better with the vista bloatware off and eq graphics tweaked a bit. At the time the same machine with a 4830 was $300 more. While I'm sure that would be a big improvement it would have been a 60% increase in price.

09-18-2009, 07:56 PM	#6
ex250mike Loremaster Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3	I just checked the $300 upgrade was for a 4650, not a 4830.