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Games/Laptop Questions

frailfuryfrailfury Posts: 7,222
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in PC & Mac Hardware and Software #1
I've just started playing PC games via Steam, mainly because some of the games on there I used to play on my PC a few years ago.

I am using a laptop, and I am concerned that I may be overpowering it?

The 'Can You Run It' site tells me I'm good to go with all of them, but I wanted to know if it is possible to wear my laptop out?!

Here are my specs:

AMD Athlon II X2 M300 2.0GHZ DUAL CORE

ATI RADEON HD 4200 GRAPHICS, UP TO 1919MB HYPER MEMORY

4GB MEMORY

I am playing games such as:

HALF LIFE 2
DOOM 3
BURNOUT: PARADISE
AMERICA'S ARMY
LEFT 4 DEAD 2

Everything seem ok? I am suprised to see that my laptop will play Burnout as I didn't think my laptop was that powerful?

People say to put the game on low settings, to do this I find myself having to put individual settings to 'low' rather than an option for low, this correct?

Another question I had was that I don't like using the keyboard/mouse for the controls, is there a decent good priced controller I can buy? It would need to be like a PS3 controller for camera and person movement I guess? I did use my PS3 controller but it's very wobbly via the software I found for it.

Thanks

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    whoever,heywhoever,hey Posts: 30,992
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    #2
    You can't worry about wearing your pc out lol, unless you just stick it in a cupboard and never use it :). Use it for what you want.

    Ps3 pad controls for camera on pc are wobbly, you need a mouse keyboard.
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    StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    #3
    All those games should run OK. All you need to do is drop the resolution a bit if they are running a bit slow.
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    frailfuryfrailfury Posts: 7,222
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    #4
    Stig wrote: »
    All those games should run OK. All you need to do is drop the resolution a bit if they are running a bit slow.

    Resolution? Or different graphics settings?
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    superboysuperboy Posts: 4,187
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    #5
    frailfury wrote: »
    Resolution? Or different graphics settings?

    mix of both really
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    whoever,heywhoever,hey Posts: 30,992
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    #6
    Tweak to get the best framerate, you can't break your laptop, as I've already said.
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    LeehamLeeham Posts: 4,795
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    #7
    First thing you need to drop is Anti-Aliasing (AA), then resolution, then 'volumetric' or 'lighting' effects.

    Just use trial and error until you get the best experience.

    I don't know about other controllers, but I use my Xbox 360 controller wirelessly and it works perfect. Just been playing Batman Arkham Asylum with it on Steam, before that I was playing Pokemans Soul Silver on an emulator with it :)

    If you want to play games that don't support a joystick, check out 'Joy2Key' - it's awesome.
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    chiller15chiller15 Posts: 4,194
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    #8
    The main thing I'd be worried about would be overheating while playing games. Laptops are notoriously bad when it comes to cooling, and playing games are just going to make it worse. If you are, I'd suggest using the laptop on a cooler, such as this; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-Notebook-Cooler/dp/B0000BVYTV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293620459&sr=8-1
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    rwouldrwould Posts: 5,260
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    #9
    I'd also look at the Logitech Gamepad. It's very similar to the PS2/3 controller and very customisable. But you will need some good rechargable batteries as it burns through them!
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    frailfuryfrailfury Posts: 7,222
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    #10
    Thanks. Appreciate everyones advise.
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    Si_CreweSi_Crewe Posts: 40,202
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    #11
    Be aware that similar games will place different loads on your system depending on how well they have been programmed.

    For example, I find that Borderlands seems to make my system heat up a helluva lot compared to other games that should place a similar load on the PC.

    My laptop gets uncomfortably warm when playing Borderlands for more than a couple of hours (I really only discovered this after pausing the game and then nipping out for an afternoon) whereas it'll happily play games such as MW2 without even breaking a sweat.

    There's nothing to be afraid of but it's just a case of playing a game and then keeping alert for excessive build-up of heat while you're playing.

    I've played all of the games the OP mentions on my own laptop and none of them cause anything like the kind of build-up of heat that Borderlands causes.
    There must be a helluva lot of processing going on during Borderlands.
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    jjesso123jjesso123 Posts: 5,944
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    #12
    Si_Crewe wrote: »
    Be aware that similar games will place different loads on your system depending on how well they have been programmed.

    For example, I find that Borderlands seems to make my system heat up a helluva lot compared to other games that should place a similar load on the PC.

    My laptop gets uncomfortably warm when playing Borderlands for more than a couple of hours (I really only discovered this after pausing the game and then nipping out for an afternoon) whereas it'll happily play games such as MW2 without even breaking a sweat.

    There's nothing to be afraid of but it's just a case of playing a game and then keeping alert for excessive build-up of heat while you're playing.

    I've played all of the games the OP mentions on my own laptop and none of them cause anything like the kind of build-up of heat that Borderlands causes.
    There must be a helluva lot of processing going on during Borderlands.

    More frames you get the hotter you card will get.
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    Si_CreweSi_Crewe Posts: 40,202
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    #13
    jjesso123 wrote: »
    More frames you get the hotter you card will get.

    True enough but that still doesn't really add up.

    If a game CAN run at 70fps using specific hardware then it will do.
    Equally, if that same hardware isn't ideal for another game then that game will run at a reduced frame rate to compensate.

    The overall load on the system should be the same, within reason.
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