PC Gamers - help a complete noob!

[MiracleOfSound]

Hello guys,

I just been given a nice new laptop and I'm wondering what kind of games I can run on it. 'Canyourunit' told me I can run Fallout 3 but not on the 'recommended' level. Bear in mind I'm completely new to this, the only games I've used a PC for are the early Fallout games and Morrowind.

Now, this is all double dutch to me, but here are my specs:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7300 @ 2.00GHz

You Have: 2.0 GB RAM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 32-bit

Video Card
GeForce 8400M GT


Video RAM

512 MB

1008.3 MB



Pixel Shader version

3.0

4.0

Vertex Shader version

3.0

4.0

Audio:
SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC

So... maybe you guys could let me know what kind of level of games I can run on this baby? I'd love to run Fallout 3, New Vegas, Oblivion and mod them to high heaven.

What about Counter Strike? COD4? Minecraft?

Also, is there such a thing as an external video card if I want to upgrade?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Rednog]

I recommend using http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/
They have a pretty extensive list of games and it checks if your computer can run it or not.

 

[manythings]

I can't say definitively but I'd say you could run most things up till Summer of last year. Whether or not you could run them well I can't tell you. Any chance you can borrow anything off of friends to test it out?

You'll be fine with minecraft and I'd say you won't have trouble with Counterstrike/Team Fortress 2/Portal or any of valve's stuff (excluding Portal 2 I don't think that would work too well).

Your fallouts and Oblivion? I'd say you won't be running them on High but I don't think you'd run them on Low either.

 

[rokkolpo]

I have no idea.
But what is ''double dutch'' supposed to mean?
>_>
_0

 

[TheIronRuler]

I recommend using http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/
They have a pretty extensive list of games and it checks if your computer can run it or not.

I second this, you download a wee little program that allows you to test your system against the game requirements.
It's very helpful, and it has an index of most games and their requirements there.

 

[Echo Delta]

You should definitely be able to run Oblivion at close to, or at maximum I can tell you that, and minecraft should also run well, however CoD4 will run at maybe mid settings and Fallout 3 would be run at low to mid. I've not heard of an external video card though...

 

[Omey]

I can't say definitively but I'd say you could run most things up till Summer of last year. Whether or not you could run them well I can't tell you. Any chance you can borrow anything off of friends to test it out?

You'll be fine with minecraft and I'd say you won't have trouble with Counterstrike/Team Fortress 2/Portal or any of valve's stuff (excluding Portal 2 I don't think that would work too well).

Your fallouts and Oblivion? I'd say you won't be running them on High but I don't think you'd run them on Low either.

This is pretty much right.Second it.If you reduce your resolution to 640 x 480 or 800 x 600 you can even play portal 2 smoothly!

 

[Stoic raptor]

You can run most games, but not very well. To be quite honest, you could do much better with more ram and a better video card. But you can still run a lot of games ok. I would suggest to get valve games, as they are really flexible in terms of graphics.

In short; all the games you asked about can run on your computer, but don't expect it to look very good.

 

[Woodsey]

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/

Do not rely on this fully. All it does is line your specs up to the ones the devs have released - if the devs have released bogus specs (GTA IV), then its useless.

OT: Not that strong for gaming. Minecraft and CSS will be alright, CoD 4 probably not.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I have no idea.
But what is ''double dutch'' supposed to mean?
>_>
_0

It's a jumping rope game involving multiple ropes that, if you aren't already well versed with the technique, seems like an exercise in impossible complexity.

 

[lukeyk]

You should be able to run css, and tf2, and gmod >.> And then play on my server >.> *Hides*
If your buying stuff through steam then you can easily see the requirements to play the game. So it's not normally too hard to see whether you can run it or not.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

But what is ''double dutch'' supposed to mean?

It means:

'I don't know what any of it means'

 

[MiracleOfSound]

You should definitely be able to run Oblivion at close to, or at maximum I can tell you that, and minecraft should also run well, however CoD4 will run at maybe mid settings and Fallout 3 would be run at low to mid. I've not heard of an external video card though...

Fallout 3 low to mid... would that look similar to it does on my 360 or worse?

 

[rokkolpo]

I have no idea.
But what is ''double dutch'' supposed to mean?
>_>
_0

It's a jumping rope game involving multiple ropes that, if you aren't already well versed with the technique, seems like an exercise in impossible complexity.

Ah like that.
I didn't know there was a name for that.
The Dutch call it jumping...with two ropes.

 

[darksaber64x]

I don't see too much of a problem playing most newer games on that setup on lower settings. I don't have that great of a rig, but as long as you're within the minimum secs that's listed for the game (you can even eek by with smaller numbers sometimes), and mess around with the video settings until you get a decent framerate, you should be fine.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

Guessed it again!

OT: Can't see you running Crysis or anything on it, but as far as I know, you should be good with most mid-range games you try. I had a PC with similar specs on which I ran Oblivion, which is a fairly high demand game, so you'd be okay with that too. That's what I think, though I'm not a complete whiz with this kind of stuff.

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

You can probably run a good number of games. Maybe not on the highest setting, but enough for it to run. I have TF2 on my laptop, and it runs on lower settings than what you've presented. I don't try CoD4, STALKER, or Oblivion. And even some seemingly low demanding games such as EU3 run slow. Although, I have a friend running New Vegas on his MacBook.

 

[Mr. 47]

Check to see if your video card is recognized before taking the systems requirements lab recomendation as fact. Mine isn't recognized (Intel (HD) Graphics card) because it honestly has no buisness playing games. Anyway, the site told me that Half Life 2 episode one, and two, Mass Effect, Super Meat Boy, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Call of Duty Black Ops would not work. All, except for COD, work perfectly fine, COD does work, but it barely playable (as I now know from free multiplayed weekend.)

As a fellow PC gaming noob to another, I started this Winter, get some Valve games. Half Life 2 and it's episodes, Portal, Counter Strike Source, Team Fortress 2, they make some of the best PC games. Also, if your card is recognized by the site linked in this topic, check to see if you can run Mass Effect 2, and Super Meat Boy, they're pretty good.

 

[Who Dares Wins]

Doesn't look very good to me, but for newer games. The card is pretty weak, and there isn't a lot of RAM there. I'll help you out by saying that my 8600 card and 1GB RAM could run Oblivion at max with over 30FPS, and Fallout 3 and New Vegas on mostly medium, no AA, and some high settings (textures mainly) on also 30FPS+.

You could also tweak the games so you get better performance for next to no visual impact.

http://www.tweakguides.com/Fallout3_1.html
http://www.tweakguides.com/Oblivion_1.html

Fallout3 and NV tweaking is almost identical.

 

[Echo Delta]

You should definitely be able to run Oblivion at close to, or at maximum I can tell you that, and minecraft should also run well, however CoD4 will run at maybe mid settings and Fallout 3 would be run at low to mid. I've not heard of an external video card though...

Fallout 3 low to mid... would that look similar to it does on my 360 or worse?

I wish I could give a straight answer here as the customization in graphics settings for PC is incomparable to consoles... If I had to give a definative answer, I would say it would run probably a little better or at least the same. Fallout 3's system reqs are as follows:

Minimum System Requirements:
-Windows XP/Vista
-1GB System RAM (XP) / 2GB System RAM (Vista)
-2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
-Direct X 9.0c compliant videocard with 256MB RAM (NVIDIA 6800 or better / ATI X850 or better)

Recommended System Requirements:
Intel Core 2 Duo processor <-- you have this but your laptop most likely has a lower clock speed for the processor then the assumed desktop standard
-2 GB System RAM <-- you have this, but again, probably at a lower clock speed due to you running a laptop
-Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series) <-- laptop cards are a little different but if anything that shouldn't reduce your performance by THAT much.

I'm nowhere near an expert but it appears that most of the components in that laptop were released in late '07 and Fallout 3 was released a year later. It won't be flawless but it'll run for sure