Stopped PC gaming since Doom 3/Far Cry. What can laptop handle? Game suggestions?

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Undercover_Man

[H]ard Surgeon
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
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Hi. Still haven't had the funds to build my new computer. Still have a large backlog of games dating back 5+ YEARS.

Got my moms old laptop. It is at least better than my 12 year old "monster PC" I built, but is still quite old and NOT a gaming la[top. I'm wondering what games I can play on this laptop from my massive backlog and also what games I should add to my backlog.

I asked what games I should add to my backlog quite a long time ago in an OLD POST. I also described what type of games I like. I'll post current laptop specs and types of games I enjoy down below.

Current laptop specs:
Dell Inspiron N5010

Processor
Processor - Intel(R) Core i3 CPU M 350 @ 2.27GHz
Speed - 2.3 GHz
Number of Cores - 4

Video Card
Video Card - Intel(R) HD Graphics
Chipset - Intel(R) HD Graphics
Dedicated Memory - 64 MB
Total Memory - 1.7 GB
Pixel Shader Version - 4.0
Vertex Shader Version - 4.0
Hardware T & L - Yes

Memory
3.9 GB

O/S
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit
Service Pack - 1
Size - 64 Bit
Edition - Home Premium
Version - 6.1.7601
Display Maximum Resolution - 1366 x 768

Audio
Sound Device 1 - IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
Driver Version - 6.10.0.6267
Sound Device 2 - Intel(R) Display Audio
Driver Version - 6.12.0.3047


Drive 1
Size - 397.3 GB
Free - 204.8 GB

Drive 2
Size - 58.6 GB
Free - 14.0 GB

I mostly enjoy FPS games.I play Minecraft PE on my Android and tried the demo on this laptop, but it struggles a bit until I turn down the distance to quite low. Any space fighting sims like Freespace 2 and Wing Commander get released since I last played PC games? Love scary games. Here's a list of backlog games I made from the last time I asked for game suggestions. Will this laptop play those games? I would preferably like to play games with NOT everything set lowest settings. As long as I can get 30 FPS average, my eyes won't notice much and it won't bug me. THANKS!!! :)

  • BioShock
  • Quakes after 3
  • Doom 3 expansion
  • Halo's after 1
  • Call of Duty's after 3
  • Mass Effect
  • Crysis
  • Far Cry after 1
  • Dirt 2
  • Batman Arkham Asylum
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Battlefield after Vietnam (Can you provide list?)
  • Dragon Age: Origins
  • F.E.A.R.
  • S.W.A.T. 4 & on
  • Fallout
  • GTA IV
  • Resident Evil(?)
  • Prey
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
  • The Witcher
  • Gears of War
  • Trackmania
  • Burnout Paradise
  • King Arthur (the 2004 game?)
  • Need for Speed (can you provide list?)
  • Borderlands
  • Operation Flashpoint 2
  • Risen
  • Call Of Jaurez
  • Dead Space
  • Quantum Of Solace
  • Chronicles of Riddick
  • Prince Of Persia
  • Mirror's Edge
  • Battlestations Pacific
  • Fuel
  • Ghostbusters
  • Drakensang
  • VEGAS 2
  • Brother's in Arms (suggestions?)
  • World In Conlict
  • Test Drive Unlimited
 
What kinda budget are you looking at?

Finding you something in the $2500 range isn't hard at all. But if your budget is $500-1000, that's a problem. :D

Any PARTICULAR things you'd like to demand of the system?
 
Actually. my budget is $0. My questions are what games can this laptop handle from my long list of games I need to catch up on and what additional games can I add since it's been about 4 years since I last took a look at my backlog? I wish I had the funds for a new PC build or laptop. Hopefully sometime this year I can work it in for sure. But for now I think I can knock out some of the older games in my backlog using this laptop.
 
Honestly? Nothing.

A few of the games might run,but you can expect 10-15 fps. You may get playable fps in a few if you're willing to go bellow native resolution.
 
Pretty much what M76 said. I have a cheap temp laptop that I thought could handle decade-old games - I was very wrong. The only game on that entire list you can play is Fallout, and that is only if you mean Fallout 1/2 - certainly not Fallout 3. Have you looked at the minimum specifications for any of these games? Half of them are completely nuts to even think about on a non-gaming PC, like Crysis for example.

If there are any 15+ year old classic games you never got around to playing before you stopped gaming, go for those until you get a better PC, whenever that is.
 
BioShock - Will run but on low settings
Quakes after 3 - Quake 4, will run, might get medium settings
Doom 3 expansion - MIIIIIIGHT run
Halo's after 1 - There is only Halo 1 and 2, both should run
Call of Duty's after 3 - Will run 4 and maybe the first Black Ops, but on med
Mass Effect - Will run on low/med
Crysis - Nothing runs Crysis
Far Cry after 1 - Far Cry 2 will be choppy even on low
Dirt 2 - Same as FC2
Batman Arkham Asylum - Should run decent on Medium
Left 4 Dead - Should run decent on Medium (Source Games are good on crap hardware)
Battlefield after Vietnam (Can you provide list?) - BF3 will run choppy on low settings with your hardware, so dont expect BF4 or BFHL to run at all
Dragon Age: Origins - Should run on medium settings
F.E.A.R. - Should run on Medium/High
S.W.A.T. 4 & on - Should be decent
Fallout - Low settings
GTA IV - Wont run
Resident Evil(?) - Might run
Prey - Should run on Med/High
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Should run okay on Medium
The Witcher - Wont Run
Gears of War - Should run on Medium
Trackmania - Should run no problems
Burnout Paradise - Has great optimization so it should run fine on Medium
King Arthur (the 2004 game?) - Eh
Need for Speed (can you provide list?) - After the Underground titles it crap from there
Borderlands - BL1 should run on Medium, 2 and Pre wont run
Operation Flashpoint 2 - Wont run, terribly optimized game
Risen - Should run on Medium
Call Of Jaurez - First one, definitely should have no problems.
Dead Space - Should be fine on Medium with 1 and 2, 3 = wont run
Quantum Of Solace - Eh
Chronicles of Riddick - Maybe on Low/Med
Prince Of Persia - Maybe on Low/Med
Mirror's Edge - Low only
Battlestations Pacific - Eh
Fuel - Eh
Ghostbusters - Should run fine on Mediu,
Drakensang - Eh
VEGAS 2 - Should run on Med
Brother's in Arms (suggestions?) - Should be fine
World In Conlict - Eh
Test Drive Unlimited - Eh
Click to expand...

So yeah, your bottle neck is the GPU more than anything, sorry my friend. Your best bet is to find Source games or low tech highly optimized games, but Intel internal GPU's are crap cept for next years release which Intel is swearing is going to revolutionize gaming for onboard GPU's.
 
Divinity original Sin
Planetside 2
Duke Nukem Forever Multiplayer
Far Cry 4
Wasteland 2
Battlefield 3 and 4

Pillars of Eternity comes out this month in the vein of Baldur's Gate if you are into RPGs.
 
I know you can definitely play Stalker and Left 4 dead. May have to put them at low settings but I played through both of those on a system similar to the one you described. But like I said expect to run at pretty low settings because of the on board intel gpu. Original Call of duty games definitely, but after the 3rd game not sure. Possibly on low-med settings. Doesn't really take away from anything in my opinion, better graphics are just a plus, the games are still just as fun.
 
Undercover_Man said:
Current laptop specs:
Dell Inspiron N5010

Processor
Processor - Intel(R) Core i3 CPU M 350 @ 2.27GHz
Speed - 2.3 GHz
Number of Cores - 4
Click to expand...
Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's a dual core with hyperthreading, not a quad core. It's also a 5 year old chip that predates the huge improvements from Sandy Bridge. It will do you no favors.

Undercover_Man said:
Video Card
Video Card - Intel(R) HD Graphics
Chipset - Intel(R) HD Graphics
Dedicated Memory - 64 MB
Total Memory - 1.7 GB
Pixel Shader Version - 4.0
Vertex Shader Version - 4.0
Hardware T & L - Yes
Click to expand...
Ya....no. Not happening with Intel Integrated Graphics, especially if they aren't the top of the line HD4000 parts, and even then you won't get far. Without a half decent dedicated graphics card in there, at a minimum Nvidia GTX 4xx on up, you are on the slow train to nowhereville.
With those ancient Intel graphics, you will be lucky to play any game 10 years or newer, lowest settings, lowest supported resolution, and better than 10fps.


Between your CPU and GPU, you are better off not eating fast food for a month and buying a cheap AMD laptop with an APU. Even the lowest APU is probably faster than that laptop.
 
Well, so far I can play Minecraft pretty nicely only adjusting for view distance at times. I've tested Dead Space too.

I used to be addicted to Half-Life, Star Craft, and Quake 3. I wonder if it can handle those.
 
OP - time to build yous a cheap desktop PC and catch up on what you've been missing. Fortunately, a slower core i5 plus GTX-750ti and 8GB of RAM will handle pretty much any game from Doom 3 all the way up to today's games, provided the resolution ain't high. Hell, with my old GTX-560, I can pretty much still play any newer game I want. Just lower the shadows (usually) a couple of notches and keep everything else up, and I'm good. For the most part at least. :) GTX-750ti is faster than the GTX-560.

EDIT: If money is tight, a Core i3 would probably be a good chip too.
 
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