Laptop for BF3 Please help

Macker1

Son wants a Laptop for Xmas and would like to run BF3

Just wondering if anyone can advise on if a Dell XPS 15 laptop with the following spec

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor 2.40 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.00 GHz

4096MB (2x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel

2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card

could run BF3 with the settings adjusted down

Please advise

Thanks

ShadowHearth

Can you adopt me? I like gifts he is getting...


This laptop should have no problem running bf3, not ultra settings, but respectable enough

P H A 7V T O M

I would recommend using a PC for games, as it means you can run the game on 'Ultra'. If you had the time to build one, we are talking only 650 euro for a monster machine for BF 3 and, hell, anything in its way.

If you insist on laptop though, I think there are better alternatives to Dell Gaming laptops. I can't go specific now (lol 10% battery on phone) but have a look yourself.

cherryghost

I have a similar laptop with the same GPU and slightly slower CPU. It'll run BF3 on low or medium at about 40-50fps. Doesn't matter what settings low/medium, its bottlenecked by the processor. 40FPS is more than playable though. A lot smoother than the console counterpart

Tyrant^

Dell's are rip offs, imo. Unless you getting it cheap second hand.

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/02_NOTEBOO/21_15/productdetails/80003373/Acer_15_6_5755G_2438G75MN_i5_2430M_8GB_750GB/LX_RPZ02_065/default.aspx

Check that out

MajesticDonkey

In my opinion, no laptops are meant for serious gaming.

Quandary

Decryptor wrote: »

In my opinion, no laptops are meant for serious gaming.

If ya said that about 5 years ago I would have agreed with you, but nowadays there are custom built laptops out there that can blast through any games on the market at the moment.

My own machine for instance, is made by an American company called Malibal. it's based on the Clevo chassis which is used by quite a few custom bild companies and can take some really great components. The graphics card I have is an Ndivia GTX 485m, tons of ram and an i7 processor

It runs BF3 on ultra settings and I have never seen a drop in frame rate! Tis machine will last me for the next 3 years and will still be able to run all but the harshest games on very high settings.

If ya can afford to splash then you can get a very very impressive laptop for gaming!

MajesticDonkey

Yeah alright...I suppose I should have said laptop of reasonable price. To get a laptop you're talking about in this country, you'd be talking about in excess of €2000.

Blazer

just to put nvidia cards into perspective...
Anything below a 560gtm isn't worth it...they're little better than bog standard onboard...
You're only wasting your money buying a gaming laptop with these cards.

GeForce GT 555M
GeForce GT 550M
GeForce GT 540M
GeForce GT 525M
GeForce GT 520MX
GeForce GT 520M

^^ all crap.

Good= GTM560/570/580

For ATI.

HD5850/5870 = good.

Basically for Nvidia.
First number eg 580, indicates current series of card.
Middle number indicates range within that series.
so GTM580 would be the current top of the pile card
GTM570 would be the middle of the road and 560 the lowest of the performance gaming cards but still suitable for games.

Something like the GTM520 would be current series, but the 2 indicates it's the lowest version within that range basically indicating it's shít for gaming.

Same goes for ATI's numbering.

cherryghost

It depends on the resolution you're playing on. I have the GT540M and its completely playable on the max resolution my laptop supports (1366x768).

P H A 7V T O M

Decryptor wrote: »

Yeah alright...I suppose I should have said laptop of reasonable price. To get a laptop you're talking about in this country, you'd be talking about in excess of €2000.

Yup, and consider that you can build a superior PC for about 650 and it's obvious what the smarter choice is.

Ask your son what's more important, mobility or the ability to play games (esp. BF 3) on their best settings.

MajesticDonkey

Yup, and consider that you can build a superior PC for about 650 and it's obvious what the smarter choice is.

Yup, that's what I did.
It's two years ago at this stage, but it's still perfectly able to handle most games on ultra settings.

ThomasMcd1994

Enderman wrote: »

It depends on the resolution you're playing on. I have the GT540M and its completely playable on the max resolution my laptop supports (1366x768).

The Resolution would acutally happen to be 1366x768

What settings do you play on and how much FPS Would you be getting?

cherryghost

All medium and about 40-50FPS

ThomasMcd1994

Enderman wrote: »

All medium and about 40-50FPS

That's great results.

The game looks great on medium from what i've heard and 40-50 FPS Is great.

I believe this laptop is a good choice now :rolleyes:

Macker1

Folks,

Would this laptop fit the bill ??????

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/02_NOTEBOO/22_17/productdetails/80003374/Acer_17_3_7750G_2438G75MN_i5_2430M_8GB_750GB/LX_RCW02_069/default.aspx

Would the AMD Radeon HD6650M - 2GB be OK for running BF3 at reduced/tailored settings.

beno619

I have an xps 15 with i7 2630Qm and Gt 540m, can run the campaign on medium with Ultra textures at 1366 * 768 at about 30 - 45 fps.
I underclock the cpu to keep the laptop cool, and overclock the gpu.
Il test out some other settings with the stock gpu clocks tonight.
long story short it can handle the game on medium at least.

Sc@recrow wrote: »

just to put nvidia cards into perspective...
Anything below a 560gtm isn't worth it...they're little better than bog standard onboard...
You're only wasting your money buying a gaming laptop with these cards.

GeForce GT 555M
GeForce GT 550M
GeForce GT 540M
GeForce GT 525M
GeForce GT 520MX
GeForce GT 520M

^^ all crap.

Good= GTM560/570/580

For ATI.

HD5850/5870 = good.

Basically for Nvidia.
First number eg 580, indicates current series of card.
Middle number indicates range within that series.
so GTM580 would be the current top of the pile card
GTM570 would be the middle of the road and 560 the lowest of the performance gaming cards but still suitable for games.

Something like the GTM520 would be current series, but the 2 indicates it's the lowest version within that range basically indicating it's shít for gaming.

Same goes for ATI's numbering.

Macker1 wrote: »

Son wants a Laptop for Xmas and would like to run BF3

Just wondering if anyone can advise on if a Dell XPS 15 laptop with the following spec

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor 2.40 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.00 GHz

4096MB (2x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel

2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card

could run BF3 with the settings adjusted down

Please advise

Thanks

That's a load of rubbish, GT 555m comes in the Alienware m14x and can be overclocked to gtx mobile graphics level and is a very good card for reasonably priced laptops.

GT 525 can play battlefield on medium too, the other cards yes are very poor and no better than intel 2nd gen integrated graphics.

Quandary

Macker1 wrote: »

Folks,

Would this laptop fit the bill ??????

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/02_NOTEBOO/22_17/productdetails/80003374/Acer_17_3_7750G_2438G75MN_i5_2430M_8GB_750GB/LX_RCW02_069/default.aspx

Would the AMD Radeon HD6650M - 2GB be OK for running BF3 at reduced/tailored settings.

Here is a comprehensive review of the Radeon HD6650m - http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6650M.43962.0.html

As current generation graphics cards go it is about middle of the road. You can see the frame rates it gets in a lot of popular games listed down the page a bit. For example, it will run Battlefield 2 on medium settings at a pretty decent 33 - 50 frames per second. Anything lower than 30fps will start to become pretty noticeable.

If this card can play BF2 on medium settings ok then it should handle BF3.

I found the above website very helpful when comparing/contrasting graphics cards. Best of luck

EDIT: for what it's worth, the 2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M is a better card!

Blazer

beno619 wrote: »

That's a load of rubbish, GT 555m comes in the Alienware m14x and can be overclocked to gtx mobile graphics level and is a very good card for reasonably priced laptops.

GT 525 can play battlefield on medium too, the other cards yes are very poor and no better than intel 2nd gen integrated graphics.

I'm also looking at futureproofing it for a few years plus the res 1366x768 is crap really.
An adequate graphic card today is a shít card tomorrow in the pc world.

beno619

Sc@recrow wrote: »

beno619 wrote: »

That's a load of rubbish, GT 555m comes in the Alienware m14x and can be overclocked to gtx mobile graphics level and is a very good card for reasonably priced laptops.

GT 525 can play battlefield on medium too, the other cards yes are very poor and no better than intel 2nd gen integrated graphics.

I'm also looking at futureproofing it for a few years plus the res 1366x768 is crap really.
An adequate graphic card today is a shít card tomorrow in the pc world.

Then you would probably be looking at a GTX or amd 69xx... gt 540m is better than consoles tho

Macker1

How about this Laptop

Dell XPS 17

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor 2.40 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.00 GHz


Video Card:
3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics Card

with Memory: 6144MB (1x2GB, 1x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel SDRAM

Its about the best I can afford

Quandary

Macker1 wrote: »

How about this Laptop

Dell XPS 17

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor 2.40 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.00 GHz


Video Card:
3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics Card

with Memory: 6144MB (1x2GB, 1x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel SDRAM

Its about the best I can afford

That's a nice machine. The graphics card is also pretty decent, about 25% better performance than the GT 540M

According to reviews, That graphics card should play BF3 at over 30 frames per second on medium settings.

beno619

Macker1 wrote: »

How about this Laptop

Dell XPS 17

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor 2.40 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.00 GHz


Video Card:
3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics Card

with Memory: 6144MB (1x2GB, 1x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel SDRAM

Its about the best I can afford

Should be able to play in high quite fluently

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/620649-l702x-bf3.html