Computers & Tablets

[cjd999]

Hello, bellow are the specs for my computer:

OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_ltsb.170427-1704)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 7848MB RAM
Graphics: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
Direct X: DirectX 11

I have two games that I am unable to play on my laptop: Batman Arkham Knight and Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator. I was told that in both cases by computer does not meet the minimum requirements to play them. Below are the minimum requirements for both games:

Arkham Knight

​OS: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.4 GHz
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (2 GB Memory Minimum) | AMD Radeon HD 7870 (2 GB Memory Minimum)
Direct X: Version 11

Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator

OS: Windows Vista Or Later

Processor: Intel Core i5 4590, AMD FX 8320 or greater

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Graphics: (DirectX 11) AMD Radeon HD 5770 1024MB | NVIDIA GTS 450 1024MB | Intel HD4000 @720P.

DirectX: Version 11

I am just curious as to what products I would need to upgrade my computer to be able to play these games and how much would the total cost be? Also I would need someone else to install the upgrades in my computer so I assume there will be additional expenses there. I am not interested in emptying my life savings to play some games but I am unsure if I will have this problem as new computer games come out in the future. Would it ultimately be cheaper to purchase a laptop that could play games? All of this is just to satisfy my curiosity. Thank you for your assistance on this matter.

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

The problem is going to be that laptops generally do not come with a dedicated video card (GPU) required to play a lot of games. Your computer has the Intel HD Graphics 4400 video card which draws power from your processor to render video instead of having a separate/dedicated video card chip.
With laptops, the hardware inside of them cannot be cost-effectively upgraded. The video card and processor are soldered into the motherboard, and while it's possible to replace them, it's expensive, lots of work, and you're very limited as to what you can use for the upgrade.

Part of the problem with laptop hardware is that they need to be able to manage heat. A desktop computer has a lot more room for cooling components like fans, heatsinks and heat pipes. A laptop is enclosed and the heat from all of the components needs to dissipate efficiently. You would need to find a processor and video card that your motherboard supports and make sure that these components would not draw more power or spew more heat than the existing cooling features can handle. You would also need to find a processor/video card chip from either other computers or on websites like eBay as these components are not sold in stores. This doesn't even factor in the cost of all these components coming out to total more than the computer was worth when it was new.

With laptops especially, you want to purchase more than what you need currently. "Gaming" laptops will cost more money and will be bulkier than regular laptops as they need more room for cooling and a dedicated video card.

Long story short, it's possible to upgrade, but almost never worth it.

[cjd999]

Thank you for providing me your insight, I really appreciate it.

If I were to consider purchasing a gaming laptop, what would you recommend? I would prefer to spend less money than I have to if I were to do this.

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

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cjd999 wrote:

Thank you for providing me your insight, I really appreciate it.

If I were to consider purchasing a gaming laptop, what would you recommend? I would prefer to spend less money than I have to if I were to do this.

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Give me a price range and I'll see what I can find.

[cjd999]

I would the minimum I am willing to pay at this time is $600 - $700. This isn't something I am looking to buy next weekend or anything but just something I am looking at down the road. I only have a handful of computer games and everything has been able to run on my current laptop aside from the two I mentioned. I don't want to spend a lot of money just to play a handful of games. However, I am also considering down the road as more games come out my current computer may not meet the minimum requirements.

[AWBrown Valued Contributor]

You may find it hard to find something to play Arkham Knight in the $700 range laptop wise. Your CPU while not the greatest probably isn't the reason for your issues but the GPU. Arkham Knight from experience is a VERY GPU intensive game.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gl72-6qd-001-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-alu...

I found this after a little bit of searching and thought I would share with you. While not the best machine by any means it would play Arkham Knight fairly well and MSi is a very reputable brand.

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

If you were to buy one now, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-960m-1tb-ha...  would probably be your best bet. 

Most gaming laptops are going to be in the $800+ range, but you're looking for a laptop with a dedicated video card (like the Nvidia GTX 960m in the one I linked earlier). I would also recommend that the computer has a solid state hard drive.