Alienware 9700

[The Dude]

I dont meet the minimum requirements for CoD4 on my Alienware laptop, but i downloaded the demo, and ran it just fine on 1440x990 or whatever. with everything pretty much maxed out and it looked great. I exceeded all the requirements but the processor. and i failed the systemrequirementslab.com test for CoD4. Any explanations? Heres my system specs:

CPU - AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology ML -34
CPU Speed - 1.81 GHz Performance Rated at 2.26 GHz
RAM - 2.0 GB
OS - Windows XP Pro SP2
GFX - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS 256 mb


http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/bonus/a/register/t/analysis.tmpl

[Iwantcable]

Ok, I'm trying to find the problem here. You play the game maxed on your laptop, and are you getting poor FPS or something?

Don't worry about the min reqs. I had an older Dell Inspiron 9300 that I put 2GB of RAM into that played BF2142 with no lag (on low of course because I didn't have a dedi graphics card). Certainly it would fail a test, but that doesn't really mean much.

As long as it plays the game well, you're good to go ;). Nice laptop btw.

[The Dude]

Yeah the game plays well, i dont know what FPS i get. How can i check it? I thought it played amazingly well for only a 1.8 GHz CPU. Thanks for the help

[TheDesert_Fox]

fraps.com for FPS monitor

[Iwantcable]

or "/cg_drawFPS 1" in-game. Make sure you enable the console in options > game options first.

[The Dude]

well i used the /cg_draw FPS 1 and this is an example what i got

(14-21) 18 FPS
(49-79) 65 cg ms/frame

assuming my FPS was the 18, then the most i saw it spike at was 69..and thats only after the game reloaded when i died. During actual playing i rarely saw it past 30. It usually stayed in the 15-25 range. What do yall think?

[Iwantcable]

well i used the /cg_draw FPS 1 and this is an example what i got

(14-21) 18 FPS
(49-79) 65 cg ms/frame

assuming my FPS was the 18, then the most i saw it spike at was 69..and thats only after the game reloaded when i died. During actual playing i rarely saw it past 30. It usually stayed in the 15-25 range. What do yall think?

IMO, that's pretty low, I usually try to aim for 30+ FPS. But, in singleplayer it really isn't that big of a problem to have low FPS compared to multiplayer, where you'll want it to be as smooth as possible.

If you're getting 18 maxed, then you should be able to get 30+ for multiplayer on medium easily.

[The Dude]

Well 18 was right after the level loaded before we started moving to the apartments. During fighting i ran about 20 or 25. I had a few spikes in the 40s and 50s. So do you think i should be able to run this game MP just fine? Even with a 1.8GHz processor?

[Iwantcable]

Well 18 was right after the level loaded before we started moving to the apartments. During fighting i ran about 20 or 25. I had a few spikes in the 40s and 50s. So do you think i should be able to run this game MP just fine? Even with a 1.8GHz processor?

Yeah, maybe not maxed if you're playing with a lot of people (25+), but otherwise you should be fine. Remember it's mostly preference, some people turn the graphics all the way down just to keep their FPS over 60, others sacrifice FPS and keep their graphics turned up high.

You will definitely be able to play MP fine, but you may have to turn your graphics down to low or medium if you want to keep your FPS really high.

[solofowaffles]

This game is highly optimized it looks like.Anyways when they say you need a 2.4 ghz its for a single core processor,my core 2 duo @ 1.83 performs flawlessly.

[The Dude]

lol unfortunately i only have a single processor running at 1.8GHz

[redrider]

Single player that might be ok but it will be like any other game when you get to playing multiplayer it will lag just when you dont want it to ie. CQB. The reason being that in multiplayer your processor will have a lot more info to deal with. Kinda like playing in a full 64 player BF2 server with a ping around 50 or 60 but there are 6 or 7 others with a ping above 200!

If I were you Id still have to go for it but I would put a new computer on my wish list for Christmas. Anyway, good luck. . . . . . . . . . .Red

[sike3000]

yeah, systemrequirementslab tells me i fail the minimum, when i can play all low, 1024 x 768 res, NO LAG

[The Dude]

well i handle bf2 servers pretty much no problem. ill still buy it and wait and see. and theres no such thing as a christmas wish list for me! lol. thanks for the help guys

[redrider]

I have a wish list for Christmas but on the down side, being 47 and the dad, I am also santa, in my family. Which means that I buy almost all the gifts, dont tell the kids. The way I see it, if there is a chance to get free stuff you can even add me to the Great Pumpkins list (remember Charlie Brown / Linus). Anyway as I said Good Luck. . . . . . . . . .Red

[TheDesert_Fox]

Perhaps replace the processor?

[The Dude]

I would, but its a laptop.

[TheDesert_Fox]

Doesn't the documentation explain how?

I've got an old laptop using socket A that allowed me to replace the proc, so I just assumed.

[The Dude]

Maybe, ill have to call Alienware tech support. That would be awesome if i could.

[Vikaman]

I surprisingly can the game on all high, apart from AA and at 1280x780, at around 30-35 FPS.

This is on a 1GB, x700 mobility radeon.