What graphics can I get away with for Oblivion !

kevpuk

kevpuk

kevpuk

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Looking to get a small & light laptop (really, 13" or smaller) with long battery life important. Realistically, a decent dual-core (i3/i5) is likely, as I have will need power from time to time, but wondering if I can get away with the latest iterations of onboard/integrated gfx.

Actually, all I will need the gfx to be capable of is HD playback (which I gather most modern chips are capable of with little effort) for AVCHD clips et al., and *very* occasional gaming - read: Oblivion is the only game I have, oh, and Prey ;)

So, I have quite a shortlist growing, but am kinda wondering what minimum gfx I will need for Oblivion. Some reports suggest that the GMA4500HD may well be sufficient (@ 1366x768 or similar) without hideous compromise.....or perhaps some of the earlier ATi gfx (4330 or such like ?).

Would appreciate some thoughts, and - even better - actual framerate/detail information if anyone has this ?

Thing is, really, it is hard to justify the scary amount more cash for many *decent* dedicated gfx (and the associated battery life droop) for only occasional gaming......but, if I have to, then will :)

I like the look of one of the Acer TimelineX 3820TG, for example) or perhaps a hp Envy, but figure I might be able to avoid spending quite so much......
 
I'm afraid yo wont get everything you ask for for under £700. If you want small and portable, yet powerful enough for light gaming, the Acer is one of the best to fit your purpose.

If you don't mind adding some weight, there is the HP dm4-1060ea with similar graphics capabilities, and the up and coming Samsung QX410. Both are bulkier than your needs.

There is talks of a 3820TG with a RM HD 5650, but don't hold your breath. You may be able to get the 4820TG with a 5650. Again, heavier and bigger.

I wouldn't be gaming on a GMA, unless it's stuff like Quake, quake 2, or even Quake 3 era. Even Quake 3 will struggle.

If you want a cheaper alternative, you have the Asus 1215N with Optimus ion2 graphics and a dual core atom D525 @ 1.8GHz, 2GB. It's 12'' bit fits the bill pretty convincingly imo. It's £430.

If you want cheaper still, you have the HP 311c netbook, with single core atom and Ion graphics, but not so good on batteries (still decent).

so in the scale of things.

HP 311c netboock £240 (12'', ion + atom, 1 GB)
Asus 1215N netbook £430 (12'', ion2 + dual core atom, 2GB)
Acer Timeline 3820TG £650 (13'', HD 5470 + i3-330m, 3GB)
HP DM4-1060ea £800 (14'', HD 5450 + i3-330m, 3GB)
Samsung QX410 £??? (14'', GT310M + i5)
Alienware M11X £900 (11'', i5 + GT335M).
HP Envy 14 £1000 (14'', i5 + HD 5650)
Sony Vaio Z £1400-£2000 (13'', i5 + GT330m).

And the mystery item, the UL30VT (Core Duo CULV + GT210M), impossible to find unfortunately, but cheaper than the 3820TG.

All details about frame rate and GPU comparaison can be found here.
 
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Good words, thanks :)

Won't go Atom route at all, really do want to have CPU power on tap for certain uses....

Still, there is also the imminent Asus Bamboo :)
 
Bamboo looks great, and seems to have some decent hardware as well (310M is low spec but good enough for low quality gaming). Hope the screen has better viewing angles than my UL30A.
 
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Yup, Bamboo seems to be a really good mix.....small, light, decent battery, optical drive (!) and reasonable gaming potential (i.e. sufficient for the odd quick fix of Oblivion !)
 
olivier renault said:
HP 311c netboock £240 (12'', ion + atom, 1 GB)
Asus 1215N netbook £430 (12'', ion2 + dual core atom, 2GB)
Acer Timeline 3820TG £650 (13'', HD 5470 + i3-330m, 3GB)
HP DM4-1060ea £800 (14'', HD 5450 + i5-430m, 4GB)
Samsung QX410 £??? (14'', GT310M + i5)
Alienware M11X £900 (11'', i5 + GT335M).
HP Envy 14 £1000 (14'', i5 + HD 5650)
Sony Vaio Z £1400-£2000 (13'', i5 + GT330m).
Click to expand...

:)
 
Gaming you'll pretty much get the standard 1.5-2.5 hours, it's the same with any laptop though. Web browsing and such is more like 6.5.

Runs CoD4 fine at 1366x768, medium settings. I've not tried oblivion.

The only one I can think of that comes very close to your requirements is the Acer Aspire 4820TG:

Core i5
4GB
500GB
5650
14" (Slim)
Up to 12 hour battery

But it's £900.
 
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Raikiri said:
Gaming you'll pretty much get the standard 1.5-2.5 hours, it's the same with any laptop though. Web browsing and such is more like 6.5.

Runs CoD4 fine at 1366x768, medium settings. I've not tried oblivion.

The only one I can think of that comes very close to your requirements is the Acer Aspire 4820TG:

Core i5
4GB
500GB
5650
14" (Slim)
Up to 12 hour battery

But it's £900.
Click to expand...

Wow, 6.5hrs is good - as for gaming, well it really will be occasional. Time to look at the DM4 a little closer too :)
Yup, the 4820TG (with 5650) is arguably perfect, but no-one seems to actually have that model in stock yet....lots of other variants of the 4820TG only. Then again, was kinda hoping to keep below 14".....meh, not easy !
 
Well, there is a variant of the 3820TG around with a 5650 (and apparently better cooling than the 4820TG).

I just don't understand the reluctance of the big Korean manufacturers to supply the UK with decent switchable graphics notebooks. Is the UK some kind of IT backwater?

The only truly interesting alternative is the 1215N (not very powerful, but I can't help but wish it will do well so we can get some decent competition).

However now we're beginning to see some decent hardware (the new Envy 14, but uk, you get no Radiance screen boohoo, the new sammys, the HP dm4), but it's like 8 months behind the US and a year behind the Asian market. The laptop market is quite crowded, I suppose they are just trying to shift their older crap before selling the good stuff.

And it took such a long for the manufacturers to wise up to the Apple design. It's about time we see some well thought out notebooks.

<rant over>
 
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