Bioshock

[nedney]

So I've been itching for something new to play, and since I'm studying in Germany this spring, I'm not taking my Wii with me or my PC, but rather my new Thinkpad. It has a Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2 Ghz, 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM, and an nVidia Quandro NVS 140M (128 MB). Will I be able to play Bioshock on this? To be honest, I don't particularly care about incredible graphics. If it runs smoothly and doesn't look like absolute crap, I'm fine with that. The minimum requirements say a P4 2.4 with 128MB GP while the recommended requirements just say Intel Core 2 Duo processer (video card with 512 MB is obviously out of the question). So, do you think I'll be able to run Bioshock on my Thinkpad? I have a 8800 GTS 640MB in my PC, so I could just wait till the summer, but I REALLY want to play this game.

 

[Kromis]

I doubt you'll be able to run it even PROPERLY

You know how it is with laptop graphic cards and drivers...

 

[DangerAardvark]

IMO, a good chunk of the enjoyment comes from the graphics and audio. Atmosphere is a huge part of the game.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how well it would run. However, I can suggest downloading the demo and installing/running that before splurging on the game, just to get an idea for how well it works or doesn't work.

You can grab the demo here.

 

[ja1484]

I managed to get it running fine on an A64 3500+, 2GB, 6600GT machine...but it sure as hell didn't look like the screenshots. So yeah, you *can* do it...if you're willing to sacrifice some detail. It didn't look horrid...pretty much like an Unreal Engine 2 game.

 

[CP5670]

That Quadro 140 is apparently equivalent to an 8400M. Not exactly fast, but at the same time Bioshock is relatively light on hardware compared to some other recent games. You can probably play it decently with the resolution and some settings turned down.

Although if you already have an 8800GTS, you might as well wait until you return home and play on that system at maxed settings. The game's graphics are extremely inconsistent but some areas do look great and are worth waiting for.

 

[nedney]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how well it would run. However, I can suggest downloading the demo and installing/running that before splurging on the game, just to get an idea for how well it works or doesn't work.

You can grab the demo here.

Great idea; I'll do that right away.


In the meantime, can anyone recommend a game that I CAN run on my laptop? Something to keep me occupied for the next four months? I realized last week that I left my Warcraft 3: TFT disc inside my PC, which is now in storage in another city. I've been playing Rise of Nations: TaP a lot lately.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nedney
So I've been itching for something new to play, and since I'm studying in Germany this spring, I'm not taking my Wii with me or my PC, but rather my new Thinkpad. It has a Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2 Ghz, 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM, and an nVidia Quandro NVS 140M (128 MB). Will I be able to play Bioshock on this? To be honest, I don't particularly care about incredible graphics. If it runs smoothly and doesn't look like absolute crap, I'm fine with that. The minimum requirements say a P4 2.4 with 128MB GP while the recommended requirements just say Intel Core 2 Duo processer (video card with 512 MB is obviously out of the question). So, do you think I'll be able to run Bioshock on my Thinkpad? I have a 8800 GTS 640MB in my PC, so I could just wait till the summer, but I REALLY want to play this game.

Play it *now*
--it is a relative short game and graphics really "make" the experience
... after your first weekend, then what?


if you are unsure about your notebook's HW, just D/L the BS demo.

i would take a long game with me instead ... maybe a RPG that doesn't need superb graphics.

 

[Extelleron]

Consider the Orange Box if you haven't played it yet. Episode 2 is great and so is Portal, Episode 1/HL2 come with the OB so if you haven't played them either it's a really good deal. Also, you get TF2 to play online.

 

[Oil]

I haven't tried it on my T61 but you can probably play it decently at 1280x800

 

[maxster]

You can run it in Directx8 for faster graphics.