What can I expect from this laptop

[Cromat]

Hey
My dad got a new laptop through some deal for almost nothing (about $100) and he decided to give it to me (yay!). Now I realize this is a very basic laptop with integrated graphics so it'll probably run new games like crap (it's OK I have an Xbox 360), but I want to know what can I expect overall.
More importantly i'd like to know if it will be able to run Civilization IV and Guild Wars well.
And maybe know how will it handle their future sequels (Civ 5 and Guild Wars 2) although I imagine it probably won't be able to run them.

These are the specs:

Toshiba Satellite C650
Intel Pentium Dual Core T4500 @ 2.3GHz
RAM: 3GB DDR3 1066MHz
HD: 320GB @ 5400RPM
Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit


For reference, this is the computer I currently have (very old, from 2004):

AMD Athlon XP 2800
RAM: 512MB
HD: 60GB
nVidia GeForceFX 5700 LE
Windows XP

I imagine the laptop will have better performance right? Even though it doesn't have the dedicated graphics card.

So what kind of performance can I expect from this laptop for games?

Thanks in advance

 

[Rakewell]

Better performance than your first PC, but that 4500M won't do very much....

You'll be able to play a few things... POPCAP Games, older ones, etc.

I wouldn't expect much from that laptop gaming wise.

 

[tviceman]

Ehhhh.... simple games. Browser games. Not much else. My wife just got a toshiba with the same GPU as yours, even a game like Civ 4 (undemanding by yesterday's standards) runs around 10-12 fps at the lowest settings.

 

[Cromat]

Wow really?
My old PC could handle Civ IV pretty well... that's discouraging.
But like I said.. it's almost for free...

 

[gorcorps]

Wow really?
My old PC could handle Civ IV pretty well... that's discouraging.
But like I said.. it's almost for free...

On board graphics with no dedicated memory aren't good for much of anything.

 

[Harvey]

Your exact model appears to be model Satellite C655-S5052. From the specs, it's a nice, well appointed entry level laptop with a couple of nice extras, including wireless n and a webcam. You can probably find deals for similarly equipped machines from major manufacturers for less than their MSRP of $519.99, but as long as it works without hassles, your dad got a hell of a deal, and you scored. :thumbsup:

As you noted, it has onboard video. Toshiba's page says it uses 128MB-1341MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory, which is subtracted from the total 3 GB of RAM available to run apps. That means, one thing that could help your gaming, as well as your ability to run large apps, would be adding RAM, especially since it comes with the 64 bit version of Win 7.

Toshiba's site doesn't state the maximum amount of RAM your machine will take. If it's 4 GB, look for a deal a on single 2 GB stick of PC3-8500 (1066MHz) DDR3. Toshiba sells it for $70, but Newegg has several brands for around $50, and you may find it on special for less. You can sell the 1 GB stick to offset some of the cost.

It would be more expensive to max it out if the max RAM for your machine is 8 GB. 2 x 4 GB sticks start around $240 - $250, and I'm not a gamer so I don't know enough about the rest of the hardware to know how much it will improve gaming.

It's a big step up from your old machine so I hope you enjoy what you have, for now. Hope that helps.

 

[xCxStylex]

To specifically answer your questinos, Guild wars 1 you can run fine. 2 not at all. Don't know about civ.

 

[Oyeve]

WOW should run fine, other than that not much else but flash games.

 

[Cromat]

Thanks for all the replies
I'll guess we'll have to wait and see. I saw some videos on YouTube of people getting decent FPS on similar laptops with the right tweaking. Hopefully on a turn-based strategy game like Civ the framerate won't matter as much.

 

[Rifter]

that intel chipset is literally the worst graphics you can have with a new laptop. I would expect it to play nothing made in the last 6 or 7 years.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Your old PC is better for games because 5700 LE >>>>> Integrated graphics.

My old PC with an Athlon XP 2800+, 512MB RAM, and ti4600 could play Halo, Half Life 2, UT2004, Civ4, Guild Wars, BF2, etc. all excellently. When I tried Halo, CS:S, and UT2k4 on a laptop with C2D and Intel integrated graphics they ran like crap and were unplayable or were just barely playable even at the lowest settings.

If you don't need a laptop and want some performance, I would sell it and get a new desktop. Something decent enough to run any new game well should be around $400 or less.