Should I buy this?

[UniMag]

Hi.

I've recently discovered and took interest in this game. I'm of an age where I remember playing the first game in the mid 80's and loved it.

I could do with opinions on whether my current acer aspire V3-771g would run the game.

It has an i7-3610QM quad core processor with 16GB of RAM and a GeForce GT650m GPU.

I would play with the laptop plugged into a 42" plasma via HDMI and with a 360 controller. Would this mean the resolution would not need to go beyond 1080 resolution and thus helping frame rate?

I usually game on my xbox one from the comfort of the sofa, which suits my home setup so wouldn't be bothered to make any major investment in a proper gaming rig or other peripherals.

Just looking for opinions really from people with more experience with PC gaming.

Thanks in advance

 

[UniMag]

Anyone?

 

[Cody]

Hello and welcome - I'm no expert when it comes to laptops, but I think yours would run the game okay.
I'm sure someone else will be along shortly with more definitive advice.

 

[Aleksej]

If your TV has max resolution of 1920x1080 then that is the max resolution you can play with. You might be able to play the game with your current laptop, most probably you won't be able to play the game at max graphical settings.

According to the information found in another thread:

My current system has 16GB memory, a solid state SSD with Geforce GT 640M and is getting rubbish framerates even running at extremely low resolutions like 1200 by 800. Using Alpha 1.1 I'm getting a maximum of 30fps, but usually around 20fps or lower...

and according to GPU specs found at http://www.geforce.co.uk/

GT650M differs from GT640M only by having higher frequency. So I would not expect much better frame rate.

 

[Obsidian Ant]

Hi.

I've recently discovered and took interest in this game. I'm of an age where I remember playing the first game in the mid 80's and loved it.

I could do with opinions on whether my current acer aspire V3-771g would run the game.

It has an i7-3610QM quad core processor with 16GB of RAM and a GeForce GT650m GPU.

I would play with the laptop plugged into a 42" plasma via HDMI and with a 360 controller. Would this mean the resolution would not need to go beyond 1080 resolution and thus helping frame rate?

I usually game on my xbox one from the comfort of the sofa, which suits my home setup so wouldn't be bothered to make any major investment in a proper gaming rig or other peripherals.

Just looking for opinions really from people with more experience with PC gaming.

Thanks in advance

I have a laptop that I run Elite: Dangerous on. These are the laptop specs:

i7-3632QM
GT740m GPU
8gb RAM

Your CPU is a fair bit better than mine, and our GPUs are about the same. I can run the Alpha 1.1 of Elite without much problem. I get an average of 20fps to 25fps at 1080p with most settings set to medium. When set to 720p I get over 30fps on the early scenarios.

But things maybe a bit different once in Beta, as there will be other stuff going on - like a full simulated Galaxy. I also have no idea how the laptop will perform inside stations, or during multiplay. But I suspect it will run it without much problems, even if I have to turn down to 720p and put graphics on medium.

EDIT: I will update later to let you know what fps I get on the 'Incursion' level, which has a lot of on screen action.

 

[Cody]

There you go, UniMag - definitive advice!

 

[INaeem]

Welcome back Commander!

I’m no expert but your listed specs far exceed my own and I effortlessly participate in alpha using an xbox 360-pad. Absolutely you should buy this game; premium beta is scheduled to start 30th May. Plentiful veterans from all the way back are reliving past memories and emotions, to say were giddy is truly an understatement. Elite is shaping up masterfully!

Kudos and thank you for your continued loyalty!

Take care and Elite!

 

[UniMag]

Thanks a lot folks for the valuable feedback.

I'm not super fussed about resolution providing the frame rate is pretty stable.

In any case, with outputting it to the tv it will allow more distance resulting in not such a need for the highest resolution.

I just wanna enjoy the game without finding out I've wasted my money if my laptop struggles.

Thanks again

 

[Stachel]

But things maybe a bit different once in Beta, as there will be other stuff going on - like a full simulated Galaxy. I also have no idea how the laptop will perform inside stations, or during multiplay. But I suspect it will run it without much problems, even if I have to turn down to 720p and put graphics on medium.

EDIT: I will update later to let you know what fps I get on the 'Incursion' level, which has a lot of on screen action.

^ This. You have no chance of playing the finished game with any kind of smoothness sadly. Vast majority of non-specialist GPUS in laptops are just not going to cut it. Good news is, pretty much any mid range GPU + quad core chip from the last 5 years will.

But things maybe a bit different once in Beta, as there will be other stuff going on - like a full simulated Galaxy. I also have no idea how the laptop will perform inside stations, or during multiplay. But I suspect it will run it without much problems, even if I have to turn down to 720p and put graphics on medium.

EDIT: I will update later to let you know what fps I get on the 'Incursion' level, which has a lot of on screen action.

^ This. You have pretty much no chance of playing the finished game with any kind of smoothness sadly. Vast majority of non-specialist GPUS in laptops are just not going to cut it. Good news is, pretty much any mid range discreet GPU + quad core chip from the last 5 years will.

Mmmmmultipost!

 

[Calico Jack]

My laptop has a worse CPU and a slightly better GPU than yours: i5 3230m, HD8850m.

It runs Alpha 1.1 very smoothly at medium settings and 1080p. However, I have no idea how the Beta and release versions will run on it. I am hopeful I will be able to play the game to an extent, but will reserve pvp play for my desktop.

Will happily let you know how the Beta runs on it, if you haven't bought in by that point.

 

[UniMag]

^ This. You have pretty much no chance of playing the finished game with any kind of smoothness sadly. Vast majority of non-specialist GPUS in laptops are just not going to cut it. Good news is, pretty much any mid range discreet GPU + quad core chip from the last 5 years will.

I'm confused now as to whether or not the GPU in my laptop will run it?!?

 

[Aleksej]

I'm confused now as to whether or not the GPU in my laptop will run it?!?

It will run it, however do not expect high frame rate.

 

[Smugallo]

My wife bought me a 'gaming' laptop 2 years ago. It has an i7 processor and an nVidia graphics thingy in it. It barely runs ED at a decent framerate and the heat and noise coming from the laptop is just too much to bear. I have a good desktop that runs it no problem though.

Please don't ruin your ED experience by playing it on a laptop.

 

[Obsidian Ant]

I'm confused now as to whether or not the GPU in my laptop will run it?!?

Yes it will run the game fine - at least the current single player build Premium Beta backers have access to. However, there's no telling yet how well it will run the beta once the galaxy simulation has been added.

I suspect you will probably get around 20fps, but we won't know for sure until 15 May, once the new Alpha build is released. Maybe at that point someone will be able to give you more up to date information.

 

[Stachel]

Yes it will run the game fine - at least the current single player build Premium Beta backers have access to. However, there's no telling yet how well it will run the beta once the galaxy simulation has been added.

I suspect you will probably get around 20fps, but we won't know for sure until 15 May, once the new Alpha build is released. Maybe at that point someone will be able to give you more up to date information.

The problem is threefold: 1. cpu, 2. gpu, 3. memory bandwidth.

Laptops that aren't designed and spec'd as desktop replacements tend to gimp 2 and 3. Marketed as whizz bang billion core amazing intel whatever but totally gimped by being attached to last gen or worse chipsets. The constant sucking and blowing of hot air drives me nuts personally. That and the often crappy resolution.

In a twitch game 20fps is going to be nigh unplayable. I mean it depends entirely on your definition of playable obviously - I'm not averse to turning down the detail myself. But really, 60fps @ 1080p is the baseline for anything that requires constant input and involves a lot of frame drawning.

I guess if you don't have a desktop pc with a discreet gpu (and off the shelf ones aren't much better than laptops in most cases) and can't or won't buy one, then wait and see ..

 

[INaeem]

Elite: Dangerous will be available on both Windows PC and three months later on Apple Macintosh computers.
The Alpha build is available only on Windows. You will be able to download the released game on Windows and/or Macintosh computers once it is available, at no extra charge.
Development of the game is ongoing, and so recommended specifications are currently only available for the Alpha builds.

Minimum recommended hardware specification:
Direct X 11
Quad Core CPU ( 4 x 2Ghz is a reasonable minimum)
2 GB System RAM (more is always better)
DX 10 hardware GPU with 1GB video ram
Internet connection


Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 7.x
Windows 8.x


For the final game the minimum hardware specifications may be lower as further code optimisations are completed.

 

[scrufferpops]

Mmmmmultipost!

*said in the voice of quake 3 arena*

The problem is threefold: 1. cpu, 2. gpu, 3. memory bandwidth.

Laptops that aren't designed and spec'd as desktop replacements tend to gimp 2 and 3. Marketed as whizz bang billion core amazing intel whatever but totally gimped by being attached to last gen or worse chipsets. The constant sucking and blowing of hot air drives me nuts personally. That and the often crappy resolution.

In a twitch game 20fps is going to be nigh unplayable. I mean it depends entirely on your definition of playable obviously - I'm not averse to turning down the detail myself. But really, 60fps @ 1080p is the baseline for anything that requires constant input and involves a lot of frame drawning.

I guess if you don't have a desktop pc with a discreet gpu (and off the shelf ones aren't much better than laptops in most cases) and can't or won't buy one, then wait and see ..

60 fps as a baseline? Seriously?
I heard the human eye can't destinguish between 40 fps and 60 fps so 40 should be easily doable. I'd stick my neck out and say even 30 fps is sufficient for a good gaming experience.

Indeed, many xbox and xbox one games drop to 30 frames per second on some games and thats considered to be ok.

 

[huwthomas]

OP, since it appears to be "run it on this laptop or not at all" in your case, I think the safest thing to do would be to wait and see how other people with similar mobile graphics get on with the beta or even the gamma.

 

[Aleksej]

60 fps as a baseline? Seriously?
I heard the human eye can't destinguish between 40 fps and 60 fps so 40 should be easily doable. I'd stick my neck out and say even 30 fps is sufficient for a good gaming experience.

Indeed, many xbox and xbox one games drop to 30 frames per second on some games and thats considered to be ok.

It is easy to distinguish 40 fps and 60 fps in games. 30fps is definitely not sufficient for PC games.

Here is the test, the difference is clearly seen:
http://frames-per-second.appspot.com/

 

[Vargur]

60 fps as a baseline? Seriously?
I heard the human eye can't destinguish between 40 fps and 60 fps so 40 should be easily doable. I'd stick my neck out and say even 30 fps is sufficient for a good gaming experience.

Indeed, many xbox and xbox one games drop to 30 frames per second on some games and thats considered to be ok.

It is true that the human eye can not distinguish video footage at 30 fps from 60 fps. But the issue with fps in twitch based games like first person shooters mainly is about cursor responsiveness. Having your fps go up and down over an amplitude of 30 fps will make the mouse movement behave very jagged and sluggish because of frame loss.
Also the readouts of fps is not exactly the same as what we see on the screen.
A simple example is when you have a game that runs at let's say 5 fps, while in reality what you see is more close to 1 fps as you can pretty much count the frames as they appear.