CPU speed from the last century-- help!

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dartemis24

New Member
I recently discovered the joys of video games, and I would really like to play some on my laptop. But when I bought it 2 years or so ago, I was looking for work laptop instead of gaming laptop. So I settled for a pretty modest one.

Specs
OS: Vista Home Premium
System: Dell Vostro 1500 X86-based PC
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo CPU T5270 @ 1.40GHz, 1401 Mhz, 2 Cores, 2 Logical Processors
Total Physical Memory: 2,037.57 MB
Total Virtual Memory: 4.19 GB
RAM: 2 GB
HD: 136 GB

And I found out that almost all games I want to play need at LEAST 1.7 GHz processors. Which is pretty far away from what I have.


So, how should I fix this problem? Should I replace my processor? If so, should I do it myself, and which processors will be compatible with my laptop?

Thanks in advance. :)
 
Its extremely hard to replace the processor in a laptop. The other issue you will have is with a video card (most laptops do not have a good GPU since laptops are small and get hot easily).

I'd say your beest bet is to build a desktop. I know it sounds like a stretch but it would be extremely difficult to upgrade your laptop. You could probably build a decent gaming one for around 600 (no keyboard, monitor, mouse)..

Your other option is a console. Depending on what type of gaming you enjoy, you may and would probably be satisfied with a gaming console which is somewhat cheaper than a computer (especially if you already have a TV). If youre more of a casual gamer, I'd reccomend a Wii or if you want something with better graphics and a more mature game selection, I'd say go with xbox 360. Both run around 250-300 USD.
 
no no no your fine. Most of the games say 1.7Ghz, but that means a single core. You have the Core 2 Duo which is two cores, essentially you have 2.8 Ghz in your computer, for now, you are fine.
 
awildgoose said:
no no no your fine. Most of the games say 1.7Ghz, but that means a single core. You have the Core 2 Duo which is two cores, essentially you have 2.8 Ghz in your computer, for now, you are fine.
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you can't jsut add up the speeds of 2 cores. ;) I have to agree with you tough that he'll be fine. what they mean with 1.7GHz, is what I suspect a P4 etc. a Core 2 Duo at 2GHz for example will easely outperform a 3.4GHz Pentium 4 prescott.

I say, try to install the game, and see how it runs. I dont think the processor will give you any trouble.. I think the grafic's card might tough.
 
Archangel said:
you can't jsut add up the speeds of 2 cores. ;) I have to agree with you tough that he'll be fine. what they mean with 1.7GHz, is what I suspect a P4 etc. a Core 2 Duo at 2GHz for example will easely outperform a 3.4GHz Pentium 4 prescott.

I say, try to install the game, and see how it runs. I dont think the processor will give you any trouble.. I think the grafic's card might tough.
Click to expand...

Sure you can, just get the calculator out ;)

But also, it might not work because you probably don't have a GPU, so that means all your graphical stuff is going to go through your CPU and that will weigh it down so much.
But yeh I guess try, and then come back with your results.
 
try overclocking the cpu and the gpu to get increaced performance but dont overdo it though cause u could screw up your laptop:D you can overclock your grafics card using riveria tuner free download on the internet:good::good:
 
awildgoose said:
Sure you can, just get the calculator out
Click to expand...
Umm no, it's parallel processing, not serial...

vanapa said:
try overclocking the cpu and the gpu to get increaced performance but dont overdo it though cause u could screw up your laptop:D you can overclock your grafics card using riveria tuner free download on the internet:good::good:
Click to expand...

99.9% of laptops can't be overclocked on the CPU. The only one I know of is the Dell XPS m1730. Overclocking the GPU also isn't a good idea if it's possible. The extra heat could wreak havoc with the cooling...
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies. I was busy irl, so this reply is kind of late.


I bought and tried to run my computer on Steam. Sadly, my laptop freaked and Team Fortress 2 (the game I bought) kept switching between "Not Responding" and "Running" mode.

I think my CPU usage was ~70% and Physical Memory ~85%. That seems pretty high to me, but you guys are the experts.

I'm going to try running it on my older desktop to see if it works. Buying another computer is definitely not an option for me right now. :(


Also I noticed that in Task Manager's Performance tab, there are 2 graphs under CPU Usage History. I assume that it's the dual processors shown in graphs...? Anyway, while I was running TF2, I noticed that the graph on the left was skyrocketing while the one on the right was pretty low. (I'd say 1/3 or so.) Would that have anything to do with my inability to play the game?


I'll report back, but thanks for the help, guys. :)

Also, any other suggestions?
 
Concerning the CPU usage, it's usually going to be high and there shouldn't be cause for alarm. GTAIV causes a load of about 80-85% when playing normally and 97% in the benchmark, on my computer. And yes the 2 graphs indicate that the OS sees 2 cores, if the computer were to run a Pentium 4, Atom or Core i7 it would also show a similar thing due to a technology called Hyper-threading.

How far do you get after starting Team Fortress 2? Team Fortress 2 should run even on a low-end computer due to the scalability of the Source engine. Concerning the utilization of cores, Team Fortress 2 has a feature called Multi-core rendering in the Video section of the Options menu, which should allow the game to use several cores on systems that can do it.
 
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To mrjack:

First time I entered the game arena, and then was shot to death by a Scout. (I was frozen, so I couldn't do anything. (S)he typed in LOL while killing me. That hurt a bit.) Then TF2 decided not to respond to me anymore, so I had to force quit after waiting around for 4 minutes or so.

Second and third time, I got up to either connecting to the server or the prep area right after being connected to the server. (Where the educational videos show you the objective of the map and such.)


What happens is that TF2 doesn't respond for 15-20 seconds, runs for 10 seconds, doesn't respond for another 20, and runs, until I get too frustrated.

It usually freezes when the window first comes up, as well.


Also: when I first try to open TF2 in Steam, there's an error message that says, "Unknown Video Card". "Your video card does not appear in our database. ... you may or may not be able to play the game with sufficient stability or performance. We would appreciate your help in ensuring that we have sufficient information to address your video card and driver in the future....

Your Driver details/
Windows Version: Windows Vista,
Description": Mobile Intel (R) 965 Express
Chipset Family, Version: 7.14.10.1272."

It then gives me an option to continue or to cancel. I don't know how I failed to mention this before, but do you think my video card might be the problem?


Because when I did that multi-core thing you recommended, the CPU usage seemed pretty evened out. (Lots of thanks for that, by the way :).)


Ugh, my first video game experience isn't what I expected it to be.

Thanks for the reply, guys.
 
Oh, and mrjack: impressive numbers relating to your computer system, by the way. :good: I'm not much of an expert, but still, it seems a lot higher than regular.
 
awildgoose said:
Sure you can, just get the calculator out ;)

But also, it might not work because you probably don't have a GPU, so that means all your graphical stuff is going to go through your CPU and that will weigh it down so much.
But yeh I guess try, and then come back with your results.
Click to expand...

goose ur failing right now, lol dont have a gpu, they do but more than likely its not that great,

to the op i ran css on my toshiba satelite 1.5ghz pentium m cpu, 1gb ram, and ati x200 with 128 video it wasnt flawless but it worked
 
Based on what I've found out about the Vostro 1500 it should be able to run pretty much any game built on the Source game engine. Vostro 1500 has either the nVidia 8400M GS or the 8600GT, both of which should allow you to run the game, though the game will probably require you to run it on low settings for it to work well. However could you check what it says in the Device Manager about Display Adapters? Just click the start button, then on Control Panel, System And Maintenance, Device Manager and lastly open up the Display Adapters section. Additional info should be available if you right-click and open up the properties of the entry in the Display Adapters section.
 
to mr.jack:

Well, I checked my Display adapters and it said that my graphics card is Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family.

Under the Driver tab, it says that Driver Version is 7.14.10.1272.

I remember choosing the default graphics card when I ordered my Vostro... could it be that this graphics card is too low-function?

Thanks for helping me. :)
 
It seems like you only have an integrated graphics chip to work with, and they are definitely not meant for gaming. In other words it is indeed too low-function.
 
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