Got brand new laptop to play SWTOR, but doesn't play the game well enough !!!!

[ottslater]

I just got this computer off best buy.com ---> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+17.3%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5176239.p?id=1218621250769&skuId=5176239

 

and i've been playing swtor on it and i was told i should be able to run this game on full settings with zero lag .

 

But i run on average around 30 - 50 fps and i experience lag in dense zones, and on the imperial fleet i hop around from 30 to the high twenties and it studders!!!! ......

 

Its immensely frustrating and I really just want a damn computer that is affordable and can play this game the way it deserves to be played. I need some help !

[Zor-kai]

You're gonna have lag no matter what. That's more effected by your network connection and the game server.

Also gaming on a laptop is not as good as gaming on a desktop. Make sure your laptop is not overheating if it is then get a cooling pad to put underneath it while you are playing.

[Gruug]

The problem is you BELIEVED what Best Buy told you. Sorry, I like Best Buy but I only purchase those things that I know are good. I never take the word of a sales floor flunky that probably has less knowledge on the subject then you or me.

[ADPowah]

That's a pretty good laptop (though is it a Gen 3 i7?). Try messing with your settings, maybe try turning bloom and/or shadows off. They are both performance killers and add little to the visuals (imo). If that doesn't fix it or it isn't up to your standard I'd start looking at your drivers, downloading the newest drivers for your graphics card should help since the 660m is a pretty good card for that price point.

[ottslater]

So the low framerate has to do with internet connection your saying? Most people i know who have good computers run the game at a consistent 60 frames, and most people i have talked to said i shouldnt have a problem running it that well either.

[ottslater]

That's a pretty good laptop (though is it a Gen 3 i7?). Try messing with your settings, maybe try turning bloom and/or shadows off. They are both performance killers and add little to the visuals (imo). If that doesn't fix it or it isn't up to your standard I'd start looking at your drivers, downloading the newest drivers for your graphics card should help since the 660m is a pretty good card for that price point.

 

Yes its a 3rd gen processor

[ottslater]

That's a pretty good laptop (though is it a Gen 3 i7?). Try messing with your settings, maybe try turning bloom and/or shadows off. They are both performance killers and add little to the visuals (imo). If that doesn't fix it or it isn't up to your standard I'd start looking at your drivers, downloading the newest drivers for your graphics card should help since the 660m is a pretty good card for that price point.

 

Turning off bloom saved me like 10 fps so that helped ! And for nvidia, whats the best way to check for drivers?

[TheChervil]

It can depend on the speed of your internet connection.

I know that in our area both Charter and AT&T offer different speed plans.

The lowest rate plan can make games absolutely crawl.

 

Also, if you are trying to run it wirelessly, instead of directly connected, that can have an effect as well.

Make sure that you are close to your router and have a strong signal.

[ADPowah]

So are you having network lag (high latency, characters jumping around in fast forward motions after a delay) or video lag (choppiness, mini-freezes on open areas or congested places)?

 

If it's network lag, ya you need to consider your connection or router. If it is video lag then you'll want to work on your computer. First thing, check if you have any unnecessary processes running. See if your display is doing Full Screen (not windowed). Turn off Bloom and Shadows. Defrag your computer. Make sure you don't have junk programs (bloatware) installed from Best Buy. Finally update your graphics card drivers.

 

Lastly, did you hear from someone who actually owns a computer like yours that it will run SWTOR or did you just trust the Best Buy employee?

[jedip_enguin]

My laptop only has 4gig and a 560m and all is pretty good, only time I get major stutters is when there is tons of folk loading in at the fleet/gtn kiosk etc

 

I'd suggest making sure your power profile is on high performance, and making sure the 660 is set as the default card in your nVidia control panel.

Edited July 7, 2012 by jedip_enguin

[ottslater]

So are you having network lag (high latency, characters jumping around in fast forward motions after a delay) or video lag (choppiness, mini-freezes on open areas or congested places)?

 

If it's network lag, ya you need to consider your connection or router. If it is video lag then you'll want to work on your computer. First thing, check if you have any unnecessary processes running. See if your display is doing Full Screen (not windowed). Turn off Bloom and Shadows. Defrag your computer. Make sure you don't have junk programs (bloatware) installed from Best Buy. Finally update your graphics card drivers.

 

Lastly, did you hear from someone who actually owns a computer like yours that it will run SWTOR or did you just trust the Best Buy employee?

 

I read from reviews on different forums and sites that it runs swtor on high for them

[ottslater]

Another thing is, i was reading that alot of people are having framerate spikes since 1.3 came out, could that be a possible issue im having? I wouldn't know because i only started using this PC on this game after 1.3

[Senatsu]

The problem is most likely the fact that it's a laptop. Try to turn the battery savings to performance instead of long life, and put SWTOR on high priority from the task manager. Switching off some computer settings like dynamic background etc. could help a little bit. Could also put the game on an SSD instead of an HDD, should notice an improvement. Turning off Shadows and Bloom will definitely help.

 

Remember, SWTOR is an extreme power hog, only the best computers are able to play it above 70 FPS with everything on max, and it is well known that laptops aren't as powerful as a desktop even if the parts are same gen.

[ADPowah]

Switching the power profiles to performance is a good suggestion.

 

Here's where you can download the drivers.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

[ottslater]

The problem is most likely the fact that it's a laptop. Try to turn the battery savings to performance instead of long life, and put SWTOR on high priority from the task manager. Switching off some computer settings like dynamic background etc. could help a little bit. Could also put the game on an SSD instead of an HDD, should notice an improvement. Turning off Shadows and Bloom will definitely help.

 

Remember, SWTOR is an extreme power hog, only the best computers are able to play it above 70 FPS with everything on max, and it is well known that laptops aren't as powerful as a desktop even if the parts are same gen.

 

How do i make it high priority in task manager, and how do I put it on an SSD?

[Roalmo]

How do i make it high priority in task manager, and how do I put it on an SSD?

 

The SSD is not really workable for a laptop... limited storage capacity will screw-up your restore options, including the usual "hidden" disk with your OS back-up on it.

[Roalmo]

Switching the power profiles to performance is a good suggestion.

 

Here's where you can download the drivers.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

 

Do they have laptop specific drivers there or just generic....?

[GarfieldJL]

Your problem is basically you got a generic laptop from Best Buy. Regardless of whether or not someone claims a laptop is top of the line, unless you order it custom you have no way of knowing if that is the case.

 

Additionally, I have found one has more leeway on this when one buys a desktop, compared to a laptop because it is substancially easier to update the hardware of a desktop pc if you have to.

 

Years ago I got a laptop that was supposedly really good, only it didn't have Open GL support not to mention it had to get its screen replaced because there was a loose wire causing it to heat up... It lasted a long time but a lot of things couldn't run on it.

 

If you're going to get a laptop for gaming, you need to custom order it from the company that builds the laptop, otherwise it is rather likely the laptop won't be able to handle the games you want to play.

[Anti_Bodies]

I just got this computer off best buy.com ---> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+17.3%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5176239.p?id=1218621250769&skuId=5176239

 

and i've been playing swtor on it and i was told i should be able to run this game on full settings with zero lag .

 

But i run on average around 30 - 50 fps and i experience lag in dense zones, and on the imperial fleet i hop around from 30 to the high twenties and it studders!!!! ......

 

Its immensely frustrating and I really just want a damn computer that is affordable and can play this game the way it deserves to be played. I need some help !

 

It's typically beleived that its SWTOR's engine that is the problem. It, for whatever reason, handles really badly when around lots of people. I have a great computer like you do but when 25+ people are around it starts stuttering. Also do not get a SSD. It's just more money and will only improve performance in certain areas (like loading.) It will NOT improve your FPS around groups of people and will just cost you a lot of money.

 

 

If you're going to get a laptop for gaming, you need to custom order it from the company that builds the laptop, otherwise it is rather likely the laptop won't be able to handle the games you want to play.

 

http://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=524

these people build good laptops. I shopped around a lot and they offered the most bang for my buck. Deffinetly do not go with Alienware. Desktops do get you the most bang I should note. Laptops always cost more.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Anti_Bodies

[Alphasgimaone]

Have you tried this: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=394951 ?

 

It's not a magical solution for everyone. But it does work for certain problems. And what you described seems to be in that realm. Unfortunately to get the optimum benefit, you need 12 gigs. But just running the FX off the ramdisk my be enough to see an improvement. If it is, you can always spring for more ram. Laptop ram is exceptionally cheap right now.

 

Also, do you know what your CPU runs without the boost? Laptop boosting works a bit different with laptop CPUs than PCs. They usually under clock the idle/un-boosted cores to save on power. Also, the boost usually kicks in much slower.

 

It sounds a lot you're bottle necking at the CPU. The GPU is more than enough to run this game on medium-high. One way to know for sure is to turn on the FPS meter. With the improved meter from 1.3, you can tell because if the numbers are red, then you are indeed chocking at the CPU.

 

If that is the case, you maybe be able to use a program like K10STAT and turn off the boost and OC the normal cores. But I don't know much about those chips.

[Individual]

I just got this computer off best buy.com ---> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+17.3%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5176239.p?id=1218621250769&skuId=5176239

 

and i've been playing swtor on it and i was told i should be able to run this game on full settings with zero lag .

 

But i run on average around 30 - 50 fps and i experience lag in dense zones, and on the imperial fleet i hop around from 30 to the high twenties and it studders!!!! ......

 

Its immensely frustrating and I really just want a damn computer that is affordable and can play this game the way it deserves to be played. I need some help !

 

First, was there any reason why you got a laptop over a desktop? Desktops are always going to be more superior to playing games over laptops imo. Of course this is all considering the hardware. Laptops tend to overheat a lot more too while gaming. Desktops can also, but you can always adjust that fairly easy. Playing games on laptops is just.... not cool. However, if you are limited to what you can buy, then that's a pretty decent laptop to game on, but you could of still done better. I guess it's true you get what you pay for.

 

On another note. I play in a guild, and we've all been having issues with the game as of late. We're getting weird stutters in the game that almost resemble video issues, but it's really something that is going on with the server.

[Alphasgimaone]

First, was there any reason why you got a laptop over a desktop? Desktops are always going to be more superior to playing games over laptops imo. Of course this is all considering the hardware. Laptops tend to overheat a lot more too while gaming. Desktops can also, but you can always adjust that fairly easy. Playing games on laptops is just.... not cool. However, if you are limited to what you can buy, then that's a pretty decent laptop to game on, but you could of still done better. I guess it's true you get what you pay for.

I never cared for this way of thinking.

 

The cooling conditions can easily be remedied with a little common sense.

 

But I think people tend to underestimate the portability bonus. There's the obvious take it with you when you travel. Most people would (with good reason) argue the whole "well if you're on vacation, why do you to be gaming?" That's all true. But hotel rooms do often get boring and I'd much rather queue for some WZs than having to pay for some mediocre pr0n.

 

But there's also the little things like being able to take it out on the porch on a pleasant morning to get dailies done or just laying on the couch with a ballgame on while questing--that sort of thing.

 

Are they as good as a comparably priced desktop? Certainly not, but they do offer their own rewards.

[Bahlmung]

It's easy to tell if it's video lag, or internet lag.. if his fps is dropping and latency stays the same its going to be video lag. Has nothing to do with his internet.

 

Here's just the honest truth.. Everything in that rig says it should be able to play the game with no problems. The most likely reason it's lagging is probably due to either user error or over heating or a mix of both. Laptops are not engineered to play games, they never will be. Think of your processor for example, the more things you do on desktop, the more it works, the more it gets heated, then it eventually slows down. Some people put huge cooling rigs in there desktops just to prevent this wear and tear on it and other components in a desktop. But your laptop does the exact same thing and makes it worse, it works the processor and other components and the cramps all that heat in a tiny little area so that it can only damage itself more quickly.

 

Your video card is perfect, but if it gets too hot it will slow down.

Your processor is good, but if it gets to hot it will slow down.

You have about 2-4 gb more ram than you need, but it's still slow down if its hot.

 

It really is that simple, and should make perfect sense with any sense of how things work. Heat it almost always bad, other than the use of actually making electricity it's never a good thing.. A guitar can bend in heat, bridges expand in heat.. just like water, it damages most anything you can think of.. that's why engineers come up with ideas to get around it.. that's why all the pcb boards you find in computers are nearly fireproof.. Heat = bad, and I have no clue why they make laptops with awesome specs that will virtually never run at its full potential. Like the post above that said something about "over heating isn't a problem".. yes it is, even if you dont feel it.. it'll be there, it'll kill your laptop.

[Redat]

Why oh why.......... IF you have to game on a laptop, you are going to spend mega bucks on a decent piece of kit, this one is at best low-end. One major factor with laptops, is that unless its a dedicated gaming laptop, the hardware will ALWAYS struggle because they are not ideally suited to it, especially with the cut-down mobile graphics chipsets we see in this level of machine. Take it back, it was sold under false pretenses. Either get an Alienware laptop or something of that ilk or splash for a mid range desktop.

[Skoobie]

Why oh why.......... IF you have to game on a laptop, you are going to spend mega bucks on a decent piece of kit, this one is at best low-end. One major factor with laptops, is that unless its a dedicated gaming laptop, the hardware will ALWAYS struggle because they are not ideally suited to it, especially with the cut-down mobile graphics chipsets we see in this level of machine. Take it back, it was sold under false pretenses. Either get an Alienware laptop or something of that ilk or splash for a mid range desktop.

 

Asus makes far better products then Dell.

 

 

The biggest difference? Asus is made with Asus parts....Alienware is made of generic Foxconn parts.