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Will these games play good?

post #1 of 17
1/24/04 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
I might be getting an alienware with these specs:

Area51-M 16.1 LCD/Pentium 4 3.0ghz/ 1024MB RAM/
ATI 9600 mobility/60GB HD

Would a computer with these specs be able to play GTA3, Wolfienstien Enemy Territory, Star Wars Galaxies, and flight sim 04 without any slow downs? I know with the computer i have now (dell) i find it hard to play any game without jumpy graphics. It is starting to make me not want to be a computer gamer, but then i saw alienware.....you know the story.

Thanks in advance for your help!
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post #2 of 17
1/24/04 at 4:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmeraldICE
I might be getting an alienware with these specs:

Area51-M 16.1 LCD/Pentium 4 3.0ghz/ 1024MB RAM/
ATI 9600 mobility/60GB HD

Would a computer with these specs be able to play GTA3, Wolfienstien Enemy Territory, Star Wars Galaxies, and flight sim 04 without any slow downs? I know with the computer i have now (dell) i find it hard to play any game without jumpy graphics. It is starting to make me not want to be a computer gamer, but then i saw alienware.....you know the story.

Thanks in advance for your help!
You will be capable fo playing them all with now slow down on your new computer...

some issues that may aris though:
1)overheating (get a cooling pad)
2)ghosting (thats just the way it is with mobile gaming,)
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post #3 of 17
1/24/04 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
Would it be bad ghosting or ghosting that is almost not noticeable? Is there any cooling pad that you recommend or are they all about the same?

Thanks again!
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post #4 of 17
1/25/04 at 1:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmeraldICE
Will these games play good?
I believe its "Will these games play well..." sorry, its one of my pet peeves.

Well, the Area 51m is pretty much a top of the line system that can out-perform many desktops. If these games didnt run well on this system, then that would mean it wouldnt run well on many systems, which would be bad for the developer.

The specifications you have stated should run those games well enough. Ghosting should NOT be a problen, unless you are going to play Delta Force: Black Hawk Down.
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post #5 of 17
1/25/04 at 1:06am
Thread Starter 
Oh sorry, i'm not the best at grammer so sometimes i do things like that.
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post #6 of 17
1/25/04 at 3:03am
i am new to the world of laptops and want to get and alienware 51m what is ghosting
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post #7 of 17
1/25/04 at 3:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mellamojimmy
i am new to the world of laptops and want to get and alienware 51m what is ghosting

Ghosting is when you see dead people hovering over your laptop and screws around with the touchpad and typ extra keystrokes.


Just kidding my bruddah, I can't really say I know what it is. I have not seen one in person.
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post #8 of 17
1/25/04 at 8:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by booga
Ghosting is when you see dead people hovering over your laptop and screws around with the touchpad and typ extra keystrokes.


Just kidding my bruddah, I can't really say I know what it is. I have not seen one in person.
HAHA!


ghosting = when what you see on the display somehow is not updating quite as fast as the thing you really want to see is updating.
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post #9 of 17
1/25/04 at 12:04pm
I play BF1942, Flight Sim '04, WarCraft 3, Generals, Tribes2, and lots of other games on this Area51m, and they play beautifully. There is a tiny bit of noticeable ghosting in VERY fast games such as BF 1942 or Tribes2, meaning that you lose a tiny bit of clarity as the screen redraws each pixel, accounting for lag time. This is unfortunately a problem associated with the screen's original technology, and because it is the only screen available in this size with 1600x1200 resolution for laptops. It doesn't bother me much, even in the fastest games, but it may bother you if you're ultrasensitive to such things... Unfortunately, LCD screens are not quite as capable as CRT screens in this arena.

If I'm playing a game that I absolutely need to have the fastest update times, or watching a video, I can always just plug into a CRT. I'm usually using two screens at once anyway, for artwork.

Smaller resolution LCDs are bit faster usually, and are MUCH easier to manufacture reliably than these 1600x1200 monsters on the alienwares. But man - o - MAN does it make a beautiful picture for still and slower images... zowie. I like working on digital paintings on this thing MORE than on my CRT at work.
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post #10 of 17
1/25/04 at 12:19pm
Thread Starter 
So slow games run great without ghosting but fast games have a little ghosting. Have there been any freezes with the games you have just listed. (i have half of those and just want to make sure they won't run like a snail)
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post #11 of 17
1/25/04 at 1:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RdLdr1
I believe its "Will these games play well..." sorry, its one of my pet peeves.
he could have always ment he would be good in those games...or maybe he would use their bots for some external good purpose?
im sorry too, people correcting perfectly understandable grammer in one of my pet peeves

to answer the question though...mine has lower specs (RAM/screen) and runs all of the games (GTA3/VC, homeworld 2, max payne 2, etc) i've put on perfectly
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post #12 of 17
1/25/04 at 1:28pm
Thread Starter 
ok good, no need to worry about that then. Now all i need is to get enough to order it.
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post #13 of 17
1/25/04 at 3:30pm
I love my alienware... but there are certainly worries about the customer service you might expect. It's your money, and it's your decision. don't let either the Alienware or the Sager guys convince you that one is always better or worse than the other.. it all depends on what you want and what you're using it for.

As far as those games I mentioned, there were a couple of reports of stuttering with C&C Generals using some of the older ATI graphics card drivers, as well as some general driver problems with ATI to blame, but I have the NVidia card, so I've never experienced them. The ATI is a genuinely faster card, but it's not quite as reliable or compatible predicatbly as the Nvidia. Either one would run those games very well and without hangups, as far as I know.
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post #14 of 17
1/25/04 at 3:38pm
Thread Starter 
So both cards are about the same?
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post #15 of 17
1/26/04 at 4:34am
Apparently, they're out of the Nvidia cards, as they are no longer listed as an option on the configuration page. So you should either get the ATI, or wait for the newer cards to come out. The cool thing is that you can always upgrade further down the line. It was one of the main selling points for this machine, to be able to upgrade it without sending it back to the depot.

To be honest about the systems, you should definitely check out the Sager line-up at http://www.powernotebooks.com

They've got very very fast systems that are essentially equivalent to the alienware, although they are a bit less spiffy-looking, and with some variability in options. Also, the Sager people have a history of tremendously responsive customer support. And they're nominally cheaper.

It all depends on what's important to you, as to waht options you would want and which systm offers the right stuff for you.
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post #16 of 17
1/26/04 at 8:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradpokey
although they are a bit less spiffy-looking.

Blasphemy!




Okok, I'm outta here.

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post #17 of 17
1/26/04 at 9:42am
www.pctorque.com also sells Sager notebooks, and brings you this cool forum! But remember, the 5680 and 8890 are not computers that sit on your lap while you play games or watch a movie
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