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Who plays World of warcraft?

post #1 of 18
6/19/05 at 4:53am
Thread Starter 
OK, there is no main topic of this or any sub topic that I can read into for a few minutes...

I want something portable and I guess I'm asking the wrong questions. I want something to play wow at the screen native resolution, with most of the gfx turned up if possible.
Anybody doing this with the "S" series notebooks? What framerates do you get?
How long does the battery last while doing this?

I'll be getting the xtended battery if I do get this laptop. Prolly have 1gig ram in it.
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post #2 of 18
6/19/05 at 2:28pm
20fps-30fps on an S360 in IronForge at native screen res (1280x800). No AA, AF at 8x.

2hrs with GPU power save off.
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post #3 of 18
6/19/05 at 6:30pm
Thread Starter 
Anybody else?
I found a co-worker with a 700m 1.8Ghz, 512mb. And with everything turned down, running in native resolution, he gets about 9-15fps outdoors. So far this Sony looks like a better bet unless something on his was set wrong.

Anybody with a S4XX model with the 6200 gfx card?
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post #4 of 18
6/19/05 at 7:31pm
The 6200 will perform worse than the Mobility 9700. In general, the state of gaming-capable laptops at this moment falls into three categories... super lightweight, middleweight, and DTR.

The DTRs will be your machines that weigh 8lbs+ with a Geforce 6800 like an Inspiron 9300. Your middleweights have x700s / 6600s and weigh around 6lbs like an Acer 8100. Then you have your ultra lightweights that weigh 4lbs and are armed with a Radeon 9700, x300, or 6200, of which the Sony S270 / S360 is king.

So if you want gaming in the smallest package possible, look no further than an S270 / S360
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post #5 of 18
6/19/05 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
and you're running at 1200x800 at all options turned to max? and your will on average stay above 20fps?

btw, my other notebook is the XPS2 w/the 6800ultra.
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post #6 of 18
6/19/05 at 9:38pm
Yes, my game details are always at max. Low model detail is for chumps.

You will get a much better graphics experience with your Inspiron 9300, but the S360 definitely holds its own. Framerate is always above 20fps (IronForge is the worst zone at 20-30fps) on a WinXP Pro install w/Omega drivers.

But I must warn you, I strongly suggest getting at least 1GB RAM (7200rpm hard drive is nice too). 512MB RAM is unplayable to me.
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post #7 of 18
6/19/05 at 10:33pm
Thread Starter 
ah.. Yeah my xps2 run wow way well.
Hmm. I have 7200rpm drives in all my laptop. but not sure if I'll have enough to buy it right off the bat this time. Gotta sell my Apple Powerbook first.

But if the 9700 holds its own with all gfx set to high and running at the 1280x800 then I'll be happy. that means no jerkyness.
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post #8 of 18
6/21/05 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
kent1146- its not overclocked is it? Just using the omega drivers right? Full gfx on and 1200x800 and runs smooth?
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post #9 of 18
6/21/05 at 8:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by starstreak
kent1146- its not overclocked is it? Just using the omega drivers right? Full gfx on and 1200x800 and runs smooth?
sorry if I keep repeating myself. Its just that once I buy the laptop, thre is no returns. and the main reason besides doing "simple" work (word, access) on it is my game wow.
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post #10 of 18
6/21/05 at 10:16pm
Yes, stock speeds, regular omega drivers, no overclocks
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post #11 of 18
6/22/05 at 7:48pm
Thread Starter 
hmm now I'm kinda tossed. Someone posted some benchmarks of the new 6200. the difference between this and the 9700 was that the 9700 was faster, but only by a few fps. either somone has it overclocked or I dunno... crap. I need someone here with with a 6200 and 9700 with same ammount of ram and not overclocking.
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post #12 of 18
6/22/05 at 7:59pm
You're too uncertain of yourself.

The 6200 is slower. The S380/S460 w/6200 has lower battery life. I have heard reports that the S380/S460 screen has more light leakage, and greyer blacks.

Get the S270 / S360 ASAP. Big retailers like Best Buy and CompUSA stopped carrying stock. You'll kick yourself in the butt if you don't get one before everyone stops carrying stock.
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post #13 of 18
6/22/05 at 8:58pm
Thread Starter 
I know. its hard to deside. I know the 9700 is faster and is also has a longer battery life. but the 4x dvd burner is a major plus as I do data over to dvd.
But at the same time, when I quit work I want to be able to play wow. So if I can get a good answer on the new 460 running wow at native res with at least half the gfx turned up, I would get that one as teh best average of work and play. If not, I could get the s230(I think that was the number) which the 9700 w/only a 2x dvd burner.

If I can get away with it and have time, I wouldnt mind installing wow at the store and just check it myself. but dont think I have the time.
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post #14 of 18
6/23/05 at 3:29am
Thread Starter 
Oh I am so ticked. I went to compusa to see if they would let me put on WOW on a s460. They said yes. For those who do not know, the game takes about 45mins to install. We were about 35mins into it when a familty came by to look at laptops. The son, a teenager stops to look at the Sony. Stares at the screen and then looks at his parents and the sales guy. After about 30 seconds, he turns and looks at the screen. Then moves the mouse...before I tell him hey dont touch, he moves the mouse to cancel and clicks on it. The mom says, aww don't worry son, you didn't mean to do it. Give me a figgen break. I know he read the words Installing. And the block that says cancel. Needless to say, I didn't have time to see it run first hand. Damn it.
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post #15 of 18
6/23/05 at 10:52pm
Thread Starter 
Update: went back today. I did the complete install. It seems to play anywhere from 13-30fps with everything on. BUT I get heavy lag either it was due to network there at the store or because it only had 512mb of ram. Becuase every few seconds, the framerate would drop to lik 2fpc and eveything would stop moving. I would see the HD light on. Its so hard to deside if that lag was due to machine, or becuase it had only 512mb ram.
Hey, can I just stick in another 512? or do I need to buy it in pairs?
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post #16 of 18
6/23/05 at 10:56pm
If you are happy with the 13-30fps, then you'll be happy w/S460.

The lag was due to the 512MB RAM. I experienced the same thing when I got my S360. Just pop in another 512MB (you can buy just a single stick... don't need to buy 2 sticks), and WoW will run fine.
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post #17 of 18
6/23/05 at 11:08pm
There's a new Acer that's around 5 pounds with the x700. You might want to check that out.

It's basicly like the Acer 8100 except that it's 5 pounds and it doesnt have the WSXGA+.
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post #18 of 18
6/24/05 at 12:04am
Thread Starter 
Hmm. I thought so. It played better than the Dell 700m, but the dell didnt have the lag, just really crappy vid. 9-20fps? I forget. It's in another post. I could live with it, if with the 1gig ram it didn't keep freezing every few seconds or when something poped up on the screen. And it stayed in the 20fps. It would be "playable".

Is that how your s360 is with this game? above 20fps with everything turned on and no lag (except for places known to have it like IF)
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