Furno Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Hello all, Long time stalker of the forums, soaking up the tips and the strategies. Finally decided to pop out of my tank and say hello. Been playing CM since BB and have enjoyed CMBN and CMFI, plus all the modules. But enough about me. My main reason for this post is I am looking at getting a laptop that is capable of running CMx2. I have a main PC which I use currently and it runs fine. But I shall shortly be away from it for 6 months with just my current old battered laptop* and I would quite like something CM worthy! Can anyone suggest what they may use or anything in the market that they would suggest is a good buy! I am not wanting to spend the earth but if you all say it's going to be up to £1000 (I'm a Brit by the way!) then I may have to reconsider! Many thanks * Ref my current laptop - I can play the game providing both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire... Because as soon as the first shells drop so does my frame rate!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Make sure it has a Solid State HD. That speeds things up enormously. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Placebo Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think you could spend half that (£500) and get a good laptop that runs CM2. I cannot confirm if that will get you all setting maxed out, but a reasonable graphics card, RAM and SSD as already suggested will get you killing pixeltroopen in no time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 The two main features you need to look for are a dedicated graphics card and a minimum of 6 gigabytes of system RAM. Especially the graphics card. CM will not run at all on many integrated graphics systems. Oh, and if this is a PC and not a Mac then for heaven's sake make sure the version of Windows it comes with is 64 bit rather than 32. I think that is the default option on most systems sold these days but it doesn't hurt to make sure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Integrated cards with unhindered drivers - say, on a desktop - might do okay. Laptop manufacturers are so far behind the Intel curve (which itself is playing catchup with their OpenGL compatibility) that you're probably going to have to wait a while before there aren't major OpenGL bugs on your laptop integrated cards. Unless you're buying a Mac, in which case nearly all integrated cards work fine. It really is the drivers; the hardware itself runs the game fine. Also, the game runs fine with less than 6 gigs of RAM. 4 GB is probably a good working number. It will, of course, run with less, but 4 GB should play nice with modern OSes and still leave room for CM. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Also, the game runs fine with less than 6 gigs of RAM. 4 GB is probably a good working number. It will, of course, run with less, but 4 GB should play nice with modern OSes and still leave room for CM. My laptop has 4 GB and it does fine, usually. However, if you want to play some very large scenarios or QBs on huge maps the limiting factor on how big you can go on a PC is going to be available RAM, in my experience at least. There have been times that I wished I could dedicate the full 4 GB to CM rather than have nearly 1 GB used by the OS. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada Guy Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I also thought that both having a SSD or using 64 bits did not affect the game at all in terms of performance. I at least have seen nothing improved for CM by having an SSD (though mine may not be perfectly configured so am not sure if some settings could improve performance). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 64 vs 32 bits mostly just affects how much RAM Combat Mission can use. If you never play scenarios or QBs large enough to max out the 32 bit limit then going to 64 bit won't make much difference. But really, there is no reason not to go 64 bit these days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenpeace Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I use an MSI laptop and it plays very well on medium settings for graphics. It actually has plenty of graphic power to play on higher level settings, but the scenario load times really increase on the higher the graphic settings. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 What size screen? What resolution? That will drive a lot of hardware considerations. (FWIW, a 15.6" is still portable. 17" is better, but you won't have much battery life.) Will it be plugged in, a la desktop replacement, or will you be using it while on a jungle patrol while infiltrating a drug cartel? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroCat Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Check here: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 That's a pretty great machine for the price. And all of my working Windows laptops are from Lenovo (X series, mostly). Great build quality and durability. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradley Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Forgive me from butting in. I'm going with this machine. Other than downloading new drivers for the card, any other considerations? I want this to be a happy transition:rolleyes: Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost) (Standard) Display: 17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare TN 300 Nit Display Operating system: WIN 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, SP1 Memory (RAM): 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz Storage (hard drive): HD,750,7.2,P11,4K,MX375 Optical drive: Slot-Loading 8x SuperMulti Drive (DVDR/RW) (Standard) Video graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M with 3GB GDDR5 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rake Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Forgive me from butting in. I'm going with this machine. Other than downloading new drivers for the card, any other considerations? I want this to be a happy transition:rolleyes: Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost) (Standard) Display: 17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare TN 300 Nit Display Operating system: WIN 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, SP1 Memory (RAM): 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz Storage (hard drive): HD,750,7.2,P11,4K,MX375 Optical drive: Slot-Loading 8x SuperMulti Drive (DVDR/RW) (Standard) Video graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M with 3GB GDDR5 I just loaded the game on a laptop with the same specs, the only difference being the SSD where the game is loaded: Processor: Intel Core i7 4700MQ (Up to 3.40Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache) Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x8GB Sticks) mSATA SSD: 180GB mSATA Solid State (SATA 6Gbps) Storage Drive 1: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s) Optical Drive: DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive Graphics Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M 3GB with NVIDIA Optimus Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition) The game runs better on the laptop than it does on my desktop which has a better graphics card, and all but the SSD being the same. The game will boot to the load screen in less than 5 seconds and it takes just over a minute to load George MC's "Wittmann's Demise", a fairly large scenario... save games are a different story As far as the SSD, if I were to use this build in a desktop, I'd fore-go the SSD and install a WD Velociraptor (10k rpm)... Unfortunately, this HD won't fit in a laptop without removing the drive from the heatsink and, naturally, voiding the 5-year warranty. :eek: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I thought that an SSD would be superior in all ways - just more expensive esp in larger sizes. Any other drawbacks re SSD's that makes you prefer a Vel 10k? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Churchmoor Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Just bought a new laptop for CMing and for other stuff (web, movies etc.): i5 (4th gen.) / 8GB / nvidia 750m external GPU / 15,6" FHD / normal non-SSD HDD with Win 8.1 and CM runs smoothly. I Would have bought SSD also but with 256 GB SSD the price would've been too much. Now the price was ~ 950€. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rake Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I thought that an SSD would be superior in all ways - just more expensive esp in larger sizes. Any other drawbacks re SSD's that makes you prefer a Vel 10k? No, Erwin, not that I'm personally aware of... yet. I'm certainly not a computer geek, but my brother is. My thoughts are primarily based upon his recommendations. He runs a huge bank of servers for some sort of "adult entertainment" websites Several years ago, he switched all of his servers from SSD's to the velociraptors. He was having a lot of failures with the solid state drives and says he's not had a velociraptor fail yet. I've read multiple reviews which claim the opposite to be true (i.e., the VRaptor fails outpacing SSD's). His server banks are refrigerated, so overheating hasn't been a problem. I'm trusting his judgement and experience on this one... he's hasn't failed me yet when I've asked his advice about computers. For me, it's the bang for the buck. MY 180GB SSD basically only has Windows, AV/Malware, drivers and the CMBN series (with a boatload of mods) loaded. At this point, the drive is about 48% full. I do a fair amount of photo editing, so loading Photoshop/Lightroom and CMFI will pretty much fill it up. Now, if I can ever learn enough about computers to mirror the drives so my games can be stored on the HDD with (close to) SSD access times, I'd likely change my opinion... I'd have my bro do this; unfortunately, he's in San Diego and I'm in DC. I picked up (actually, stole ) a 1TB velociraptor for just over $80. I plan to replace the failing 7200 rpm on my desktop over the holidays. I'll take a save game from my SSD laptop and run it on the 10k drive. I'll time game, scenario and turn comp times on the laptop and desktop and report back later. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 My laptop has a 240GB SSD and seems to run at least as well as my much more powerful desktop. I am planning to get at least one SSD for my new desktop plus a TB VRaptor as backup. Most things run well on a conventional HD. But, I will use the SSD for the OS and demanding games. But, am really curious re SSD drawbacks. My computer builder (XI Computers) tell me that SSD's are much more reliable these days. Perhaps your bro has to use very large SSD's?? Maybe there are problems with those?? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furno Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 What size screen? What resolution? That will drive a lot of hardware considerations. (FWIW, a 15.6" is still portable. 17" is better, but you won't have much battery life.) Will it be plugged in, a la desktop replacement, or will you be using it while on a jungle patrol while infiltrating a drug cartel? It will be plugged in, a la desktop. Thus screen size and power hungry laptops are fine. Thanks everyone for your inputs. It will be Windows based not Mac for anyone curious. So far I am looking for something with 4GB (or more) of RAM, 64 Bit Win, external graphics card (preferably Nvidia in my humble choice (but that's another discussion for another day!!!)) and possibly an SSD if its available but I wont worry if not. As for the game, I would be happy with the battles running smoothly, preferably capable of large battles as you cannot beat a good old tankfest! But I can live with the slow load times. However with things looking promising on the Eastern Front (eeeee ) and the subsequent 3.0 engine, I am happy to spend a bit more! Thanks for your input chaps 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Not a laptop but a desktop PC worthy of CM... http://www.wired.com/design/2013/12/case-mod-masterpiece/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furno Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Not a laptop but a desktop PC worthy of CM... http://www.wired.com/design/2013/12/case-mod-masterpiece/ :eek: Want! But may not be that easy to transport!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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