PC Well this sucks...

[skyrimaddict1323]

I finally switched from playing on my 360 to playing on my new laptop last night, and i was extremely disappointed with performance...

My specs are:

-Intel core I5 2430M (2.4GHz, 3.0GHz with turbo boost, 3MB cache)
-Windows 7 home premium 64 bit
-8GB dual channel DDR @ 1333MGz
-750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3GB/s
-3.0GB DDR3 Nvidia Geforce GT 555M using Nvidia Optimus.

I thought with this setup i would be able to run ultra like it was nothing, but even on high it was extremely choppy.

Could anyone please tell me what to do to make the game run smoothly? (in simple terms, this is my first time PC gaming)

 

[average650]

Laptop graphics cards simply aren't up to par with desktop graphics cards. Look at it's performance in 3DMark Vantage. It gets about 6000. This is approximately equivalent to a 9600GT Desktop GPU, which is loike a 3-4 year old midrange card. It's no surprise you cna't run on high settings.

GeForce GT 555M - GeForce
GeForce GTX 580 - GeForce

Simply put, lower your settings or get a desktop.

 

[skyrimaddict1323]

That graphics card is still tripple what Beth reccomended for this game, and i've seen people who have run perfectly smooth with much less.

When New Vegas came out i ran it on my girlfriends laptop, with about half that, flawlessly.

I don't think it's the graphics card.

So does anyone have valid tips?

 

[average650]

Look, all they recommended was the memory size for the GPU, but there's a lot more that goes into a GPU than just memory.

This card is not 3 times better than a card that can run this game just fine. Laptop GPUs just don't match desktop GPUs.

You may be able to squeeze a little bit of extra performance out by editing the graphics settings individually, but this card will never run ultra and it's no surprise it doens't run high very well.

You can run the game smoothly on low settings with very poor graphics cards, much worse than yours. But if you want it smooth, you have to lower your settings; there's no other way to do it.

When you say "i've seen people who have run perfectly smooth with much less" What do you call much less and what settings were they running on?I guarantee you they didn't have a laptop with a worse gpu running at higher settings than you are.

 

[XbSuper]

That graphics card is still tripple what Beth reccomended for this game, and i've seen people who have run perfectly smooth with much less.

When New Vegas came out i ran it on my girlfriends laptop, with about half that, flawlessly.

I don't think it's the graphics card.

So does anyone have valid tips?

Average650 had valid tips, graphics cards in laptops, although the memory is there, are still nowhere near what desktop cards are capable of. You're much better off sticking with a desktop for pc gaming.

 

[skyrimaddict1323]

Alienware makes their laptops specifically for gaming, and that graphics card is the best they offer. As i stated before, New Vegas ran flawlessly on high on a dell laptop that just barely hit the minumums for it. Skullrattla is playing on a macbook with a 128MB Geforce 8600M.

The problem is not with my components. I'm well aware that desktops are better, but a top of the line laptop built specifically for gaming is way more than capable of running the highest settings.

So i would greatly appreciate input from anyone who is actually trying to help.

 

[Dagmar]

The Nvidia GeForce GT 555M can't handle Skyrim at Ultra settings. That particular mobile video card was specifically benchmark tested for Skyrim by notebookcheck.com. If you look at the row for the 555M and columns for Skyrim you can see it is clearly unstable at ultra settings with an average frame rate of 12 fps. Even at high settings, it's just above the border for fluid frame rate at 26 fps which means you may occasionally encounter lag or stuttering on high settings.

From your specs I would guess you got the Alienware X51 which is an economy gaming laptop configured to allow you to play PC games at medium settings. It's a gaming laptop in the sense that it will not overheat like a normal laptop while playing games like Skyrim for hours, especially if you use a cooling pad.

I'm sorry you're disappointed by your laptop's performance but if its any consolation you didn't get ripped off by Alienware in terms of the price for what you got. If you want to get high end PC game performance from a laptop you have to spend at least twice the amount you paid for yours. Had you posted for advice here, or even read my article on gaming notebooks, you would have been advised about the limitations of the laptop you ended up buying.

 

[Dagmar]

...and that graphics card is the best they offer...

No it's not. It's not even remotely close to the best video card they offer. Alienware sells laptop builds with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 580m which is astronomically superior to the 555m. (They are also ridiculously overpriced IMO.)

If you don't want to listen to the valid information that's been offered that's your prerogative but it wont change the facts anymore than if you say the Sun is the Moon a thousand times with great conviction and consistency.

 

[SirBloodLust]

The Nvidia GeForce GT 555M can't handle Skyrim at Ultra settings. That particular mobile video card was specifically benchmark tested for Skyrim by notebookcheck.com. If you look at the row for the 555M and columns for Skyrim you can see it is clearly unstable at ultra settings with an average frame rate of 12 fps. Even at high settings, it's just above the border for fluid frame rate at 26 fps which means you may occasionally encounter lag or stuttering on high settings.

From your specs I would guess you got the Alienware X51 which is an economy gaming laptop configured to allow you to play PC games at medium settings. It's a gaming laptop in the sense that it will not overheat like a normal laptop while playing games like Skyrim for hours, especially if you use a cooling pad.

I'm sorry you're disappointed by your laptop's performance but if its any consolation you didn't get ripped off by Alienware in terms of the price for what you got. If you want to get high end PC game performance from a laptop you have to spend at least twice the amount you paid for yours. Had you posted for advice here, or even read my article on gaming notebooks, you would have been advised about the limitations of the laptop you ended up buying.

This is why I started my thread "Looking for New Desktop" in the Skyrim Help forum.

Here is the link if you want to help.

 

[Halkin]

i'm all for laptops as practical as they are, but if i go for a pc game it gets played on a desktop. some good advice in here in previous posts, but it boils down to if you dont want to spend stupid money get a desktop or live with a console

 

[skyrimaddict1323]

Thanks for the input guys, but after tweaking some settings i am in fact playing on ultra high now and the only time i have a noticeable fps drop is when i'm in a building that's added by a mod.

 

[fuskin]

hey man ummm i was just wondering what settings you tweeked?? haha im going to pick up skyrim soon and i just wana be prepared so i can play it on ultra

 

[sepulchre]

Don't know when all this was posted, but . . . I run Skyrim on my laptop for hours every night. It runs very smoothly. It's got an ATI Radeon HD 4250 card and Ultra mode works fine.

My only problem, and it's very annoying, is that when I load a game, fast travel or even just go out of a building through a door it takes way too long to load. I sit staring at the mist rising and rereading all the facts and tips. I have a desktop too and on it this is not a problem - loads very quickly. My laptop has an AMD triple core CPU and 4 gb of ram. The Desktop has an Intel Core 2 Duo and the same 4 gb of ram. Why would it take the laptop sooo much longer to load scenes? I don't imagine there's anything to be done about it, but wouldn't that be a nice surprise?

Btw, Dagmar: I respect and admire your protection of the bunnies. I too am a bunny defender. I have bunnies all around my house (no live ones inside - they should be free and natural) and protect them in real life too. So here here to the defenders of the noble Bunny!

 

[Spiral Power!]

I find this odd, considering I have mostly the same specs and am using a 540m, and I run this game silky smooth, no problems.

You may want to look into maximizing performance in whatever way you can. I run this game on ultra no problem.

 

[iamblazelflack]

Can You RUN It | Can I run that game | Game system requirements Find Skyrim and run the test.