Solved! New laptop doesn't seem that great

[snocaps248]

Hello,
I just purchased a Dell Latitude with:

AMD A8 3500M quad core processor with dual graphics
the separate card is a 1GB Radeon 6450
8GB of Ram
750GB harddrive

Cranked up cataclysm and still experienced jerkiness in the populated areas while my video was only on good rating. if i put it to ultra, it was horrible even in unpopulated area.
Is my PC just crap or am I doing something wrong?

 

[Aeir]

The difficulty here is your graphics card: the 6450 is a very poor graphics choice for any amount of gaming. If you look at the benchmarks of the card on Notebookcheck.net, and more relevantly the gaming performance section on notebook check, you'll see that a laptop with that graphics card cannot be expected to play WoW on ultra. It's solidly within the category notebookcheck describes as
"3. Low-Midrange Graphics Cards
Low-end graphics cards for users who want to play games. New games should run on these cards, but only with low details and mediocre resolution. The power consumption (of modern cards in this class) should lead to a good battery life."

 

[snocaps248]

what would you suggest?
i have the option for 4 weeks to switch it out.

is the rest of the system good enough to do great if i got a better card?

 

[snocaps248]

The difficulty here is your graphics card: the 6450 is a very poor graphics choice for any amount of gaming. If you look at the benchmarks of the card on Notebookcheck.net, and more relevantly the gaming performance section on notebook check, you'll see that a laptop with that graphics card cannot be expected to play WoW on ultra. It's solidly within the category notebookcheck describes as
"3. Low-Midrange Graphics Cards
Low-end graphics cards for users who want to play games. New games should run on these cards, but only with low details and mediocre resolution. The power consumption (of modern cards in this class) should lead to a good battery life."

could you suggest a new video card? is the rest of the system good? or should i return it all and start from scratch?

i only paid $400 for it. they had a huge discount plus a 35% student discount on top of that. but i want to be happy and wouldn't mind putting another couple 100 dollars into it

 

[inanition02]

It's fairly hard to just "swap out" the video card on a laptop - it's usually part of the motherboard.

I would say you probably can't upgrade it and need to return it if you want to have a gaming laptop.

 

[snocaps248]

it is supposed to be a dedicated video card. the built in video runs on the new amd a8 processor and would normally not come with a secondary card. i had mine built with dual graphics.

 

[inanition02]

it is supposed to be a dedicated video card. the built in video runs on the new amd a8 processor and would normally not come with a secondary card. i had mine built with dual graphics.

Which model Latitude is it? Do you know the mobo?

 

[snocaps248]

1 Inspiron M511R Notebook
1 AMD Quad Core A8-3500M Processor 1.5Ghz to 2.4Ghz, with Radeon HD 6620 Graphics
1 8GB, DDR3, 2 DIMM
1 15.6in High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife
1 AMD Radeon HD 6470M - Seymour XT 1GB
1 750GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive; 9.5mm
1 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Service Pack 1, English, No Media
1 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
1 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
1 High Definition Audio 2.0 with SRS Premium Sound
1 Dell Wireless Module 802.11 b/g/n
1 Facial Recognition Software Application version 2.3 Digital Delivery
1 Camera Software 2.X, Factory Install
1 48 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

 

[inanition02]

What country are you in/where did you buy it?

I can't find a dell model of those specs....also note this:

"with Radeon HD 6620 Graphics"
"1 AMD Radeon HD 6470M"

You're integrated APU has bettern graphics than the dedicated card...

 

[snocaps248]

it is a brand new model that really isn't available for search on the dell site. i accidentally found it. in fact when i ordered it the dell rep. was astonished i got it for only $400. he said it's a $1,000 computer with those specs, so i jumped on it.

the video card built into the processor is only 512 mb and it was free to add the 1 gb dual card so i took that as well.

 

[inanition02]

I guess then you'd have to ask dell if it can be upgraded? Does there seem to be a removable panel on the bottom marked for it?

 

[Pyree]

LOL. That spec for $1000? For $1000 you can get a fast multimedia class laptop i7 with 6770m GT555m sort of spec. For $300 more you can get a gaming class laptop. The rep is lying in bright daylight.

 

[snocaps248]

yes the 2nd video card is separate and can be removed.

and true i could spend 1300 for a nice gaming pc, but this was only 400, so i i can take another couple of hundred dollars and build it up i save over spending 1300

 

[frozenlead]

yes the 2nd video card is separate and can be removed.

and true i could spend 1300 for a nice gaming pc, but this was only 400, so i i can take another couple of hundred dollars and build it up i save over spending 1300

You can't really build up notebooks to make them perform better. You'll have to get another GPU from Dell (or return the notebook), which I'm guessing will cost no less than $300, and you'd have to install it yourself.

 

[WR2]

yes the 2nd video card is separate and can be removed.

It can be removed - so it can be replaced if it fails.
There might be an option to upgrade it slightly - but it's going to be hideous in terms of cost - mostly for labor - and you won't get much improvement for gaming.

My suggestion would be return or sell your current laptop and get a system with a graphics card that can run games the way you want.

 

[Pyree]

Are you sure the 6450m is a removable MXM card (physically removable), not just removable in the sense that you can disable it?

I thought MXM card is only made for high end card like 6870m and above or GTX 560 and above for barebone gaming laptop.