New laptop need guidance...

Gronklespronkle

Estimable
Mar 11, 2015
4
0
4,510
Ok, so I bought a new gaming laptop yesterday(gigabyte p35w v3-cf1 ultraforce), so far I love it.

But this is my very first pc, I had a family pc but this my first, very own, MINE.

So basically, where do I start? What are the first few things I should do with it? I know pc's and laptops can be a bit of a minefield and I really want to get the best out of mine.

I well be using it for gaming, so should I overclock the processor? (Intel i7 4710hq)

Any advice would be awesome, thanks in advance
 
Solution


Well to get the best FPS prioritize performance in both, just realize the battery life isn't going to be great but whatever.

As for graphical settings like AA you would want to leave whatever your card has on, and then in the game you can back off those settings to get better FPS. Its hard to say...

Rogue Leader

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Moderator
First thing? Download some games and play them!! Enjoy it!

Regarding overclocking. Go back to step 1 and see how the games play then decide if you need to. If the games play to your liking and at a good FPS no reason to Overclock, especially because ti will draw more power cutting down on your battery life (if you plan on using it not plugged in), also overclocking on a laptop isn't always the best idea due to the lack of airflow for cooling purposes.
 

Gronklespronkle

Estimable
Mar 11, 2015
4
0
4,510
Ok cool, I did try playing dying light, and I got like 12fps at parts, so I had a look at options,

it's just confusing, because I've got options to prioritise power or performance, both from Windows and from my Nvidia control panel, so should I turn on one, both, or leave it? What's better, antialasing in game or using the one in my graphics card control panel?

There's just so many options and I don't even know where to begin...
 

Rogue Leader

Distinguished
Moderator


Well to get the best FPS prioritize performance in both, just realize the battery life isn't going to be great but whatever.

As for graphical settings like AA you would want to leave whatever your card has on, and then in the game you can back off those settings to get better FPS. Its hard to say what will work and what won't (although AA is a good start) to make it go faster, but just play with the settings till you get what you want.

You also may want to download 3Dmark to benchmark your computer, the paid version will give you suggestions as to things you can change in games (like lowering the resolution and whatnot) to get the best performance. The final test is a really tough one that will bring any average gaming computer to its knees, but at least it will have a lot of data to work from.

 
Solution
If your laptop advertises NVidia Optimus, you'll get lousy performance if you have the NVidia Control Panel settings allocated to "Power." That profile causes the laptop to utilize the Intel HD graphics built into the processor. By going with "Performance," programs should utilize the NVidia graphics.

There are a lot of little tweaks and tricks enthusiasts like to employ, but honestly, as long as you take care of it, it should treat you pretty well without those. :)