PLEASE HELP ... NEED SMART COMPUTER SAAVY PEOPLE

[ldsgirl76]

HELP ME PLEASE

{ I am not trying to spam this question ... but I am just trying to post this where-ever possible in hopes someone might see this soon and have an answer for me.}

I have a Toshiba Satellite M645-s4070 and it also has the Intel (R) HD integrated graphics card. When I purchased it I was sneakily told that it had "up to 1696 MB dedicated memory" and that since it was dedicated memory it would work even better for gaming as the memory was dedicated for that exact purpose. However, I am EXTREMELY frustrated to find out that it in fact it is 64MB up to 1696MB .... and the games only recognize the CRAP 64MB. I am not even sure if it is possible to force the computer to somehow default to the max instead in BIOS. (I am NOT computer saavy AT ALL ... and have no money in budget as a mother of 4 to go buy a new computer by any means.)

What I want to know is if my Express Card Slot would work using an external graphics card or something else of that nature to be able to play games like Guild Wars 2 (which I have been waiting years for??? If not, is there any other solution or way to force my computer to recognize the MAX possibilities of the 1696MB instead of the crap 64MB in the BIOS or something else? Evidently I am a fool as when I purchased this the user ratings were high for a laptop in this price range (as it is in the lines of a budget I can afford.) I was foolishly led to believe that this would be awesome for gaming on a laptop (without having to spend crazy amounts of money.)

According to my specs on the Toshiba website (which is what fooled me) it said my laptop had "GRAPHICS MEMORY* 64MB-1696MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory" ***** which I figured if it was shared would be more then the 256MB graphics memory needed to play Guild Wars but it only recognizes that I have 64MB.

Here are my specs:

Satellite M645-S4070 Laptop Specifications

**PERFORMANCE**
PROCESSOR*
Intel® Core™ i5-460M processor

OPERATING SYSTEM*
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

GRAPHICS ENGINE*
Mobile Intel® HD Graphics

GRAPHICS MEMORY*
64MB-1696MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory

**Memory and Storage**
MEMORY*
4GB DDR3 memory

HARD DRIVE*
500GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial ATA)

OPTICAL DRIVE*
Blu-ray Disc™ ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash®
Audio and Video

DISPLAY SIZE
14.0" widescreen

DISPLAY TYPE*
HD TruBrite® LED Backlit display with Intel® Wireless Display Technology

DISPLAY RESOLUTION
1366x768 (HD), 16:9 aspect ratio, Supports 720p content

AUDIO
Built-in microphone, Headphone jack (stereo), Microphone input port with Sleep and Music, harman/kardon® stereo speakers

**Communication**

WEBCAM
Webcam and microphone

WIRELESS LAN*
Intel® 4G WiMAX™
Intel® wireless LAN (802.11a/g/n)

BLUETOOTH
No Bluetooth (No Antenna)

MODEM
No Modem port

LAN
10/100 Ethernet LAN

**Power**
AC ADAPTER
65W (19V 3.42A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz input

BATTERY
Li-Ion (48Wh, 6-Cell)

BATTERY LIFE*
Up to 5.03 hours

********E X P A N S I O N***********

PC EXPRESS SLOT
1-ExpressCard™ /34 slot

SMARTCARD READER
No SmartCard Reader slot

MEDIA
Memory Card Reader

USB PORTS
1-eSATA/USB (2.0) combo port with Sleep and Charge, 2-USB (2.0) ports

HDMI
HDMI® output port
URG! To be SO CLOSE and YET I am TOO FAR


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is what I saw when I ran the "Can you run it"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guild Wars 2
System Requirements Lab Analysis

Sorry, your computer does not meet the minimum specifications required to run this product. Please review the details below for more information.


MINIMUM NEEDED

CPU
Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, Core i3, AMD Athlon 64 X2 or better
You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 460 @ 2.53GHz
**** P A S S ******


CPU Speed
Minimum: Info
You Have: 2.5 GHz


RAM
Minimum: 2 GB
You Have: 3.9 GB
***** P A S S *****

OS
Minimum: Windows XP Service Pack 2 or better
You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 64-bit
****** P A S S ******

Video Card
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce 7800, ATI Radeon X1800, Intel HD 3000 or better (256 MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)
You Have: Intel(R) HD Graphics
****** F A I L *****

Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your Video Card does not meet this requirement.

Features: Minimum attributes of your Video Card
***Required*** *****YOU HAVE*****
Pixel Shader version 3.0 .........................4.0
Vertex Shader version 3.0..........................4.0
Dedicated Video RAM 256 MB....................64 MB

Sound Card
Minimum: Yes
You Have: Realtek High Definition Audio
******* P A S S ******


Free Disk Space
Minimum: 25 GB
You Have: 379.4 GB
******** P A S S *******

 

[ldsgirl76]

I need ideas and answers PLEASE as I am NOT computer saavy

First of all ... I am seriously bummed because my husband bought a game for me that I have been patiently waiting for going on 3 years now ... and as a birthday present to me (August 24th) he purchased this game for me thinking that my computer was surely able to play this (at least if it was not at it's best performance.) We download it last night and I am SUPER excited ... but was heartbroken and SUPER bummed to find many people saying that playing this on my laptop was IMPOSSIBLE and I needed to go buy a new computer. OK ... we are a family with 4 young children and we had to SPLURGE to scrounge the money for this as times have been a bit rough lately. I wanted to cry. But, I don't give up too easily. I spent the whole night researching possibilities. Some people are under the impression that with Windows 7 Home Premium that I can force my computer to dedicate the MAX video memory of 1696MB through BIOS. Others said I was crap out of luck I am stuck with the measily 64MB!!!! That sounds ridiculous to me. They create this pretty decent laptop with all of these cool specs for the price but crap out by giving THAT?!?! I am thinking that surely this is not what the designers intended. However, if so, then maybe that is why they put an Express Card Slot on my laptop so that maybe I can get an external graphics card??? After searching longer I saw that some people were suggesting ViDock, but I can't find anywhere that this is even possible with my integrated piece of crap. And, that is more money that I don't have right now as I am hearing that might cost easily $200 to $300 ... but hopefully I might POSSIBLY be able to scrounge around that much sooner then later.

OK ... my question is this to all of those super brilliant computer people out there. IS IT POSSIBLE to force the computer or the game to recognize the 1696MB (or even maybe 500MB) rather then this crap 64MB? Can we do this somehow maybe through BIOS ... and if so ... HOW? This seems like what the computer was originally designed to be able to do as it says on the Toshiba website that it's supposed to be pretty decent for gaming. Also, this seems like an option that will LET ME PLAY GUILD WARS 2 NOW as it would be a FREE option!

Or, will the express card slot work? If so, what do I need to buy ... and what is my least expensive option to do this ... what kind would I need? And, if so, much money will this set me back?

I have a Toshiba Satellite M645-s4070 and it also has the Intel (R) HD integrated graphics card. When I purchased it I was sneakily told that it had "up to 1696 MB dedicated memory" and that since it was dedicated memory it would work even better for gaming as the memory was dedicated for that exact purpose. However, I am EXTREMELY frustrated to find out that it in fact it is 64MB up to 1696MB .... and the games only recognize the CRAP 64MB. I am not even sure if it is possible to force the computer to somehow default to the max instead in BIOS. (I am NOT computer saavy AT ALL ... and have no money in budget as a mother of 4 to go buy a new computer by any means.)

What I want to know is if my Express Card Slot would work using an external graphics card or something else of that nature to be able to play games like Guild Wars 2 (which I have been waiting years for???



If not, is there any other solution or way to FORCE my computer to recognize the MAX possibilities of the 1696MB instead of the crap 64MB in the BIOS or something else????? Evidently I am a fool as when I purchased this the user ratings were high for a laptop in this price range (as it is in the lines of a budget I can afford.) I was foolishly led to believe that this would be awesome for gaming on a laptop (without having to spend crazy amounts of money that I do NOT have.)

According to my specs on the Toshiba website (which is what fooled me) it said my laptop had "GRAPHICS MEMORY* 64MB-1696MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory" ***** which I figured if it was shared would be more then the 256MB graphics memory needed to play Guild Wars but it only recognizes that I have 64MB.

Here are my specs:

Satellite M645-S4070 Laptop Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-460M processor

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Mobile Intel® HD Graphics

64MB-1696MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory

4GB DDR3 memory

500GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial ATA)

14.0" widescreen

1366x768 (HD), 16:9 aspect ratio, Supports 720p content



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is what I saw when I ran the "Can you run it"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guild Wars 2
System Requirements Lab Analysis

Sorry, your computer does not meet the minimum specifications required to run this product. Please review the details below for more information.


MINIMUM NEEDED

CPU
Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, Core i3, AMD Athlon 64 X2 or better
You Have: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 460 @ 2.53GHz
**** P A S S ******


CPU Speed
Minimum: Info
You Have: 2.5 GHz


RAM
Minimum: 2 GB
You Have: 3.9 GB
***** P A S S *****

OS
Minimum: Windows XP Service Pack 2 or better
You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 64-bit
****** P A S S ******

Video Card
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce 7800, ATI Radeon X1800, Intel HD 3000 or better (256 MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)
You Have: Intel(R) HD Graphics
****** F A I L *****

Upgrade Suggested: Unfortunately, your Video Card does not meet this requirement.

Features: Minimum attributes of your Video Card
***Required*** *****YOU HAVE*****
Pixel Shader version 3.0 .........................4.0
Vertex Shader version 3.0..........................4.0
Dedicated Video RAM 256 MB....................64 MB

Sound Card
Minimum: Yes
You Have: Realtek High Definition Audio
******* P A S S ******


Free Disk Space
Minimum: 25 GB
You Have: 379.4 GB
******** P A S S *******

 

[Sunius]

I have no idea why you think there's only 64 MB of VRAM available. It increases as it feels need to, and when you're not launching any game, it stays at minimum. Yet, more video RAM doesn't mean more performance.

I suppose you cannot return the laptop?

There is a solution, but it isn't very cheap. It's called vidock, you'd need to buy that + a graphics card. It plugs into the express slot and allows you to use a discrete graphics card.

 

[SchizTech]

That's a laptop not meant for gaming. It's not an issue of video memory, the video processor itself (built into the CPU) just isn't up to snuff. As to that memory, none of it is actually dedicated to the video card as such; since the laptop uses integrated graphics the video shares some of the main system RAM (up to 1696 MB). That video allocation is "dynamically allocated" which means the system decides how much it needs to use at any given time (it should increase the allocation whenever it needs more, at the expense of the memory available to the rest of the system).

The onboard video you have is that of a first-generation Core i-series laptop CPU; the minimum spec quoted by that diagnostic log (Intel HD 3000) refers to a second-gen Core i series. This being a basic laptop not designed for gaming there's no way to upgrade the video card.

 

[SchizTech]

Tip: for "budget" gaming it's better to go AMD for now. Intel makes great CPUs but their graphics (though repidly improving) are way behind AMD's integrated graphics.

--

OK, I found something more after a bit of a search. There don't seem to be "global" settings to change that memory allocation but there can be changes made to individual game settings to force a higher memory allocation. IT seems many games aren't tested against Intel graphics, and Intel's dynamic memory system. Ordinarily that system would be advantageous, to reduce system memory borrowed by the video chip when the system isn't doing something graphically intensive but this particular game doesn't seem to know how to adjust the shared memory used. That scan is seeing the minimum memory, but not the total that can be allocated.

Put simply, a lot of software just isn't programmed to use the dynamic memory system Intel devised the way it was meant to be used.

Some games can be forced to use more video memory, though the particular details that work for one game may not work for another. IT's an advanced technique, but I'll link to the thread on another forum:

http/www.computing.net/answers/hardware/how-do-i-set-memory-for-intel-hd-graphics/74833.html

 

[jaquith]

Well the Guild Wars 2 is only 'available' currently as beta and there's no Xbox or PS3 version, so you have time to build/purchase a 'Gaming PC.' The ViDock is no longer in production and from what I know it really wasn't any good.

There are 'Gaming Notebooks' but they're fairly expensive in comparison to a Desktop.

Solutions:
1. New Gaming Notebook $1,000~$3,000+ ; e.g. ASUS G75 (or G55) series or Razer Blade series
2. New Gaming PC $600+ ; Building ideas from Marathon series articles - http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3770k-overclock-geforce-gtx-680,3219.html

I 'get' money and short of playing the lottery and having obscenely good luck, it's going to cost you. Further, making choices between kids and a PC then duh the kids win!

 

[mouse24]

First questions are, when did you buy it, can you get a refund, whats your budget, any chance of getting a desktop instead of a laptop?

Edit: it looks like I misunderstood, I take it thats your old laptop? Can you sell it to anyone? You can get a pretty alright pc for around 500 if you build it yourself. There are prebuilt options but its likely it wouldn't be a pleasurable experience.

 

[ldsgirl76]

I have no idea why you think there's only 64 MB of VRAM available. It increases as it feels need to, and when you're not launching any game, it stays at minimum. Yet, more video RAM doesn't mean more performance.

I suppose you cannot return the laptop?

There is a solution, but it isn't very cheap. It's called vidock, you'd need to buy that + a graphics card. It plugs into the express slot and allows you to use a discrete graphics card.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for responding so QUICKLY!

About how much do these ViDock and +a graphics cards cost me anyhow, and how would I know which kind I would need? I have searched EVERYWHERE on the internet literally ALL NIGHT to find the answer to that with no AVAIL. I can't figure the cost if I don't even know what to buy exactly, right?

Yeah, I figured that with all of the other specs on this computer the designers surely would want people to be able to launch games that require more then the 64MB, but on EVERY forum I have been on INCLUDING Guild Wars people are saying that your SOL when it comes to making games realize you have more then the 64MB!!!! This seems SO WRONG! As you can see, even the "Can You Run It?" website only recognizes the 64MB and says my computer FAILED and can't run the program ... and when I tried downloading it it said that my computer couldn't do it. There are many others with similar cards are having the same complaints. In fact, even on the Toshiba website there are people being told they are SOL and that they need to buy a more expensive system and they are just accepting that as normal! I am sorry, but I do not give up so easily! URG!!!!!!

I was thrilled last night when I found out I got this as an early birthday present ... but now I can't even use it!

Some people were asking if it was possible to change how the games recognize the MB through BIOS ... but I have NO IDEA how to do that or if it would even work. That seems to me to be the REAL answer ... right?

So far everyone with these integrated Intel pieces of crap seem to have found no solutions, but many of them also do not have the Express Card Slot. So you think that this might be able to work for me? I would HATE to buy one and then they say something like my system wouldn't support it or some crap like that. I am still thinking that there has to be a way to adjust the settings with the BIOS, though, and get these games to recognize the power of my system. I have emailled Toshiba, Guild Wars, and ViDock, but so far have not heard back from anyone. I am going to be SERIOUSLY PISSED if I cannot use my computer. Unfortunately I bought this computer a year ago and I HIGHLY doubt Best Buy would take it back. MAYBE if I complain enough to Toshiba, though, that might be a different matter because to me this was seriously false advertising. In fact, I will still be pretty pissed if I have to fork out another $300 or whatever it would cost to be able to make my system work.

Are you familiar with BIOS to possibly help me run through it to see if it's possible to alter the settings or something?

 

[ldsgirl76]

I have no idea why you think there's only 64 MB of VRAM available. It increases as it feels need to, and when you're not launching any game, it stays at minimum. Yet, more video RAM doesn't mean more performance.

I suppose you cannot return the laptop?

There is a solution, but it isn't very cheap. It's called vidock, you'd need to buy that + a graphics card. It plugs into the express slot and allows you to use a discrete graphics card.

Oh, and I forgot to say that it's not I that thinks my only allotted VRAM is 64MB ... this is what "Can You Run It" recognized as what my computer has ... it saw nothing of the 1696MB. My computer won't even let me launch the game. And, everyone else with systems similar are being told the same thing.

 

[ldsgirl76]

http/www.systemrequirementslab.com/CYRI/analysis.aspx?name=Guild+Wars+2&id=11297

That is the site I used ... which was suggested to me and anyone else to use from Guild Wars 2 themselves on their page.

 

[ldsgirl76]

Tip: for "budget" gaming it's better to go AMD for now. Intel makes great CPUs but their graphics (though repidly improving) are way behind AMD's integrated graphics.

--

OK, I found something more after a bit of a search. There don't seem to be "global" settings to change that memory allocation but there can be changes made to individual game settings to force a higher memory allocation. IT seems many games aren't tested against Intel graphics, and Intel's dynamic memory system. Ordinarily that system would be advantageous, to reduce system memory borrowed by the video chip when the system isn't doing something graphically intensive but this particular game doesn't seem to know how to adjust the shared memory used. That scan is seeing the minimum memory, but not the total that can be allocated.

Put simply, a lot of software just isn't programmed to use the dynamic memory system Intel devised the way it was meant to be used.

Some games can be forced to use more video memory, though the particular details that work for one game may not work for another. IT's an advanced technique, but I'll link to the thread on another forum:

http/www.computing.net/answers/hardware/how-do-i-set-memory-for-intel-hd-graphics/74833.html

I appreciate everyone's quick responses. Thank you!

I understood when I purchased the laptop that it wasn't SPECIFICALLY for gaming as I knew those suckers were CRAZY expensive. However, the Toshiba website (as well as Best Buy) said that though it wasn't a top notch kick A** laptop for gaming that it would perform pretty well. And, as I needed to go the laptop route anyway I thought I was doing pretty good on the decision to go with this one.

{In regards to what you said earlier about CPUs I knew that financially they were the smarter way to go ... especially when it came to gaming. But, at the time we already had a CPU (which WAS a piece of crap) but as we were looking for something new I had no option but to go the laptop route since I was homeschooling my oldest child and we needed something to be able to do school "on the fly" so to speak. At the time I had to choose one or the other.}

So, I will look into the research you did for me. Once again, thank you SO much.

I knew Guild Wars 2 was still in BETA testing. In fact, that was one of the reasons my husband bought it for me now so that I could participate in the BETA testing happening as we speak and any others they have before the actual launch. We made the purchase ... and when we went to download the BETA Guild Wars 2 it said I was screwed (in my own words of course.) I about cried as we had JUST purchased the actual game and I was SO excited to try it out. I did message ArenaNet my frustrations over the situation and HOPEFULLY (though I am seriously not optimistic right now after everything I am told) they will make a way to change the game settings as you said.

And, who knows, maybe come tax return I can get a CPU that will meet my needs better. I just REALLY hope I don't have to wait that long to use the game I already bought for $79.99!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Motherboards & Memory to section Laptops & Notebooks by Mousemonkey

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Graphics & Displays to section Laptops & Notebooks by Mousemonkey

 

[Mousemonkey]

This next topics has been merged by Mousemonkey
■ Using My Express Card Slot

 

[ldsgirl76]

Best answer selected by ldsgirl76.

 

[mouse24]

Well, there is no magic button that will allow you to play on onboard graphics. You keep saying that its toshibas fault or best buys fault or guild wars fault. No its not, you were simply uninformed and have fallen into the pit of hell that is consumer pc/laptop marketing.

As for the bios it should be straight forward, when you start it up you should have an option to get into the bios (it will most likely be written at the bottom of the screen) Its normally delete. Now to change the allotted memory for your onboard graphics there should be an option somewhere that says "onboard vram" or "graphics memory" Something VERY similar to that. But as with everything its best to come and ask before you potentially mess with anything. After you find the proper setting it should either have a drop down menu or something similar that will let you select the amount you would want.

 

[ldsgirl76]

Well, there is no magic button that will allow you to play on onboard graphics. You keep saying that its toshibas fault or best buys fault or guild wars fault. No its not, you were simply uninformed and have fallen into the pit of hell that is consumer pc/laptop marketing.

As for the bios it should be straight forward, when you start it up you should have an option to get into the bios (it will most likely be written at the bottom of the screen) Its normally delete. Now to change the allotted memory for your onboard graphics there should be an option somewhere that says "onboard vram" or "graphics memory" Something VERY similar to that. But as with everything its best to come and ask before you potentially mess with anything. After you find the proper setting it should either have a drop down menu or something similar that will let you select the amount you would want.

Actually ... what I REALLY said was that I was the fool and the idiot ... and I do believe that I was most mislead by the sales team .... and to give them the benefit of the doubt, they were most likely uninformed. However, the person that should've done more research before buying is simply ME. User error indeed. If it came off that I am blaming everyone else too then it is only because I have been yanking my hair out trying to see if this is a lost cause or not ... and I am dang tired and frustrated. However, it doesn't change the fact that I am super frustrated. But, I really do appreciate your help ... and I am being sincere. Thank you.

I have been told that it would be impossible to do this with BIOS. Now you have given me hope. I truly hope this will work. My brother-in-law's friend is super tech saavy as the people on this forum are and my sis-in-law told me today to call Pat. If anyone can help walk me through this BIOS process to look over my shoulder and make sure I don't seriously jack up my computer it would be him.

Thanks.

 

[ldsgirl76]

This next topics has been merged by Mousemonkey
■ Using My Express Card Slot

That is what my other question was. I do have the Express Card Slot. As people say ViDock was crap and not in production anymore ... and if the BIOS doesn't work, as some say, then *what do I need to purchase that would work using the Express Card Slot?*

Sorry if that is a redundant and stupid question but I am not seeing the answer to that one

 

[ldsgirl76]

This next topics has been merged by Mousemonkey
■ Using My Express Card Slot

loving the avatar, by the way