Gaming on a low end laptop

[b1lk1]

I just picked up a HP DV6748CA laptop on the cheap. It has a C2D T5450 (1.6GHz) and an onboard 8400M GS 256 MB card. I already installed one of the few games I love (Trackmania) and I was pleasantly surprised it can run it at respectable (medium) settings. I also play some source games like Half Life and Portal and I heard my laptop should do Ok with them as well.

My question is this. The GPU is not upgradeable. This I know. Would it be worth teh effort to put in a T7500 CPU (best it supports)? Otherwise, I am pretty happy as is. Mostly just wondering if a better CPU would make enough of a difference.

[Thund3rball]

It's a good jump from a T5450 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2, 667 FSB) to a T7500 (2.2GHz, 4MB L2, 800 FSB), the question is the price worth the jump? If you got the laptop for a really good deal than investing another ~$150 for a CPU might be well worth it. It will definitely help out on source games imo. And if you play any strategy games it will help a lot there too.

I have the T7500 in my lappy paired with an 8600M GT on Vista 32 and I am very, very pleased with it's performance in and out of games. But there's a big jump from 8400M GS --> 8600M GT for games.

[b1lk1]

Yeah, I made sure to look that all up about the video cards since I figured out the GPU is not upgradeable. My screen is 15.4" and runs 1280X800 so that doesn't punish it too badly. As for the CPU, I've seen them for about $100 all inclusive on Ebay so it sounds to me like it is a worthy jump when I get some spare cash. Any other tips/info would still be greatly appreciated from anyone that has some laptop experience.

[JD]

Perhaps a SSD or 7200rpm drive? Should help out too. And 4GB of RAM if you don't already have it.

[gingerbee]

a friend did an ssd upgrade on a low end netbook and got great performance out of it.

[b1lk1]

It has 3GB of ram (Vista 32 as well) and it does have a 7200RPM HD.

[geokilla]

Originally Posted by gingerbee

a friend did an ssd upgrade on a low end netbook and got great performance out of it.

Was it everyday performance that got better, or gaming?

How much did you get your laptop for? And where'd you get it? Maybe you can return it and get a better one for around the same price. Newegg seems to have some good ASUS deals. I also saw an ASUS G50 laptop for sale here and at RFD. I believe it just came back from an ASUS RMA.

Asus G50VT Gaming Laptop

[b1lk1]

I got it on Ebay for $280CAD shipped. I can't afford to spend any more than that. Gaming was not a requirement, I was just hoping to be able to play lighter games. So far I am very happy with what I got. I can't really say that I care enough to change the CPU because performance is better than I hoped. I did keep my expectations low and realistic and it seems that this is easily surpassing that for my needs.

[gingerbee]

Originally Posted by geokilla

Was it everyday performance that got better, or gaming?

it was gaming and he's a member here. jimbotoronto did it to several of his netbooks and mobiles the game was dungeon siege 1/2 i believe adn he got a pretty big jump in fps i think. maybe if he see this thread? just not sure if it will be that much of an upgrade over a 7200 will it?

[b1lk1]

The current price of SSD's is a HUGE limiting factor anyways for me. Even the T7500 is tough to justify on my current financials. This is mostly food for thought for me.