Laptop shared memory

stibbs84 · TweakNOOB Joined: 25 Jan 2005 Posts: 2

Hey, I know shared memory is pretty crappy for laptops, i was just wondering if I got a laptop with shared memory of 128 megs, and boosted up the ram high enough, if this would allow games to run better, or somewhat the same as dedicated videocards... This is the setup of the laptop i'm looking to buy:

Intel ® Pentium ® 4 Processor - 2.8 GHz with 1MB L2 Cache
15.4” WXGA High-Definition (Widescreen (1280 x 800) Display
512MB DDR SDRAM (2 x 256MB) at 333MHz
60GB (4200RPM) Hard Drive
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000 IGP with 128MB DDR (shared memory)

If you could just let me know if this would be good for running newer games, even if I bumped up the ram...I want this computer for an all around system for school, games, and internet.... Thanx!

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Spiegel · Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:36 pm Post subject:

No, you would almost definietly have issues with playing games. I'd say look for a rig with a dedicated gfx card with it's own RAM. Also, if you plan to game on it, try for a 7200RPM HDD. Good luck!
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stibbs84 · TweakNOOB Joined: 25 Jan 2005 Posts: 2

so even if I bump up the ram, it wouldn't do much? like for games i'm talking bout like nfs underground 2, unreal 2004, and medal of honor and stuff, could it run those okay? Cuz i dont wanna spend TOOOOO much money, but i dont wanna get anythin crappy either, and this has a pretty good price tag on it

oldmandingus · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:56 am Post subject:

my laptop has a ati 9700pro with 128mg dedicated memory and i play far cry and hl2 and nf2 undeground. It runs it flawlessly. I got my notebook off ebay you should look around on that,

fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Nah, that machine, even with maxed out RAM, won't play UT2004 worth a damn. Remember, you only have so much "shared memory" available, the Radeon 9000 mobile won't access any more than 128mb, that's it's max. And it's not a gaming card for new games, even in desktop form. On a desktop machine, with a full Radeon 9000, 1gb PC2700, and a 7200rpm drive UT2004 looks like a bad slideshow. In a laptop with half the specs, I shudder to think what it would look like.

Buy it for school, but don't expect to play any recent games on it. That's the price to be paid for a cheaper notebook.
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