›

System requirements for S&M, ToMI, etc.

alapalayaalapalaya
edited September 2010 in Game Support
Hi all,

I'm considering buying a mini-pc in addition to my usual laptop (HP) used for work, and I'm wondering if it would be able to run the telltale games (esp. S&M, ToMI and PA); an example of what I'm looking at:

Asus Eee PC 1101HA, with graph chip "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500" and an Atom CPU (Z520, 1.33 GHz), 1Gb RAM (or more)

from your experience, this could work (albeit with limited fx on), or is a totally unusable configuration?

Also, your lessons learned in using mini PCs are highly welcome

Thanks, best

Comments

  • DjNDBDjNDB Moderator
    edited July 2010
    I heard nothing good about Netbooks running recent TTG Games.
    You can read about someones experience running ToMI on a netbook here.

    If you want to play 3D games on a notebook, you should look for a model with a decent graphics chip.
  • demonfoodemonfoo
    edited July 2010
    The GMA500 probably isn't going to be enough, certainly not on a netbook with an Atom CPU, which is pretty weak to start with. I've been successfully running all of Telltale's titles on my HP Mini 311 (Atom N280 with nVidia ION graphics) with Ubuntu 10.04 and recent Wine packages (currently 1.2-rc6). They run reasonably well at 800x600 with the graphics turned down to level 3-4, depending on the title.

    Maybe something with a GMA4500MHD would be enough - maybe, but I wouldn't count on it. Unfortunately Intel's graphics "solutions" are pretty weak in terms of 3D performance and functionality.
  • alapalayaalapalaya
    edited July 2010
    Thanks guys, I got it.
    Most likely I'll have to reconsider my target laptop

    Any additional suggestion on the characteristics (cpu, ram, gfx card) to run TT games decently?

    thanks again
  • demonfoodemonfoo
    edited July 2010
    If you don't require that the game be played at full panel res, and don't mind turning down the graphics quality level a little bit (instead of turning it up to 9), I can say the HP Mini 311 does alright, mostly because of its nVidia ION graphics (and yes, ION LE == ION, same silicon). You could get one of them. But basically, pretty much anything with Intel graphics is right out. With some previous titles, at least on Windows, you could just barely squeak by, but with the newer stuff, Intel's integrated graphics just don't cut it. Most any fairly-modern CPU will do - the games aren't too CPU intensive, so as long as your graphics chip has the necessary oomph, you should probably be okay.

    If you want something small and fairly inexpensive, but want to get out of the Atom cellar, maybe check out HP's Pavilion dm1? Same form factor as the Mini 311, but with a more powerful CPU.
  • xbskidxbskid
    edited July 2010
    alapalaya wrote: »
    "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500"

    If you have any plans to game, beware of Intel's integrated graphics chips. They weren't designed with gaming in mind. They can't handle graphical acceleration in any sufficient capacity. Integrated chips from ATI and nVidia will generally provide good performance, and, although they're sometimes difficult to find, if you can find a graphics chip with "discrete memory", you'll get the best performance.
  • alapalayaalapalaya
    edited July 2010
    demonfoo wrote: »
    I can say the HP Mini 311 does alright, mostly because of its nVidia ION graphics (and yes, ION LE == ION, same silicon). You could get one of them. (...)
    If you want something small and fairly inexpensive, but want to get out of the Atom cellar, maybe check out HP's Pavilion dm1? Same form factor as the Mini 311, but with a more powerful CPU.

    Thanks a lot, very interesting hint. The HP Mini 311 seems a very good trade off; I'm wondering about the Pavillion dm1: if I'm not mistaken it has a Intel gfx card, therefore it is better to skip it.
    What do you think?

    thanks again to all of you!
  • demonfoodemonfoo
    edited July 2010
    alapalaya wrote: »
    Thanks a lot, very interesting hint. The HP Mini 311 seems a very good trade off; I'm wondering about the Pavillion dm1: if I'm not mistaken it has a Intel gfx card, therefore it is better to skip it.
    What do you think?

    Actually I was thinking specifically of the dm1z, which has an Athlon II Neo K125 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 GPU. I don't know if it's quite as powerful as ION, but it's substantively better than Intel's integrated graphics, and should (I would think) have the guts to run Telltale's games acceptably.
  • alapalayaalapalaya
    edited September 2010
    an update on this topic:
    I finally bought my new netbook and decided for a 12'' asus: eee 1215n (a bit more expensive than the models discussed before)

    I just installed ep.2 of season 3 of S&M and I'm impressed (very preliminary opinion): games can run smoothly at high res, 1366x768, with average effects (3 or 4), could be that in more crowded areas this settings are too demanding (eg lower res required( but overall I'm very satisfied and seems to be a good choice

    Thanks to everybody for your opinions and insights!

    Alapalaya
  • alapalayaalapalaya
    edited September 2010
    an update on this topic:
    I finally bought my new netbook and decided for a 12'' asus: eee 1215n (a bit more expensive than the models discussed before)

    I just installed ep.2 of season 3 of S&M and I'm impressed (very preliminary opinion): games can run smoothly at high res, 1366x768, with average effects (3 or 4), could be that in more crowded areas this settings are too demanding (eg lower res required( but overall I'm very satisfied and seems to be a good choice

    Thanks to everybody for your opinions and insights!

    Alapalaya
This discussion has been closed.