laptop for running DOW II

koconutmonkey

Hello all. I am in the market for a laptop that will be multi purpose, but the main purpose will be to run Dawn of War II ok. I am not looking for a desktop replacement, just something that I can play the game with. I will be going to training for 4 months and this will be my primary source of entertainment. I will also be playing either wow or Warhammer Online with it as well.

My current 3 year old laptop plays wow just fine, but I cant even get it to install Warhammer online...

So any suggestions on getting this laptop for under a grand? I dont really care about the size or the battery life honestly, as I am just using this as an away from hope laptop for now, then eventually it will be a second PC in my house.

Malkor

I suggest asking dudes in the DoW II thread. I think a lot of 'em are in the beta. They should be able to give you a good idea of your best options.

Rook

I have an 8600M GT and 2.1Ghz intel. It' runs on mostly low @1440x900 but 30fps. (Although I honestly think DoW2 looks worse than CoH which runs on medium-high no problems) So that should be your base line. I think the 9600M is basically the same card clocked 10-20% higher, so if you want something that's actually a laptop, that's what I'd go for. Especially if you're thinking of getting a proper PC.

Otherwise look for a 9800/8800M. I think gateway do a nice (ugly as sin though) 17" laptop with an 8800M

I'd prolly avoid ATi cards due to their driver issues.

Fallingman

I'm considering a MBP for this. But I'm not really up on graphics cards... So, I dont know how the 9600M GT will handle DoW2.

I currently have it running on my 1st gen MBP with an ATI X1600 . It chugs along on lowest settings. Need an upgrade methinks.

Venkman90

Considering the new MB will run things like WoW (on high settings at 40fps avg) COD4 etc... then the new MBP should be great for anything coming out now that isn't Crysis or w/e.

rockinthek2pe

how does DoW 2 stack up against bioshock graphics wise, is it a far more demanding game? my dv5t with a 9600mGt 512 DDR2 runs bioshock w/ settings maxed out (high, w/ and w/o global forced lighting at 1280 x 800 wide screen) at playable (if not fully playable) frame rates.
i'm using a P8600 and 3gig DDR2

Misanthropic

I have a 15" Unibody MBP, with the 512 MB RAM 9600m GT, and the 2.53 GHz C2D.

I play DoW II on med-high settings (the only thing I have turned down is shadows IIRC, but that's because it rapes even the highest end video cards due to funny coding). It runs great.

The only thing to keep in mind is that DoW II has some coding troubles that are independent of hardware. For example, on the multi menu screen it will rape certain graphics cards. A friend I play with has his temps go to 80-90C just on the menu screen. Weird.

But it does run great.

rockinthek2pe

thanks man!