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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #1
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Can I improve laptop performance

Hi,
I have an Asus A6000 (A6J) notebook about 2 years old. My graphics card is ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 v. 8.453.0.0 (installed january 2008) My other specs are on my profile.
Despite my advanced years and senility (or because of them) I use it mainly for playing games such as COD, Ghost Recon etc. but I have to play them at their lowest specs or they wont play properly.
My question is that since I can't afford £1000 for a high end pc with dual graphics cards etc, how can i make the best of what I've got in terms of upgrading my system myself (its hard for me to get about, so running around computer stores is out of the question).
If someone has the time to explain to me in the very simplest of terms ( yes I really mean; Step 1-switch on the computer....) how or even if I can optimize my system, I really would be obliged.
Thanks
Cozzielex

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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #2
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Upgrade opportunities in laptops are very limited - you seem to have been fortunate in that you have been able to upgrade the graphics, but I suspect they are still well below the requirements to play the games you mention at anything but the lowest specs.

The only upgrade I see possible is to install more RAM - your notebook will take 2 GB, see .....

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...aspx?model=A6J

Delivery by post - installation video on the page and see your manual for detailled information as to how/where to install.

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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #3
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thanks for that Pete. Occasionally I get a message that my CPU MHz is too low (its now 1666) Can that be increased or would it make a difference?
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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #4
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How when and where are you getting that message? (its' your cpu's speed)
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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #5
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Thanks for your response Steve. When I installed Ghost Recon advanced warfighter 2 I got that message and it did suggest a higher cpu speed. I cant recall the exact words but that was the gist.
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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #6
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Your cpu will reduce its speed when you run it on battery...But according to your system specs - 1666 is the max your cpu will do....So maybe you saw the message when on battery power?
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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #7
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No Steve that wouldnt be the case as I never use battery power, just mains. By the way Steve, I see you are fro Texas, USA, I hope that you and yours havent bee affected by that awful incident at Fort Hood.
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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #8
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Thanks for the concern, but I'm 125 miles north of Ft Hood and way too old to know anyone serving (knock on wood)
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Old 2 Weeks Ago   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cozzielex View Post
Thanks for your response Steve. When I installed Ghost Recon advanced warfighter 2 I got that message and it did suggest a higher cpu speed. I cant recall the exact words but that was the gist.
Your system doesn't meet the requirements for this game:

Quote:
Processor:

2 GHz Pentium® IV or AMD Athlon™ (2.8 GHz Pentium IV or AMD Athlon recommended)

Video Card:

128 MB DirectX® 9.0c/ Shader Model 2.0 compliant (256 MB recommended) (see supported list*)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:

- ATI® Radeon® 9559, 9600, 9800/X800-X1950
- Laptop models of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game. Additional chipsets may be supported after release.

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Old 1 Week Ago   #10
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Thanks Arie,
I understand that but I can play these games quite well on low spec and Im about to buy the new call of duty game so really I want to know if there is any advantage at all in increasing the ram or cpu speed and whether or not that would allow any appreciable improvement in the performance (the computer's, not mine!). Additionally is there any other hardware device which can be either upgraded or if not improved or maintenance procedure which would help. I was using a registry cleaner, but after reading the thread on this forum Ive stopped and just do a daily clean up with cc cleaner.
Thanks for your time

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Old 1 Week Ago   #11
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If you are talking about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 I don't think you have much chance .....

Minimum System Requirements ....

Quote:
Windows Vista/XP
AMD 64 3200+ or Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz
512 MB RAM (XP) / 1 GB RAM (Vista)
Shader 3.0 or better 256 MB:
◦nVidia GeForce 6600GT
◦ATI Radeon 1600XT
16 GB free hard drive space
As I posted earlier laptop upgrades are very limited - you can forget about upgrading the CPU - on the basis of the above increasing the RAM alone is unlikely to make a significant difference.

IMHO no amount of tweaking is going to give you any benefit here - the CPU and graphics are just not up to it.

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Old 1 Week Ago   #12
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ok thanks guys.
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Old 1 Week Ago   #13
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Always sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but facts are facts I'm afraid.

I've marked this thread as 'Resolved', please see .....
Quote:
New Functionality: Marking a thread as 'Resolved'

We have added new functionality to the forum that allows you to mark your threads as 'Resolved'.

It is considered courteous to post a reply if you have been able to resolve your problem, or received an answer to your question. If you were given multiple suggestions/solutions, it is also helpful if you would list the solution that worked for you.

Once you have posted those details, when still looking at your thread, near the top of your thread you'll see Thread Tools. Click the down arrow to expand the drop down menu, at the bottom of it you'll see Mark this thread as solved. Click on it to mark your thread as solved.

If later you find that the problem has returned, and you had previously marked your thread as solved, follow the steps above. Instead 'Mark this thread as solved' you will see that in this case Mark this thread as unsolved is listed.

Please read the User Guide for more information.

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