Opinion on Benchmarks Created 16 years ago2008-07-22 20:23:19 UTC by TawnosPrime

Ok, I got a laptop that I'm benching to see if I'll keep and I need to know if it'll last me for my gaming (as in high end games for 2 years).

NOTE STFU about laptop gaming. I've heard the 'opinions'/hate-mongering about laptops for gaming, but I don't give a damn, so check it at the door.

So, here are the specs:

HP Pavilion HDX
20.1" WSXGA+ screen (1680x1050)
Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz
4GB DDR2 RAM
320GB 5400RPM HDD
GeForce 8800M GTS

I've seen decent/respectable performance with my benchmark titles, all of which were played at native resolution at medium settings.

Crysis - Low to mid 20s generally, low to mid teens during cutscene/ice caverns.
Bioshock - Low to mid 30s
Unreal 3 - 40 to 60 depending on level of action

Are these levels good enough to last me a couple of years, or should I go with a higher spec'd system?

Nope, they're not good enough. Simple as that.

Saying STFU about laptop gaming is very silly btw. If you're buying a laptop to game on it, you're pretty much screwing yourself.

Buy a laptop if you NEED a computer you to take with you to work/school. If you have to buy one, then you find one that can game alright. Don't buy one for the purpose of gaming.

That being said, those specs aren't terrible. You'll be able to game for a while, but maybe not the Crysis's of the next couple years.

While gaming is the primary purpose of it, I'm also looking for portability. Something I can take to a LAN or to Grandma's house, so I don't have to lug around a tower and monitor.

It's still a bad choice if you're buying it for gaming.

Yup, definately.

Trust me dude, listen to me and Ant. We both have laptops that we game on.

Yah, but I didn't buy mine for the purposes of gaming. It's lucky that I'm not a very heavy PC gamer though. Having said that, if I'm only missing out on games like Crysis, then I'm not really fussed.

I bought mine for school as well, obviously I wanted to be able to game on it but I didn't let that determine the computer I got. I got the one I needed for school (a Mac), and the fact that it runs Crysis on medium-high settings (low for the ice part) is just a bonus for me.

Right now, my only purpose/need is for a gaming machine. School isn't something viable right now (mostly cuz the system I'm in is shit), and I can't continue using the X300 I've got in my Dell any longer (and obviously no upgrades can be done).

I was hoping for decent results from this system, as it was $1700 and had the second highest Geforce 8M card in it. I've got the 1440x900 res to fall beck on too, so I'll give that a try Sunday night (next time I've got enough free time) and see how it goes. If this won't last me the average PC life cycle of 2 years, then my next option is a $3500 machine, which I'd like to avoid.

On the reduced not, what numbers do you think I should be looking for on Crysis at medium settings at 1440x900, for it to be good for the next two years, given that Crysis is the prime candidate for benchmarking, since you need a powerful system to run it?

Dont expect to benchmark a laptop with crysis, it would be a pretty futile attempt.