Debating on a motherboard upgrade.

[Syre]

Hey guys. I can currently play the game in roughly 12-20 FPS, even while recording, which is great and all; but I want more. I'm on just about the lowest settings possible (i have aerodynamic gfx quality one notch above for the flameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees), and am debating whether or not to upgrade my laptop (dell studio 1737)'s motherboard, because the laptop came with the option of a dedicated gpu chipset.

Current Specs:

Processor: intel core 2 duo t6400

Ram: 4 gb, not sure of speed. I do know it's ddr2.(I'd assume 700~800 mhz) -checked it, reports 398 mhz in speccy (1 channel), so 796 mhz total.

GPU: Intel GMA 4500 MHD

Possible specs:

Processor: Intel core 2 duo t9900(roughly 90$)

Ram: 8gb, 800 mhz (this is 180$ - probably not gonna be done!)

GPU: Radeon HD 3650 (This is the strongest I can get in this laptop, the mobo would be roughly 100)

So for $190 I can upgrade both the mobo and the processor, that CPU would give me a HUGE boost in performance, and I'm willing to bet draining CPU for the GPU is also slowing down kerbal.

Do you guys find this worth it, or should I just save up the roughly 700 it would take for a good laptop?

[Albert VDS]

If it can't be upgraded to a better GPU than that then I would suggest spending the money on a new laptop.

[Kerbonautical]

I'm adding a vote for just put the money towards a new laptop. The performance gains of the upgrade would be noticable, but a modern laptop can actually perform reasonably. My friend plays on an i7 (can't remember exactly which one, something like 2.4 clock speed) and it runs ok with low settings, v sync on and a bunch of mods running without a GPU. If you're not already using it, I suggest trying the mod Active Texture Management to up your performance a bit in the meantime and at no cost.

Also a new laptop would really help with the DDR2 situation. I haven't actually had DDR2 in a long time personally, but I'd hazard a guess that the lower speeds are really not helping much either. Also remember that Unity is being updated for multi threading support in the future and KSP will be too, so the extra threads available in a more modern multithreaded CPU will be available to you down the line whereas a core 2 will only benefit so much

[Syre]

I'm adding a vote for just put the money towards a new laptop. The performance gains of the upgrade would be noticable, but a modern laptop can actually perform reasonably. My friend plays on an i7 (can't remember exactly which one, something like 2.4 clock speed) and it runs ok with low settings, v sync on and a bunch of mods running without a GPU. If you're not already using it, I suggest trying the mod Active Texture Management to up your performance a bit in the meantime and at no cost.

Also a new laptop would really help with the DDR2 situation. I haven't actually had DDR2 in a long time personally, but I'd hazard a guess that the lower speeds are really not helping much either. Also remember that Unity is being updated for multi threading support in the future and KSP will be too, so the extra threads available in a more modern multithreaded CPU will be available to you down the line whereas a core 2 will only benefit so much

Eh ddr2 @ 800 mhz isn't so bad, though I see your point.

If I upgrade to anything it'll be an i5 with a 660 probably. idk.

[FenrirWolf]

I agree that a full hardware upgrade would be better in your case. Laptops aren't particularly known for their modular upgradeability, but even in this case where you can swap out components you're not going to get a food enough return for it to be worthwhile.

[Red Iron Crown]

Paying good money to go from one obsolete CPU to another seems like a fool's errand to me.

I say this respectfully, as I'm playing on a C2D as well. Mine isn't upgradable, but I wouldn't put money into an old rig anyway. I'm saving for something better.

[Syre]

Paying good money to go from one obsolete CPU to another seems like a fool's errand to me.

I say this respectfully, as I'm playing on a C2D as well. Mine isn't upgradable, but I wouldn't put money into an old rig anyway. I'm saving for something better.

If I don't upgrade my mobo, I'll just upgrade to the T9900, as it's only 20 bucks.

[Red Iron Crown]

Hmmm, a >50% increase in clockspeed for $20? Yeah, I can see how that would be tempting. If it was $90 like in the OP I would hesitate, but if you've found a better deal I would take it.

[ZedNova]

Buy a new laptop, it'll be worth it. 12-20 FPS isn't really acceptable IMHO.

Here's an excellent laptop for around 700 USD : http://www.amazon.com/Acer-V5-552PG-X809-15-6-inch-Touchscreen-Champagne/dp/B00DKFFLH4/ref=psdc1_t2_B00HYAL6ZM_B00DKFFLH4

You could also build a desktop, although it does require more time and effort, plus it's not portable.