Laptop usage question

[dr_thrax]

Shadow Lady is right.
You don't measure the performance of any processors in Hz.
You measure their performance in operations per second. It's the only reasonable and feasible way to compare processors with different clock rates and architecture.
Anyways, 2.5 GHz is reasonable for most games on PCSX2, so you should be okay with some speedhacks.

[dotHack]

You will play just fine a lot of games actually with speedhacks. And don't ever confuse processor speeds like that. Those Ghz are the "overall" processing power of your quad. When running in quad mode it runs at 1.7ghz overall. When it is running with three or two or even one core only, it overclocks the ones that are in use (this generates more heat) just because the ones that aren't in use aren't generating heat, so in the end it all comes down to heat. One less core working, less heat, and it decides it can overclock the working cores then because it still *has room* for more heat.

So, if your processor is really hot, and even disabling cores doesn't cool it off, *turbo boost WON'T kick in*. It is designed to keep temperatures and energy consumption under control while giving you *some* (it is never quite noticeable actually) extra speed when working with less cores. There is more tech-talk about this but all you need to know is that turbo boost can't make miracles and it doesn't always kick in. And you *never* add up ghz because you have more cores, otherwise marketing departments from intel and amd would already have been promoting "12ghz" cpus. Don't ever say that again =P

Some games you can try running in software mode and choose more threads since it's a quad core with a nice *mobile* vga.

By the way bear in mind, that if you are buying a laptop "just" for PCSX2 then it is a good idea to look at al these things BUT if you're looking for an everyday companion for everyday tasks then get what you can get ad what you like, 'cause it's not so smart to get, say, a high clocked dual core (2.8-3.3 for example) and not a nice quad "just" for pcsx2 if you don't use it much.

Get the G73. Is a very nice machine.

[Fezzer]

Not to mention that the i-series have an architectural gain over C2D's, just meaning comparing Hz can be silly

[Saiki]

What are you talking about, if it's your pentium dual and it says 2.2GHz then it's 2.2Ghz not 4.9Ghz, dunno what you're talking about

MY 2.2 dual core in tests shows like it's a 4.9 MONOcore pc, I'm sure you haven't forgotten the 4.9ghz P4 that can play FFX at full speed? Do you remember what I said about it? the usr clocked up their processor to match mine (total) on a single core. THAT is what I'm talking about.

[Finzy]

Obviously it depends on the games you're going to play, but my general opinion is that you definitely don't need an overclocked super-high ghz CPU for many PCSX2 games. It's much simpler and more convenient for your hardware to use speedhacks. Besides, if you want to buy a high end gaming computer, you might as well get a desktop for less money - laptops are usually for more purposes than just that. And I definitely wouldn't go overclocking one or its durability is gonna wear out rather fast. Just saying.

For the record, I've played the following games without any problems at all on a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 laptop with an Ati Mobility Radeon HD 4670 (1 gig) videocard:

Jak 3
Ratchet & Clank 3 (beaten! )
Serious Sam: The Next Encounter
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (nearly beaten, in the final battle)
Cel Damage Overdrive (cel shaded destruction derby / party racing game)
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Crash Nitro Kart
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
World Rally Championship 2001...had this lying around somewhere so I had to give it a go

Most of them are very 3D heavy platformers, especially Jak, Ratchet and Rayman, so yeah, speedhacks can do miracles. The least demanding of them, such as FFX and Cel Damage, I can also run fully playably without any speedhacks on the newest svns. It's been able to run anything I've thrown at it so far after fiddling with the settings for a while and seeing which speedhacks work.

[Rezard]

1 more thing as well. The reason i posted this, is because in the stickied post regarding compatibility with machines... ...it also says few laptops can handle pcsx2.

Although true at one point, that information has become more and more dated as time goes on. The word "few" is quite the understatement now, as most new laptops are at least dual core, generally exceed 2.0Ghz, and if you're not spending less than $700 (or getting some craptop from Wal-Mart), you'll usually get at least a compatible GPU. Most anything better than a GMA 4500M/HD can support native resolution with many games.

ATI's rather common HD 5450 can would do fine on native with many games, and the nearly as common HD 5650 would be great with most games and even run some higher resolutions. Meanwhile, any of nVidia's current 400M series would run great, the lowest (415M) should do better than the HD 5450.

So, if you're buying a new laptop, you're probably going to be able to run PCSX2. To ensure you can run it well with more games, look to spend $700 or more, get a dedicated GPU and don't waste money on a craptop. Shopping online is a sure way to get a better laptop for your money. If you can't order through them, at least use sites like Newegg or TigerDirect as a guide to what's a good value.

And make sure you monitor your temps with a laptop when running a heavy gaming application (such as PCSX2). It's not uncommon for mobile parts to get hotter, especially after extend periods of time.

[ChronicSP]

@Rezard, ty so much , thats exactly the answer im looking for. i wasnt sure how out dated that post was.