Netbook Gaming - A guide
A netbook can be a rather nice thing to have for someone who needs a computer to work on on the go, and inevitably somewhere along the line, you're going to start wondering if it can be used for basic gaming. The answer is, yes! A netbook is perfect for gaming, especially considering it can run the majority of older games perfectly; ideal for those of us who have never played Baldur's Gate or want to take Diablo 2 with us on the go.
So, to start off, I own a Samsung RV510, a somewhat underwhelming netbook, but not too terrible for it's price. All the games I test for netbook will be run on this device.
So, technical specs for those looking for comparisons; 15" screen, 2.09ghz Dual Core processor, no hyperthreading, 2gb RAM and for its graphics, an integrated Intel GMA 4500M chipset. All in all, it's nothing more than a netbook with a slightly larger screen. Some reviews pan it for having underwhelming performance, but so far I can't complain about it, seeing as it only cost R3,5k.
Now, first things first, for those with the right chipsets, I have found two tweaks to get the most out of some GMA chipsets.
1- GMABooster. This little application is able to boost your Intel GMA900 or GMA950's performance, but I haven't tested it as I don't own a device with either chipset. It is touted as a must-have, however.
2- Royal BNA Driver. This driver was designed by an ex-Intel employee, and can be used in place of official Intel drivers for anyone running a GMA 4500M chipset. The driver seems to beef up performance enormously, with some people claiming to be able to even play games like L4D when using it. As with anything unofficial, use at your own risk. I'm currently using it, and I am beyond impressed. It is also apparently tweaked for Source games.
So, I am going to set up a full list of games which I have managed to get running on my Netbook so far, so that anyone else with a netbook can have an idea of what should or should not be possible to play, for anyone who might be interested in gaming while sitting on a flight, or while in the boot of a car being abducted by hi-jackers. I'll keep updating as I try more games.
------------------------------------------------
Games that run:
------------------------------------------------
1 - The largest part of the GoG.com catalogue. GoG is filled with old gems just begging to be played on your netbook, so just check them out. I'm not even going to bother listing the majority of them here.
2 - Thief 2. I installed this without any issues, and it runs amazingly smooth on high graphics. I haven't played much yet, but so far no lag. By extension, I'm going to assume Thief 1 runs fine.
3 - Deus Ex. Also runs amazingly. A definite must for anyone who hasn't tried it yet.
4 - System Shock 2. Okay, I haven't tried this yet, but it runs on the same engine used by Thief and Deus Ex, so it should almost assuredly run well.
5 - Diablo 2. This is a no-brainer. It runs on pretty much everything and was the first game I tried. No lag whatsoever.
6 - Torchlight. Yet another no-brainer. Even has a built-in netbook mode, which reduces texture size and some other unnecessary extras. Ran fine on my netbook even without netbook mode enabled, though. And that's also before I installed the Royal BNA driver.
7 - x3: Terran Conflict. I'm not lying here, but this works. I initially tried it more as a joke, but surprisingly, with the resolution and graphics set to low, this runs! It lags a bit, but stays mostly in the upper teens to 20s regarding FPS. More than playable for the type of game it is, IF you stay out of firefights. Going to try the somewhat older X3: Reunion to see if it doesn't run slightly better.
8 - Super Meat Boy. This runs, but surprisingly, with just enough lag to make it incredibly difficult to play. Playable, but expect a frustrating time with you constantly missing jumps due to lag, etc. Very strange for what looks like an elaborate flash game.
9 - Port Royale 2. Runs flawlessly. Probably because it's a 2D isometric game.
10 - AI War: Fleet Command. Runs flawlessly.
11 - Morrowind. This runs, on 1024x786 with some of the graphics options toned down. Very playable frames.
------------------------------------------------
Games I still plan on trying:
------------------------------------------------
1 - Tropico Reloaded
2 - Left 4 Dead 1 and 2
3 - Half-Life 2
4 - Half-Life 2 and episodes
5 - Portal 1 + 2
6 - Total War: Rome. Heard a lot of people can get this running, but have a bit of lag on the campaign map.
7 - GTA 3 and Vice City
8 - Dead Island. I kid you not. Heard this works on netbooks as long as you use tweaked configs that tone down the graphics dramatically.
9 - Sins of a Solar Empire. I've heard that this game is incredibly netbook friendly.
10 - Morrowind. With a few FPS mods and some other tweaks, I'm pretty sure this will run on a netbook.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Graal
