Play without HD on this Intel cpu?

[ink_Ribbon]

Hello there, people. I'm thinking about buying a Laptop for college but I would really love it to run some good games. I'm a fan of classics so I'll be happy with even a PS1, but what I really want is Wind Waker which I've never played due to the lack of a good computer. I'm not looking forward to super HD grafics and filters and textures, I just want to be able to play the game normally without lag, as if running on the real console or close.

Here are the specs of the Ultrabook:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3317U (Clock of 1.7 up to 2.6 with Turbo Boost) Cache L3 of 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM
SSD 32GB + HD 500GB 5400 RPM
Video Card: Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 4000 up to 1664 MB

This is the one I'm lloking forward to buy and the one I want. There is a second option which is a Notebook, without the SSD but with a Intel® Core i5 - 3230M (Clock of 2.60 up to 3.20). But it's heavier, has less batery and is not an ultrabook (which I believe have more advantages being optimized in every spec, specially for someone who is going to study Computer Science)
.
Thank you very much for you attention.

[Shonumi]

Quoting myself from earlier today:

-U Intel CPU are ultra low voltage CPUs. They're designed to consume less power to generate less heat. The low clock rates often mean all but the lightest of games will even run well.

That i5 in your first pick is not designed to run demanding things like Dolphin. Dolphin really stresses the CPU, which causes a lot of heat to be generated, so you probably won't be able to take advantage of the Turbo Boost functionality (which throttles back when there is too much heat), so you'll probably be playing at 1.7GHz most of the time unless you're very lucky. That clock is too low to adequately play most games without noticeable slowdown (Wind Waker included).

The 3230M would be a better choice, since it's lowest clock is the fastest clock of the 3317U. That would run most lightweight games easily, a number of average games, and maybe some more demanding games with acceptable slowdowns. The GPU determines whether or not HD gameplay is possible and to what extent. Anything from the Intel HD 3000 on up should be acceptable at 1x the GCN/Wii's native resolution for most games.

EDIT: About other systems, it'll basically run PSX, N64, DS, even a lot of PSP games just fine. SNES, NES, Gensis, etc, are obviously not going to be issues (I mean, I haven't run across a laptop in at least 8 years that can't emulate those systems adequately).

[ink_Ribbon]

Quoting myself from earlier today:

-U Intel CPU are ultra low voltage CPUs. They're designed to consume less power to generate less heat. The low clock rates often mean all but the lightest of games will even run well.

That i5 in your first pick is not designed to run demanding things like Dolphin. Dolphin really stresses the CPU, which causes a lot of heat to be generated, so you probably won't be able to take advantage of the Turbo Boost functionality (which throttles back when there is too much heat), so you'll probably be playing at 1.7GHz most of the time unless you're very lucky. That clock is too low to adequately play most games without noticeable slowdown (Wind Waker included).

The 3230M would be a better choice, since it's lowest clock is the fastest clock of the 3317U. That would run most lightweight games easily, a number of average games, and maybe some more demanding games with acceptable slowdowns. The GPU determines whether or not HD gameplay is possible and to what extent. Anything from the Intel HD 3000 on up should be acceptable at 1x the GCN/Wii's native resolution for most games.

EDIT: About other systems, it'll basically run PSX, N64, DS, even a lot of PSP games just fine. SNES, NES, Gensis, etc, are obviously not going to be issues (I mean, I haven't run across a laptop in at least 8 years that can't emulate those systems adequately).

Thank you Shonumi. About the heat up and slow down, I can get one of those external usb coolers since I'l playing mostly at home with the laptop pluged to the TV through HDMI and with a joypad. Do you think that, even with this control, I won't be able to play WW (I really only want this game) with a normal speed?

[Shonumi]

Thank you Shonumi. About the heat up and slow down, I can get one of those external usb coolers since I'l playing mostly at home with the laptop pluged to the TV through HDMI and with a joypad. Do you think that, even with this control, I won't be able to play WW (I really only want this game) with a normal speed?

External coolers (usually ones you attach to the bottom of the laptop) won't reduce the amount of heat your laptop generates (at least not by a significant amount if it does at all). Unless that cooler or fan is actually pushing air onto the internal components (the parts that generate the heat) it's not going to be enough to counter the heat and thus won't prevent throttling. Heating is going to be an issue with the 3317U, but the 3230M should be fine since it's designed to take more heat and even if it does throttle, it will still be faster than the 3317U.

You might not be able to run Wind Waker with LLE audio, but HLE audio should be fine. HLE audio causes issues, so look at the Dolphin Wiki entry to find out more (and non-LLE audio solutions). I'm talking about the 3230M though. Wind Waker is very light on the GPU too, so you should be able to even do 2x IR (2x native resolution) easily. Note that if you do use HLE audio for this game, you have to manually set this not in the Audio settings, but by right-clicking Wind Waker in Dolphin's menu, going to Properties, and selection DSP HLE audio there.

[admin89]

i3 3230M has maximum 3.0GHz turbo with 2 cores active

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-...823.0.html

Since 4th gen Core i series Haswell is 30% faster than 3rd gen Core i series Ivy Bridge , i3 4000M @ 2.4GHz is a bit faster than i5 3230M @ 3.0GHz in Dolphin
Intel HD 4600 is almost on par with Nvidia GT 540M and about 2 times as fast as Intel HD 4000
-> Both of your choice are bad for Dolphin
At least , grab an i5 4200M (not i5 4200U) with integrated GPU : Intel HD 4600

[ink_Ribbon]

Thank you Shonumi. About the heat up and slow down, I can get one of those external usb coolers since I'l playing mostly at home with the laptop pluged to the TV through HDMI and with a joypad. Do you think that, even with this control, I won't be able to play WW (I really only want this game) with a normal speed?

External coolers (usually ones you attach to the bottom of the laptop) won't reduce the amount of heat your laptop generates (at least not by a significant amount if it does at all). Unless that cooler or fan is actually pushing air onto the internal components (the parts that generate the heat) it's not going to be enough to counter the heat and thus won't prevent throttling. Heating is going to be an issue with the 3317U, but the 3230M should be fine since it's designed to take more heat and even if it does throttle, it will still be faster than the 3317U.

You might not be able to run Wind Waker with LLE audio, but HLE audio should be fine. HLE audio causes issues, so look at the Dolphin Wiki entry to find out more (and non-LLE audio solutions). I'm talking about the 3230M though. Wind Waker is very light on the GPU too, so you should be able to even do 2x IR (2x native resolution) easily. Note that if you do use HLE audio for this game, you have to manually set this not in the Audio settings, but by right-clicking Wind Waker in Dolphin's menu, going to Properties, and selection DSP HLE audio there.

Get it... so I really won't be able to play WW so soon, right? Thanks, anyway... I'll wait until I have enough money to buy a nice pc but don't have time to play because I'll be working T.T... Cruel life.

[cyrax33]

@ink_Ribbon

I agree with Admin89, I suggest you get an i5 4200M and I can assure you that you won't have any problems playing WindWaker. I have an i5 4200M myself and am currently running WindWaker at 2x IR with stable FPS, and since you mentioned on playing it with low settings there won't be any major FPS issues.

[KHg8m3r]

HP Envy laptops are fairly cheap....

[ink_Ribbon]

HP Envy laptops are fairly cheap....

Not in Brazil.... Here everything is a lot more Expansive because of taxes... These two I posted are around R$1850,00.

I decided to go with the Notebook, it runs most 2013 games on Medium at least (There is a lot of videos on the intenet). The Ultrabook is more of an trick, specially with a batery that lasts onlny 2.5 hour average.

Thank you very much for all your help, folks.

[admin89]

I doubt you can run most 2013 games - medium settings with Intel HD 4000
Base on game benchmark , most games are unplayable at medium settings