EVE New Citizens Q&A

You need a supported graphics card, and there's not really a way around it that won't make gameplay miserable. There are portable integrated graphics cards that will work fine, like the Geforce 9400M in my machine.

If your portable doesn't have a compatible card or the ability to upgrade to one, I would suggest looking for one with a supported card from this list:
http://support.eveonline.com/Pages/KB/Article.aspx?id=124

There is only 1 client for EvE-O (well technically 2, 1 for windows OS and 1 for Mac OS), so the same client that runs on your PC will be the one that has to run on your laptop. If it doesn't it means your laptop isn't compatible with EvE-O

Yep , they upgraded the game to use pixel shader 3.0 a while back as they have been making steady graphics improvements for years and the old shader 2.0 was holding them back, they even had it where you could buy and nvidia 560 with in game money for a while so that players who were space rich but couldn't afford one in real life would not be left behind.

Unfortunately the shader model of a graphics card is a hardwired into the board and can't be increased with a software update and laptops aren't known for being all that upgradable.

indeed shader model 3. My laptop runs it, but i choose to lower all graphic settings to minimum to get some fps out of it.

Funny i find hovever that some of those old effects are makeing comeback in sm3 that were removed earlier from game. How ever now they use a lot more resources then before. So im wondering is SM3 codeing more difficult or programmers just become more lazy? looking at old effect of cyno jump had this massive space ripping apart lightning show and now we have these plan watered down things that hog resources like grazy.

Ok i have nothing against useing newer Shader models. Last update exluded my mini laptop as viable market checking machine But i survived, got myself little newer laptop with this SM3 suport. But progress should not make programmer lazier, they should do as good work and get better results of it atleast.

qft, update gfx driver/software see if that will help you.

Use VMware to emulate a whole new PC, it can even emulate a working shader model 3 video card. Depending on your laptop, the extra load of emulation will take its toll on the game. I run circa 2004 laptop and I use it to check in my PI and trading and maybe some mining on the side. Lags/crashes sometimes when I do missioning or whenever theres a ton of ships/effects, so I stay out of them.

Running VMware 8.0.1 build-528992, I hope it works for ye.