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Cheap Laptops and Eve - What are your experiences? (i3's and A4's)
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BrutusMcBastard
Solenus Directive
#1 - 2015-01-01 10:06:56 UTC
I know this comes up from time to time, but I haven't come across a relatively recent thread on this which satisfies my curiosity, so thought best to ask for some feedback..

I've been away from Eve for a long while, but just come back, I'm looking at cheap laptops for some web development work that I'm doing, just thought it would be nice if it would play eve. From what i've read the cheap lappy's i've been looking at should, but the question is, how playable would eve be?

The general spec is the ususal AMD VS Intel,

In the blue corner we have:
Intel i3-4030U / Intergrated Intel HD4000 series gfx with 4gig ram Win8.1 (Lenovo Essential B50-70)

In the red corner we have:
AMD A4-5000 / Intergrated HD8330 with 4 gig ram and win 8.1 (HP 255 G3)

So i'm wondering what your experiences are with similar laptops..

I thought it best to steer clear of celeron / AMD E1, from the reviews they sound exceptonally poor.
Kaely Tanniss
Black Lotus Society.
#2 - 2015-01-01 10:11:21 UTC
BrutusMcBastard wrote:
I know this comes up from time to time, but I haven't come across a relatively recent thread on this which satisfies my curiosity, so thought best to ask for some feedback..

I've been away from Eve for a long while, but just come back, I'm looking at cheap laptops for some web development work that I'm doing, just thought it would be nice if it would play eve. From what i've read the cheap lappy's i've been looking at should, but the question is, how playable would eve be?

The general spec is the ususal AMD VS Intel,

In the blue corner we have:
Intel i3-4030U / Intergrated Intel HD4000 series gfx with 4gig ram Win8.1 (Lenovo Essential B50-70)

In the red corner we have:
AMD A4-5000 / Intergrated HD8330 with 4 gig ram and win 8.1 (HP 255 G3)

So i'm wondering what your experiences are with similar laptops..

I thought it best to steer clear of celeron / AMD E1, from the reviews they sound exceptonally poor.


As for minimum specs to play Eve smoothly, at high graphics settings, you may need a more powerful laptop..especially if you multibox. I use a ROG ASUS g74sx and it runs Eve, with 3 clients running at max graphics setting, without a stutter. I'm sure either setup you listed will run the game fine..the question is..do you want to just run it..or do you want to experience it. Blink

If I had a nickel for every time someone said women don't play eve, I'd have a bag of nickels to whack the next person who said it..
Vultaras
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#3 - 2015-01-01 10:46:21 UTC

I play with AMD A8-5545M and 8 b RAM laptop. I really wouldn't recomend to go lower by specifications. If you have only one ACC , with almost max settings it runs fine, if you want multibox with two ACC , then both ACC video settings must be set to lowest, FPS runs from about 12 to 40 depending on what actions you do in EVE . If running two ACC and same time like browsing.... it's lagy, processor can not do more. I hope CCP will change something one day to use processor cores to full potential.

Respect.
BrutusMcBastard
Solenus Directive
#4 - 2015-01-01 11:39:36 UTC  |  Edited by: BrutusMcBastard
Guys I appreciate the feedback but you're missing the point a little here, I generally run eve on my desktop which is a first generation i7 with a HD4890, bit old but runs the game fine.

What i'm thinking is that if the cheapies won't run eve i'll just buy the cheapest lappy I can find for the web dev stuff (My old P4 is functional for this, but it's random hard disk activity spasms due to RAM shortage and slow HDD interface are doing my head in, so anything new will be undoubtedly a vast improvement!)

I don't multibox and i'm not fussed about high settings, It's more for keeping an eye on eve markets etc while I'm working on the web development stuff I mentioned, so how pretty eve looks is actually not all that important.

I did see an A10 5745M / HD8610G / 8GB for £400...

As it stands...

The A4-5000 / HD8330 / 4GB is £200
The i3-4030U/ Intel HD4000 / 4GB is £300
the A10 is £400

For the Web dev stuff the A4 will be more than fast enough, the A10 is twice the price of the A4 and the i3 half as much again (As the A4).

I'm not looking for what specs I need to multibox / run on high, I'm looking for some feedback from budget laptop users on how they get on with eve.
Solecist Project
#5 - 2015-01-01 11:51:37 UTC
Budget notebooks are crap.

Pick the cheapest one you can find.
Then you pick the one that' 50 to 100 bucks more expensive.


It will work.


There, saved you tons of time.


Alternatively avoid being a cheapskate and buy a tablet you can run it on.

That will be more usefull. :p

That ringing in your ears you're experiencing right now is the last gasping breathe of a dying inner ear as it got thoroughly PULVERISED by the point roaring over your head at supersonic speeds. - Tippia
Vultaras
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#6 - 2015-01-01 11:56:43 UTC

Computer hardware and software are running throught time like hell, if today is OK ...tomorrow it can be crap . I try to buy computer stuff like in the middle , just to be sure, that at least one year i will be fine... Cheapest is junk, most expensive is not worth because of fast technology progress, so i suggest keep in the middle . A8-A10 mobile stuff i see like in the middle of this crazy progress.

Fly safe.
Blue Harrier
#7 - 2015-01-01 12:05:17 UTC
Must admit I’ve been looking at laptops similar to what you’re looking for myself and have come to the same conclusions.

My current laptop is a Dell Inspiron dual core, 4Gb ram and an SSD running Windows 8.1 at 1366*768 on an AMD GPU and that is really beginning to struggle running Eve even on low settings.

Personally I would consider either of the AMD chipset laptops the A4 or the A10 if you could justify that price. The A4 has a slightly lower speed than the i3 but has more cores so might be better for your development work.

The A10 is by far the better purchase of the 3 simply because of the better GPU model and all the extra cores. Of the three this is the one I would purchase given I had the use for it otherwise I would look for a slightly better A3 (as in higher clock speed).

Oh yes, try and get one with a higher resolution screen, my 1366*768 is crap for viewing Eve, 1080P screens are so much better and you can get them on a small laptop you just have to pay more.

"You wait - time passes, Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold." from The Hobbit on ZX Spectrum 1982.
Sol Project
Shitt Outta Luck - GANKING4GOOD
#8 - 2015-01-01 12:06:31 UTC
Well.

Two years ago I bought me a middle range middle class notebook for 799.
A month ago I bought me a middle range higher end notebook for 720.

The poster above is wrong. Buying a highend machine now will last you
far longer than if you had bought one five years ago.

Ladies of New Eden YC 117 by Indahmawar Fazmarai

Warning: NSFW! Barely legal girls in underwear!

Diana Kim > AND THIS IS WHY THE FEDERATION MUST BE DESTROYED!!
Aurelius Valentius
Valentius Corporation
Valentius Corporation Alliance
#9 - 2015-01-01 12:09:25 UTC
I play EVE on this:

SPEC DATA: ASUS G71G-Q1 [high end for 2009, not for 2014...but it does the job and would count as cheap to free now days].
Type: Gaming, Media
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
RAM: 6 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9800M GS [512MB]
Screen Size: 17 inches

I run EVE, TQ and SISI at the same time on max each and usually browser, email, some kind of YT vide going, TS, Steam (other games) and whatever else I am doing... and EVE is easy 60+ FPS, and looks wonderful (well until they did the PBR, but that is the art department and not my rig... hehe.

You could grab up one of these or the 260M version prob. cheap... I use Blender on mine a lot for work as well as doing my dev stuff on it... however, some day I will be RL rich like I am space rich and get a G751 all tricked out, or something like that...Blink
BrutusMcBastard
Solenus Directive
#10 - 2015-01-01 13:19:42 UTC
I'm beginning to wonder if a cheapo laptop is actually up to eve, I'm in two minds really, if eve's going to need a £500 plus laptop then I'll leave it and stick to the desktop.

Although my old P4 can be a pain most of what I do is scripting so it's generally tolerable enough to get by. (And of course, there's the desktop).

I know this isn't the usual arguament, but the top and bottom of it is I really want a WR400 this summer, and money not spent on laptops etc all goes into the WR fund...

So..

realistically speaking I think we've established that the AMD A4's are a bit below par, so I'd be looking at an A8 / A10.

That only really leaves one unanswered question, benchmark wise the i3-4030U seems ok with the intergrated 4000 series graphics.

Has anyone tried to play eve on one of these?
Kraxxass
Ninja Pixels
#11 - 2015-01-01 16:49:55 UTC
In 2006 my first laptop was an IBM thinkpad I bought used off Ebay for about $200. I did graphic design classes as well as played Eve for the first time on it. Excellent experience that year!!

In 2009, my cabin burned down, so to replace the laptop I bought a brand new HP notebook for around $700 at Walmart. I continued to do graphics and play Eve.

This year the notebook became a paperweight (still works great) and I replaced it with a Microsoft Windows Surface Pro 2 tablet ($600). I continue to improve as a freelance graphic designer and play Eve as well. Probably the best combination I can think of.

I doubt I will ever buy a laptop again.
Serene Repose
#12 - 2015-01-02 00:23:41 UTC
Laptops are too easy to throw across the room.

We must accommodate the idiocracy.
Jenshae Chiroptera
#13 - 2015-01-02 02:30:22 UTC  |  Edited by: Jenshae Chiroptera
I used to dual screen EVE on old dual core 1.6GHz, 2GB RAM, 8800 GTX. The game hasn't change much since then.
Now I am single screen playing it on a dual core 3GHz, 4GB, 630 GT and there is a thin grey line between my lag and server lag in huge fleet fights.

Basically -
Intel is likely to have horrible graphics and just be hell to run games.
AMD has ATI and should be better on graphics but always runs hot so you need to clean it often or find a good cooling solution, such as a desk heat sink, (I know people that cut open the fan vent and attach a big fan on a power lead that they wrap and bind to their laptop's power lead, one guy even made custom liquid cooling system and machined a new case for his AMD)

Ultimately, you probably want the cheapest Intel laptop that has an Nvidia graphics card embedded in it.

CCP - Building ant hills and magnifying glasses for fat kids

Not even once

EVE is becoming shallow and puerile; it will satisfy neither the veteran nor the "WoW" type crowd in the transition.
Rroff
Antagonistic Tendencies
#14 - 2015-01-02 03:14:33 UTC
Had eve running on an 8" tablet (just because I could) albeit 30fps with all low settings and no way you'd pvp on it. Most modern CPUs handle eve fine its more the GPU that is an issue on lower spec systems a reasonably fast storage medium and 3gb of RAM helps.
Jean Luc Lemmont
Carebears on Fire
#15 - 2015-01-02 04:26:53 UTC
I bought an HP Pavilion 17 (AMD A8 with 12 GB of Ram and an NVidia 430GTX) a year ago, and it works fine at max settings. I think I paid all of $800 for it.

Will I get banned for boxing!?!?!

This thread has degenerated to the point it's become like two bald men fighting over a comb. -- Doc Fury

It's bonuses, not boni, you cretins.
Amarrian Tibor
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#16 - 2015-01-02 04:59:33 UTC
BrutusMcBastard wrote:
I know this comes up from time to time, but I haven't come across a relatively recent thread on this which satisfies my curiosity, so thought best to ask for some feedback..

I've been away from Eve for a long while, but just come back, I'm looking at cheap laptops for some web development work that I'm doing, just thought it would be nice if it would play eve. From what i've read the cheap lappy's i've been looking at should, but the question is, how playable would eve be?

The general spec is the ususal AMD VS Intel,

In the blue corner we have:
Intel i3-4030U / Intergrated Intel HD4000 series gfx with 4gig ram Win8.1 (Lenovo Essential B50-70)

In the red corner we have:
AMD A4-5000 / Intergrated HD8330 with 4 gig ram and win 8.1 (HP 255 G3)

So i'm wondering what your experiences are with similar laptops..

I thought it best to steer clear of celeron / AMD E1, from the reviews they sound exceptonally poor.


If you want to play it on High Graphic then you should just buy a pc, If you don't then it dose not realy matters, eve runs great on old laptops with minimum graphic.
X'ian Orillian
Spicy Crawdad and Associates
#17 - 2015-01-02 05:47:28 UTC
by the time you add up battery, energy efficieny, powersupply costs to keep cheap laptops running, you could have just bought a decent PC with a multi-port video card
DaReaper
Net 7
Cannon.Fodder
#18 - 2015-01-02 05:51:35 UTC
ok... so i have an Asus q550l i7, 8gb ram, geforce 745m with 2 gigs of dedicated ram, windows 8.1. Cost me $999, can play eve on full no problems. i just need to start using an external mouse

I also have an Asus t200TA transformer book, 64gb hdd, 2gb ram, intel atom 3775 processor. it runs eve ok on high settings, handled jita undock ok but was a tad laggy, reduced to medium and it played eve alright. same as laptop need to start using my wireless mouse, cost $300/

i had a 1st generation i5 with 4gb of ram, 250gb hdd, with an ati... i forget, but it had 512gb shared memory... and it could not play eve for more thne checkign things.

I recommend a transformer or equivalent full windows tablet. But in theory as long as the video card is alright eve will play fine

OMG Comet Mining idea!!! Comet Mining!

Eve For life.
Nami Kumamato
Perkone
Caldari State
#19 - 2015-01-02 09:51:39 UTC
BrutusMcBastard wrote:
I'm beginning to wonder if a cheapo laptop is actually up to eve, I'm in two minds really, if eve's going to need a £500 plus laptop then I'll leave it and stick to the desktop.

Although my old P4 can be a pain most of what I do is scripting so it's generally tolerable enough to get by. (And of course, there's the desktop).

I know this isn't the usual arguament, but the top and bottom of it is I really want a WR400 this summer, and money not spent on laptops etc all goes into the WR fund...

So..

realistically speaking I think we've established that the AMD A4's are a bit below par, so I'd be looking at an A8 / A10.

That only really leaves one unanswered question, benchmark wise the i3-4030U seems ok with the intergrated 4000 series graphics.

Has anyone tried to play eve on one of these?


Think it depends what you want to do in EVE with it.
I'm running EVE on a P6100 with 4GB and onboard IntelHD with shaders and textures on High. Works fine but I think it will explode if I run 2 instances of EVE :D
So if you wanna run 2 or more accounts at a time and you wanna experience EVE at it's finest you should probably go for a higher end PC.

Fornicate The Constabulary !
Mara Pahrdi
The Order of Anoyia
#20 - 2015-01-02 11:05:33 UTC
Depending on your budget, Haswell generation chips (fall 2013 and later) run EVE just fine on medium to low settings. Try to avoid Ivy Bridge chips, the increase in performance together with lower power consumption is noticeable. I5 is fine, I wouldn't go for an I3 though.

Mining, hauling, market stuff is no problem, depending on your chip even with an external display and 1920x1200. With a ssd and a decent battery a laptop with Haswell should be able to run EVE for about 90 minutes without external power.

Remove standings and insurance.
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