Can I play 'Fallout 4' with these specs?

[moheli]

Bethesda has released an official desktop requirements list for their game, which you'll find below, but I don't know how they compare to a laptop's specs. Ideally I would like to be able to play this game, and record gameplay using GeForce Experience which apparently has "minimal impact on performance", at a stable 1080p30fps (high-ultra graphical settings) with DSR enabled without overclocking. I know that this would be difficult but I have the thermal paste, and an additional cooling system, to maintain temperatures during intensive use. So is it feasible? Any professional support and/or general feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Official 'Fallout 4' Minimum Desktop Requirements:
Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent
8 GB RAM
30 GB free HDD space
NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent

Official 'Fallout 4' Recommended Desktop Requirements:
Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz/AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz or equivalent
8 GB RAM
30 GB free HDD space
NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalent

My Laptop Specs:
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6820HK (2.7GHz, 3.6GHz Turbo)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1535-AC M.2 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.0

 

[GeorgeHillier]

You'll definitely be able to play it but at what settings and fps no one can tell you until the game comes out

 

[moheli]

But the minimum CPU requires 2.8GHz which is still less than what my CPU can handle, unless I use "Intel Turbo Boost" which I'd like to refrain from, and I plan to both play and record this game at the most demanding levels. So how are you confident that my specs can run it? If you had to present an educated guess, how close to my ideal intended use do you think my laptop could handle without having to overclock?

 

[Fantana]

But the minimum CPU requires 2.8GHz which is still less than what my CPU can handle, unless I use "Intel Turbo Boost" which I'd like to refrain from, and I plan to both play and record this game at the most demanding levels. So how are you confident that my specs can run it? If you had to present an educated guess, how close to my ideal intended use do you think my laptop could handle without having to overclock?

Your CPU choice is fine, and wouldn't be the performance bottleneck. The graphics card choice would be the likely bottleneck.
What you also need to keep in mind is that the official recommended specs refer to 'Desktop' systems, and the graphics cards of desktop systems are generally considerably more powerful than their smaller laptop equivalents, i.e a GTX 970 is graphically more powerful (able to give higher fps and run at higher settings) than a 970M.

Personally I think with a 970M you'll be able to play Fallout 4 at Medium-High settings.

Also, I put your specs into the GameDebate system compatibility tool for Fallout 4, it's generally quite reliable, and it gives the same results, here's the link:

http://www.game-debate.com/games/in...70M+6GB&ram=8&checkSubmit=#systemrequirements

 

[mikesaa309]

As far as I'm aware, turbo boost just effects one core of the cpu so isn't as efficient as what the standard speed of the cpu is. I'd go for the i5 option. It's powerful enough for games but running the i7 may not give you the performance you could possibly get from the i5. If you can push your budget then going for a laptop that supports a 3.4 ghz i7 is a better option but only if you plan to do video editing or a lot or multitasking because of the i7's 8 threads and bigger cache size. But if that's too pricey then stick with the i5 as it has a faster speed as standard.

That said though you may find the i5 for that laptop is more pricey as it's a faster cpu than the i7.

 

[Fantana]

As far as I'm aware, turbo boost just effects one core of the cpu so isn't as efficient as what the standard speed of the cpu is. I'd go for the i5 option. It's powerful enough for games but running the i7 may not give you the performance you could possibly get from the i5. If you can push your budget then going for a laptop that supports a 3.4 ghz i7 is a better option but only if you plan to do video editing or a lot or multitasking because of the i7's 8 threads and bigger cache size. But if that's too pricey then stick with the i5 as it has a faster speed as standard.

That said though you may find the i5 for that laptop is more pricey as it's a faster cpu than the i7.

I agree with the i5 being a better choice than the i7, but if he can push the budget I'd recommended getting a better GPU...considering gaming seems to be a main focus.

 

[ihavenoideawhatiamdoing]

Ok guys two things, one the defiance only has a i7s and two you might want to add a HDD to store your games+programs and maybe a smaller SSD
PS. Sorry if I sound a bit frank it just annoys me when people try to give advice (a good thing they are trying i know) but don't know what they are talking about.

 

[moheli]

The 15.6" Defiance II only has i7 processors available, which ihavenoideawhatiamdoing has ironically pointed out, and the 6820HK is the most powerful among them. But if you can tell me that upgrading to a GTX 980M can really make a difference then I don't mind making a few sacrifices or waiting until my budget can handle it.

Also, switching to an SSD/HDD configuration is cheaper but not enough to make much of a difference. Besides I hear HDDs are outdated, make noise and are prone to failure so I'd prefer to pay a little extra so as to not have to deal with them at all.

 

[Fantana]

The 15.6" Defiance II only has i7 processors available, which ihavenoideawhatiamdoing has ironically pointed out, but if you can tell me that upgrading to a GTX 980M can really make a difference then I don't mind waiting a little longer until my budget can handle the upgrade.

Well, it depends on what level of graphics quality you are satisfied with.

Naturally with a more recent GPU you'll have better fps at high-ultra textures, antialiasing etc.

Simply put, if graphics quality is a big deal for you, get the better GPU. If you're content with medium settings then the 970M should be more than fine.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

But the minimum CPU requires 2.8GHz which is still less than what my CPU can handle, unless I use "Intel Turbo Boost" which I'd like to refrain from, and I plan to both play and record this game at the most demanding levels. So how are you confident that my specs can run it? If you had to present an educated guess, how close to my ideal intended use do you think my laptop could handle without having to overclock?

The CPU will run it fine, the standard i7 would also be fine and personally I'd choose that. There's more the processing power than the clock speed. As for not wanting to use turbo boost it's enabled by default and there's nothing wrong with using it, otherwise intel wouldn't have it on by default.

The 15.6" Defiance II only has i7 processors available, which ihavenoideawhatiamdoing has ironically pointed out, and the 6820HK is the most powerful among them. But if you can tell me that upgrading to a GTX 980M can really make a difference then I don't mind waiting a little longer until my budget can handle the upgrade.

Also, switching to an SSD/HDD configuration is cheaper but not enough to make much of a difference. Besides I hear HDDs are outdated, make noise and are prone to failure so I'd prefer to pay a little extra so as to not have to deal with them at all.

The 980M will make a difference and will help make it playable on higher specs/fps, but by how much no one can tell you. The 970M should be able to run it as well, but once again I couldn't tell you what settings until the game is released. A lot of the time the system requirements aren't very accurate anyway.

As for the SSD/HDD configuration definitely go for it. It offers much more space for less money and still makes your core programs and OS load faster. Both my laptop and desktop have a SSD/HDD configuration and work fine. HDD's aren't outdated, they still have their uses, games will quickly fill up an SSD compared to a larger, cheaper HDD and majority of games don't benefit that much from an SSD compared to spending that money on other components like a better graphics card.

What's your budget? I can suggest a build depending

 

[moheli]

I've taken all your feedback into consideration, and have also taken a closer look at the 15.6" Octane II, and here are the results of my intensive research.

15.6" Octane II <-- Link
Octane Series - 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Desktop Processor i5-6600K (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB) RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M GPU - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM, DirectX® 12, G-SYNC
120GB Memory Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
500GB WD Black 2.5" WD5000LPLX, SATA 6GB/s, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)

A grand total of £1,330 makes the Octane the cheaper option giving me a little breathing room budget-wise. With a desktop processor and G-Sync* feature, this baby proves to pack more than just a punch but this will undoubtedly drain more battery life and produce more heat. And whilst it's design is really cool, it's a little gamer stereotypical. And its keyboard is slightly less proportional to that of the Defiance.

The Octane's fans at the back seem quite large meaning they won't have to blow as hard (or spin as fast) to dissipate heat yet some still complain about intrusive fan noise, and higher temperatures, with intensive use and/or during elongated periods. But it seems more durable than the Defiance and, since it's bigger in size, it should also be less stressful to take apart for whenever you'd like to upgrade its hardware.

*G-Sync is an improved version of V-Sync. V-Sync basically maintains a lower level of FPS to avoid screen tearing (when two or more separate frames overlap and are displayed concurrently) but it can still happen sometimes. G-Sync guarantees that screen tearing does not happen whilst maintaining a higher, and more acceptable, level of FPS.

15.6" Defiance II <-- Link
Defiance Series - 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB) RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M GPU - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM, DirectX® 12
120GB Memory Samsung 650 SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 450MB/sW)
500GB Serial ATA III 2.5" Hard Drive /w 16MB Cache (7200rpm)

A grand total of £1,375 makes this laptop much more budget-demanding for me. And whilst it lacks the desirable G-Sync feature, it comes with Nvidia Optimus Technology (which Octane doesn't have) designed to enhance battery life, GPU usage and consequently performance too. But this configuration comes with the GTX 980M which when applied to the Octane, skyrockets its price. And I really do need the GTX 980M.

The Defiance is 0.9KG lighter than the Octane, it has a more modest and professional appearance, and fewer customers complain about fan noise and uncomfortably high temperatures. But, unfortunately, the Defiance does not support the WD Black series (the more reliable hard disks) and its processor is not as powerful as the Octane's but still more than enough for intensive multi-tasking, gaming and even livestreaming.

Many complain, though, that the Defiance's rear panel is "difficult and time-consuming to remove" due to the number of screws keeping the laptop tight. And many more complain that its screen casing is "wobbly and unstable" which, to be honest, shouldn't really be much of a problem. Also, the Defiance's keyboard is a little spaced out making it more prone to dust and dirt - it can be rather inconvenient if enough builds up under the keys so be careful. But, despite all this, the average customer ratings for the Defiance is an impressive 9/10 still!

Misc. Configurations (Both Laptops)
Gigabit LAN & Killer™ 1525-AC M.2 Wireless Gaming 802.11N + Bluetooth 4.0 Network Card
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit OS - inc DVD & Licence

Backlit UK Keyboard WITH NUMPAD
Arctic MX-4 Extreme Thermal (Paste) Conductivity Compound
CoolerMaster Ergostand III Quiet Laptop Cooler Stand, up to 17.3"

Bullguard Internet Security - 90 Days Trial
Free 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365

3-Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
PCS Extra-Care Diamond Pre-Noon Delivery Service, Mon-Fri
Standard Build - Approx. 9 to 11 working days

Comparisons
Both laptops have a chassis that attract finger-prints, making them difficult to keep tidy, but the Defiance seems more metallic (possibly alloy or aluminium) making it a better heat conductor whilst the Octane seems to be mostly compromised of composite plastic. Also I generally have a greater appreciation for a metallic chassis.

Both laptops support DDR4 memory even though only the Octane features it. The Octane's configuration is well-rounded but it's a fairly new chassis which is why I'm so doubtful and hesitant. I could simply give up on the GTX 980M for a much cheaper Defiance and a 500GB SSD (reverting to my original spec configuration) but then it wouldn't be able to handle gaming, my main priority, as well as the Octane would.

One of the main features of the Octane that really stands out to me is how it has a rubberised layer over its keyboard meaning I'll never have to worry about dust and dirt building up under the keys. And I can always upgrade its hardware at a later time. But improved hardware will require more power and therefore produce more heat.

Many would find the Octane a much better option regardless of the GPU it carries since it is very much upgradeable but I remain sceptical on how well it can handle heat and how loud its fans can be. Also, why does the Octane not have Nvidia Optimus Technology which is more important to me than G-Sync?

What do you think? Is there anything that I've missed out? Was I mistaken in any of my comments. Please feel free to upload any images of the laptops. Any feedback would be immensely appreciated!

 

[Fantana]

For your purposes, having a solid, gaming laptop I think the specs are great and should be able to comfortably handle current and upcoming titles.

So far I get the feeling that gaming is your main priority, but are you buying with the mindset of using this for other high priority work (studies etc) requiring mobility, and is that why you opted for a laptop ?

 

[moheli]

Intensive gaming & livestreaming are my main priorities! But I will also be using 'Movavi Video Suite' for light video editing and other software such as Microsoft Office and Audacity for general academic work, this does not involve having a ton of browser tabs open. Portability and weight is not really an issue as long as it's a 15.6" laptop, I will be moving around quite often but the laptop will rarely be used on-the-go. How well a laptop handles heat and how loud its fans can get are quite important to me though. This is a laptop that will will serve me for the next 4-6 years so I need to be able to get a good understanding of how durable it is and how much maintenance is required to keep it physically tidy and optimal performance-wise.

Also, there's a few more questions I have. When using the comparing feature on PCSpecialist's website, a few inconsistencies are found. Apparently the Octane II does not have an IPS display nor the Onkyo speakers it features, are these typos or examples of false advertisement? I found an interesting "early impressions" review on the Octane II but it's a little too technical for me to understand, click here if you're interested and let me know what you find.

 

[Fantana]

Portability and weight is not really an issue as long as it's a 15.6" laptop, I will be moving around quite often but the laptop will rarely be used on-the-go.

If portability isn't a priority, and if you aren't really intending to use a device on the go, personally for gaming and video editing I would opt for a desktop PC over a laptop.

The reason being, I find gaming laptops to be generally overpriced and considerably less powerful and versatile compared to their desktop counterparts.
The PC you'd be able to build along with a decent monitor and peripherals for £1400 would be considerably more powerful than the laptop spec above.
Gaming laptops generally have a short lifetime in terms of the hardware being able to handle new games, about 3-4 years max with limited room for hardware upgrades, whereas desktop graphics cards tend to remain capable for longer and a desktop is easily upgradable.
On top of that despite whatever any manufacturer says about their amazing method for heat dissipation, the bottom line is gaming laptops do overheat and heat dissipation is an issue which hasn't yet had a brilliant technical solution.
The one and only advantage of a gaming laptop is mobility, and if that were your priority then everything else would be justified.
If you do some general research on a gaming desktop vs gaming laptop, for 'intensive gaming' purposes you'll find that there is a general global consensus that a desktop is the way to go.

 

[moheli]

Whilst portability isn't a priority, it is a necessity. But, nevertheless, I couldn't agree with you more. So I've taken a look at some desktop configurations and - at a price of £1,345 - here's what I've come up with. A mini case is a must because, like I said before, I'll be on the move quite often and lugging around anything bigger would be much too inconvenient. I may still tweak some things around though.

Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini-ITX Case
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
ASUS® Maximus VII Impact: Mini-ITX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, WIFI
8GB Kingston Hyper-X Beast Dual-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P (2 x 4GB)
4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 - DVI, HDMI, mDP - 3D Vision Ready

120GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
500GB WD Black WD5003AZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB Cache (7200rpm)

16x Blu-ray Writer Drive, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & Software
Corsair 650W CS Series™ Modular 80 Plus® Gold, Ultra Quiet
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Arctic MX-4 Extreme Thermal (Paste) Conductivity Compound
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)

Onboard 6 Channel (5.1) High Def Audio (Standard)
10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN Port (Wi-Fi Not Included)
Min. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ Back Panel + Min. 2 Front Ports

1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve

Asus VE228TR 21.5" LED Display, D-Sub, DVI-D
CM Storm Devastator Keyboard and Mouse
ROCCAT™ Siru Gaming Mouse Mat

3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
PCs Extra Care Diamond Deliver - Mon-Fri, Pre-Noon Service
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days

Now, as per usual, here are my concerns regarding this build. Please tell me what you think and what I should consider changing. Thanks in advance!

1. PCSpecialist recommended the 550W power supply since, apparently, I only require 530W but I went with the 650W Gold for future-proof and because it's quieter. Is that a fair decision? I hear buying larger power supplies than necessary may actually be less efficient and even dangerous, is that also the case here?
2. Both motherboards available did not allow me to add a network (PCI-E) card so I chose the Asus Maximus VII because it has the word "Wi-Fi" written on it. As a gamer and streamer who doesn't have the privilege of a wired connection, will this be sufficient? Because with my laptops, I had the Gigabit LAN & Killer 1525-AC option. If not, what can I do about it? And what happened to "Bluetooth"? I'm going to need it to be able to play with my Dualshock 4.
3. I hear that many monitors are locked at 30FPS which is a big bummer, I would like to know if the Asus VE228TR (which has a 1920x1080 display) suffers from the same disadvantage. Also, will it be able to support DSR Technology?

 

[ihavenoideawhatiamdoing]

If you are using v-sync it locks the max fps at the refresh rate of the monitor so if it is a 30hz monitor (not likely, 60hz mabey) you will only get 30fps

 

[moheli]

How do I find out what the refresh rate of a monitor is because the PCSpecialist only seems to show response time, of which my chosen monitor is 5ms. What is response time? And also, could somebody address my other concerns as well?

 

[Fantana]

The above spec is fine, and would definitely be more powerful for your purposes. I do have some advice though,

- I wouldn't buy the GPU from PCSpecialist, see what the whole system costs with and without the 970 and 980, and calculate exactly the amount you're paying for the GPU. Then see what the best retail value of the desired GPU is on sites like Amazon, Scan, Overclockers, Aria PC etc. If you're paying more for the GPU than it would cost to buy it separately from one of the aforementioned vendors, then buy it separately and install it yourself (it's very easy to install a GPU, hundreds of tutorials on youtube, largely a matter of slotting in card and plugging in power).

- I also wouldn't buy the monitor and peripherals from PCSpecialist, I've found some options to be cheaper buying elsewhere in the recent past. So see if you can save there too through Amazon, etc.

- 650W power choice is a good idea.

- Regarding wifi, go on the product page for the Maximus VII and read details to be sure on wifi capability, if not call PCSpecialist and enquire, they'll be able to give definitive facts.

- Regarding monitors, yes some are locked at 30fps but it would be well specified in the details on the product page/site/advert. You can get a 60fps monitor relatively cheaply these days, just google "buy 60fps monitor".
Just looked at the Asus product page for the Asus VE228TR, it shows "50Hz - 75Hz ". Make sure to read the Specifications tabs for all products.

- DSR Technology isn't really limited by your choice of monitor. All it does is essentially renders a game at a higher, more detailed resolution and intelligently shrinks the result back down to the resolution of your monitor. The result is basically sharper images, smoother antialiasing. It's compatible with any modern monitor.

 

[moheli]

This is all really good advice, you seem to have a lot of experience with desktops. Whilst I agree with everything else, and will start looking for cheaper options elsewhere, I'll probably still buy the GPU from PCSpecialist as I generally feel uncomfortable opening any sort of device. If possible, could I ask you to regularly check in and out of my thread? I may need your help again soon.

 

[Fantana]

Sure I'll check in.

Regarding GPU, just watch some youtube videos on installing new NVidia card and see if they seem daunting to you before making a decision. I had the same reservations once, but it really is very easy.