Laptop Specs (Help?)

[R. Kisashi]

Hello all,

I thought I could make this topic about my laptops specs so the experts can evaluate it. I am planning to change my HDD to an SSD but since I am a "low end" individual I can't afford things that are $30 and above. I also thought we could do computer specs topics so people can help each other? Is that a good idea? Right? Anyways here is my laptops specs:

Brand: Lenovo
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4510U CPU @ 2.00GHz 2.60GHz
RAM: 8GB (7.89 GB usable)
System type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor
Graphics Card: Intel Core Family Graphics

Yes I know, I got a potato graphics card, but it still runs Arma 3 fairly well without mods, however, this is a Work laptop, not a gaming one lol. Which surprise me. I also can't understand why people cringe when they see 20-25 fps, I got so use to it that I think it runs at 30fps, which sometimes it does just rarely. Anyways I will wait for anyone to reply, I will receive it kindly.

PV2 Kisashi

[CW2 (Ret) O'Neill]

Sounds just like my first laptop when I joined here. I was lucky to see 17 FPS in an operation then. Not much of a computer whiz myself but I can say that if you look at parts and such for a few months, you'll get a very good idea of what works and stays cheap or what's really good and finally dropped in price.

[R. Kisashi]

CW2 O' Neill

Thank you for the reply, I am not a computer expert myself, I just toss there the specs by looking at it on a separate tab haha, what do you mean about "look at parts and such for a few months, you'll get a very good idea of what works and stays cheap or what's really good and finally dropped in price." I am slightly confused there

Note: Bare with me, I am a little stupid and I live in Puerto Rico, I may understand 80% of the time but I get lost 90% of the time.

PV2 Kisashi

[SGT A. Hawkins]

For 40 USD, you should be able to find a cheap 120GB SSD and a cheap 4 gig ram stick to increase your ram to 12GB.
SSD
4 gb RAM
Overall it is 7 dollars over budget, but you can get one and wait to get the other upgrade.

[R. Kisashi]

PFC A. Hawking's

Thank you for your reply, I will consider it, money doesn't come by that easy around here, about the ram part, I am not sure if my laptop has additional slots to add more ram to it so I will just try my best to save up (which is hard anyways) and get them one by one whenever I get the chance (which is never). But thank you for the suggestion.

PV2 Kisashi

[SPC (Ret) Cira]

Overall your best bet would be to do as other have suggested  a cheap SSD 120gb or so will greatly improve your boot up times, load times and slightly increase your load in times.

Next would certainly be trying to see if your laptop does have 2nd RAM slot (most do these days) and waiting for a sale or seeing if you can find a nice 2x8GB bundle

Dont expect to run Arma on anything crazy graphics but it should be able to handle enough where youd get maybe 15fps or so in moderate combat play and a rough 25 -40fps in open areas with little going on. You will probably have to set your graphic settings on low/medium, I would turn off the clouds, blended lighting and set your grass detail to low/medium it should help you kick up the games performance a bit.

[R. Kisashi]

PV1 Cira,

Thank you for the reply, I do have A3 on the lowest settings, with these upgrades it might just boost it up to 40fps maybe? I am not sure, I still have not gotten to see if my laptop has an additional slot for ram, but yeah, I will look forward to it. Any other advice would be appreciated.

PV2 Kisashi

[SPC (Ret) M. D. Johnson]

Is SSD better to have not just for Arma but in playing games in general

[CW2 (Ret) O'Neill]

CW2 O' Neill

Thank you for the reply, I am not a computer expert myself, I just toss there the specs by looking at it on a separate tab haha, what do you mean about "look at parts and such for a few months, you'll get a very good idea of what works and stays cheap or what's really good and finally dropped in price." I am slightly confused there

Note: Bare with me, I am a little stupid and I live in Puerto Rico, I may understand 80% of the time but I get lost 90% of the time.

PV2 Kisashi

I mean watch some recommended sites like Newegg or PC Builder for a couple months. New stuff will come up and old stuff becomes cheaper. Sales events happen. Maybe wait for a holiday and look for big deals. Don't just buy whatever is on the market at that one moment.

I spent about 5 months watching and comparing prices before finally buying the laptop I'm on now. I've also yet to see a better deal for the same set up as mine since I bought it.