BleepingComputer.com: Games Lagging

So for Christmas I got a Toshiba Satellite Laptop and I checked the System Information by typing dxdiag in Run and its better than the family computer eMachines desktop. The first game that I installed onto the Laptop was Company of Heroes and it made me take down the settings, I thought ok because it has a lot of destructible objects and physics in it. But, when I transferred all my Steam game files over from the desktop to the laptop and starting playing Half-Life 2 mod Rock 24 it was lagging when I looked at a elevator that was coming down and when Combine rushed at me. I do not understand why it would be lagging, I'm assuming that the video card is not updated, but I do not know what to download to update it.

Computer Specs
Satellite A105
BIOS: BIOS Version 2.00
Processor: Genuine Intel® CPU T2250 @ 1.73GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1014MB RAM
Page File: 562 MB used, 1881MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Video Card
Name: Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip Type: Intel ® GMA 950
DAC Type: Internal
Approx. Total Memory 128.0MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 800 (32 bit) (60Hz)

Drivers
Main Driver: igxprd32.dll
Version: 6.14.0010.4704 (English)
Date: 10/6/2006 16:23:32
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Mini VDD: igxpmp32.sys
VDD: n/a
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)

I don't know if some of this stuff is important, but I put it on anyways just in case.

my first intuition is to go to toshibas site and see what they have to offer to download, Driver wise.. hoewver I am not aware of your model or anything so I couldn't really further investigate that

I would go there if I were you

second would be to visit intels site and see if theres anyhting you can dl there

As this is not a desktop Video card, I would assume that normal driver sites wouldn't have what you need, So check out the sites I mentioned and see if that helps

That graphics card doesn't really seem that good. Laptops usually don't have that great of graphics unless you buy a real expensive one.

On the Toshiba Support site they want to know the model of the Toshiba Satellite, in dxdiag it tells me the model is a A105, but on the selector they want A105-S###, I don't know where to find the extra numbers.

check the sticker on the bottom? I think should be, there should be a model number somewhere on your laptop, that's what they want

Yes, thats what they wanted, Thanks. I downloaded their software updater to find out if I need anything, it says I don't. I found a forum for Toshiba and reading a couple of posts I found out it seems that Toshiba is not meant for top of the line games, even though they give you a 128MB video card that is intergrated onto the motherboard, so I guess that means I can't get a new video card (really what is the point on giving a 128MB video card if you can't use it to its full potential). BUT I thought I remember reading somewhere if I get a new video card and put it in, I can't remove the original video card, but the new one should be set as the default when installed. If I can't get a new video card installed then I'm thinking that I should return the laptop to the Best Buy where my parents got it from. The main problem with that is, that I heard, is that Best Buy are pricks when returning laptops. So any advice, I have three choices I believe.

1. Wait and hope it just takes time for the video card to adapt to get the high performance out of it.

2. Buy a video card from a more popular video card company, such as nVidia or Radeon and hope it does better or even works at all.

3. Hope I can return the laptop and get a refund. Maybe buy a laptop from a pro-gaming company such as Dell, Alienware, and Voodoo or don't even get a laptop. Though I probably will need a laptop for college and right now I'm still in High School, so for anyone wondering why I would be picky right now about playing games.

Personally
Id do a mixture of the two, Firstly, if you have any really well known computer stores nearby Id go consult them about it, to make 100% sure that your new vid card would work

consult them, see what hteir tech says, if the tech isnt' sure or you think you might be getting bogus info, get a second opinion

Secondly, Id check back with best buy , see what their return policy is, see what they think about it and all that, they might deny you straight out of returning it, since it was already used,

Best buy are pricks about returning laptops for a reason, because theres a lot of morons out htere who try and scam them for this kind of stuff, So check with their return department, And see what's up with that


if it is true that a new video card would take precident over the old one, I may just attempt that, But only if you can't return it to bestbuy for a new one,

If best buy were to accept it, it would probably be under the terms you only get as much as its worth in credits, Meaning, if your dream gaming machine costs more than that one you have now, Then, You'll be forking over the cash for the upgraded version

Personally I can't say on any laptop brand, because wlel, Ive never owned one, Or used one, Alienware might not be a bad choice IVe heard great reviews about hteirs, But do your research first

If bestbuy says no, and your vid card thing will work, Id invest in it

just be sure that the guy you're talking to knows what he's saying, as I am well aware of the fact that the US has a growing problems of idiots getting into tech positions and stuff, Just something I heard and have learned....

best options though would be to return it and just fork out a little more for an upgraded top, Or just pu tin the new vid card, I have yet to hear of a case where the vid card has to "get used to" the way its used. So Id definitely be looking at an upgrade

You cannot generally upgrade graphics on a laptop. They are built in, and there is no upgrade slot to use. Also, the GMA 950 is almost as bad a gaming graphics chip as you can find.

How nice, thanks for the info (not really ), my parents bought me this laptop because they thought it was the best one, but they made the mistake I guess by asking a employee which one was best. I guess I have to tell my parents that the laptop they got me is good but not perfect enough for me (seems kind of selfish though, doesn't it). Just in case I'm able to get a better laptop, where is a list of laptop graphics cards that are ranked so I know which are best.

So Mr Alpha since you seem to know something about laptop graphic cards, can you give me some knowledge about them.

Quick run-through of laptop graphics:

Let's start with a look at the two categories. On the desktop side you got integrated and discrete graphics. Integrated means the graphics chip is integrated into the Northbridge on the motherboard and uses system (RAM) memory. This is slow but good enough for web browsing, word processing and reading emails, which is what most people need. The other option is discrete graphics cards, where the main contenders are ATI/AMD (AMD just bought ATI so the correct naming here is a bit fuzzy) and nVIDIA with their Radeon and GeForce series of cards respectively. They are more powerful and use their own memory. These are what we gamers want, but the are also more expensive.

On the notebook side you still got the same two categories, but technically both are integrated on the motherboard. The integrated category works the same way as on the desktop side, being integrated into the Northbridge and using system memory. Here you find ATI/AMD, nVIDIA and Intel, and this is the solution in the great majority of laptops, and they still suck for gaming. The discrete category, while still being integrated onto the motherboard, has a discrete graphics chip separated from the Northbridge and its own memory. Here the players are ATI/AMD and nVIDIA.

ATI/AMD has the Mobility Radeon x1300 to x1800 series, while nVIDIA has the GeForce Go 7200 to 7950GTX series. There is also the previous generations with x300 to x800 and 6200 to 6800 Ultra. Generally higher numbers are faster. Also the laptop versions usually are slower than their equally named desktop version because they are clocked lower.

The downsides to the discrete laptop graphics are that they are big, heavy, eat lots of power and expensive.

As an end note going for a gaming laptop you will always pay a price premium versus a similarly performing gaming desktop

Laptops, well, reasonably priced laptops anyway, just aren't designed for gaming. When I got my old laptop it was a desktop replacement that, by the numbers, outperformed the family computer. However, it was slower during gaming. Four years later, I gave it away and got a decent desktop meant for gaming. You can find good video cards for a laptop, but as Mr Alpha said, they're bulky and expensive.

So what your saying Mr Alpha is that if I want a decent gaming experience (honestly I don't really need a super gaming machine, I just want something that meets or surpasses my desktop computer) I need a new motherboard. I found this site Mobile Graphics Card Info explaining and giving names of video cards on how good they are. They say you cannot upgrade laptop graphic cards, so do I need to get a new motherboard with the right graphic card for me and it should do pretty well, right.

You generally cannot upgrade laptop motherboards either. The motherboards are made to fit a specific laptop. Besides, by adding a discrete graphics it wouldn't be to deal with the extra heat and power requirements.

There's another issue with gaming on a laptop...drivers. Many computer manufacturers use special drivers for their mobile platforms and often rarely update them. I know you can find hacked drivers though.

What do you mean by hacked drivers?