Gateway Parts

How can I tell the system requirements for a game when I have a notebook computer?

When I check the system requirements for a game, specifically the part about video cards (which are usually referring to desktop graphics cards), how do I know that the graphics card on my laptop will be able to play the game as well? I don't know much about video cards at all so I wouldn't be able to know about them based off of specifications or anything like that. But do model numbers from ATI and Nvidia somehow correspond to laptop versions of them or something? For Example: Lets say a game requires an ATI Radeon HD 4870 video card, would this mean that the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 would fit he requirement, or does the model number not matter? Thanks for the help :)

Public Comments

1. I don't know how much this will help but instead of doing that you can just go to this site choose your game and it will see if you can run it. P.S. you may have to install a small patch first before it works. http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri
2. Hi, Laptop video cards are mobile versions of their full sized versions and as such are not as powerful as the desktop version. So it will depend on the game as to what the exact requirements are whether a laptop can play the game. As a general rule if the game is graphic intensive then a laptop is not likely to be good enough, in addition you will need a good processor which a lot of laptops do not have. If you are unsure whether a game will play on you laptop I would go to the games tech support forum and ask on there. Arnak
3. well, that's usually just recommended. They recommend you use that model number and up. But as long as it meets the requirements of the system resources, you should be good. Most of the times, if not all, the game will tell you how much Megabytes of Graphics RAM is needed to run it smoothly or at bare minimum. Lets say its 256mb of Graphics Ram, then as long as you have that, you should be good. Be careful with virtual Memory and shared Discrete and virtual Graphics RAM though, cause those can be tricky, Usually, 1gb of shared virtual memory is equivalent to 256mb discrete graphics card power. Basically, just Check how much Graphics Ram you need to run the game, then check to see how much Graphics Ram is available to you, and you can do the math from there. Also, make sure your System RAM and processor can handle the game. Hope this helps a little.
4. it doesnt really matter TBH, your game will still run. but games with heavy 3D graphics dont really perform well on laptops.