Dead Space 3 Performance and Impressions

I've been playing Dead Space 3 on my P580 and I must say I am quite impressed with performance.  I was skeptical and looking forward to testing this game on the laptop because it is a new release and tends to be quite visually appealing.  I have the game set to High settings with Vsync on, and the game runs 100% consistently at 30fps.  Now bear in mind, the game is capped at 30 fps! It is impossible to go above that running this game (some sort of port-related issue.  But I'm very happy. Very smooth.  Can even video capture without taking a hit.  Furthermore impressed with the computer.  I will soon stop testing and just accept it's performance because I have not been let down yet.

As far as impressions of the game, it is a fun action game with some very entertaining sequences.  Although it lacks the atmosphere and horror element of the first two, it is still fun from an action game standpoint.  But nevertheless I am disappointed that they have strayed from the tension-building horror approach.

Here are some screen captures:










Until next time, cheers.

New Laptop: Lenovo IdeaPad P580 Overview and Review

So here I type on my new laptop.  I recently purchased the Lenovo P580.  Now I have heard a lot of online talk about the Y series of Lenovo laptops, so I was quite surprised to see the P series in a flyer at Future Shop.  Nevertheless, it is a part of the IdeaPad line which is intended for multimedia and gaming.  And from viewing the specs, I decided to pull the trigger on it. (They can be viewed here) Though the specs on that page do not mention the dedicated graphics card. The dedicated card is the nVidia GT 630M with 2GB memory. I believe the laptop was on sale for around 700 with 150 off, which I perceived as a pretty good deal so I went ahead and purchased the laptop.


 Here I am two weeks later and I am very happy with it. It has exceeded my expectations performance wise and it is quite snappy. I enjoy the looks as well with the brushed metal outer face. I wanted to purchase a laptop with a heavy emphasis on gaming performance, as I take it to work where I tend to have a fair amount of time to spend. (I work EMS in a quiet rural service, and the shifts are four consecutive 24 hour on-call days. Crossing my fingers to get in with the bigger city's urban service soon. Not enough action out here). I have been able to run games such as Skyrim on high settings with AA off at an average of 45 FPS. Another game I have played is Battlefield 3, ran on medium settings at what is an average of 30 fps. These numbers exceeded my expectations greatly and I was pleasantly surprised. How the dedicated graphics card functions is if you execute a high memory demanding program, the laptops display will switch from integrated graphics to nVidia's dedicated card designed to handle a higher memory demanding program. And the setup seems to work quite well.


 Aside from game performance I am also very happy with the day to day functionality of the laptop. Initial startup is a breeze, and after some tweaking and tinkering Windowsm8 can actually become quite functional and enjoyable. Granted, in the grand scheme the new start menu is quite unnecessary but if you can learn to work with it then it is no issue at all. I did however have to google several "personal fixes" to certain things such as annoying User Account Control issues and personalization options. I also had to find a workaround to get the QuickLaunch bar back up and running (I enjoy having the "Show Desktop" button). But all in all the computer handles the OS very well. Startup takes roughly 10 seconds until login screen which is nice, and all programs load in a flash. I personally have uninstalled many of the "apps" included because for me personally they seem unnecessary, but for some they may enjoy having a standalone eBay app. Myself, I prefer using an internet browser.


 Internet browsing and video streaming is a breeze. Granted that also depends on what sort of ISP package you have, but I've found that even with the small-town internet connection I have at work I can browse quite fast and load videos very quickly. The wireless networking card seems to handle connections very fast. My only gripe with the laptop would be the high-gloss screen. But I suppose that is a bit of a standard these days. I'm not sure why manufacturers are ditching the matte screen, but I think I would prefer that. It makes games and videos difficult to watch at times when the on-screen image is dark but the screen itself is reflective. It makes it hard to view dark colors with the backlight. But overall I am quite pleased with the Lenovo P580. I have no hiccups to report.


 I have received some accessories I ordered off of NewEgg in the mail, which I can post a general overview about. I ordered a bag, a cooling pad (which I think is a necessity, heat kills electronics and gaming produces a lot of heat!), and I also purchased the Logitech M310 wireless mouse. I will post overviews of all of these and share my recommendations of them.

 Until next time..... if anyone actually is reading this.

Quick Skyrim comparison on Lenovo Ideapad P580

Here is a quick screenshot comparison of Skyrim in different settings running on the Lenovo Ideapad P580. Both screenshots are taken while running at 60 fps, which I was surprised to see after changing the settings.

Image 1, with Medium texture settings and the rest either off or low:



Image 2, with High texture settings and all follow graphic options set to medium:



As stated, neither change in settings negatively impacted the FPS.  I will tinker with the draw distances to see if there are further changes, but this seems to be the most pertinent change.  So far I'm pleased with the capability of this laptop.  Still awaiting my cooling pad before I put it through much strain for an extended period.  Lenovo seems to make a product that can perform. Fraps also recorded screen capture on the high settings at a steady 30 fps.

Side note: boring day at work.  Call-free for 8 days now.  I am hoping tomorrow will bring some activity.