My poor little sister and her Inspiron 1545

[DoAHeroes]

All right, I'm trying desperately to help my little sister. Today, she downloaded Late Night and was so excited, but then realized it has made her game completely unplayable on her Inspiron 1545. Apparently, you can't return or get a refund for EPs downloaded online.

She's pretty devastated, as her computer met the requirements. Still, I realize that doesn't mean it will be playable. I'm not savvy with computer hardware, but I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I've been reading about it online and here at MTS, but it's just not sinking in well at all. Even the simplest technical terminology makes my brain... confused.

I'm getting the impression that she can't do anything about her graphics card on an Inspiron 1545. Does anyone have any ideas on how she can improve her performance? Could a RAM upgrade help if she can't improve the graphics card?

[KhaineGB]

What does the game run like if she turns all her graphics options down?

Looking at the model you mentioned, her RAM should be good (it comes with either 3GB or 4GB according to the Dell site), so an upgrade there likely won't help things. The graphics card can't be upgraded, and neither can the CPU... so if she can't tweak her settings in-game for better performance, she will probably be out of luck. :( Laptops aren't really meant for running games, unless you spend cash for an expensive one.

[ellacharmed]

Could you confirm the specs, rather than have us speculate on what you have and don't have? Game Help:System Specs
Some sites listed this laptop having onboard graphics and 1GB RAM only.

Upgradeability would depend on the laptop specs, RAM model's availability in the market and how configurable Dell aims this series to be. Most times it is not worth it, as the graphics cannot be updated, might as well put that money to a new system. Adding more RAM is also restricted not only to the motherboard's specs, but the Operating System as well. Judging by the age (from websites' review dates and the components used) this is a 32-bit system, so upgrading RAM is like I said not worthwhile.

[DoAHeroes]

Thanks, everyone, for trying to help! I just asked her about whether she turned everything to its lowest setting; she says she put everything to low to medium, but will try again with everything on low. I'll probably edit this post once she tries that.


I actually do have the specs and will attach. Here they are:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/22/2011, 21:28:24
Machine name: SARS-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 1545
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A13
Processor: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.10GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4056MB RAM
Page File: 3246MB used, 4864MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode


---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42&SUBSYS_02AA1028&REV_07
Display Memory: 1695 MB
Dedicated Memory: 32 MB
Shared Memory: 1663 MB
Current Mode: 1366 x 768 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: unknown
Monitor Id: INL000A
Native Mode: 1366 x 768(p) (59.913Hz)
Output Type: Internal
Driver Name: igdumd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igdumdx32,igd10umd32
Driver File Version: 8.15.0010.1808 (English)
Driver Version: 8.15.10.1808
DDI Version: 10
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 6/2/2009 23:16:48, 5613568 bytes


Sound Devices
-------------
Description: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76B2&SUBSYS_102802AA&REV_1003
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: stwrt64.sys
Driver Version: 6.10.6217.0000 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 6/29/2009 00:44:38, 487424 bytes

------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
Drive: C:
Free Space: 62.8 GB
Total Space: 223.4 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: TOSHIBA MK2555GSX

[Shhh]

Mine works fine, I have Sims 3 Late Night and hope to get Sims 3 Pets. My computer also worker with the Sims 2 and most of it's EPs.

[DoAHeroes]

Hey, Shhh! Thanks for your input. What model laptop do you have? Is it the Inspiron 1545?

[KhaineGB]

CPU is... meh... not bad but not great either.

Looks like she has 4GB RAM and the Intel Integrated GFX card.

Make sure everything on her game is set to low. Also, don't let her run it in max resolution (which I suspect will be 1280x720). Turn it down to something like 1024x786. Lower resolution will help since the GFX card won't have to work as hard, so it'll claw back some FPS for you.

[ellacharmed]

All in all, my recommendation is not going to be pretty, or even something you'd want to hear. ;)

Dell has not offered any updates for the graphics and sound drivers? You can try downloading the latest directly from Intel, but it (the driver updates) may be blocked from installing.
A lot of failures reported on last 3 EPs with Onboard Graphics - from crashings, deformed bits (slider-enabled stuff / pets / etc), graphical glitches from stuff not rendering properly (transparency, blurriness), lags (CPU is not at recommended speed for Windows 7 for BG+LN, let alone other add-ons).
I believe you're already at the maximum (RAM) memory the motherboard for that chipset can accept, and upgrading graphics for a laptop from that range is not worth it, provided there is even a graphics card you can buy to fit the laptop chassis.

If that laptop is used for school and critical school assignments/projects, perhaps best to stop playing altogether? If the laptop died, but HDD is salvageable than things are not so bad. But if it died and the components inside get fried? Lost of data is going to be devastating, if you missed deadlines and stuff and in turn affect school (or job) performance.

At best, limit it to base game for now, until you guys can get a new machine.
At the worst, stop playing Sims 3 altogether.
Yes, stopping for a few months is a pain, I can commiserate. :) I stopped playing for a whole year while I saved and did research on what I wanted my next gaming PC to be.

[DoAHeroes]

Thanks everyone! She's pretty much reverted back to Sims 3 for now. Hopefully we can figure something out so she can play the EPs in the future!