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Do you need a super pc to run a 20 year old videogame


TomKabs93

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I recently bought a laptop that wasn't designed for gaming, but I didn't expect it to be unable to run nhl 94 smoothly. It's no biggie if it can't run 94 anyway since I don't have internet still, but it's just annoying, and I feel like I may have well bought the cheapest laptop I could find if it can't even run this.

Anyway to my question, what computer specs could be holding this laptop back from being able to run 94 smoothly? Could it be "Dedicated Video Memory?" Mine has only 128mb, and since it's a lame laptop I can't change that.

Any help would be appreciated. I have 14 days to return it, and I'm probably going to end up returning it, but still

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I thought you might have purchased a real budget machine, but that computer has great specs for gaming.

A quick google search will help you increase the 'dedicated video memory', but I'm not sure any of that will hold you back.

The larger screen should also be really nice to play on.

So how is it that you still don't have internet?

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Yeah I mean it isnt a total barebones pc

I googled how to increase the dedicated video memory but it says with most laptops you cant change it. I went into the bios and theres no option to do so. I googled hard tbh

And I still dont have internet cuz this town is too small, no fiber/cable/dsl/nothing

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More video memory definitely won't do anything. You don't need a powerful computer for the emulators we use. Performance issues must be something else, compatibility or something.

Do all emulators play badly, or just gens?

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No you most definately don't need a super pc to run it great. Computers in the early 2000 were already able to run Gens properly, but some would've had fps propblems in emulating it. I bought an 8 year old used business laptop http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2008/connecting/ds_bn_6930p.pdf for around 100$, which doesn't really compare to specs today, but was quite ok at it's day.

I'm running Linux & Windows XP for it and it runs great under Windows XP, but a bit more choppy in Linux which might require more processing power as I have tons of stuff installed there and use Wine (a Windows emulator to run Gens), where as XP I run pretty much bare and use only Gens & Hamachi. I tested some other OS as well and the game was smooth in Vista & Windows 7 too, but I would not have used Windows 8 or 10 for this unit.

The problem is the OS, or something that's installed that is creating the problem, or could be any combination of things. You can try running Gens in a different compatibility mode, but not really sure would it help. Mouse 2 and properties on gens-netplaysave.exe to change that, maybe try something else from there as well. Could even disable some unused or not required hardware from bios if that's an option. I'd uninstall any unused and not required software as well.

If you have 14 days to figure that out it could be tough. I'd propably change the unit too if it came with such a problem and couldn't figure the problem out, but before that I would test another OS as well though.

Edited by Depch
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Do a test, change the power settings to high performance instead of the usual "balanced". See if it changes the performance of the emulator. I think this prevents cpu scaling, so the cpu will always run at the top speed. Obviously set it back to balanced when not playing games, so your battery lasts longer, cpu runs cooler...

I also recommend the xp compatibility mode that Depch mentioned.

Laptops often come with lots of pre installed "bloatware" so you could Google for what acer bloatware to uninstall.

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Much love to you all for coming to my aid

Raph - That's good to know actually, cuz that means it's not just an Acer issue. I think you're right now, def not processing power.

Smoz - Thanks for confirming that it's not video memory. You're right, it must be a compatibility issue. But then again, I just did test some other emulators. I tested zsnes, and snes 94 looked a bit choppier than normal. I'm not very familiar with that game though, so it maybe it's not so bad, but def a bit worse than normal. I also tested nestopia and tester the original mario bros. It played alright, but definitely not quite perfect. There seems to be a bit of tearing or something when the camera is scrolling, also just not quite totally right otherwise. This is my main issue with how 94 runs, when the camera pans it's super choppy.

I took your advice and tried changing power settings to performance, didn't make much of a difference (or one at all). I also tried running it using both the nvidia graphics processor, and the integrated one separately, nothin.

Depch - Yeah maybe I'm just gonna have to buy an old pc to play this game. But the thing is, if this one can't run even a nes emulator properly then it's junk imo. I tried using all different kinds of combinations of compatibility settings, nothing fixed it. I think you're probably right about it being an OS issue, I could try installing windows xp, but honestly I tried that on my last laptop and almost broke it lollllll.

Ive never tried a more modern game, but as long as it's not too new I'm pretty sure it'd run alright

All in all, this has left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth with this pc. Maybe I'd be smarter to buy a desktop anyway. Eh who knows, I'm the most indecisive man on this planet. Anyway, thanks again for the help everyone.

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Have you updated the video drivers? Sometimes the Card manufacturer will have software you can download to tweak the performance.

Driver download: http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/111826

Have you tried running GENS in XP compatibility mode (Does W10 still have that feature)?

Compatibility Mode: http://www.howtogeek.com/228689/how-to-make-old-programs-work-on-windows-10/

How about screen resolutions, try backing them to a lower resolution?

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