Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

New laptop for Rome 2 Total War

by Jun 13, 2013 1:31PM PDT

Hi, I'm currently looking to upgrade from my Toshiba Satellite L505 to a newer laptop. I'm a student and would like something with pretty good battery life but will also be able to play Rome 2 Total War when it comes out in September. Looked mostly at Dell Latitude E6430 with a discrete graphics card and high resolution screen. Would that be enough for medium settings? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Answer
None then.
by Forum moderator Jun 14, 2013 1:18AM PDT

Every time this question comes up it falls apart as we discover that battery time (not to be confused with life span) plummets when the games are played. I looked at the Latitude but can't determine the exact model so I can't comment on it's game worthiness.

But battery time is under half what you read in reviews when the games are running. If you see them spec 4 hours of battery time, figure under 2 for the game time.
Bob

- Collapse -
options then?
by Skyskier Jun 21, 2013 8:50AM PDT

Idc about the battery life for playing games. It will be plugged in when I play them. I'm going to need the battery life for full days of classes. What would my options be for that?

- Collapse -
Few.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jun 21, 2013 9:01AM PDT

Take the unidentified Lattitude and find a review. Note the mAH (milliamphours) on the review.

Now it's not exact but is good enough to extend what the review got in time by changing your stock battery up in size. Here's an example.

-> If the review with the stock 2000 mAH battery got 4 hours and you could get a 5000 mAH battery then you could get a rough calculation of the time to about 10 hours maximum.

However this would only be good for the first year as the battery is rated for 300 cycles and the warranty on the battery as I read them states that the battery is still considered good if you have half the capacity as new.

So with that in mind you will likely be buying the biggest battery you can get every year.

-> How is your school different in this respect? Most folk and students get by with 2 to 4 hour run times and burn up a battery every 2 years. You seem to be pegging the use much higher. Maybe you were not planning on plugging in when and where you can?

Bob

- Collapse -
grad school
by Skyskier Jun 21, 2013 9:54AM PDT

its not just one block from 2-4 hours. Since its a grad school it would be from 5-8 hours before i could charge it

- Collapse -
Then as noted.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jun 22, 2013 2:05AM PDT

How are other students able to get by? Look at what they are carrying.
Bob

Back to Laptops forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info