will my laptop run ultra mode?

i'm curious if my new laptop will be able to run ultra mode, max settings, and trials with minimum to no lag? i plan on maxing out the RAM if that helps.



Acer Aspire AS8943G-6449 18.4" Intel Corei3 4GB RAM, 500GB HD, Win7

Processor
Intel® Core™ i3-380M Processor
(2.53GHz, 3MB L3 cache)(1)

Display
18.4" Full HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit Display
1920 x 1080 Resolution, 16:9 Aspect Ratio

Chipset
Mobile Intel® HM55 Express Chipset

Memory
4GB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz Memory(2)
Used Slots: 2 x 2048MB, | 2 Slots (Available)
4 DDR3 Slots (Total) - Expandable to 16GB

Hard Drive
500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive(3) Dual Hard Drive Support

Optical Drive
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
Read: 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 8X DVDR, 6X DVD-ROM DL (double-layer), 6X DVDR DL, 6X DVD±RW, 5X DVD-RAM
Write: 24X CD-R, 16X CD-RW, 8X DVDR, 4X DVD±R DL (double-layer), 6X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM

Video
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650 with 1024 MB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM, supporting Unified Video Decoder (UVD), OpenEXR High Dynamic-Range (HDR) technology, Shader Model 5.0, Microsoft® DirectX® 11, OpenGL® 3.1, OpenCL™ 1.1

Audio
Dolby®-optimized Acer CineSurround sound system with five built-in speakers and one subwoofer supporting low-frequency effects
Dolby Home Theater® Audio Enhancement
High-Definition Audio Support w/ True 5.1 Channel Surround Sound Output
Acer PureZone technology with two built-in stereo microphones
Horizontal Volume Wheel

Digital Media Card Reader
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
Secure Digital™ (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick® (MS),
Memory Stick PRO™ (MS PRO), xD-Picture Card™ (xD)

Interfaces
4 - USB 2.0 Ports
1 - HDMI™ Port with HDCP Support
1 - Combo USB/eSATA Port
1 - IEEE 1394 Port
1 - VGA Connector
1 - Headphone/SPDIF Audio Out
1 - Microphone-in Jack
1 - Line-in Jack
1 - DC-in Jack for AC Adapter
1 - Kensington Lock Slot

Communications
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
*Wireless capability and use of public wireless locations, or "hot spots", may require a network connection, additional accessories, and a service connection fee, as well as a DSL or cable modem Internet connection. Access to and use of the Internet may require payment of a separate fee to an Internet Service Provider.

Webcam
Built-in 1.3MP HD Webcam (1280 x 1024)

Convenience Features
Multi-gesture Touchpad (Circular-motion scrolling, pinch-action zoom, page flip)
Easy-launch keys: PowerSmart Key, WLAN
Dedicated Numeric Keypad
Acer MediaTouch: Touch-sensitive Media Console, featuring
1) Movie, music shortcuts 2) Media controls: play/pause, stop, previous, next

Battery Type
8-cell Li-Ion Battery (6000mAh)

Dimensions (System)
17.34 (W) x 11.62 (D) x 1.22/1.73 (H) inches
440 (W) x 295 (D) x 31/43.8 (H) mm
*Weights and dimensions will vary depending on configurations and manufacturing variability

Weights (System)
10.1 lbs. | 4.6 kg. (system unit only)
*Weights and dimensions will vary depending on configurations and manufacturing variability

Limited Warranty
One-year International Travelers Limited Warranty (ITW)(5)

Software (Pre – Installed)
Operating System - Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit

An i3? That seems kind of low to have flawless ultra mode...

[Summon: Computer Guru]

I can run some ultra mode features on even less of a laptop (Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz processor, Nvidia 9700M graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM), but do so at a lower resolution (1440x900).

Cranking ultra mode to full can give me some nice still shots, but a very poor framerate (10.0 FPS or less).

So, based on that, I expect you could run ultra mode; the question is whether your more up-to-date hardware can compensate for the extra power to run 60% more pixels.

At a lower resolution with minimum UM settings perhaps, but definitely not at 1920x1080.

Laptop GPUs that share the same name as a desktop one are actually less powerful than the desktop version. Tom's Hardware has the Mobility HD 5650 in the same tier/bin as the desktop HD 5570 (DDR3).

At 1280x720 you should be fine for basic Ultra Mode. Just not at 1920x1080.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

Thanks for the input guys. I did come across some YouTube clips that give me a little confidence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYc0X...e_gdata_player

Buddy seems to have the same specs as me. I plan to have 16gigs of ram tho. Even If i can't push the Max, I'd still like to play at a high quality. But i understand trials get hectic, so I'm prepared to drop the settings for better performance.

Adding more system memory isn't going to really make a difference in performance.

well, just a follow up. my laptop came in and i must say, it's lived up to my expectations. i've been able to run ultra mode at about 98% of it's max on trials. i've been playing at the full 1920 x 1080 resolution as well.

so far i haven't encountered any lag, even on the BAF with the screen zoomed out. and as of right now i see no need to increase the RAM.

*druels*

I mean, yeah that should run very nicely, but you Could have done better with an i5. increasing the ram really wouldn't have done anything more to help as the game won't be using up That much. I don't know if it would help, but you could try using a fast SD card for extra cache if you dedicate it for Speedboost. I'm not sure how to tell the difference, but it wouldn't hurt if you felt like trying.

I'm kind of curious... if you really want to run UM at the highest possible settings, why are you getting a laptop? You seem to be looking at the wrong market for your wants, kind of like finding a sports car that's really good at off-roading.

I know I bought my gaming laptop because my job makes me spend weeks at a time in a hotel. So the gaming laptop was a better choice than the gaming desktop.