Computer for CKII

[Whutsirname]

Hey everyone,

I apologize for using this forum to ask for help about a computer. I am hoping someone can help identify if my laptop I will be receiving soon will be able to run Crusader Kings II. I know your thinking, a laptop? That is clearly not a very reliable source to game on. Well, Its all ill have once I receive it. My desktop is a very old Dell computer with windows XP. Very outdated.

Now, The laptop I am receiving is a Toshiba Satellite laptop. Which model it is? I have seen it very briefly this morning. My friend still needs to clean it out. But I did however see the numbers 650 on it. I researched which one it could possibly be. I came up with the C650 and the L650. For the sake of an answer, lets just say its both a C650 and a L650. So id like two answers. I am unsure which one it was exactly. Hopefully somebody can help me and tell me if this laptop will be able to run CKII. Even if it does, can it run on very low graphics at the very least? I have been a very big fan of the game for years and hopefully i will finally be able to play it. But in terms of specs the best I can provide with right now is a Toshiba Satellite either C650 or L650. Can this laptop run it?

Thanks.

 

[HandicapdHippo]

Those laptops from some googling aren't great but I used to run CK2 on an old Acer with similar specs a few years ago though I don't remember the exact details. It should run if you turn all the graphics down but the game is going to be slow.

 

[Greybeard0815]

Well you said it yourself laptops aren't that good for gaming. Thing is most laptops no longer have a dedicated graphics card and instead seem to rely on the Intel Integrated Graphics technology, which basically is just a glorified on board graphics card where the processor acts as GPU.

So.. CK2 puts very heavy use on the processor and having a processor that gives up part of it's strength to graphics basically weakens it and since CK2 isn't really using all cores, it's likely that CK2 might use the same core for both the game and the graphics.

It will run, but it will be very slow. At least in the recent versions. You could try to downgrade to some older versions of the game. But the current version will be so slow that playing just isn't fun.

 

[Whutsirname]

Well you said it yourself laptops aren't that good for gaming. Thing is most laptops no longer have a dedicated graphics card and instead seem to rely on the Intel Integrated Graphics technology, which basically is just a glorified on board graphics card where the processor acts as GPU.

So.. CK2 puts very heavy use on the processor and having a processor that gives up part of it's strength to graphics basically weakens it and since CK2 isn't really using all cores, it's likely that CK2 might use the same core for both the game and the graphics.

It will run, but it will be very slow. At least in the recent versions. You could try to downgrade to some older versions of the game. But the current version will be so slow that playing just isn't fun.

So would a physical copy of the game be a more suitable version of the game? Since im not sure if it updates automatically? How slow are we talking exactly? Would it be playable? I own the first CK and that is slow on my desktop but is fine when i pause it. Would CKII be a playable slow?

Also the laptop was purchased around 2010-2011. If that means anything.

 

[Greybeard0815]

So would a physical copy of the game be a more suitable version of the game? Since im not sure if it updates automatically? How slow are we talking exactly? Would it be playable? I own the first CK and that is slow on my desktop but is fine when i pause it. Would CKII be a playable slow?

Also the laptop was purchased around 2010-2011. If that means anything.

Physical copies.. yeah.. the game is nowadays only supported (and sold) through Steam, so you if you want updates, you should use Steam. Also through Steam you can use old versions of the game by using the "Betas".

Playable slow.. you know everyone has a different opinion on that matter. Some consider the current game performance unplayable others think it runs fine. I'm somewhere in between. I can play for 50 years and have fun and then performance goes down slowly but steadily and so does the fun for me.
Basically the rule is, the newer the game version, the slower it will be. Try it out. If the current version 2.5.2 is too slow for you, go back to 2.0.4 or 1.111. The speed difference is HUGE.

Different speed settings in game are also important. I wouldn't recommend playing on Speed 5, because it apparently uses most performance and sometimes is slower than Speed 4 or at least feels unstable.

I think that the most recent version won't run well for you. But playing on 1.111 or 2.0.4 might run fine. You just have to test it.

 

[Whutsirname]

Physical copies.. yeah.. the game is nowadays only supported (and sold) through Steam, so you if you want updates, you should use Steam. Also through Steam you can use old versions of the game by using the "Betas".

Playable slow.. you know everyone has a different opinion on that matter. Some consider the current game performance unplayable others think it runs fine. I'm somewhere in between. I can play for 50 years and have fun and then performance goes down slowly but steadily and so does the fun for me.
Basically the rule is, the newer the game version, the slower it will be. Try it out. If the current version 2.5.2 is too slow for you, go back to 2.0.4 or 1.111. The speed difference is HUGE.

Different speed settings in game are also important. I wouldn't recommend playing on Speed 5, because it apparently uses most performance and sometimes is slower than Speed 4 or at least feels unstable.

I think that the most recent version won't run well for you. But playing on 1.111 or 2.0.4 might run fine. You just have to test it.

It turns out it is a Toshiba Satellite 654D laptop. Is there still any chance of playing the game?

 

[Greybeard0815]

It turns out it is a Toshiba Satellite 654D laptop. Is there still any chance of playing the game?

Until last year I had a Desktop with similar specs (1 GB less RAM though). 1.111 and 2.0.4 ran fine, but anything above version 2.3 was unplayable due to bad performance.

All I can do is repeat myself and recommend that you try it out. Disable stuff like trees and citysprawl in the settings.txt and try one of the earlier game versions.