Laptop users?

[hotgoat]

Hello all. I've been having trouble getting contracts to run on my laptop. The installation went fine, but the game lags so bad it is pretty much unplayable. When I played the training area, the game worked perfectly. However, when I start an acual game, it runs fine until I get to the first door. As soon as I open the door, the lag begins. I've toyed around with the graphics options a lot, disabled the pixel shader thing, and done everything else I can think of. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Here are my specs:

compaq evo n610 laptop
pentium 4
256 mb ram
mobility raedon 7500 video card (I'm betting this is the problem)
plenty of hd space
if any other info is needed for help, please ask.

thanks
:) hotgoat

[hotgoat]

I also fully updated directx. Forgot to mention that...

[FredtheHobo]

you have the patch and newest drivers? (those wouldnt be the problem but hey i just ask)

whats yer processor speed?
how much memory is yer vid card?
does yer vid share memory?

those are the 3 main things. it might also be compatiblity issues cuz the 7500 is an old card but i doubt it cuz compatibility issues are generally when it doesnt run. if yer vid card shares memory (first off that blows) then you'll want to up yer memory. (how much you up is depending on how much memory yer vid card is) since you have a laptop it probably has onboard and removeable. (sp) (this is why you go desktop)

either way, unless you have a nice convienent (sp) slot where the non-onboard ram slides out (some new laptops have this, right under the popout keyboard) then upping ram sucks cuz you have to open it up.

[McDeth]

I also am having similar problems. I noticed that problems appear only in certain rooms. In other places the game runs quite smoothly, but it starts to lag incredibly when entering certain areas.

Before you start, I have downloaded the fix 1.74 already. I have also messed around with graphics settings but nothing seems to effect.

The problem areas I have so far identified are:

Asylum aftermath
- Basement from start to the curved corridor (after corridor, no problems)

Meat Kings party
- Outside
- Inside truck
- In front of entrance to Party (when 2nd floor roof area is visible)
- 1st floor
- Opium bar
- 2nd floor
- rooms around the dead girl
- room on the other side of roof

That's as far as I have tried. It is getting too frustrating to continue before some kind of fix is available for this problem.

I have a Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook E-Series with
Pentium 4M 1.8GHz
512 MB Ram
Mobility Radeon 7500

[The Grim Reaper]

all the areas you have mentioned have a lot of effects going on i.e smoke, reflections, rain etc the 7500 just isn't beefy enough to handle them smoothly, though you might try lowering all of the graphics settings.

[McDeth]

I really don't think that is the problem. I have tried with all settings as low as possible, but it makes no difference. Other than those few areas, the game runs so that it is playable. In certain areas the FPS go to 0.5 or even less.

My guess is that there is some particular effect being used at these areas that is causing problems for the mobility radeon 7500

[McDeth]

Well... I finally tried OpenGL and that works quite ok. Problem is that then you cannot see the videos. But If I had to select between game performance and videos... well :)

[The Grim Reaper]

The OGL renderer in HC doesn't use any shadres so it probably what solved it.

you can watch the videos manually, d/l the Bink tools from Rad Game Tools (http://www.radgametools.com/), they are free.

[FredtheHobo]

Originally posted by McDeth
I have tried with all settings as low as possible, but it makes no difference. My guess is that there is some particular effect being used at these areas that is causing problems for the mobility radeon 7500

have you even tried 640 resolution? cuz that looks pretty bad but a 7500 should be able to handle it. actually, how much ram is yer card? and is it shared?

[demolishinslim]

The ultimate answer: Disable Post Filter

Works like a miracle

but the truth is, it takes a lot of magic out of the game performance

I really think they should of tried to make Hitman more adaptable to the average graphics drive

Unless you use a real good one, maybe around 256, I don't think you should hope for the best performance out of Hitman Contracts

[FredtheHobo]

Originally posted by demolishinslim
Unless you use a real good one, maybe around 256, I don't think you should hope for the best performance out of Hitman Contracts

*the crowd goes "BOOOOOOOOO"

i have a measly p4 2.4 and i use a 128mb ATI 9700 PRO. (k so i also have a gig of ddr ram but w/e) it runs any and everything i need it to. (i've said this so many times i'm almost sick of hearin myself sayin it but) it outperforms all 128mb nvidia cards up to the 6800 series. the 9700 is 2 years old, meaning people on ebay (gettin hard to find such an old card elsewhere) are selling them for about $70 to 140. (note that its PRO, not All-in-Wonder, which is going for about $250-350)

[ycdeo]

well from what i know "contracts" is not design for laptop plays.
it may seems to lag even on the best of laptops!!!!

well probably you just had to play on a desktop with a msi fx5200 AGP with a pentium 3 733mhz . that works very well with almost no lag at 800x600.
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