Please help me! - PC gaming beginner

Hi everyone!

So I recently got my uni grant through and thought what better to spend it on than a nice new lappy! I was planning on getting one just for work and that but then I came across the m11x and thought why not get one for gaming too! I got it through yesterday, set her up, and then i realised - I have no idea what Im doing!

Its not that Im a total technology virgin, I love my iPhone/Ps3/360, but this is just out of my league I think. Ive managed to install the drivers and driversweeper, although it took my about 8 hours, and now I was wondering how I can increase my performance.

Ive read countless threads on here, but no one seems to be as stupid as me as pretty much every reply goes straight over my head. I would really really reaalllllyyyy appriciate if someone could help me just with the basics really. Im sorry mods if I shouldnt have started this but I just really wanna get the most out of this little beauty! Ive downloaded JC2 and ME2 but havnt had a chace to play so not sure what there like.

My specs are: M11x r2, i5, HyperX 4gb ram, 320 gb hdd, Geforce 335 GT

Ive already downloaded: Nvidia 266.58, Dell bios v4(?), driversweeper, synaptics, Intel graphics and dell OSD (from dell).

Now please dont laugh if I have said or done anything stupid, yesterday I didnt even know what a driver was let alone anything else! I have had a little go in the bios, OC'd to 166 and it still turned on (does this mean its capable of this speed? or is there another way I find out?)

Also, within the games display menus, just wondered what things should be hight, med and low, and what should be on and off. Not for my particular system, just what does each thing do.

Also again, throttlestop? Ive read about it but does someone like me whos clearly a total noob wanna get it? Or am I just gunna break everything?

Thankyou so much anyone who reads this far and suggestions about anything will be appriciated sooooo much! I just wanna get the most out of it.

Thanks everyone!!

 

so long as it does not freeze or give you a BSOD (blue screen of death) then it should be ok.

 

Is that about the OCing? Seems fine atm, thanks for explaining what BSOD is though! Ive seen it everywhere, knew it was something 'of death', been through too many 360s, didnt know it was blue screen though. Thanks dude

 

yeah, when OC'ing. BSODs are when the OS crashes because of any reason like hardware conflicts with IRQ, driver failure which causes the OS to crash.

Blue Screen of Death - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I see I see! So does just OCing it make a noticable difference to gaming? I didnt wanna leave it on as if something breaks Im screwed completely. I should point out that I have a track record of breaking everything I touch.

Or do I need to do other stuff to make the OC worthwhile? Thanks again

 

some people have OC'd the nvidia gpu to get better performance. but try some games out and see!

 

if a newb, better to not modify or OC or experiment right away. Get all your stuff installed and humming along - then back it all up and enjoy.

 

BIOS overclocking is completely factory supported. My GPU is maxed out in EVGA Precision and it's well within heat specs.

 

Think I've got the hang of it, seems to be alright on highest MHz. I have a new problem however.

Ive just put in a 4gb Kingston hyperx and when I turn it back on the fan runs violently loud and it does two beeps in about 4 second intervals. The screens just blank...

I've ruined it havnt I

 

Re-seat the memory.

Also, as others have posted, since you are new to all of this, stick with the stock configuration (drivers). No need to jump in and start mucking about with non-dell issued display drivers. Wait until you encounter an issue (if you do). No need to mess with Throttlestop yet either - Just create rescue media with AlienRespawn to preserve the 'out of box' state (it may come in handy later).

Enjoy the system!

If you find you are having an issue with a specific game or have a odd behavior surface, search around the 11x forum and if you are still stuck, post and we'll try to assist.

 

Yeh I think I'll try not to enhance it any more. Is reseating just making sure it's in right? The screen doesn't start so Im just stuck for now?

Just as Fallout downloaded

 

Yep, power down the system and remove the AC power cable.
Unplug the battery (be careful with the cable when disconnecting)
Remove each ram stick and then re-insert them.
reconnect the battery and close up the system. Be careful when tightening down the screws - they can strip easily.
reattach the power cable and boot the system.

If you still encounter the error, remove 1 stick and power back up. if all is fine, remove that stick and reinsert the other. power up again. doing this will rule out a bad ram stick. It happens sometimes - even with new aftermarket memory.