ouch! laptop burgled, no FM, sympathy required: the thread i wrote didn t appear....

[Neil Train]

haven t been idle. have abundant notes about how i m going to build and deploy my villa team when bought new hardware and game.

was wondering, are there advantages (other than viewing pleasure) to playing attractive football? will the board be more lenient? will the fans appreciate it? how well does the game take this into consideration?

neil

[Neil Train]

in the local library. shame i have to write this again.
so, i left my door unlocked, got my laptop and game burgled.

saving up for a netbook, really want something more portable and easier to hide away while i m out.

based on the specs, i BELIEVE a Lenovo Ideapad s205, 1.6ghz E450 processor and 4gb ram should do it. but cant afford a mistake, if for some reason the game doesnt run it will have been an expensive error.

all in (including reconnecting mobile boradband, buying game again and external CD drive) i'm looking at a little over £400 which is really about all i can budget for for maybe june being up and running again

second query is regarding steam. with a new CD will i need to authenticate again or will the fact i have entered a previous proiduct key mean i don t need to go online and fiddle again. i found the whole steam experience pretty confusing first time around and more so i guess this time, so any dummy advice u all can give wld be most appreciated.

thanks guys,

neil

[Geoff Newman]

Does it have to be portable?

A desktop will be more efficient (you can get a better spec and pay considerably less), and would be a lot harder to steal.

[Padders]

Have you not got insurance?

[Bradley21]

Stealing a man's FM should be punishable by the death penalty

[Neil Train]

hell. just discarded my reply and yeah, there should be stiff penalties against losing a man his god-given right to play FM.

no, not insured. silly really. will insure the next one.

portable because i travel a lot and NEED the game to come too. and because i really dont have the space for a desktop.

reckon a 1.65 ghz processor and 4RAM should be enough. just wanted to check with you guys cos i cant make a mistake, obviously

[welshace]

you dont need to buy a new cd or the game again ... you just need to log into your steam account on the new lappy and redownload fm.. the game is attached to your account not your computer...
go onto the steam website and see if you can still log into your account.. if its not been changed , change it as soon as you can so the thief cant steal your account... if it has been changed and your locked out, talk to steam, and they will recover it for you

as for netbook... just get a laptop.. seriously.. for the money you can get one with 5x the spec frankly .. and you're really only saving yourself an inch space each side and a few pounds weight...

that sort of processor your looking at will be achingly slow fella..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Presario-CQ5...0954016&sr=1-9

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-G570-...0954016&sr=1-1

a little over £400 will get you a lappy that can breeze through fm and anything else frankly... not to mention its only a few inches bigger and a few ounces heavier

[Neil Brock]

Must say that FM isn't officially supported on netbooks, although some have managed to get it to work. Sorry to hear about your loss

[welshace]

all you need now is PR at SI to do a lovely deed and offer to replace a dedicated FM fan's lappy in a wonderful show of good will towards their fans

[robzilla]

You say you're not insured - are you sure it's not covered under your home insurance? Often there is an "items away from the home" section and you may be lucky. Sometimes you have to specify high value items when taking out the policy but sometimes not - you might be covered.

[Eugene Tyson]

How much are you looking to spend on the new laptop.

And what size screen would you prefer? 10inch/15/17 or what?

[Neil Train]

How much are you looking to spend on the new laptop.

And what size screen would you prefer? 10inch/15/17 or what?

hi,

back in library, can alas only reply once in 24 hrs.....

wld actually like quite a small screen, less than 13". but also want enough power to play game average speed. speed of game not critical unless is reeeally slow.
i watch matches in 2D classic so graphics not critical either.

unfortunately all i can realistically save/afford is £300-£350 which is why i latched onto the lenovo s205 ideapad...

all suggestions welcome!!

[Neil Train]

You say you're not insured - are you sure it's not covered under your home insurance? Often there is an "items away from the home" section and you may be lucky. Sometimes you have to specify high value items when taking out the policy but sometimes not - you might be covered.

insurance: on anything: is something i was always "getting around to" but never did.
basically i have nothing of value and the only thing that WAS valuable was my laptop and never insured it. NOT a mistake i shall be repeating. luckily my dad knows about these things so i'll ask him to come up with a decent company just to insure next laptop against theft.

hope to be moving house soon to more secure accommodation and less likely to get burgled but, whatever, will remember to lock my door at all times even if popping out for 2 mins!!!

[Neil Train]

all you need now is PR at SI to do a lovely deed and offer to replace a dedicated FM fan's lappy in a wonderful show of good will towards their fans

indeed! we can dream!!

[Neil Train]

you dont need to buy a new cd or the game again ... you just need to log into your steam account on the new lappy and redownload fm.. the game is attached to your account not your computer...
go onto the steam website and see if you can still log into your account.. if its not been changed , change it as soon as you can so the thief cant steal your account... if it has been changed and your locked out, talk to steam, and they will recover it for you

as for netbook... just get a laptop.. seriously.. for the money you can get one with 5x the spec frankly .. and you're really only saving yourself an inch space each side and a few pounds weight...

that sort of processor your looking at will be achingly slow fella..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Presario-CQ5...0954016&sr=1-9

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-G570-...0954016&sr=1-1

a little over £400 will get you a lappy that can breeze through fm and anything else frankly... not to mention its only a few inches bigger and a few ounces heavier

thx dude. that post was REALLY helpful!

[Neil Train]

Must say that FM isn't officially supported on netbooks, although some have managed to get it to work. Sorry to hear about your loss

thanks neil. was really my own fault. had a couple of sherbets, went to visit a friend nearby and just left my door on the latch. ok, only for 5 mins but in the environment in which i live that's long enough for ne'er-do-wells to act....

[Neil Train]

hmmm. welshace and myself have both mentioned lenovo. am tempted by them although never owned one in the past. my stolen lappy was a dell with core i5 and it had some SERIOUS grunt not expecting the same high spec this time around, frankly just can t afford it

[Neil Train]

processor or RAM for playing FM? will need to prioritize 1 i feel.....

[Eugene Tyson]

Something like this would be ok for FM - might have to tone down the graphics on the 3d match a bit http://www.dabs.com/products/acer-as...?refs=15&src=3


This one has a bit more RAM - might be useful http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-k5...?refs=15&src=3

This might be in your price range - better processor - http://www.dabs.com/products/lenovo-...?refs=15&src=3


Sorry I can't find any better for that price

[Neil Train]

Something like this would be ok for FM - might have to tone down the graphics on the 3d match a bit http://www.dabs.com/products/acer-as...?refs=15&src=3


This one has a bit more RAM - might be useful http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-k5...?refs=15&src=3

This might be in your price range - better processor - http://www.dabs.com/products/lenovo-...?refs=15&src=3


Sorry I can't find any better for that price

thx mate. yeah my lost lappie was a monster: i5, 2.6ghz cld be turbo boosted, windaz64-bit, 8gb ram.
really need to tone it down this time.

will have a look at yr 3 suggestions. did a fair bit of browsing yesterday searching for something not a lot more than £300.
slightly confused about the AMD fusion E450 processor: have read a couple of good reviews saying it SHOULD han dle games.
i ONLY watch match engine in 2d classic so graphics not a priority.

[Neil Train]

guess the previous question still holds: do i need to prioritise processor or RAM? cos have seen several with 4gb RAM and average at best processor for my £300-£350 maX budget.....

[robzilla]

Usually very difficult (or impossible) to upgrade the processor on a laptop, but you can upgrade the RAM easy as, so I'd prioritse the CPU if I were you then chuck as much RAM in as you can afford.

[Eugene Tyson]

Processing power will serve you better for FM. It's a database driven game, it needs to process data.

Definitely get the better processor.

Use the Intel Site to compare the i3 i5 and i7 processors - search for their number like "i3 2350m" http://ark.intel.com/products/53438/

Some newer i3 processors are better than the older i5 processors and some new i5 processors are better than older i7 processors, if you get me.



RAM is useful for multitasking, like listening to music, surfing the web, using steam, anti-virus, etc. all running.

4gb is plenty for doing all the above - especially with a 64 BIT system - as Windows 64 Bit uses the RAM more efficiently than a 32 bit system.

[Neil Train]

Processing power will serve you better for FM. It's a database driven game, it needs to process data.

Definitely get the better processor.

Use the Intel Site to compare the i3 i5 and i7 processors - search for their number like "i3 2350m" http://ark.intel.com/products/53438/

Some newer i3 processors are better than the older i5 processors and some new i5 processors are better than older i7 processors, if you get me.



RAM is useful for multitasking, like listening to music, surfing the web, using steam, anti-virus, etc. all running.

4gb is plenty for doing all the above - especially with a 64 BIT system - as Windows 64 Bit uses the RAM more efficiently than a 32 bit system.

thanks both. yeah, did some reading yesterday and realised new 2nd gen. sandy bridge i3 processors wld do the job, but hard to find in the £300 price range. have scoured amazon and dabs.com.

i'm still looking at the cheaper AMD processors seem more affordable. anyone know anything about the AMD E-450? it s average at best but i dont need to play the game as super-dooper speeds. will only add 3 leagues from one country etc....

as i've been playing FM for over 10 yrs, probably nearer 13 yrs, had old systems with 1ghz processors and 512mb ram and got it to work.......

[welshace]

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=pr...imit=10&page=1

[Neil Train]

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=pr...imit=10&page=1

wow thanks!!

so, 2nd gen. i3 ideal, AMD Fusion E450 "wld just about do", what's in between?

[welshace]

honestly... for the money fella... looking to get an i3 would be the minimum imo ... the i's are superb chips tbh

[Neil Train]

honestly... for the money fella... looking to get an i3 would be the minimum imo ... the i's are superb chips tbh

will really look to get 2nd gen i3 but if there's a decent cheaper processor will also look at those.
the 2nd gen. i3 is meant to be as good as the old i5 so would be sweet.

[Neil Train]

have done a fair bit of searching this morning.
have some amazon vouchers so probably going to buy from there when have the rest of the money.

cheapest 2nd gen i3 laptop is £389 a little over my budget. what're slightly inferior processors? if i load minimum leagues i can take the game being a little slow, helps me plot and plan while "processing".

what's a half-decent AMD cheaper alternative and what about an intel pentium or simple dual corE?

[welshace]

you could get a decent phenom II X4 lappy tbh ...

but again.. i'd rather save the extra 50 odd quid and get yourself an i5 or i3 ....

[Neil Train]

yeah it s gotta be one of those two options. phenom II. hmmm. the extra £50 could be an extra month without FM. hard to take.

what about an older intel pentium?

will have another good look at amazon this morn. i've read differing opinions of the E450. Some say utter crap, some say will play most games including WOW. wld be a risk, not sure i m willing to take it.......

[Eugene Tyson]

Wow - loads of options on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Lapto...293975&sr=1-16

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-i3-370M...293975&sr=1-18

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Sate...293975&sr=1-11

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Sate...294035&sr=1-29

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Packard-Bell...294049&sr=1-49

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-RV52...294049&sr=1-72

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Inspiro...94077&sr=1-101

[Neil Train]

Wow - loads of options on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Lapto...293975&sr=1-16

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-i3-370M...293975&sr=1-18

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Sate...293975&sr=1-11

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Sate...294035&sr=1-29

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Packard-Bell...294049&sr=1-49

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-RV52...294049&sr=1-72

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Inspiro...94077&sr=1-101

thanks dudes!

have actually had a glance at the Lenovo uk site. some decent offers.

would a 1st gen i3 or an AMD A4 be better? i m guessing the A4.
am slightly confused that A6 and A8 seem to have less ghz but are quad core. guessing, as more expensive, are faster? despite say 1.0ghz,1.5ghz compared to the A4 which says 1.9ghz. ?????!!

[Neil Train]

sooo....

been looking at getting a Lenovo directly from them, customising it with a more powerful procesor.

wierd thing is, A6 and A8 processors, quad-core, only have speeds of 1.5/1.6 ghz, but are a lot more expensive. ASSUME they're up to the task?

am a tad gutted there was a £50 discount for buying up til yesterday, but i can't go it til mid/late may. darn.

how is a Pentium P 6200? on a par with an AMD A4 or A6?

[fade2black101]

Thought I would bump this thread as I was not around at the time. I've been looking at getting the Lenovo S205 myself and thought I would answer a few questions in the hope that it will help others.

While a i3/i5/i7 will certainly be handy for FM, it is a bit overkill aswell unless you want loads of playable leagues and things maxed out. Also, people pay too much attention to GHZ. For instance, the minimum requirements for FM on windows 7 is 2.0GHZ, but people need to understand that newer processor architectures wipe the floor with older ones. So, for example, a 1.6GHZ i7 will seriously absolutely destroy a 3.0GHZ Pentium 4. And I am talking seriously destroy it in performance 20 fold (or more). Similarily will destroy a Centrino as well as severely outperform a Core 2 Duo 3GHZ. This is the same with a 2.0GHZ i5 absolutely destroying a pentium 4 (at any GHZ) and 3.0ghz Core 2 Duo, etc. The point is that people should look at the processor architecture rather than simply just look at GHZ and this is not even taking into account the amount of cores never processors have in comparison to the older ones. Similarly with phones, a 2nd GEN HTC Desire 800GHZ Snapdragon destroys the original HTC Desire 1GHZ 1st gen snapdragon.


As far as the Lenovo S205 with its 1.6GHZ dual core AMD processor is concerned, it far far exceeds the 2.0ghz pentium 4 minimum requirements for the game. Partly due to the dual core, and also partly due to the Pentium 4's old sucky architecture. The AMD E350 of the Lenovo actually performs very similar to a 1.6ghz Intel T2050 Core Duo, and I know for a fact that this runs FM perfectly fine unless you go mental with the amount of playable leagues (3-5 would be acceptable)

The intergrated graphics of the Lenovo is also perfectly fine for the 3D match engine. It actually performs slightly better than an ION 2 GPU which would handle the 3D Engine fine. The amount of RAM is also fine (anything between 2-4GB should be good enough, and anything over 4GB will be pointless)

Hope this clears up any confusion regarding GHZ and minimum specs, and while you can get a core i3/i5/i7 for similar money, if you are looking for portability then the Lenovo is miles ahead of other "standard intel Atom-based" netbooks for both processor speed and graphics.

[Soverntear]

That really sucks mate. I'd log on to steam and change your PW as the earlier poster suggested. Some people are just wastes of space, especially thieves.