Guide: FFXIV & Laptops

[Miste]

Re-posting my thread from beta forums in case anyone needs it for anything ^^

I noticed a lot of people have issues with laptops and the benchmark/ffxiv.

This is just a simple guide for people who may not be as versed with laptops or computers in general.

I do not know EVERYTHING there is to know, just trying to help! ^^

First...got a new laptop or have one I want to play on! Hm...what kind of laptop do I have?


CPU - Your processor. Example: Intel i3, i5, i7
Determines how fast your computer can compute. Example: How many things it can do every second/minute. (Simple explanation, there is more to it than that but that gets more complicated than we need.)

I find that FFXIV is pretty CPU intensive, therefore, a better CPU will help you get better results in benchmark and FPS. Not as much as the GPU but I suggest an i5 at least.

How to see your processor...


Windows XP/Windows 7
Click on Start. On the right panel you should see Computer or My Computer. Right click on it and go to Properties. If you have a Computer or My Computer icon on your desktop, you can use it also , just right click on it and go to Properties.

Windows 8
From your desktop, move your mouse over to the bottom or top right corner. A side panel should open up. Go to Settings, then to PC Info.

It should open a page that has certain information about your unit. Like the above cut-out picture.

RAM - Random Access Memory
A type of computer storage. It stores data temporarily, in order for the computer to access it quicker when needed. Speeds up loading times for certain games. 4GB of RAM is in my opinion enough for FFXIV. Just my opinion though. This is also in the Computer properties page, just under the processor information.

Hard Drives
Hard drives and FFXIV...not too much to worry about here. Just make sure you have enough gigs free for the game. Typically a 7200RPM Hard drive is fine, there are some systems that come with a 5400RPM hard drive. You may have a bit slower loading times than someone with a 7200RPM, but it does not matter too much in the grand scheme of things. A Solid State Drive(SSD) is a REALLY fast drive, because it makes use of flash memory, sort of like RAM. These type tend to not have as long of a lifespan if you constantly write and rewrite/delete files. So make sure if you have a SSD you treat it with more care. A SSD can speed up your FFXIV to some degree, but the difference is not something a normal person would notice much.

GPU - Graphics Processing Unit
Very important! Your GPU determines a lot of if you can play the game at all, or on which settings.

Laptops normally come with integrated graphics. Integrated graphics are generally bad for games. Not so much for older games, but definitely newer ones. Integrated basically means that the GPU is attached onto the processor or motherboard. Since they are not a standalone unit, they are typically a lot less powerful than a dedicated GPU (also sometimes called discrete GPU).

If you want to run newer games with good quality and speed a dedicated/discrete GPU is pretty much needed.

What GPU's does my laptop have?


Windows XP/Windows 7
Click on Start, then go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Device Manager.

Windows 8
From your desktop, move your mouse over to the bottom or top right corner. A side panel should open up. Go to Settings, then to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Device Manager.

A little window should pop up like the image above. Click on Display Adapters arrow to see what you have in your laptop.

If you only see one GPU.
It is likely that it is integrated like most laptops. Something along the lines of Intel HD 4000. Unfortunately, any scores on the benchmark or game play experienced is likely going to be it. There is little you can do to improve the quality outside of buying a new laptop or checking to see if your laptop even has a socket for a dedicated card. The game is playable on some laptops even with integrated, but mostly on only standard settings. You can try updating the drivers for the integrated GPU, but in all likely hood the improvement, if any, will be negligible.

If you see two GPU's like my image.
One of them is likely a dedicated GPU. Which there is a few things you may have to do to make sure your laptop uses the correct GPU for the benchmark and the game itself.

Go into your benchmark folder


Go into 'game' folder...

Right click on ffxiv application...


Change default graphics processor...

A window should pop up like this...


Click on Add. Browse to your FFXIV benchmark or game client folder. Go into 'game' and click on ffxiv then click on Open.

To make sure your game runs like the benchmark, MAKE SURE you also add the ffxiv.exe from the actual game client also!
ffxiv.exe in the game client currently is located at
Your Install > SquareEnix > FINAL FANTASY XIV - A REALM REBORN > game




Now you are going to change the settings for ffxiv.exe. Set it to use the proper GPU, which in my case is the High Performance nVidia processor. Then click Apply.
You can add your benchmark exe also - ffxiv-arr-bench-character. Set it to use the proper GPU as well with the same above steps. (Not as necessary, but if you want your GPU to show up in the Display settings inside the benchmark launcher then I think you must do this.)

FFXIV SHOULD use the proper GPU now as long as you did everything correctly. As for AMD cards, I really do not know if their control panel works the same or not.

I'm sorry if I forgot anything or if it is hard to understand. Again I am just trying to assist, sorry if it is not very good :x If anyone has any questions I'll try to help but I do not know everything as stated above.

I hope everyone had a good day! ^^

EXTRA SUGGESTIONS FROM POSTERS~!

Don't forget to change power plan to High Performance!

Thank you so much GasparGalka! I was going to put that in and it slipped my mind by the end! Getting sleepy over here xD

Yes, do heed GasparGalka also. By going into your power options and making sure you are set on High Performance. If you click on the battery icon in the task bar on the bottom right you can switch quickly or open more power options from there.

I wanted to add a small note to this thread: I have a Lenovo y570, and discovered today that the little silver switch on the front of the laptop... Yeah that turns the nvidia gpu entirely off, which explains not only why the benchmark was giving terrible numbers, but also why the beta client would never run properly on this computer but worked beautifully on the desktop.

I personally cannot confirm this, having never owned a Lenovo. I shall put it here for anyone with one and having issues! ^^ Thank you NeKitsu!

Also be sure to shut down any unneeded background tasks. That will also help free up system resources which may help improve your performance as well.

Very good idea! Please be careful though, if you do not know what you are shutting down or closing you could cause problems. Only do this if you understand what can be shut down. Thank you EpOcH91!

Just an opinion (and sorry if it's been said before), but don't put the laptop on a surface like a bed, couch, etc.... I always use a flat surface for airflowl...

Above is a very good warning! Please listen to Razer and avoid using a laptop on any soft surfaces. It needs to be on a hard surface like a desk. Also take note of my EDIT #1 about having a cooling unit for your laptop! ^^

NOTE ABOUT THE BENCHMARK I FORGOT TO MENTION.

When you changed your GPU to the dedicated one, does it still display integrated inside of the benchmark for you?

There is an issue with the benchmark displaying the wrong GPU on the start launcher, and also in the score sheet. As long as you changed the applications to use the dedicated GPU, it will not matter that it is showing the other GPU.



For example this is what mine showed. Even though I scored a 6047 on maximum settings. Which would not be possible with integrated.

It also showed up in my score sheet.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Official Benchmark (Character Creation)
Tested on:8/1/2013 12:26:20 PM
Score:6047
Average Framerate:50.326
Performance:Very High
-Easily capable of running the game. Should perform exceptionally well, even at higher resolutions.

Screen Size: 1920x1080
Screen Mode: Full Screen
Graphics Presets: Maximum
General
-Enable HDR rendering and improve overall graphic quality. : Enabled
-Disable rendering of objects when not visible. (Occlusion Culling) : Disabled
-Use low-detail models on distant objects. (LOD) : Disabled
-Cache LOD data only when necessary. (LOD Streaming) : Disabled
-Real-time Reflections : High
-Edge Smoothing (Anti-aliasing) : FXAA
-Transparent Lighting Quality : High
-Grass Quality : High
Shadows
-Self : Display
-Other NPCs : Display
Shadow Quality
-Use low-detail models on shadows. (LOD) : Disabled
-Shadow Resolution : High - 2048p
-Shadow Cascading : Best
-Shadow Softening : Strong
Texture Detail
-Texture Filtering : Anisotropic
-Anisotropic Filtering : x16
Movement Physics
-Self : Full
-Other NPCs : Full
Effects
-Naturally darken the edges of the screen. (Limb Darkening) : Enabled
-Blur the graphics around an object in motion. (Radial Blur) : Enabled
-Screen Space Ambient Occlusion : Strong
-Glare : Normal
Cinematic Cutscenes
-Enable depth of field. : Enabled

System:
Windows 8 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (9200.win8_gdr.130531-1504)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4700MQ CPU @ 2.40GHz
16271.297MB
Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600(VRAM 1792 MB) 9.18.0010.3071

Benchmark results do not provide any guarantee FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn will run on your system.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Official Website http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com
(C) 2010-2013 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.

Tweet
http://sqex.to/ffxiv_bench_na #FFXIV Score:6047 1920x1080 Maximum Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4700MQ CPU @ 2.40GHz Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600

EDIT#1:

Some extra things to consider when planning to use a laptop for gaming.

Should I buy a cooling unit?


My suggestion/opinion, yes.

Some might say nah you do not need one. Personally my laptop came with very good inside fans, but one thing you have to remember about laptops in general is keeping them as cool as possible while they are running is a good thing. This is Step #1 for making your gaming laptop, or any laptop you keep on a lot or do anything that uses the CPU or GPU with high intensity, last a lot longer. It will likely extend the life of your laptop (likely is used because I cannot guarantee anything of course ^^) , and they usually do not cost too much to buy. Just keep in mind you buy the proper size cooling unit for your laptop.

EDIT#2

A player in this thread had an interesting problem come up...

I'm having EXTREMELY long load times in phase 3 and when I run the new benchmark (3-5minutes sometimes) Anyone know what could be causing this? I'm so-so with computers, and searched the forums but couldn't find anything but this thread. Any feedback is appreciated

If you have issues like this with loading times...defragmenting the hard drive that you run the benchmark/FFXIV off of could possibly solve it. Only defrag if the drive is a Normal "Hard Drive" or "HDD". Solid State Drives or "SSD" do NOT need to be defragmented because of the way they are designed there is very little point in doing so.


Windows XP/Windows 7
Open Start menu. Go to All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter

Windows 8
From your desktop, move your mouse over to the bottom or top right corner. A side panel should open up. Go to Search. Click on Settings, then in the search type "defrag". Then on the left side click on "Defragment and optimize your drives."

You should have the window open like my image above. Some computers have a schedule turned on as to when to defragment. This is a good thing to know, if it is set at a time when you use your computer a lot you could suddenly run into slow downs. I personally have the automatic defragmenting turned off. My personal preference as I would like to decide to defrag whenever I feel like it. Anyway, here you can choose which drive to defragment and when you last did it. This is not something you need to do REALLY often, just if you find your computer slowing down, this is an option to check out and possibly make it better. Again, you do not need to run defragment on Solid State Drives. Just normal Hard Drives. Also if you see any extra drives listed like the ones on the bottom of my list. Those are recovery drives. You DO NOT need to defragment those either.