# Solved: Is a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M really that bad?



## kaihou (Jan 25, 2009)

I have a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M graphics card on my HP Pavillion dv2000 - Windows Vista Home Premium. The problem is that it doesn't work so great.

Whenever I watch DVDs, or HD videos, or play games such as MapleStory and Sims 2, they lag so much. The only thing about them that plays fine is the sound.

I know there was a similar question like this on Yahoo! Answers, but even after updating drivers and putting the lowest settings on games and on the NVIDIA driver, everything still runs slow. (Well, my computer in general isn't that slow thanks to 2.5GB of RAM).

But anyway, is it just my computer that's bad or my graphics card? If it's my graphics card, what can I do to make it better or at least what's a better graphics card at a good price that works well? 'Cause right now my Windows Experience Index is giving me a 2.3 on 3D graphics.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

Well... i have a GO6100 and that plays modern games so my answer would be no. Change to XP and then you will probably notice a difference. But dude... The Sims 2 is a low requirement game, so there should be no lag at all. GO6100 plays full detail with no lag. Maybe your graphics card isnt in its slot properly?

Hope this helps
James


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Go XXXXm video products are on-board GPUs built for notebooks. They are not upgradable, much less a graphics card available.

7150M is the chipset code, its not a dedicated graphics chip. Its better than intel's on-board graphics - they are are still bottom of the line.

While adding more memory (especially vista) can improve performance in some areas, it doesn't actually make your CPU/system run faster. It allows the PC to load more info into memory, rather than spooling off the Hard drive.

Reload the chipset drivers. Disable and remove the junk programs included with HP. Use the free program glary utilties (www.download.com) to help remove bad code. uninstall or turn off things like IM and other non-important stuff that runs in the back ground.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

......
Mine has shader model 3.0 and 512mb of memory, 256 dedicated 256 shared. The only problem is that its clocked at 450mhz. Way to low!


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

As stated on the above posts, the 7150M is a basic card designed for everyday tasks and not for games. However I could play Sims 2 on a crappy GeForce 4 MX 440 a few years ago...

Maybe your problem lies elsewhere, I'd bet that your RAM is the No1 suspect. I don't remember the actual graphic settings of Sims 2 but try lowering everything related to textures especially if you're running expansions or mods. Play around with the settings until you reach acceptable performance levels, this card can definitely run Sims 2.

Maple Story is an online game. I suspect that the lag you get is probably related to your connection or router settings since it's not a hardware demanding game (I guess it doesn't even use a 3D engine). Keep in mind that your computer may be just fine, server side lag is quite common on free MMORPGs like Maple Story. Can you select a different server? Is your firewall configured correctly?


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

rofl mmorpg's should exclude the names maple and runescape. But yes, ssl is very common, specially in games where ALL the data is on thier server, like runescape.
James


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## kaihou (Jan 25, 2009)

Oh wow, I almost forgot that Maple runs faster when I connect my laptop directly to my router.

And the only way I can make Sims run faster even on the lowest graphic settings is by playing right after I restart my computer. Then after a while it starts lagging again. Any explanation for this?


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

Your laptop could be overheating and thus the performance is reduced. But hopefully the situation can be simpler: 

When your computer starts it only loads the basic stuff (drivers, services, startup programs etc). As time goes by, background programs may trigger other services and files to load, so your memory starts filling slowly. Since your card is integrated to the motherboard it may be using a portion of system RAM to store graphics data. If your card allocates RAM dynamically (meaning it allocates RAM depending on the usage scenario) letting other programs occupy RAM will give your card less space etc.

Usually you can alter the RAM amount used by your card from within your system's BIOS. It wouldn't hurt raising it up a bit. Make sure your card uses no less than 256MBs.


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## kaihou (Jan 25, 2009)

So do I go to the NVIDIA program and change it like that? Or go to my RAM thing and change how much RAM can be used? @[email protected]


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

Sorry for not answering earlier...

In order to change that you have to get into your BIOS. When you power on your machine you will notice some screens with various info just before the windows loading screen. There you will be prompted to press a key (usually it's the delete key but on HP laptops it could be the F10 key) to enter setup (or BIOS). 

The steps below can help you out. They are directly copied from the HP website. Focus on steps 1, 2 and 4. I guess that step 4 is about saving any changes you made or not so I can't tell if answering yes is what you need. Simple as that: If you locate the setting for your video memory and change the size select yes, if you don't press no. 


1. Press the power button to turn on the PC.

2. When the HP or Compaq logo appears, press F10 to enter the BIOS Setup.

3. When the Main menu is displayed, make note of the BIOS version. You will need this information to determine if a newer revision is available.

4. To exit the BIOS setup, press F10 , select Yes , and then press Enter .

I can't help you much on locating the needed setting however. Search for anything related to your graphics memory and if you are sure make the changes. If you have any questions or need further clarification please post back.


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## kaihou (Jan 25, 2009)

Okay well I restarted my laptop and everything and now I'm just hoping I did the right thing.

I went to BIOS and there was a selection that said "Dedicated video memory up to:" and the number next to it was "68MB". You could change the answer to 32MB, 68MB (selected), or 128MB. Remembering "128MB" from somewhere, I chose that and started up my computer.

What the heck did I just do? o_o If I increased the dedicated video memory, what ups and downs does it have to go with it?


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

You did the right thing, don't worry about that.

You can check if the change was correctly applied by running dxdiag. Open the start menu and on the search field type dxdiag. Run the program and navigate to the video tab. There you can find more info regarding your graphics card.

The only "problem" is that you couldn't raise the memory more. 256MBs would be ideal but even 128 will be enough for Sims 2...

Now you should try testing your game and see if the performance improved. I' ll search around the web for more info tomorrow (I suspect that DirectX may have something to do with your problems - You can try downloading DirectX 9c for Vista and see if that helps), it's quite late here.

Cheers!

EDIT: You can find DirectX 9c here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en


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## kaihou (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks so much! Night


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

jees, only 128mb shared!?!?!
Is my card a special card made specificly for asus or something. Most asus boards seem to have the 6100 inbuilt and it performs better then the 7150...


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

u should buy a new notebook video card, all onboard cards suck really bad, so i recommen that u buy a decent card so u will be able to run things way better.


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

... and where does one buy a notebook video card?

Gatwaypc700: 7150 is still bottom end graphics. There is nothing special about it.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

kK, what ever
Ive heard that some of the newer models can have new graphics cards brought for them (thanks BG-0,) but apart from this, I think that it is impossible...
James


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

For the past 2~3 some-odd years, yes - some notebooks from the likes of Alienware have "video cards", but these are made during the time of purchase/order of the notebook. IE: Area-11 notebook, with a GF 7600m or 7900m cards... But as far as self-user replacable / upgradable cards... no. Even from within the same brand. The cards are made custom for the notebooks.

Unlike a desktop, notebooks don't have standard internal designs. A change here or there can effect the thermal dynamics of a notebook, besides power issues.

Now WHAT would be very nice and has been shown a bit. Is an external chassis for which to plug in a NORMAL desktop video card into the notebooks ePCIe type of slot. Such a video card would have its OWN PSU.


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

Hmmm although I generally agree with you Compiler, I've played Sims 2 on a GeForce MX 440 with 64MBs of RAM. Also seen it running without major slowdowns on a notebook with an integrated Intel 945 graphics chip (Pentium M @1.7, 512MB RAM) and another with a mobile radeon 9200 or something (That's even older and though provided playable framerates on lower settings - Mobile Athlon XP 2800+, 256 MBs RAM). 

I also tested many 3D gmes on my asus eee pc 900 (yup, crappy little netbok with an Intel 910 graphics chip)...I managed to achieve acceptable frame rates on games like warcraft 3, NFS hot pursuit 2 and -believe it or not- call of duty 1...

So, my point is that although these chips are generally crap, they are just enough to run older games...

Kaihu's laptop utilizes a dual core CPU, 2,5GBs of RAM and a graphics chip which is -slightly- faster than Intel's solutions. That's why I believe that the problem lies elsewhere, I wouldn't post if I haven't seen what I stated above.

Cheers!


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Sims2, Warcraft, NFS-2 are very old and don't need much horse power... they should be playable... but as weak as they are in general, it takes even less resources to bring down such computers.


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

its really diffucult to install a notebook graphics card if i asume ur noty that great with computers. so i reccomend that u either buy a notebook with a good graphics card. or if u build ur own gaming pc. and i was wondering how old u were


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## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

adamelm123, the point being made is that laptop graphics cards are generally integrated into the motherboard, meaning they are soldered directly to the motherboard, and the BIOS is coded specifically for that chipset. In these situations, simply replacing the graphics card is impossible. It requires a new motherboard as well, which effectively eliminates the point of replacing a video card.

There are some laptops that have 'replaceable' video cards, but these are rare, and they are still usually proprietary solutions that don't give you much leeway in terms of upgrading.

I do agree that the Sims 2 should work on just about anything. It was designed as an 'everyone' type of game, to work on a large variety of systems. However, I don't trust laptop video cards on just about anything. They are misleading, because while they may have the same model number as a desktop solution, they are not identical, and they do not perform as well. If they did, then PCI Express video cards wouldn't be so huge. I think this is something that many laptop customers do not realize, they see a high number for the video card, and they assume that it can play new games.

I have a P4 laptop with 256MB RAM that can usually play videos. Not so great in full screen, but it does alright. Obviously, higher resolutions affect video processor performance, so what resolution are you trying to run the movies and games at?


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

i have 3 9800gtxs running in sli and they rae all overclocked
4gb ram at 800mh tri channel
250 gb velicioraptor solid state drive running raid
and a core i7 290 processor at 3.0gh
and a thermaltake armor gaming case

and my resoulution on a 30 inch monitor is running at 1600p on a dell x flat screen


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## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

Sorry adamelm123, I was referring to the original poster's resolution, not yours, since you don't seem to have the problem running games on a laptop.


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

adamelm123 said:


> its really diffucult to install a notebook graphics card if i asume ur noty that great with computers.


As Compiler previously stated we are not talking about standalone graphics cards but for chipsets which take care of graphics processing. It requires more than computer skills to replace something like that. I don't know, maybe knowledge of assembly programming, and an electronics factory could help...



adamelm123 said:


> so i reccomend that u either buy a notebook with a good graphics card. or if u build ur own gaming pc.


You see some people can't afford a gaming laptop, let alone that those things are usually bigger and heavier than your average laptop and ofc less powerful compared to their desktop equivalents - McTimson already explained why.

And please, read through the whole thread before coming into conclusions, Kaihou wants to play Mapple Story, a 2D sidescrolling game and Sims 2 which was designed to be playable on almost every machine of that era (McTimson pointed that as well).

If Kaihou wanted to run Crysis on his portable then you would have been right, now you're just talking nonsense. So please, read through the thread and if you have some descent advice post it.



adamelm123 said:


> and i was wondering how old u were


I really tried not to commend on this one but, what exactly is your point? He can be 10 years old, does it matter? Kaihou posted here in order to get help and not to be flamed about his age, decisions and maturity. Again he/she owns a good laptop and wants to have fun with 2 simple and lightweight games - not Crysis.


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

McTimson said:


> I do agree that the Sims 2 should work on just about anything. It was designed as an 'everyone' type of game, to work on a large variety of systems. However, I don't trust laptop video cards on just about anything. They are misleading, because while they may have the same model number as a desktop solution, they are not identical, and they do not perform as well. If they did, then PCI Express video cards wouldn't be so huge. I think this is something that many laptop customers do not realize, they see a high number for the video card, and they assume that it can play new games.


Mate, I don't trust laptop graphics cards either...However I have seen the Sims 2 working on slower machines.

Kaihou's laptop normally would have no problems with those games. I don't know but I think Vista is the problem. After googling around a bit I came across people who were complaining about Sims 2 performance on Vista. I don't have the time fot further research right now, when I can I'll post back if I find something. 

That's why I did advice Kaihou to install DirectX 9c on his Vista machine. Dunno maybe DirectX 10 is working in a different way.

Kaihou can you install the latest video drivers for your laptop? And check for Sims 2 patches, I recall coming across something called "Sims 2 Vista patch", I guess it just helps with compatibility but it might help.


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

I think adamelm123 is messing with you / us. In another part of the site, he says he has ordered a 9800GTX from ebay for his HP computer and as asking if it such a card would fit.

Most people who run 3-way SLI know what their talking about... his "computer" stats don't even really work or exists. "i7 290?" "4Gb RAM" and "250 gb velicioraptor solid state drive running raid" come on?! A: WD raptors aren't SSDs B: VelociRaptor drives come in 150GB & 300GB sizes, C: WD doesn't have a SSD drive on the market. And someone concerned about someone else age don't usually type so horribly.

He's messing with you.


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## wiley8425 (Nov 11, 2007)

Compiler said:


> I think adamelm123 is messing with you / us. In another part of the site, he says he has ordered a 9800GTX from ebay for his HP computer and as asking if it such a card would fit.
> 
> Most people who run 3-way SLI know what their talking about... his "computer" stats don't even really work or exists. "i7 290?" "4Gb RAM" and "250 gb velicioraptor solid state drive running raid" come on?! A: WD raptors aren't SSDs B: VelociRaptor drives come in 150GB & 300GB sizes, C: WD doesn't have a SSD drive on the market. And someone concerned about someone else age don't usually type so horribly.
> 
> He's messing with you.


Not to mention most people who run any sort of SLI know a lot about power requirements needed for such a setup. I agree with you that this guy is probably messing around on here.


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

im not messing with u, i accidently said solid state drive, and i am running three 9800gtxs in sli, and it works fine, and i have to 150gb velicioraptors. and i ment core 950, and wats wrong with 4gb ram


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

LOL... you're funny.

How does one "accidently" type in solid state and 250GB?
How does ones get 4GB in tri-channel setup?
How does one "accidently" type in 290, instead of "950"?

And how does a person get their hands on an intel i7 950? A CPU that doesn't even exist?

On 30-Mar-2009, you posted if a 9800GTX will fit into your HP... which if your i7-950 not-so real computer had 3 such cards, you could have pulled a card out and see for yourself.

Somehow your HP pavillionwent from an AMD 4800 and Overclocked a basic name-brand computer to 3Ghz? And now you're going to put in a $70 Antec1200watt PSU into that "crowded" case... for a single card.... Lets see Antec's 1000watt PSU goes for $250s and won't fit into your HP... and yet you got 1200watt PSU for $70...

Oh yeah, of course! there's NO such thing as an Antec 1200watt PSU!

Here is your other thread of made-up hardware: http://forums.techguy.org/games/814285-solved-can-someone-help-me.html#post6605390

You asked someone's age, so I'm going to guess that you are a kid.
You are also a poser trying to look you have some HOT stuff for some reason. 
You FAIL. Why bother pretending? When you get caught, you only look silly.


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

sorry that was my stupid little brother, i havnt gon on this website for a while. sorry for that stupid **** he was saying


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

ROFL this is some of the funniest **** ive read in years!!!


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Yeah... I've never seen such made up garbage in my life. Imagine how he looks if he posted the same the of dribble on a gaming site or while playing a game.


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

ya i apolagize, hes really stupid. just forget about that stuff. so whats your setup Compiler


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Its in my SIG.


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## adamelm123 (Mar 31, 2009)

so do u know anything about the new gtx 300 series coming out soon and with microsoft direct x 11


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

No. Go to www.anandtech.com to learn about DX11.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

dx 11 already???
is 9 still going to be supported?


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

DX is downward compatible.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

Cool

XP is still in buisness!


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

XP is supported to at least 2014.

I'll bet you when 2014 comes, there will STILL be more people using XP over vista.

Windows7 is shaping up pretty good, so it should be a good replacement... other than price.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

Umm.... didnt MS dump vista updates completely for 7?


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

??? I don't know what you're trying to say.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

i mean that xp will still b updated but vista won't b


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## wiley8425 (Nov 11, 2007)

gatewaypc700 said:


> Umm.... didnt MS dump vista updates completely for 7?


No. Where did you hear this? 7 isn't even out of beta stage yet. And as it stands, MS will be offering the option to downgrade 7 to either Vista or XP if the customer wants, meeting certain conditions...


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

Ok, 
what are your thoughts on 7? 
It seems like the complete version of vista...


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## wiley8425 (Nov 11, 2007)

gatewaypc700 said:


> Ok,
> what are your thoughts on 7?
> It seems like the complete version of vista...


I haven't personally tried 7 yet. But from what I've seen, it's pretty much Vista without a lot of the extra bloat thrown in.


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

The only updates XP will get in the future are security related... which is pretty much all that is needed. But added functionality, SP3 was the last thing... and that was not a big deal.

SP2 will most likely be the big for Vista.... theres nothing to fix in it - that could be fix.

I'm still guessing that the majority of vista users will upgrade to Win7 and most XP users will also go to Win7.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

Seems like a good step.
The only thing that im worried about is the use of the aero theme. It uses a lot of RAM and processing power on start up. What will this mean for gamers using 7?
James


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## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

Aero is disabled once a full screen program is started. It has very, very little effect on RAM and CPU usage once a game is started.

I use Vista now, and am more than happy with it. I get a copy of it through my school, which has some sort of partnership with MS. If they get Windows 7 there, then I'll try it out, but until then, Vista is working fine for me.


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## gatewaypc700 (Oct 17, 2008)

Compare your specs to mine then ask yourself why im worried.
My laptop didnt play vista well until I upgraded the RAM. Now im looking at an external graphics card to extend the life of it just that little bit further.
Anyway, what about simple web browsing tasks on low end pcs. They already run slow on vista, what about 7?
James


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