Surprisingly good gaming...

[+FastCargo]

Remember this thing:

 

 

The Dell Mini 9 with the following specs:

 

CPU type Intel Atom (Diamondville)

CPU speed 1600 Mhz

Graphics Intel GMA 950

OS WinXP

Display Size 8.9" 1024 X 600

RAM 1GB

SSD Drive 16GB (later upgraded to 32 GB)

 

Anyway, the wife and I swap places everyday at the hospital, and because we don't want to keep dragging our respective computers around, I've been trying to find ways to entertain myself when I'm on her computer here.

 

What I have found is that it actually works surprisingly well at older games I didn't think would work at all. And we're not talkin' some cutesy little iOS game, but something you need a real keyboard and mouse for. So far I've gotten NOLF, Homeworld and Homeworld:Cataclysm, and Half-Life, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift to play well with little to no work. Still look decent (if dated) and run smooth...

 

And of course, still have excellent gameplay...not bad for a computer that fits in my wife's purse...

 

Hmmm...I wonder if SF1 would work...

 

FC

[tn_prvteye]

Don't forget Deus Ex...should run fine on that machine.

[+FastCargo]

Yeah...Deus Ex! Haven't played that in a while...

 

FC

[xclusiv8]

Fallout one and two =)

[+streakeagle]

My wife's Asus eeePC will basically play anything that would run on a Win98SE Pentium 3 PC with at least 25-30 frames per second. I have several games on it to entertain my son on long trips including Aces High 1 and Mech Warrior 4. He doesn't really notice the lower resolution or lack of FSAA. Even I can enjoy flying in Aces High 1. I think SFP1 up to about SP2a or WoV would work ok with the right settings.j From WoE on, my P3 computer with a Radeon 9800 Pro video card just couldn't keep up, so I assume an Intel Atom would have similar trouble.

[+Dave]

And here I thought my Alienware M11 was small.

[JDSnypes]

Operation Flashpoint 1. Good Combat Simulator, might work in your laptop

[+Gr.Viper]

It becomes even more awesome if 1GB RAM is replaced by 2.

[+JediMaster]

NOLF rocks!! I have to replay that, haven't touched it in at least 5 yrs...

[+FastCargo]

JM,

 

You should, its still as funny as ever.

 

"Are you insulting my monkey?!?!"

 

FC

[+Gr.Viper]

FC, why not get a decent analog gamepad and try MiG Alley on the lil beast? Or Hind? Or the second B-17?

The now-free Mechawrrior 4 Mercenaries could run as well with low graphics settings.

So should most games released before 2003 and some of the modern well-coded free stuff like Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe.

 

Also: Garden Gnome Carnage. Because why not. Shouldn't stutter too much

http://www.remar.se/daniel/ggc.php

[+FastCargo]

Well, the problem is based on circumstance, I'm stuck with keyboard and mouse only, so any flight sims other than for testing are right out.

 

I've been thinking about Mech 4...I assume they finally got the whole thing straightened out (still wasn't available last time I checked). I own Mech 4, but this computer doesn't have an optical drive...

 

FC

[+Gr.Viper]

Try looking for the .mtx file of the game itself. It's a renamed zip archive with the full game inside, which if unpacked can be run even without that downloader/torrent thingie of theirs.

 

If you install Java RTE on the laptop it will neatly run FreeCiv and FreeCol (Civilization 2 and Colonization clones).

[+Stary]

Thief series should run w/o problems, some older Janes' titles too (I think USAF has big problems with XP) first Call of Duty with United Offensive addon. For mouse controlled flightsim, try free YSFlight

 

I don't think Hind would run without glidewrapper if at all

[xclusiv8]

I run F22 TAW on my EEEPC 901 Works like a charm!

[+Gr.Viper]

Thief series should run w/o problems

Oh, there will be problems. Atom is a hyperthreading CPU, which makes Windows see it as 2-cores. Thief 1, 2 as well as System Shock 2 (without fan patch package) will randomly freeze on such a machine. Unless you do some voodoo or apply a trick for a single-core launch (I used WinLauncherXP) the games are virtually unplayable.

 

I don't think Hind would run without glidewrapper if at all

Runs under XP on a similar config with only maybe compatibility mode on. Controls with keyboard rather well.

[+Stary]

my bad

[UK_Widowmaker]

MOHAA and Spearhead are worth another look too?

[+FastCargo]

Hmmm...now this is interesting.

 

Since I'm on this netbook every other night while me and my wife switch off hospital sitting duties, doing any work on my SF2 stuff has been problematic.

 

Until today...for the hell of it I installed SF2 and patched it up.

 

The result...it actually not only runs, but runs smooth with all graphics turned to low (except for resolution). It looks like crap, but runs more than well enough for ini editing..perfect for my FM work!

 

This will help the F-103 come along that much faster (as well as the F-108 and CF-105)...

 

FC

[Nesher]

it looks like the laptop had a child... the netbook

[+JediMaster]

I take it you need the netbook plugged in, though, correct? On batteries it probably down clocks too much?

[+streakeagle]

Unless you choose to have it locked down slow on battery, it should ramp up as needed. My wifes EEEPC would last 7 or 8 hours on the battery continuously doing surfing/email etc when new, so surely it could play games for an hour or two with the cpu and gpu maxed out. Mech Warrior 4 Mercenaries has been available for free for awhile. As said before, use their MTX software to grab it. Once you have it on one PC, you can copy the whole game folder to any other PC.