Portable PC Gaming Thread | Play Crysis on a $99 tablet

KojiKnight said:
The reason these tablets are at $80-150 is because Cherry Trail is about to come out... At release, these tablets were all twice the cost and you can expect Cherry Trail to be the same at launch. You're going to be looking at another year before CT based tablets/computers on a stick are this price.

For $80 I'm willing to get this now and possibly update to a CT in a year or two.
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I'm willing to wait for Cherry Trail or the next iteration.

With Windows 10 releasing this year and the deprecation of sub-eight inch tablets, I feel it's an acceptable risk.
 
Anyone who was interested in this and on the fence Best Buy is having a 2 in 1 laptop sale . Surface Pro i5 is $100 off. i3 is $40 off. They also have a ton of other computers from various brands and dealers.

Probably the best deal I see is the HP Envy which is $800 for a core M processor, keyboard dock, 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD. It's $300 less than if you were to configure it the same on hp's website.
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Quoting myself from a similar thread. That HP envy is pretty dang powerful for a tablet and there's a ton of cheap and powerful tablets there for people looking to do this.
 
So, I was hoping someone here can help me decide. Recently, I've seen a deal for a Win 8.1 7-inch tablet and it's dirt-cheap. It has 1 GB of RAM and 16gb of internal memory so no surprises there. I only want it to read ebooks, mangas and play visual novels/very low demanding games so I'm not worried about those specs. What is holding me back into doing the purchase is that the screen has a low 1024x600 resolution, so it probably uses scaling to be able to use the Metro apps. What I want to know if that someone here has a tablet with similar specs (like the Encore mini) and how usable the tablet is. Most likely I'll only use the scaled resolution whenever I need to use an app, otherwise I'll keep the resolution at native res.
 
Marche90 said:
So, I was hoping someone here can help me decide. Recently, I've seen a deal for a Win 8.1 7-inch tablet and it's dirt-cheap. It has 1 GB of RAM and 16gb of internal memory so no surprises there. I only want it to read ebooks, mangas and play visual novels/very low demanding games so I'm not worried about those specs. What is holding me back into doing the purchase is that the screen has a low 1024x600 resolution, so it probably uses scaling to be able to use the Metro apps. What I want to know if that someone here has a tablet with similar specs (like the Encore mini) and how usable the tablet is. Most likely I'll only use the scaled resolution whenever I need to use an app, otherwise I'll keep the resolution at native res.
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1024x600 is too low for win 8. Microsoft requires a minimum of 1024x768 in order to use the store and run apps.
 
I knew about that requirement, but I've read about how the other known tablet (the encore I mentioned) that has the same specs uses scaling to get around that problem. Essentially, what I want to know is if the scaling is decent or just piss-poor in general, I guess.
 
BumRush said:
I mainly want it for portable movie watching and Office work, but would it be feasible to play point and clicks on it? If so, what is the program I need to DL to make the cursor react to my finger?
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I use TouchMousePointer which was recommended in the HP Stream 7 thread. It only simulates a mouse though so certain games that expect a hardware mouse like Fallout 1 won't work with it.

EDIT: Just saw it recommended in the OP too.
 
BumRush said:
Thank you...do you use yours with PnC games?
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I tried it with Cart Life (AGS engine) but it wouldn't even start up the game until I plugged in a mouse. Haven't tried it yet with SCUMM-based games.

So far I only use it with FTL. Otherwise I use the touchscreen directly if possible or just plug in a gamepad.
 
Hardware wise, is there absolutely nothing in-between something like a HP stream 7 and a Surface Pro 3? There seems to be a sudden jump from the cheap stream for under £100 to the ridiculously over priced Surface Pros which start at more than £600 (and going as high as more than £1,500)

Where in the world is the mid-price market? Where are the £100-300 Windows tablets that could hit the sweet spot of better specs than the HP Stream but be much more price friendly than the Surface Pros?
 
A better option than TouchMousePointer when playing SCUMM VM and DOSBOX games is this touch-enabled SDL mod: https://youtu.be/L7nPIa_6x2E

I tested it on the GOG version of Beneath a Steel Sky and it worked! Instructions are in the download but basically you just replace the original SDL.dll file with the one provided and insert a few lines into the game's .conf or .ini file.

This is better than using TouchMousePointer since you can bring up the touch keyboard while playing the game (to access the save menu, for example).
 
So hey, anyone here has any experience with the WinBook TW700? I've been eyeing it for a while because it's $70 with shipping included and the Office 365 sub is a code you need to activate (meaning I can sell it to spend even less), but I've read that while build quality is good, it tends to fail very soon, stops charging, etc. Main reason of concern for me is that I don't live in the US, so if it fails I'm screwed because I won't be able to ask for a refund/exchange it.

I'm still undecided to buy either that one or the HP Stream 7 from the MS store, because it's a difference of $20 (I'm paying for expedite shipping, because I need to send it before the person who's bringing it to me leaves the US, and yeah, $20 USD is a big difference nowadays seeing how crazy strong the dollar is right now). Maybe the choice would be simpler if I managed to get a discount code. Anyone here has a spare code that you won't use in the store? I would be immensely indebted to you if that were the case.
 
Marche90 said:
So hey, anyone here has any experience with the WinBook TW700? I've been eyeing it for a while because it's $70 with shipping included and the Office 365 sub is a code you need to activate
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My son wants to purchase one of these as well. I'm thinking about ordering one and a corded 360 Controller for Windows. The 16GB of disk space has me worried though.
 
Eh, in the end I went with another tablet, because it was at a decent price and it was sold locally, unlike my other options (meaning I don't have to struggle with things like warranty), a Vulcan Challenger II (sold in amazon too)

I'll tell you how it goes later, since the tablet I bougth only has 16 gb of storage. First thing you should do, however: disable windows update.

EDIT: I finally had some time to thinker with the tablet. What I did to get more space was to update Windows, but to delete the update backups, reduce the pagefile file and disabled hybernation. I got around 4 to 5 gb of free space in the end (due to the way the pagefile works). I also only used the Windows Office activation and deleted it, instead installed WPS office, which is only <300 mb (and free). I managed to get office again on my main laptop and got a decent tablet.

I still need to install my normal stuff and buy a 32/64 gb microsd card for my games and stuff, though...

EDIT 2: Geh... issues have popped up already. Battery does hold a charge and lasts the amount it promises but... battery measures are simply plain wrong. It stops charging at 72% and when it has only been 2 hours the battery drops to 6%... and then it stays there for quite a while (like half an hour for ever 1%).

I'm going to take it to the store tomorrow or past tomorrow. Luckily I still have 2 weeks left to take it over there.
 
When can we likely expect cheap chinese brands like Onda to put out Cherry Trail devices, at the same time as the big brands? What would they cost relative their current Bay Trail devices?
 
HBP said:
I have one, feel free to ask any questions.
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My atom laptop has 32GB and 2GB of ram and its very snappy for surfing and steam in home streaming. It even runs Minecraft and TF2 locally. Have you run into problems with Windows on 16GB? Can that tablet run minecraft? Even better will it run minecraft on a "pixelmon" server (heavily modded)? I'm inclined to have him save up for cherry trail. Thanks.
 
So, because I was bored and have some free space on the tablet due to deleting everything in order to get it ready for a warranty exchange due to battery woes, I decided to install the Devil May Cry 4 benchmark on it, just for the hell of it and to see how well it runs. Holy shit, Capcom did some serious wizardry here, with this game getting an average framerate of 35 fps, going as high as 50 fps on occasions. I mean, sure, they aren't the glorious 60 fps that everyone would want, the game is on low everything and running at a resolution of 800x600, but still, this is a freaking low-cost tablet with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage!

(tried to get an screenshot of the benchmark results, but the resulting screenshot was just a black image)

So, if you really need your DMC fix on a tablet, (with a few compromises) you can get it.

I think I'll install the Resident Evil 5 benchmark after this to see how well it runs... xD

EDIT: Hmm... while certainly "playable" if you are tolerant of low framerates, RE5 does have issues running here. Because of the 1GB of RAM installed, the game makes heavy use of the VRAM, which results in a terrible stutter when a lot of enemies are onscreen. Average framerate is around 20 fps, but it stutters heavily in some places.
 
am_dragon said:
My atom laptop has 32GB and 2GB of ram and its very snappy for surfing and steam in home streaming. It even runs Minecraft and TF2 locally. Have you run into problems with Windows on 16GB? Can that tablet run minecraft? Even better will it run minecraft on a "pixelmon" server (heavily modded)? I'm inclined to have him save up for cherry trail. Thanks.
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I have seen videos of it running Minecraft on low settings decently, I haven't tried myself. The 16GB can be an issue depending on your usage, there is a utility from Microcenter (Winbook) that clears some storage. If you install regular Windows applications you can just choose your SD card so that helps, but if you primarily use the Windows App Store it will only install to the C: Drive.
 
I think that some people here have used a Bluetooth controller in order to use it like that, not sure if you're referring to that

Speaking of which, I need a good Bluetooth controller. Suggestions?
 
Update on the issue with Steins;Gate not recognizing touch input making it impossible to play. Finally got ahold of a micro-to-regular USB adapter and plugged in a mouse. Fortunately, it plays without issue that way, now I just need an mouse that's actually reasonably portable. Any recommendations for a small, cheap, wireless usb mouse?
 
Marche90 said:
I think that some people here have used a Bluetooth controller in order to use it like that, not sure if you're referring to that

Speaking of which, I need a good Bluetooth controller. Suggestions?
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Ipega Controller
I haven't tried it but I've decided that when cherry trail tablets are out I'll get that so I can get a Wii U gamepad/Vita style experience with my games.

617usaxG%2BoL._SL1000_.jpg
 
Juniez said:
has anyone made a bay trail completely hand held device in the likes of the 3ds / open pandora
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No, but supposedly someone wants too. If you haven't heard of the Steamboy, check it out here.

It's not clear what quad-core CPU they are talking about, but an Atom x3, x5, or x7 is a possibility. Of course this thing was announced a while ago and nothing has been heard since. All I know is that if this device ever comes to light then they better have a great battery and some really good cooling, we wouldn't want any throttling like you get on such small devices.
 
Any opinions on whether ppsspp works better on android or windows tablets? Was looking at the Galaxy Tab S but saw that some people were having a lot of issues getting some games to work. I'm in the market for a tablet and if it could also be used for the purposes of clearing my PSP backlog that'd be great.
 
PPSSPP probably works better using a Windows tablet. You need to remember that sometimes Android tablets use crazy high resolution screens and playing using the native resolution of your screen kills the performance. Anyway, in Android if you only have a dual or a quad-core processor at 1.2 ghz or less it probably won't perform as decently as you would like to.
 
Marche90 said:
PPSSPP probably works better using a Windows tablet. You need to remember that sometimes Android tablets use crazy high resolution screens and playing using the native resolution of your screen kills the performance. Anyway, in Android if you only have a dual or a quad-core processor at 1.2 ghz or less it probably won't perform as decently as you would like to.
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I appreciate the advice! I'll just get a cheapish Vivotab for now.
 
I am curious if anyone has the new surface 3, atom x7 version, and how it fairs with some of the lighter weight games? I am thinking of offloading my 3ds and games to put towards it.
 
Hypoallergenic Chie said:
Is there any reason to get the winbook700 over the hpstream7? I need to pick between the two.
<-tablet noob
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They look fairly similar to me, I would search additional user/owner forums to see the issues with either model and then make a decision.

The stream is currently 83$ on Amazon compared to 99$ for the winbook.

The stream also has 32gb standard hd, may help with installing more programs that need c drive access instead of external.
 
Are any of these Cherrytrail Atom X3/5/7 devices out yet? I've got a 2012 Nexus with Cyanogenmod that's really chugging and needs to be replaced. It's gone so slow in the last 6 months or so.
 
So I was thinking of buying a tablet for general purpose (web surfing, documents, videos) but I also wanted to try a few mobile games as well (nothing too demanding) but I kept graviting to windows tablets when I thought they were just a better deal. Then I thought "why not dual boot?"
Amazon has a pretty cheap dual boot tablet called CHUWI ( no links I'm on my phone) and I wonder if such a thing was tried and worked well? (I also wanted a way to play RPG maker games on the Go and this seems like the best way to do)
 
JGCD said:
So I was thinking of buying a tablet for general purpose (web surfing, documents, videos) but I also wanted to try a few mobile games as well (nothing too demanding) but I kept graviting to windows tablets when I thought they were just a better deal. Then I thought "why not dual boot?"
Amazon has a pretty cheap dual boot tablet called CHUWI ( no links I'm on my phone) and I wonder if such a thing was tried and worked well? (I also wanted a way to play RPG maker games on the Go and this seems like the best way to do)
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I would completely avoid those knockoff brands. The chance of it doing what you want is considerably lower than the chance of it having some serious flaws.
 
JGCD said:
So I was thinking of buying a tablet for general purpose (web surfing, documents, videos) but I also wanted to try a few mobile games as well (nothing too demanding) but I kept graviting to windows tablets when I thought they were just a better deal. Then I thought "why not dual boot?"
Amazon has a pretty cheap dual boot tablet called CHUWI ( no links I'm on my phone) and I wonder if such a thing was tried and worked well? (I also wanted a way to play RPG maker games on the Go and this seems like the best way to do)
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http://www.onda-tablet.com/

Onda has some cheap and beastly dual-boot tables

bomblord1 said:
I would completely avoid those knockoff brands. The chance of it doing what you want is considerably lower than the chance of it having some serious flaws.
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Bullshit. I have an Onda tablet and been using it for a year. No problem. The construction seems a bit cheap but thats about it.
 
Bullshit. I have an Onda tablet and been using it for a year. No problem. The construction seems a bit cheap but thats about it.
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I do say they look really good
Can you give an example of what you usually do or play on them? And the build quality?
 
Gurthang said:
http://www.onda-tablet.com/

Onda has some cheap and beastly dual-boot tables



Bullshit. I have an Onda tablet and been using it for a year. No problem. The construction seems a bit cheap but thats about it.
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There are numerous articles around the net about why you should avoid off brand tablets. The biggest issue with them is they have no quality control, security issues, in some cases absolutely no warranty, reviews are non-existent to bad, and you have no idea how to tell what you are getting into.

http://www.cnet.com/news/can-a-37-99-tablet-possibly-be-any-good/
Unfortunately, this tablet has issues. Maybe I'm spoiled by speedy current-gen iPads and Fire HDs, but the Q9S felt painfully slow at times -- especially when downloading apps or streaming videos. I experienced a lot of time-outs with Internet connections, to the point where I couldn't help wondering if something was wrong with the Wi-Fi.
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http://www.androidauthority.com/cheap-tablets-what-to-avoid-631600/
Buying an affordable tablet? Let us just say you are stepping into dangerous territory. The low-to-mid-end tablet market is full of devices, but so many of them will make you regret your investment, as small as it may be.
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http://gizmodo.com/cheap-tablets-arent-just-crap-theyre-dangerous-1664126259
The main complaint that you hear against the kinds of cheap, Chinese no-brand tablets filling the aisles at Walmart is that they're terrible to use &#8212; and they are! But, it turns out that cheap tablets also tend to be riddled with security problems. Bluebox Labs, a security software firm, recently ran a test on a number of cheap tablets on sale at big-box stores. Unsurprisingly, they found security holes you could drive a small truck through.
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http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tablet...spend-money-on-cheap-chinese-android-imports/
In my experience, no. Plenty of excellent Chinese manufacturers exist, such as Pipo and Ramos. Unfortunately, the vast majority of China-only devices fall short of the standards set by multinational corporations in the United States and elsewhere.
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http://www.itbusiness.ca/article/dont-buy-these-cheap-tablets-rife-with-security-problems
Most of the devices ship with vulnerabilities and misconfigurations; a few even include security backdoors.
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This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
 
My lad was looking for a windows tablet to play older games / terraria etc and out steam from my PC library.

Budget is £220 and would rather avoid of brand Chinese knock offs as I know so many people who've had bad experiences with them.

Amy recommendations?
 
Since a lot of people are saying no to the Chinese tablets how difficult would it be to create my own dual boot tablet? ( I just like the ease of switching with a press of a button)
 
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