New PC struggles to run Halo

My Dell Latitude E7250 arrived today (i5-5300U and HD 5500 Graphics). After upgrading to Windows 8.1 Pro and switching to UEFI boot, I installed some games to test out. While Minecraft runs really well nearly maxed out (70 FPS minimum most of the time), Halo struggles to stay above 30 FPS.

This is strange since Halo for PC is such an old game and one of my old laptops (with the first gen of Intel HD Graphics) could max it out at a solid 60 FPS.

Any help in solving this issue is appreciated!

Most laptops have a 1366 by 768 native resolution. This laptop has a 1920 x 1080. Just a hunch. There is not enough information to give a more accurate guess. Previous specs and current specs are needed to determine if it's a horsepower issue or software issue. Have you tried other games ?

This laptop is 1366x768 and other, more demanding games run better. After I posted the thread I tested out Star Wars Battlefront II and it ran just fine on medium-high settings.

What else about the system's configuration is needed? I listed the CPU and GPU.

Get the latest drivers, this can sometimes improve performance. Sometimes AMD & NVIDIA also release custom profiles to maximize settings while keeping reasonable gameplay FPS. Also keep in mind AMD, NVIDIA, Intel all work differently. Sure they render images the same but the routes they use to get there are RARELY the same. Also older games does not mean better performance, you'll sometimes notice that newer games will sometimes look prettier, perform better, and tax your system less. I do not know the specifics and the inner workings but I personally have experience this. Have a good day, sadly there is not much that we can do for you. Update game, drivers, windows updates and hope for the best.

Sorry, did you even read the OP? As I said, both my current laptop and the old one I used for comparison use Intel HD graphics. I know how AMD and NVIDIA provide suggestions for optimized settings, but since I have Intel graphics that information is useless to me for the purposes of this thread. As I also said, Halo ran better on the old laptop than it did on the new one, despite the new one being leagues ahead in both CPU and GPU performance.

Sorry, HD 5500 graphics isn't that big of a step up game wise. It is still integrated graphics and will never be a gaming beast. About all you can do is try to find the right tweaks in thee game options. There may be a discussion on the Halo forum about getting it optimized.

Also here is a good article: Intel HD 4000, HD 4200, HD 4400, HD 5500, HD 6000 tested | Digital Trends

HD 5500 is a pretty substantial step up from GMA 4500 (first gen Intel HD), so if GMA 4500 can max out Halo at a steady 60+ FPS, HD 5500 should he able to do so much more.

I came here asking for help and all I've received is "there isn't anything you can do" and "HD 5500 isn't much better than a midrange IGP released 5 years ago." Frankly I'm disappointed.

I didn't say there wasn't anything you can do. I said there are probably tweaks and there may be something on the Halo forum. Laptops are finicky and not having your exact model to play with I can not give you specific information, nobody can.

I am assuming you have the latest drivers installed.

When I said that, I was referring to the other responder.

This may be some sort driver incompatibility. I'm running the latest driver, so I'll try an older one to see if it helps.

I did find this comment here: Dell Latitude 12 E7250 Ultrabook Review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews



EDIT: Also found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HaloOnline/comments/34vz42/halo_online_and_intel_graphics/

popeye said:

I did find this comment here: Dell Latitude 12 E7250 Ultrabook Review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

View attachment 62494

EDIT: Also found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HaloOnline/comments/34vz42/halo_online_and_intel_graphics/

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750 MHz should be plenty for a game released 12 years ago. I'm not trying to play Halo Online (though this laptop could probably play it on low settings); I'm trying to play Halo PC.

Since it is a Dell are you stuck having to use their drivers or can you use the ones from the Intel site also?

I've tried both to no avail. And what do you mean by "since it's a Dell?" With any manufacturer-built computer you have the choice between the OEM-approved driver versions and the latest from the part makers.

CaptainMurica said:

I've tried both to no avail. And what do you mean by "since it's a Dell?" With any manufacturer-built computer you have the choice between the OEM-approved driver versions and the latest from the part makers.

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Not true. With laptops especially there are manufacturers who only enable their driver to work. Dell was one for a long time, they may have changed.

I am at the point that I must admit I do not know how to help with your problem. Maybe someone else will jump in. Good Luck!

It may not be your PC as Macs have the same problem. There is a site with mods and fixes for both. You might check out this: HaloMD - Mac Gaming Mods
It says for Macs but there are questions about Windows too: Halo Mini Demo

I found out what the problem was. Intel SpeedStep was keeping the system running at around 800 MHz despite the need for a faster clock speed and the huge amount of thermal headroom (about 50 C below T-Junction). I disabled it in the BIOS and everything's fine now.

However, I don't want to disable SpeedStep because doing so reduces battery life. Is there anything I can do to make sure that the CPU clocks itself appropriately for the task(s) it needs to perform? Can I up the minimum clock speed through Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility?

Going in another direction, I believe the issue is with Halo itself as it has been a bit problematic under the new OS's - particularly Win 7 & 8.

And actually Speed Step should NOT be affecting your games as Speed Step is basically an efficiency setting for the processor to run at lower speeds when not in use. However when the processor is in use, which would also include running games, Speed Step should disengage (disable). Again, this may be some to do with Halo itself.

And yes, for Halo, your current processor should be fine for such an old game. And if you're talking Halo: Combat Evolved, that game was released in Nov, 2001 so yeah, your graphics processor should run it no problem.

Peace

sygnus21 said:

Going in another direction, I believe the issue is with Halo itself as it has been a bit problematic under the new OS's - particularly Win 7 & 8.

And actually Speed Step should NOT be affecting your games as Speed Step is basically an efficiency setting for the processor to run at lower speeds when not in use. However when the processor is in use, which would also include running games, Speed Step should disengage (disable). Again, this may be some to do with Halo itself.

And yes, for Halo, your current processor should be fine for such an old game. And if you're talking Halo: Combat Evolved, that game was released in Nov, 2001 so yeah, your graphics processor should run it no problem.

Peace

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I haven't had issues running it on any other Windows 7 or Windows 8 system, and as I said SpeedStep was not disabling itself when I went to start up any game (not just Halo).

I'm not sure why the system does not recognize a game (in my case: Halo, Halo 2, Star Wars Battlefront II, Smite, and Minecraft) as a reason to clock itself higher than 800 MHz.

OK.