I heard that many people have problems starting a new game on their system. I want to know if my PC could run the game without problems like the starting a new game crash.

My Specs:
Time of this report: 12/25/2011, 14:05:25
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gateway
System Model: MD2419U
BIOS: Rev 1.0
Processor: AMD Athlon™ X2 Dual-Core QL-65 (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 2814MB RAM
Page File: 1682MB used, 3944MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

If you do not have any actual, discrete video graphics card, you can forget trying, and if you don't have one designed for games, you are unlikely to enjoy the result.

Real graphics cards are the most important component in a game-capable PC. Looking at the disparity between actual system memory and available memory, it does appear that you only have onboard graphics, which are essentially worthless when it's time to play games.

What are the Fallout 3 (PC) system requirements?

Minimum System Requirements:

* Windows XP/Vista
* 1GB System RAM (XP)/ 2GB System RAM (Vista)
* 2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM
(NVIDIA 6800 "GS" or better/ ATI X850 or better)
{Added my note here, the X800 Pro & up also, and
avoid the Geforce 6800 SE, and 6800 XT}
* 4.6 GBs of free hard drive space

It looks like that laptop comes with an ATI Radeon HD 3200. Which the game will launch with. However it is a very low end graphics solution, and will cause the game to be stuttery on very low settings. It will be unplayable. And since its a laptop, you are unable to upgrade to a real graphics card.

Hi, all. I just registered to ask the same question as the OP. I have long ago played both Fallout 1 and 2 and enjoyed them very much. I recently purchased Fallout 3 GoTYE, which I knew neither of my older, lower-end laptops could handle. I just ordered a new (refurb, actually) HP laptop that I *hope* will be able to run Fallout3 on.

The basics:

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
CPU: AMD Phenom II 2.6 ghz (I believe it's dual-core?)
Video: ATI Radion HD 4250 ("Up to 1917 MB total available")
Sound: SRS Premium
RAM: 4GB DDR3

Does it look like I have a shot at running the game?

Thanks!

The HD 4250 is only incrementally better than a Radeon HD 3200 was. Both are still only a chip, not the real thing, so this next is still true:


Sorry.

Ok, Gorath, thank you very much for the quick reply. Of course, I'll *try* it anyway - if it's a no-go, there's always *next* year's xmas bonus, I guess.

I think the major problem in this is Windows 7.


Is fallout 3 even compatible? If not, I hope they fix that. Such a great game.



(I use Windows 7 64)

Officially, the game supported Vista, and Win 7 is effectively Vista II, anyway. You probably couldn't get an official support ticket, yet I have seen many people saying they've run FO3 successfully with Win 7, but one thing to avoid with games and Windows 7 is many Microsoft default drivers, such as for Realtek audio chips ~ ~ those drivers create serious conflicts and other problems. Alway use the real thing, from Realtek.

I run the game fine on Windows 7. The OPs problem would be his weak video chipset.

A good thing to keep in mind though when running any game in Windows 7/Vista, is to not install the game to the default route. I always install to F:\Games

UPDATE: I am happy to report that the naysayers here were WRONG! I installed Fallout 3 on the new laptop in question yesterday. The game installation chose a "medium" graphics setting, and about 12 hours, 3 levels and 6 quests later, I can report that the game runs well on the Radion HD 4250 chip. Not "fantastic" or VERY well, mind you, but FAR from "unplayable". While you can tell it's struggling a bit during battles in which *multiple* enemies are attacking simultaneously, all in all, it's done an admirable job at "medium" graphics setting, to keep the action flowing fairly smoothly. And unless the expansion-packs are much more demanding than the core game, i'm fairly confident I can finish GoTYE on this laptop without any major problems.