Hello.
I will keep this simple.
I have a laptop and CAW is very slow and usually unusable. It is very annoying . I would like to know how people use CAW on laptops (If they even do). Or if it is impossible to use it on laptops.

Info:
I have the right version of CAW for TS3
I know it is made for PC.

Laptop:
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge
Windows 7 Pro
intel Core i5 430m
4 GB RAM/Memory
320 GB Space
1366x768

Is about 5 years old but hardly used until last year.

Sorry if this is ignorant/naive/dumb

Is that a 13-14" laptop?
If the specs exceed the TS3 min specs, it is irrelevant if you're using laptop or desktop, apart from the heat you'd feel and its longterm effects on the components inside a smaller laptop chassis vs a more roomier desktop casing (that is placed further away from one's body). Heat dissipation is critical if one is going to heat up a closed machine constantly, and most laptops don't have good exhaust fans, unless a laptop is classed as a "gaming laptop" which has gaming features touted with big beefy exhaust fans and good heat management etc etc.

The CPU is a tad weak even just for the base game, unpatch. How does the laptop handle gameplay?
What graphics card? If without graphics and using integrated, that laptop does not even meet min specs to run the game on 1.69 patch, with no EPs. (i5 430m @2.26GHz)
Reason might just be the processor cannot handle CAW, it is a very CPU-intensive program. And if that laptop does not have a dedicated graphics card, then that's the explanation right there : weak CPU + integrated graphics does not make a smooth CAW (nor game) experience.

@ArtsySimmer, moved to Help.

I never tried CAW on my laptop, but even with my PC it generates more heat especially for processor temp compares to playing TS3 the game itself, I don't think it's because of your laptop spec, my spec is older than you, it's Core2Quad Q9450 and it runs CAW well, but I think in your case it's because of the heat sensors on the motherboard, when it reach certain temperature it will reduce your CPU performance significantly to protect it from over heating or damage, I think that's the most likely possibility.

If this is the real cause that your CAW is running slow, then there's no other way unless you can cool down your CPU/GPU's temp before it goes back to normal. If you still want to give it a try, I'd suggest to run FPS limiter for CAW, no more than 30 FPS, and have your processor and gpu temp monitored, hope that helps.

it's a beta - worth to mention 'cause out of EA nomenclature it's an alpha stage software de facto ^^

but - it's working (most of the time) even on my definitelly outdated machine. You have got only 4GB RAM - that may be an issue, particulary if you have an integrated GPU also. Disable shadows and animations in CAW ("time stop"), you do not need 'em anyway. And try a small world template for a 1st.

I'm using CAW on a gaming laptop, and it does get tired after an hour and a half or so and it lags a little when in road-laying mode. But that's not terrible: for the first, I shouldn't go longer than that without a break anyway, and for the second, patience is a nice virtue to cultivate.

The problem that I have that I consider major is that the UI doesn't resize to fit my ridiculously tiny screen. So I can't see or change all the brush parameters. This is going to be awful once I get to painting the terrain. I do have a larger monitor which I can use once I get the right adapter to get it to work with my computer. But that requires hauling the computer and the monitor to the computer store...and I'm lazy...so I'm doing the sculpting,etc., with limited controls on the brushes for now. It's okay for now because I keep coming to a point where I come to a blinding realization that I've been doing something important wrong, and throw out the world and start over.

But if anybody did know how to force the UI to resize to fit the screen, I'd be so grateful because it would let me operate with less equipment.