Question:
Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
okay, so pc gaming is almost non-existent here in japan. getting english support is incredibly tough. i have been reading up for weeks on this and that regarding a new computer, but in this time of impending change, i'm wondering if it would be worth it to get a 32-bit laptop. there are only two decent laptop suppliers i know of with international keyboard/os setups, so my choices are limited.
do you feel it would be worth it to get a pentium-m 1.73 (maybe higher, but at a price of 70 bucks for a 1.86) with a geforece go 6600 128? i am interested in running hl2, doom3, and the newest to pique my interest, fear. i saw from chazman's benchmarks on his x700 that the geforce 6600 can be expected to handle far cry and hl2, but i'm wondering about fear.
they have two models that are the same, but with differing resolutions. one is 1680x1050; the other is 1280x800. is it worth the extra 100 bucks for the higher, or will that just slow me down?
most importantly, i'm worried about the fact that it's not at all future-proof with a 32-bit and a non-mxm gpu. i don't know why anyone is producing non-standardized gpus if there is a standard. i hate em for that. anyway, just a little advice/opinion please.
btw, if you want to check the site out or make an alternative suggestion, i'm shopping at www.primepc.jp
thanks,
king
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
The 'Prime Note Helios Pro Z7' is the ASUS Z71v which is a pretty good option.
Check out the reviews for more info on that.
The reason why there is no standardized modular GPU is that every machine has a GPU of a different size, because every laptop has a different build, construction, placement of fans, etc. If they were all modular from the begining, well, all laptops would look like boxes :o
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
Just check this website from msi (i don´t understand japanese) but take a look and see if you cant buy it in japan.
http://www.msi-computer.co.jp/
The MSI one you can upgrade the CPU, RAM, HD, and wifi card. the GPU you can´t.
But anyway i don´t know if this matters, cause in 1 year the sockets will change, specially for amd, so the newer chips wouldn´t fit in any of the sockets of the current notebooks.
I think that getting a 64 bit is adviseble if you worry about future proof.
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
I know you can have sony's delivered to Japan with an American keyboard and international warranty, a friend of mine had one delivered to her while we were over there, if you need the Japanese keyboard regularly just go get a little USB Japanese keyboard and plug it in, solves the problem and lets you pick from a much broader range of laptops.
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
Unless you plan on upgrading your processor later, I think $70 is worth the 130MHz upgrade.
You should be able to run those games pretty well on that GPU, just keep in mind you wont be able to run them at full graphics.
I aruge with people about gaming and screen resolution. The higher the resolution the harder it will be on your GPU... and in return you will have to turn your graphics down, or just deal with the lower framerate. Some games like fear you might have to turn your resolution down to 1024x768. 1024x768 on a 1680x1050 screen would be VERY small.
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
another alternative is to pop by akihabara, and walk into any duty free store selling computers.
they usually have small sections devoted to US based os's.
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
whoa, how did you know that computer was the ASUS Z71v? i would love to read reviews of the other model they have. i am more interested in the lower resolution screen for gaming. the other thing is though that the cheaper model has a glossy screen. i am a little worried about reflectivity. can i buy some plastic cover to make it appear matte(sp?)?
Answer:
Re: Advice to a Japan-based Buyer
Well if it is glossy thats not such a bad thing. If you can get over the reflection, they actually have a better picture. I've never heard of a matte screen cover, but I also have never looked for one.