Gaming and University laptop
1) What is your budget?
Preferrably under a £1000 more in the £500 region if possible
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
A mainstream 15" - 16" since it'll be moving around some of the time but spending most of the time on my desk.
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Internet, Gaming (The Sims 2 mostly) and doing work for university.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Both
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yes, mostly The Sims 2 but also other things like Red Alert and possibly FFXI
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Not really
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Doesn't really matter
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No buying online is fine
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
England
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Standard but it's not a major issue
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard: XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Doesn't really matter
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not really
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
A good few years
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
80 - 100GB
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
Both CD/DVD-ROM and RW drive
I also need a laptop that has at least a gig of RAM and if possible one of the following graphics cards.
ATI Radeon(TM) series (8500 or better)
- 8500, All-In-Wonder 8500
- 9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800
- X300, X600, x700, X800, x850
- X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
NVIDIA(R) Quadro(TM) series
- Quadro, Quadro2, Quadro4
NVIDIA GeForce series (GeForce2 GTS and better)
- GeForce 2, 2 GTS
- GeForce 3, 3 Ti
- GeForce 4, 4 Ti, 4200, 4600, 4800, MX 420, 440, 460
- GeForce FX 5200, 5500, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, 5950
- GeForce PCX 5300, 5900
- GeForce 6200, 6600, 6800
- GeForce 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
- S3 GammaChrome
- S18 Pro
- S18 Ultra
Sorry if it's too much I've been searching around for months now and I can't seem to find anything. The graphics card is mostly the problem, I was thinking of buying a laptop and the graphics card seperately but I don't think it'd be compatible with the laptop.
Answer:
Re: Gaming and University laptop
£679.97 Hewlett Packard NC8430 Laptop - Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor T2300 1.66GHz, 1024MB DDRII SDRAM, 100GB Hard Drive, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB dedicated graphics
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Hewle...ES/version.asp
Answer:
Re: Gaming and University laptop
I second the HP nc8430 recommendation. You could also consider the Asus S96J, and/or the Compal HEL80 (sold as a Zepto model in the UK, I believe).
Answer:
Re: Gaming and University laptop
Check out the Zepto Znote 2425W (a.k.a. Compal HEL80)
http://uk.zepto.com/Default.aspx?pag...7BPnzhGEJwoxDf
Also, you could look at the Asus F3 Series
- http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/products.php?cat=26
- http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ASUS_F3_Laptops/prod.asp
The graphics card is mostly the problem, I was thinking of buying a laptop and the graphics card seperately but I don't think it'd be compatible with the laptop. That's simply impossible. You cannot upgrade the video card.
Answer:
Re: Gaming and University laptop
I second the recommendation for the HP, it's a great machine at a great price. Laptopsdirect is also a very fast, efficient and reliable vendor, I bought my notebook from them.
Answer:
Re: Gaming and University laptop
Thanks for that guys, now I just have to shop around for the HP and see where it's cheapest lol.
That's simply impossible. You cannot upgrade the video card. I didn't think you'd be able to do it, bit annoying heh.
Answer:
Re: Gaming and University laptop
I'm quite sure the deal that was linked to for the nc8430 above is about as good as it gets in the UK. Can't hurt to look around though.
The Compal HEL80 (aka Zepto Znote 2425W) is another excellent option you may want to consider. Dreamer linked to it in his post above.
Definitely make sure to get the GPU you want with the notebook. Notebook GPUs cannot be upgraded.