Question:
Advice on gaming laptop
1) What is your budget?
Up to ?1000ish, see later comments
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
I'm not really that bothered, 17" would be an indulgence more than anything.
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Gaming, multimedia (tv, dvds, etc.)
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
will be taking with me but I wont be using it on my lap, will use a desk wherever.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
current games - Battlefield 2, source engine games
future games (what I'm most likely to use it for) - Enemy Territory: Quakewars, Warhammer Online.
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?
Shouldn't matter.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Quite happy to buy online.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
UK
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Not bothered.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
Isn't terribly important to me.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Not bothered.
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?
Now, used to upgrading quite frequently for desktops so maybe 1 year.
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?
DVD-ROM minimum requirement.
I started off looking at laptops around ?500 but soon found those wouldn't play the games I'd want to use them for so extended a bit further extending to the ?700-800 region and saw a few possibilities in this area. I then started looking at the ?1000ish figuring it was better to get a little bit better spec.
I know it's all a bit vague so I'll try to clarify where I'm at right now.
Depending on which price range I end up going for I've decided on either the HP NC8430 or the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo xi1546.
I can afford the Amilo but I'd rather not spend that much if I don't need to.
What it boils down to is whether the HP with a core duo, with 1gb ram and x1600 is enough to run BF2 and Quakewars (which is meant to be the same requirements as Quake 4).*
Also would 2gig ram on the HP make a significant difference? i.e. would that swing things in whether or not it could run these games?
*I know I listed Warhammer Online as something I want to play but it's some way off and there are no system requirement details available yet so that doesn't really come into the equation unless someone has some strong thoughts on that.
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
If you're in britain and specifying your price in pounds, I dunno but you may want to give an american $ value to what you're willing to spend if you havn't already.
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
Prices are in uk pounds, dunno what happened to the pound sign. I don't know if dollars would be relevant as I'm not buying from USA and the prices are completely different even after doing a conversion. Anyway, I'm not asking for suggestions based on a price bracket, I just made sure I posted as required by the sticky.
Essentially I want to know if core duo, 1gb, x1600 is good enough for the games I mentioned or if I need to go with t7200 core 2 duo, 2gb, x1800.
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
nobody knows if the nc8430 can run BF2 or Quake 4? Or I guess more importantly, if 2gb ram would make a significant difference for games?
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
you can definitely run bf2 and quake 4 with the x1600. i hear that 2 gigs makes a significant difference specifically with bf2.
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
Bryhain, i asked myself the exact question when choosing a laptop. I want it for my 3D work, but possibly play games aswell.
However, having a gaming laptop will decrease the battery life. which you need to consider.
The ones that crossed my mind were:
1) Toshiba satellite P100 range (core2duo with nvid 7900) £1200
2) Fujitsu Siemens Xi1546 (core2duo with ati X1800) £1100-£1400
3) Dell M1710
4) Alienware
5) Rockdirect
6) Mesh
7) HP
i am also based in the UK and all the companies listed are all UK ones.
One thing i will tell you now is that you want Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz or more, this means that it will run apps smoothly and is based on 64 bit architecture (PERFECT for vista)
Now one main thing to consider is graphics, i explained how more graphics = less battery... another issue is that all the graphics cards are DirectX9 and the Vista format supports 9 but all future games will be DX 10.
Both ATI, and NVID are yet to reveal their DX 10 cards for laptops.
They are due to come out in Winter 2007 as a rough estimate.
That aside, we move onto the screen... 17" is great, but not so portable. I wanted a desktop replacement so i wanted 17", but realised that i cannot carry it to uni as easily. So i chose to go for 15.4.
Build Quality also a factor to consider, i like my laptop to be sleek but strong. And the fujitsu siemens which i was going for was weak when i saw it in a shop. The thosiba was the best, but chunky for my liking.
SO... this led me onto ASUS. One of the BEST manufacturers out there and have a great lineup.
They have the 'G' Series notbook which conisits of
1) 17" ATI x1700 core 2 duo
2) 15.4" Nvidia 7700
The best of the to is the nvidia.
I am now going to purchase the Asus V1jp which has Core2duo 2ghz, 2gb ram and a ati x1700.
I would like to point out that asus have made an External PCI slot station that accepts any graphics card, and you can plug it into your laptop through Express Station. This feature i will get. It is called the XG station.
Google it for more info
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
Thanks for the replies. I'm not bothered about Vista, I can upgrade fairly soon if it becomes an issue. I just called Laptopsdirect to get a quote for the nc8430 with 2gb memory and that bumps it up from 670 to 880 as I'd be paying for the 2x512 memory as well as 2x1024 and I find that quite offputting.
After a little bit more searching I've come across http://www.eclipsecomputers.com who do custom laptops based on the HEL80 and ASUS S96J barebone systems. I can get a higher spec than the nc8430 for less with 2x1024 memory.
Which of these is considered to be better? I started off assuming that the slightly more expensive ASUS would be but after a quick read at some reviews I'm thinking the HEL80 might have a slight edge.
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
How about the Asus F3Jp? For £1003 at laptopsdirect.co.uk you get:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 - 2GHz (x2), 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
1024 MB DDRII-667MHz SDRAM - Low cost double memory offer – call for details!
120 GB SATA Hard Drive
DVD±RW Super Multi Double Layer - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs, DVD+, DVD- and Dual layer discs.
15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen
ATI Radeon X1700 supporting 512MB HyperMemory
Integrated gigabit LAN
Integrated wireless 802.11 a/b/g LAN - Call for advice on Wireless networking
Web Cam In-built 1.3 M Pixel
Operating System: Windows XP Professional Edition - FREE Upgrade To Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows Vista Capable
FREE Mouse and Carry Case
FREE TV Tuner
2 year warranty
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
After a little bit more searching I've come across http://www.eclipsecomputers.com who do custom laptops based on the HEL80 and ASUS S96J barebone systems. I can get a higher spec than the nc8430 for less with 2x1024 memory.
Which of these is considered to be better? I started off assuming that the slightly more expensive ASUS would be but after a quick read at some reviews I'm thinking the HEL80 might have a slight edge.
Btw, the Compal HEL80 is known as Zepto Znote 2425W in UK
here is the link to this model
http://uk.zepto.com/Default.aspx?pag...7BPnzhGEJwoxDf
Answer:
Re: Advice on gaming laptop
jess, that would still need upgraded to 2gb ram and at that price I'd be back with my original choice of the fujitsu which has 2gb and 2 x 80gb hdd for slightly more than that.
Dreamer, a zepto with T5600, 2x1024, 80gb, wireless network card, no o/s comes in at 912.98 and from eclipse the same spec comes to 765.90.
Well, for once I'm doing a lot of research and learning a lot instead of jumping in with both feet.