Need advice, buy this laptop?

**Muagan_ra** · August 16, 2007, 08:58 AM

Here's the deal - university, need a laptop, needs to have powerful graphics, be really fast, to do normal office work and be excellently suited to games and 3d graphics.

This one piqued my interest (nb: I've underlined some thigns that I'm not familiar with, if anyone cares to explain it a little, please do so.)

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 1.66Ghz 667 FSB 2MB L2 Cache (I know what Ghz are, but those other numbers mean nothing to me).
RAM: 2048MB (2GB) DDR2-SDRAM (not 100% what the difference between DDR2 and regular ram is)
Hard Drive: 160GB
Screen: 15.4" TFT CrystalBrite (1200x800)
Optical Drive: DVD±RW Super Multi
Graphics: NVidia GeForce Go7300 (an enormous step up from my current card, but what are your opinions of it?)
Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g
Weight: 3.2Kg
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Fast Ethernet 10/100
Built-In 1.3 MegaPixel Camera

(detailed specs)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

This for £600.

So, yay or nay?

**Muagan_ra** · August 16, 2007, 09:17 AM

Edit, for £200 extra, there's also this one;

Design: Curved glossy black lid and clean white interior
Processor: Powerful Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2GHz (x2), 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2GB Fast DDR2 RAM! (2 x 1024Mb)
1GB Turbo Memory
Up to 2x faster performance when loading frequently used applications!
Up to 20% faster Windows Vista boot time!
Hard Drive: 160GB Hard Disk
Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10) with CrystalBrite Technology
Optical Drive: DVD Re-writer (DVD±RW Super Multi Double Layer)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 1GB of TurboCache memory - ideal for playing the latest games!
Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g/n - Wireless Internet Connection
Battery Life (Depending on Use): 3.5 hours 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Weight: 3kg
Warranty: 1 Year Collect and Return (Europe-wide)- Upgradeable to 3 Years for only £49 - Call for details!
Operating System: New Windows Vista Home Premium
1GB of Intel Turbo Memory
Built-in 0.3Mp CrystalEye Camera
Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
HDMI port with HDCP
5-in-1 card reader

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Freddie** · August 16, 2007, 09:49 AM

Gaming on a laptop, that’s like trying to teach an elephant to ice skate. I guess there is know point trying to talk you out of getting a laptop and building a desktop is there. A laptop is meant for working on, their meant for people who are on the road and do presentations.

You can get gaming laptops from companies such as Alienware, but you will have to pay a lot more then £600.

**Muagan_ra** · August 16, 2007, 10:10 AM

A tower computer is too impractical, I wouldn't be able to haul it from Manchester, Derry and back.

I was able to play games quite decently a desktop computer at home which had specs that where laughable compared to either of these two - so, I'd be happy with either of these (though, I'm leaning towards the second)

I just want to know what you tech-heads make of the specs?

**Freddie** · August 16, 2007, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Muagan_ra

A tower computer is too impractical, I wouldn't be able to haul it from Manchester, Derry and back.

I was able to play games quite decently a desktop computer at home which had specs that where laughable compared to either of these two - so, I'd be happy with either of these (though, I'm leaning towards the second)

I just want to know what you tech-heads make of the specs?

The second laptop looks fairly decent but your always comparing them to a desktop which means a laptop will always be bad value for money and slow.

You biggest problem is the video card - the CPU, ram, hard drive are all fine but if you intend to game the video card is the most important thing and its that which is going to hold games back. If you don;t mind playing games at a low resoulution and with some of the detail off the 8600 GT should be able to cut it at reduced settings, but see if you can find anything within your budget that has a Nvida 7900 GTX Go chipset.

What sort of games are you looking to play?

**Muagan_ra** · August 18, 2007, 11:41 PM

Well, thanks for all that guys, something to think about!

I don't play games so much anymore, but I'd like to be able to have some recreation every few nights. I won't be running it 24/7. Besides, its not even just a matter of games, it's going be used for artwork - video, imaging, and all that. So, even if I don't play alot of games, it will still need to have similar capabilities.

I'm very reluctant to install any sort of desktop system in University Halls - more demanding on the (limited) power available, takes up alot of room, would have to leave it there when I go home for holidays. It's a non starter.

Originally Posted by Freddie

What sort of games are you looking to play?

I'm not into much games that are considered 'new' - most recent game I really played has been TES Oblivion (massive dissapointment, from Morrowind, btw!), and the old desktop did admirably with it on an nVIDIA 6600. "Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodline" worked on it too, albeit a bit unsteadilly.

Apart from those, my games aren't so demanding - Morrowind, Dawn of War, RomeTW.

**Roman Clone** · August 19, 2007, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by Muagan_ra

Apart from those, my games aren't so demanding - Morrowind, Dawn of War, RomeTW.

You have a 6600 and you can run Rome TW? [Kicks Computer]

**C.M.** · August 16, 2007, 12:25 PM

Being the owner of a laptop, which i also needed for school, i suggest finding a used laptop. Laptops invariably overheat when gaming, heck mine overheats when i'm watching DVD's, browsing the internet, working on a spreadsheet or simply playing solitaire. I'm on my second laptop as it is, the first one would break on average every 6 months and getting it repaired took about 2 to 3 weeks. Hardly worth the 3200 Can$ i paid.

A used laptop has the distinct advantage of being cheaper, this way you can use the rest of the money on upgrading your current desktop or getting a new one.

Another thing to consider is that the constant overheating of the laptop has a negative effect on the components, as such you can expect a severe decrease in performance after a year. Generally, a laptop used for gaming will be obsolete within two to three years whereas a desktop can last twice as long and still have a decent performance.

The best advice i can give is to not get too excited at the prospect of getting a laptop and to spend as little on one as possible.

**Freddie** · August 16, 2007, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by Charred_Monkey

The best advice i can give is to not get too excited at the prospect of getting a laptop and to spend as little on one as possible.

Stick to playing Minesweeper is what I say to people who want to play games on their laptops.

**drak10687** · August 16, 2007, 01:37 PM

I play on my laptop, got it for about 2000$ Canadian (including shipping and Xp home) a year ago. The specs are:

Core Duo T2500 @2.00gzh (not Core 2 duo)
2gig ram (2x 1024 667 corsair)
ati x1600 gfx card

Its a 15.4" widescreen, and I wouldn't get anything bigger than that, because even at this size it becomes a hassle if you travel with it a lot (luckily, I don't).

Besides specs, its very important what the chassis is and who builds it. Some laptop chassis will overheat constantly simply because they are built with bad ventilation. Mine is an Asus z96j, its a "barebones", as in, it comes with just the motherboard and gfx card, but ram, HDD, and optical drive you get to pick yourself, which makes it a bit cheaper. It doesn't look super sleek, but it gets the job done, and I haven't had any problems with it thus-far.

I like having a laptop, as it is much more flexible, but I am not a serious gamer. It runs RTW and M2TW fine for me at medium to high settings. However, I always hook it up to a monitor when I play M2TW because the monitor is bigger, but with a smaller resolution (you should only play on native resolution using a laptop, because otherwise you get pixel blur) so I get better performance. However, don't expect to play games on battery, and the more powerful your lappy is, the less it will last on battery. Mine lasts about 3 hours max, which is alright, but could be better.

I suggest you check out Notebookforums.com to help you decide, if you are serious about buying a laptop... make sure to read what complaints people have about the model you want to buy, because unlike desktops, specs are only half the story when it comes to laptops.

Optimally though, I would suggest that you purchase a high end desktop, and a small laptop if you need to be on the move all the time, and still play a lot of games when at home... but everyone has different needs.

**spartan_phalanx** · August 18, 2007, 01:27 AM

I would also say go with a bargain laptop and a solid gaming rig. If mobility is a problem then you might consider a Lanbox rig (generally smaller, lighter, and a handle for carrying). They're capable of utilizing higher end desktop components (micro ATX motherboard and possibly 8800 size cards). Granted you still need to lug a monitor around but still better than a full on desktop.

Otherwise Freddie hit it on the head with what you have and should look for in a laptop.

**Freddie** · August 18, 2007, 04:00 AM

Originally Posted by spartan_phalanx

If mobility is a problem then you might consider a Lanbox rig (generally smaller, lighter, and a handle for carrying). They're capable of utilizing higher end desktop components (micro ATX motherboard and possibly 8800 size cards). Granted you still need to lug a monitor around but still better than a full on desktop.

That's a few good idea.