thinkin of buying a laptop

**Last Roman** · July 11, 2006, 06:12 PM

my freshmen year of college I had a desktop and I'll tell you....it was very inconvient. Now that I have a decent paying job, I think I'm going to break down for a laptop. I want something that will be able to run games (think M2TW) but my price range is limited: around $600-$700 (maybe $800)

so any suggestions?

**John Wayne** · July 11, 2006, 08:38 PM

With that amount of money, you'd better go for a Dell. Its the only thing that I know of that is in that budget range and is good enough for college work. Just don't try anything fancy (such as games) on it and you'll be fine.

**John I Tzimisces** · July 11, 2006, 08:40 PM

Thing is he wants something that can run MTW2...

**John Wayne** · July 11, 2006, 09:23 PM

He needs more cash for a good laptop. Nonetheless, I suggest HP's. HP's are the only decent laptop that runs Windows in my opinion. I'll probably be getting one in a year or two so I can get back to playing PC games. Tis the only drawback of a Mac without bootcamp.

**Publius** · July 11, 2006, 10:01 PM

Well, Im not techy, but I know that my mom bought a Gateway laptop 7 years ago and it stills runs decent enough today (she upgraded the ram once during that time). So Im not sure how powerful Gateway systems are, but I would recomend them if only for their long term sustainability.

P.S. - Desktops are better ....

**John Wayne** · July 11, 2006, 10:16 PM

But laptops are portable and better suited for college.

**Publius** · July 11, 2006, 10:24 PM

I am talking about pure cost effectiveness here. If I want to sit in a pretty meadow whilst I type, then maybe I get a laptop. If I want something that will give me the biggest bang for my buck w/o spending $3,000, then its desktops all the way! Besides, just put your comp next to a window - you'll be able to see said pretty meadow and enjoy the creature comforts of the indoors!

This entire bit is a tad hypocritical, as I am getting a laptop in a month or so. But it is a very, very crappy laptop (going to cost me maybe 100-200 bucks) which I intend to use for the sole purpose of typing (taking notes, basically). If you have the means, that is what I suggest. Laptops are useful for the conveniences of portability, but thats about it in my most humble opinion.

**Last Roman** · July 12, 2006, 01:55 AM

so what would be the price of a laptop that would be able to (decently) run games?

**John Wayne** · July 12, 2006, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by Last Roman

so what would be the price of a laptop that would be able to (decently) run games?

$1,000 or more for any laptop that is decent for gameing, outside of the **** fest that is Dell. If you haven't already, sell your desktop to bring in a couple hundred more dollars (maybe more depending on how good it is). Or you could take the desktop and just keep saving money. I also suggest going to your nearest CompUSA, BestBuy, and Apple Store and try different types of laptops (Toshiba, Dell, HP, Mac, etc...) until you find one that you like and that is either in your price range or you are willing to scrounge up some more cash for.

**Ragabash** · July 12, 2006, 02:10 AM

About 1000-1500 €.

Depends where you live and can you use internet for buying your computer. Also it might decrease price if you dont need OS, antivirus/firewall programs or speakers to your laptop.

**Last Roman** · July 12, 2006, 09:52 AM

Well, I'm hoping my dad will throw a few hundred (around 200) my way, so I'm looking at just under $1000.

**Incinerate_IV** · July 12, 2006, 11:15 AM

Sorry, but for a decent notebook that can run a graphic demanding game like M2:TW well would cost $2000+. With $1000, you can probably only play it on low - medium settings with lowest unit sizes, any thing higher then its probably not going to happen.

**Last Roman** · July 12, 2006, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Incinerate_IV

Sorry, but for a decent notebook that can run a graphic demanding game like M2:TW well would cost $2000+. With $1000, you can probably only play it on low - medium settings with lowest unit sizes, any thing higher then its probably not going to happen.

well that sucks

**Incinerate_IV** · July 12, 2006, 11:55 AM

There is hope though. If you have the patience to wait a couple of months, Dell always have some sourt of major rebate (up to $500+ off sometimes) on notebooks and desktops every once a while. Any decent processor should do, but what you really want is to get a good graphics card, which is pretty hard to find on a notebook.

**Last Roman** · July 12, 2006, 02:04 PM

it seems easier (read: cheaper) to just make some updates to my desktop (which would need some heavy duty updating) but in a dorm room where space is limited, a notebook would be sooo much more convient. That and you cant really carry a desktop around.

As for running M2TW, I don't really need the high end graphics. I mean it would be nice, but really all I want is to be able to play it w/o it having it move at a pixle per minute. So do you think I could get away with using medium setting graphics and still have it run okay with say..a $1,200 notebook?

ps, has CA released the game specs for M2 yet?

**Incinerate_IV** · July 13, 2006, 09:39 AM

They haven't released the specs, but they did say any computer that can run RTW on max can run M2:TW on medium.

If you really want a laptop, at least choose one without integrated graphics. Try looking on Newegg and Dell, their laptops are the cheapest. But be prepared for some serious tweaking if you want to run M2:TW nicely.

Actually, I just saw this on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115246

The processor is a bit weak, but it is dual core, so that should make up for it. Its got a pretty nice graphic card and 1 gig of ram. So it should play all the current games nicely on high settings, and it should handle M2:TW too.

By the way, I also saw one with a faster processor and more video ram for $400 more on Newegg, search around and you should find some good deals.