Laptop/notebook/portable desktop

[Politically Incorrect]

What ever you want to call them, I can't tell the difference

Im looking to buy one to satisfy my need for new toys.

What I am looking for is someting that can handle FS9 and other sims mainly so gaming is highly ranked. I figure if you can FS9 with it you can do about anything

I prefer AMD and Nvidia hardware.

I dont have anything but dial up in my area so Wi-Fi and stuff like that is un-needed but hard to find something without it.

At least 1gig ram, good size HD, and USB ports.

My intentions are to use this as a secondary pc, as well as something to take with me on the go. Would like to be able to network it with my desktop.

Even after reading many reviews Im still confused as to what I should be looking for.
Im concerned with heat, battery life etc.

Upgradeability would be a major plus but not sure if this is possible.

Cost preferably $2000 or less, but money isn't really a issue. I looked at some Alienware stuff but feel thier prices are way to bloated for what they have.

Any ideas and suggestions greatly appreciated!

[ctjoyce]

Well nVidia is doable, but moble AMD processers arn't half of what Pentium M or Centrino Duo's are. Personally I would look at a 2.2Ghz Pentium M. Unfortunately with what your asking from the notebook, I doubt that you will get much more than 3 houres of bettery from it.

www.ibuypower.com
www.cyberpowerinc.com
www.voodoopc.com

Those three are where I would go to shop for a new notebook.

Cheers
Cameron

[Politically Incorrect]

After searching around that seems to be the average battery life 3 hours give or take.

Have you any idea about Cyberpower?

They have some that you can have built to what you want and the prices seem retty nice.

The Dell Inspiron rates pretty good also, but its the Dell part I don't like

Edit: just noticed you mentioned Cyberpower in your post

[ctjoyce]

Ya cyber and iBuy are about the same price. I think Cyber usually has better lappys though.

Personally if I were buying a high end lappy i would get the ASUS Z81-SP For the price you really can't beat it.

Cheers
Cameron

[BAW0343]

i have a compaq presario R3000  runs fs 9 at around 20 fps with rather good graphics  mine came with 512 mb ram, 60 gig HD, Nvidia Geforce 420 Go 32mb, Amd xp processor 3000+ (equal to a p4 2.5 Ghz) unplugged playing games it lasts an hour but i dont play games with it unplugged, processor speed cuts in half. it cost just over $1000 and runs all but the newest games verry well at a respectabe fps

[ctjoyce]

Ya, HP and Compaq arn't too bad, if your on a budget. If you want something good you have to look to aftermarket.

Cheers
Cameron

[Politically Incorrect]

Battery power now that I think of it, really isnt much of a issue, most times Im within range of  a electrical outlet , and while gaming I wouldnt expect one to last long anyway, actually quite surprised at some of them being able to run 3+ hours gaming (or so the specs say )

I also noticed some from Hypersonic, again no low cost rigs but how do they rank with the others?

[ctjoyce]

Never heard of Hypersonic. Your going to be best off with voodoo if you want a high end rig.

As for the battery, my (well sold now)
Pentium 4 2.6Ghz
1GB RAM
WD 60GB 5200RPM
Mobility Radeon 9700
Runs about 2 houres unplugged gameing.

Cheers
Cameron

[Politically Incorrect]

Well after searching, shopping and reading I decided to go for the ASUS Z81-SP from Cyberpower (was going to use Voodoo until I saw thier shipping fees).

Ended up loading one up with some goodies for a final price after instant rebate of $1700.

Choosing the CPU I was uncertain so since it wasn't too much more in the way of price I went with.

Intel Pentium 4 650 CPU w/ Hyper-Threading,3.4GHz,800FSB,2MB Cache, 64 Bit

Hoping I made a good choice

[ctjoyce]

Not a bad choice at all. Thats basicly two processers lower than mine, the only difference is that it is 64bit enabled. Only thing to warn you is that the P4 Prescotts tend to need alot of power, so your gonna get about 1 hour of gameing, 2 houres of movies, and no more than 3 with other stuff.

Cheers
Cameron

[Politically Incorrect]

Question about power, when this thing is plugged into the wall will it be able to run the PC and charge the battery at the same time?
Or does the battery allways drain even when it is plugged into a wall outlet?

Im concerned about this "universal" adapter and whether or not this is able to power the PC or if it is only good for recharging the battery. If this is the case what are my other powering options?

[ctjoyce]

Nope when plugged into the wall the lappy gets charged, and also gets powered at the same time. The universal means just that. It can be used with any laptop.

Cheers
Cameron