Laptop Advice...

[Mozz]

I'm going to be buying a new laptop for my studies and when I leave my parents and go to England. I was just wondering if anyone could advise me on good brands and setups. I'm thinking I'll go Dell right now, unless I can be dissuaded. Right now I'm just thinking:
HD: possibly 60GB or more
Vid. Card: VRAM 128MB or more (Ati radeon or Nvidia)
CPU: 2.7 Ghz or more(if possible) or maybe a bit less.
512 MB RAM or more.
I'll be spending about $1650,
Any pointers much appreciated,
Thanks.

[Iroquois]

For that money you can get a no frills Athlon64 Mobile setup. My dad recently bought a Compaq Presario rig with an Athlon64 3000+ and 512mb or Ram. Cost about $1700 Canadian or about $1500US. It was the display model so we got a discount. Ones for that price will probably have a little less. Has an nVida GoForce4 MX440 64mb GPU along with a few other goodies. Laptops are pretty useless for gamming so GPU doesn't matter. Most HDD on laptops are 40gig.

I found a Sony one on NewEgg.com that fits your specs for $1350US. NewEgg is an excellent site for the American computer buyer but I often find my self there just to get prices and to see what's out there.

[Craig.]

Remember one thing, you cant upgrade a laptop like you can a PC. 128mb video car is about the maximum you can get at the moment. mine has a ATI9000 mobility radeon IGP, while the graphics are good and frame rates are also great, the graphics themselves are nothing spectacular. Also laptops tend to become outdated much quicker, so if you can afford it buy one of the higher end laptops.

[Delta_]

What you select must have decent everything, it must have a good cpu, good ram and good GFX card... plus the other stuff.  Don't buy a faster processor model that has 256MB of RAM over another that has 512MB, because it won't perform better.  I assume you want to game with laptop, so you will need a decent GFX card, a GF4MX will not cut it, you will need to look at FX5200 minimum.  Radeon 9600 (not se) would be preferable.  If you can get hold of a model with a 9700 in your price range that would be better.  

As with any PC, a good laptop will be an "all rounder", it will not just excel in one area because it lacks in another.  

[Mozz]

Thanks for the advice, will heed. I'm gonna search on the internet and might post some links up to possibilities.
Again, thanks.

[Mozz]

I went to a PC exhibition and came across this one which I'm considering. What dya think?

HP pavilion (I think)
3.40 Ghz CPU (800MHZ bus speed hyper-threading)
60 GB (or 80, I've forgotten) hard drive space
Ge-force 5600(might have been GO) 128 MB vid card with AGP8x
1024 MB DDR RAM (2x 512)
DVD +CD R/W writer
20" screen I think (it was wide anyway)

I need these kind of specs because I'm taking Design Technology as a course in school (and most likely in boarding school) and we'll be using fairly heavy design programs,
Thanks in advance,
Adam.

[Iroquois]

I found what you were looking at. Not bad although AMDs and Apples are better for graphics processing. Not a bad price either. Nice big screen. Looks like it has a DVD-ROM. That will come in handy if your staying in a dorm. It's also got Harmon/Kardon sound, very nice.

[Mozz]

Thats the one, Harmon/Kardon are quite good.

[congo]

Hi Happy Grimmy,

I didn't check it out, but the spec sounds good except for the video card which doesn't match the rest of the rig.

See if you can wangle a video upgrade to AT LEAST a 5700 ultra, preferably something new like a NV6800 if it's available.

[Mozz]

Just rechecked, I think it is a ge-force 5700GO fX with agp8X, still, I'll see what it would cost to get something better put in (like a radeon 9800 pro or something). Problem is I can't let the price get too high. Also, does anyone know what HP Pavilion laptops are like? And HP service overall? Also, any feedback on getting a Dell would be good. I'm thinking of getting a custom setup, anyone tried that and know what it's like?
Thanks,
Adam.

[4_Series_Scania]

Just rechecked, I think it is a ge-force 5700GO fX with agp8X, still, I'll see what it would cost to get something better put in (like a radeon 9800 pro or something). Problem is I can't let the price get too high. Also, does anyone know what HP Pavilion laptops are like? And HP service overall? Also, any feedback on getting a Dell would be good. I'm thinking of getting a custom setup, anyone tried that and know what it's like?
Thanks,
Adam.

You want your Laptop to be "Future Proof" , i.e. it will run the current games well, and at least have a good chance of running titles such as Doom 3 or Halflife 2 - not to mention FS9 / CFS3, your only option is a Laptop with an Nvidia 6800 series graphics card. Anything else simply isn't in the same league.

hey, its your money, not mine.

[Iroquois]

Hi Happy Grimmy,

I didn't check it out, but the spec sounds good except for the video card which doesn't match the rest of the rig.

See if you can wangle a video upgrade to AT LEAST a 5700 ultra, preferably something new like a NV6800 if it's available.

nVidia hasn't released the GoForce 6800 yet. There aren't any laptops that have that chipset. It is unlikely that they ever will because the 6800 has high power demands. We'll probably see the 6200 or 6600 on laptops but not the highend.

Thats the one, Harmon/Kardon are quite good.

I know. I have my dad's old Harmon/Kardon PM645 Amp. It's 20 years old but it still works. Stereo sound has gone on it though.

I'm thinking of getting a custom setup, anyone tried that and know what it's like?

Best way to go. That way you'll only pay for what you use. There's really no point in having fance graphics cards or Wi-Fi setups if your just typing notes up.

[4_Series_Scania]

nVidia hasn't released the GoForce 6800 yet. There aren't any laptops that have that chipset. It is unlikely that they ever will because the 6800 has high power demands. We'll probably see the 6200 or 6600 on laptops but not the highend.

Ok, but I still stand by my statement of the "6 series" cards being way better than the earlier cards, a 6600GT will handle the above games I mention just fine.

[Hawkeye313]

If you can spare the cash you may want to check out Alienware.  They have laptops that can be "upgraded".  They have high end stuff so you can get and idea of what's out there, that may not be on some sites right now.  www.alienware.com

[Iroquois]

If you can spare the cash you may want to check out Alienware.  They have laptops that can be "upgraded".  They have high end stuff so you can get and idea of what's out there, that may not be on some sites right now.  www.alienware.com

The problem with Alienware is that they are very expensive machines.