Need some argumentative ammo and advice

[locke0987]

To start things off, thanks for the welcoming!
I already bought a desktop(around 2200 if I remember correctly) last year that runs anything on the market well enough. The video card could use an upgrade but I won't complain at the moment. What I will complain about is the powersupply that failed (build up of dust) which, shortly before failing, I suspect was providing insufficient power, which eventually (I think) caused the failure of my mobo which ended up frying my processor and a g of ram-.-. Ended up getting a faster processor and 2Gs of ram so I guess I ended up better off.

Thanks for all the info so far! Some of those questions weren't directed to lap tops but hardware in general but thanks for all the info regardless.

From the advice I've read so far, it sounds like my best bet would be go w/just the single 256 Nvidia Geforce 7900(to save for power consumption and reduce heat production, not to mention about $300).

Where would be the best place to find a laptop along those lines? Alienware seems like it is a decent price for what is provided and I've heard Asus isn't to bad either. VooDoo is out of the question as their prices are outrageous.

What are everyone's feeling on Vista? Good, no good, meh? I've heard some bad things but that was mostly right after it came out and I assume that some of it has cleaned up. Keep in mind that I will be using, should it be purchased, Vista Ultimate.

Lastly, what exactly is cD2? I feel dumb for asking because I really should've kept myself up to date, but ohwell.

Keep in mind, this laptop will be for gaming. Granted, I'm getting it for school but my father figured out that if he waves a carrot on a stick in front of me, he gets a much better gpa out of me.

Thanks for the input so far and the input soon to come.

 

[b1gapl]

It's C2D, and it stands for Core 2 Duo. It's Intel's best processor, and is the best processor out, right now.

For Vista, it's meh.....let's see what happens after a service pack this summer.

Yea, I've heard ASUS have pretty good laptops. Alienware...I always thought there were overpriced. But that might be just their desktops.

 

[QuaziBee]

I'm going to be on the XP train for some time. Its taken 2 service packs and allot of other patches to get it as dependable as it is. It's hard to trust a brand new operating system when it first comes out. Just like the Simpson's adage, "Why would you buy the very first hover-car?". I agree fully with b1gapl about waiting for a service pack. By the time I will be ready to give up XP, it took me forever to give up win98, it will be time for a new pc with SLI, or the future equivalent.

 

[ThirdLeft152]

how about those new c2d's the t7100/7300/7500/7700, they have the 800mhz fsb. so they should be a little faster, and the 7300 an up has the 4mb l2 cache.

 

[locke0987]

I took a look at the Asus G2 and for the price, it looked like it was a decent set up

• Processor: 2GHz Intel Core Duo T7200
• Chipset: Intel 945PM Express
• Chipset Memory: 2GB PC2-6400
• Graphics: 512MB ATi Mobility Radeon X1700
• 17in monitor 1400x900 resolution

This runs for about 1900

Next, I checked out the Alienware intel verision. Here was what I found;

• CD2 T7400 2.16Ghz 4mb 667Mhz FSB
• 2gb DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667Mhz
• 256mb Nvidia Geforce Go 7600
• 15.4in monitor at 1920x1200

This comes up to be around 2200.

Here is where my question comes in; is the extra $300 worth the faster processor, higher monitor resolution(the 1.6in isn't a big deal to me), but the slower video card(I think?).

 

[QuaziBee]

15.4" monitor is small. for any laptop. the .16ghz will have no real effect on apps, processing now a days is more about efficiency than raw speed. And the RAM speed gap is pretty large there. I would say all around the Asus comes out on top is that battle.

 

[locke0987]

Thanks for the info.

 

[dario03]

Asus makes some good gaming laptops. My friend got a $1200 one early this year and it works good. I don't remember exactly but I think it was the (7900gs go) that could actually be flashed to a (7900gtx go). You might want to look into that since it was a big performance boost. I'm not entirely sure if it was those nvidia cards or not though. Also there are 8 series mobile cards now so you might wanna look into that to.


However I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a gaming notebook though (unless your family is pretty well off). The performance just isn't there for the money you spend.

 

[Riznarf]

check out velocitymicro.com for some gaming laptop.

gofor the t7200, the t7400 is 160mhz faster and is like $200 more...not worth it.

 

[ThirdLeft152]

Asus makes some good gaming laptops. My friend got a $1200 one early this year and it works good. I don't remember exactly but I think it was the (7900gs go) that could actually be flashed to a (7900gtx go). You might want to look into that since it was a big performance boost. I'm not entirely sure if it was those nvidia cards or not though. Also there are 8 series mobile cards now so you might wanna look into that to.


However I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a gaming notebook though (unless your family is pretty well off). The performance just isn't there for the money you spend.

yeah that is so true. you can't get a decent gaming laptop till you spend $2000+, i mean you can probably get a 7900gs go for that kind of money, but if im not mistaken the 7900gs go is a little worse than the 7900gs and you restricted with overclocking. honestly i would just pick a price point and look to get the best processor for the money with a dedicated graphics card.