Notebook

[The Napster]

Whats a cheap reliable laptop computer and a good place to buy em. Im looking for 1gig ram minimum and a dedicated graphics card would be nice. I perfer amd processors to intel and would like 64 bit, dual core is NOT a necessity unless the price is reasonable. Battery life isnt very important I probally wouldnt use it without a power cord for more than 20-30 min if that.

Im looking for just enough power to play world of warcraft at a decent speed and possibly run garry's mod and the sims 2. The only other stuff i would be doing with it is microsfot office and msn messenger. (internet browsing and i would like integrated wireless)

Ive looked at compaq.com and theyre my favorite so far, got a good build for around $800. anything cheaper and just as good is what im looking for.

Thanx in advance

 

[talldude123]

This laptop will do fine. It is $760...that only leaves $40 for shipping/taxes. But it's great. AMD Turion 64, 1GB RAM, 100GB HD. The graphics card looks pretty crappy, but good enough for The Sims 2.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115255

 

[Jorsoft]

SiS graphics are awful compared to what you're getting from Compaq. I don't think that for your price range you can do any better. Compaq makes very good notebooks in that range.

 

[The Napster]

yeah, ive heard alot of good about compaq notebooks, and my cousin has one that is really nice and really fast, but he also paid around $2000 so it better be nice.

 

[shdwsclan]

Cheap vs Reliable.....hard call....

Something that is reliable is not really cheap.
Ive heard that the intel is a better laptop cpu due to lower wattage in a balanced test.....
But from my studies, i know that both amd and intel[obviously intel's m speedstep] support voltage and frequency stepping.

I've had a ibm t23 forever and its always been functioning, now i just bought myself a Z61m with a T7200[actually had to buy it during thanksgiving due to lenovo's part shortages to get it on time for dec 24-25].
Its a bit heavier, but it is the only media based laptop that has a roll cage for that kind of proce....

Same here about compaq, i dont know why they went clunky for a time in the 90s, but i still have a DEC VAXStation 3100 in the garage that runs.....

 

[The Napster]

here is my favorite so far, im along way from my goal but this is what i would buy, what do you think of it?

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto/computer_customize_addons_continue.do

if link doesnt work it has....

Operating System FREE Upgrade to Genuine Windows XP Media Center!!

Processor AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-56(1.8GHz/1MB)

Display FREE Upgrade to 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen!

Graphics Card 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200

Personalization HP Imprint Finish + Microphone + Webcam

Memory 1024MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Hard Drive 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive

Primary CD/DVD Drive Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support

Networking 802.11b/g WLAN

TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote control

Primary Battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money

Total price $1,118.99 including shipping and $50 Mail in rebate

Its a ways over my budget but i think if i keep saving I could do it.

 

[Jorsoft]

Looks like a good deal. Same notebook I was looking at getting a couple of months ago before I decided to go more a better graphics card and bought from www.abs.com

 

[The Napster]

yeah, the nvidia 7200 isnt shared right its just a dedicated card, which ones arnt shared? I see the nvidia symbol on the laptops but some appear to be shared. which ones are shared and which ones arnt?

 

[Jorsoft]

Generally it will say shared/integrated or dedicated in the laptop's description. The Radeon x1600 and gefroce 7600 and up are always fully dedicated, anything lower than these models might be either or turbocached, where some memory is dedicated and some is shared. I believe the HP 7200 notebooks are fully dedicated but their online description sould say somewhere.

 

[The Napster]

i looked the specs and the 7200 is turbocached. with 64mb dedicated and 192mb system shared, now will this be good proformance? i dont really like shared memory. theres another build that has the 7600 with fully dedicated memory but its about $300 more and its getting a little out of budget now. My new question is how much better will the proformance be if i spent the extra $300 and got the 7600 andwould it be worth the extra $$ It has a 17" screen instead of 15.4" also.