I wanna buy a Tecra M2 for gaming...

Hello guy, this is my first post, have to say this is the best notebook site in the world a user opinion is 20 times better than any producer description.

i found a guy who is selling this Toshiba Tecra M2 for about 550euro: http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/TOSHIBA-...ptop-2-nd2.htm

i am searching for some time now for a cheap (<600euro) used notebook with a decent graphics card. Can any users tell me how good the Tecra M2 can handle current games? I now have a AMD XP2000+ 768Mb DDR and GeForce4 Ti4200 system and i'm a bit concerned about the framerates in games like: NFS: Most Wanted, Battlefield 2, and of course, older games.

BUT most of all: How is the tiny 14" screen? I'm scared i'm going to hate the screen...wtf did they puta 14" screen in it? Is it bothering? I'm currently using a 15" LCD...will it be frustrating? And what about the noise the laptop makes in games?

btw, i live in Romania, so maybe prices are a bit higher here for used and new notebooks...

thanks guys, i'm sure i'll get some fine answers

to saugen48: i think u didn't read my post well enough, i am using a ti4200 now, i'm not trying to buy one, i wanted to know how good the fx5200go on the tecra m2 is. and btw, don't worry about my ti4200, it's much better than any 9600 or fx5700, i get 12.400 points in 3DMark01, but that's totally irrelevant for my current problem: budged ganimg laptop

there is a posibillity that a friend who is a pilot buys me a laptop from Dubai (where i've heard laptops are cheaper) but i don't think i'll find a laptop with a good video card for 550euro (650$) since i noticed that there is a gap in mainstream video cards for notebooks, so an integrated card is too cheap and totally crap, and the next best would be the x700 which is very very pricy tho very good (

does anyone know the prices of laptops in Dubai?

yeah, especially with notebooks!!

anyway, i've read some guides and saw that the X300 got replaced with the Xpress 200M which is much worse than the FX5200go (about half the performance)

i think i'll buy the tecra before someone else does and then i'm going to shoot myself, so you'll know what happened if i never log in here again, otherwise i'll do a nice review of the Tecra for everyone else to read and digest.

BTW: big question, where is the second RAM slot located, a saw a picture here: http://www.enet.com.cn/notebook/zhua...M2/Img0239.jpg and as u can see a RAM slot is placed is this very SHITTY place, but where is the other one? wicked...

damn, i can't open your link saugen48, but thx anyway, i found a pdf from toshiba with a short description of the tecra m2 and it shows about where everything is.
edit: now i can, my ISP had some problems for a few mins

i'm 99% sure i'll buy the tecra, so here comes another question: does this notebook have dual-channel or something? i want to put 256+512Mb for a total of 768Mb, like in my desktop, because i think 512Mb is not enough for vast area texturing and it's always good to have a bit more than needed, because hang-ups in games are the most disturbing things.

i did, but didn't find anything related to this...
from what i've read in the toshiba tecra m2 pdf description, i think it doesn't have dual-channel

i think i'll go right after i buy the notebook to an ITshop to buy some extra memory, will 512Mb be enough for this config? (Centrino 1.6 and FX5200)
i'm wondering, because if i get the 256 and then the total of 512Mb isn't enough in some games for ex, i'll have both slots used and i'll have to buy another 512Mb

money is a big issue, otherwise, why would i even bother to ask about how much RAM? i would just slap 2 x 1Gb modules

i think i'll wait a bit to gather some more cash and buy a 512Mb for a total of 768Mb which is more than enough for that config. Now that i tough, i'll have to get myself a nice wireless mouse too, and because all the USB ports are on the right side, exactly where my mouse would be, i'll have to get one of those with a tiny reciever....man, why did they put all the heavily used ports (usb + audio) where the mouse and hand should be? they coudn't have chosen a worse location...it's impossible. Anyway at least i don't have hot air blowing into my face

i'll get back with some comments after i buy the notebook (hopepully tomorrow)

GUYS !!!

i just went to see the tecra and test it, and i even wantedto buy it, but i was 15$ short and the damn guy didn't wanted me to give him the other 15$ in a couple of days

so this is an opportunity for me to tell u guys about the notebook before i go buy it tomorrow

good things:
-the notebook look like new, if u would put it beside a brand new one, u can't tell the difference
-it actually has 512Mb, not 256Mb (but the owner doesn't know that )
-battery is almost unused, it holds out 4hours (sais the owner)
-it's very quiet, except for when the cooler kicks in
-it's got all the extras, external FDD, Wireless LAN, Bag, Mouse, and some other PCMCIA cards

bad/not that good things:
-screen is a bit small (14.1") but i guess everyone gets used to it after a while
-screen also it's that sharp, my desktop LCD and the LCD on the Dell Inspiron 7500 (P3-700MHz) were much better
-i can't adjust the brightness on the screen,if i press Fn + F6 or Fn + F7 nothing happends!! what is wrong? what should i have pressed? is the screen defective?-also about the screen: when i pull the AC out, the brightness ofthe screen gets A LOT smaller, is that normal? the battery was at 99%
-touch-pad is waaaay too laggy, i can actually state, it is unusable!
-i ran 3DMark2001 and i only got 4000points! why so little? he was using the drivers from toshiba website for the fx5200, might that be the cause? i'm REALLY concerned about this, since i'll use it to play some games! PS: yes, the fx5200go has 64Mb of RAM

I would really appreciate it if u would answer fast, as i'll be buying the laptop tomorrow, and i hope the screen is ok, and i hope i'll be able to get at least 6000 points in 3DMark2001