Laptop Time

Sounds like a Gateway x505 is perfect for ya.

HP ZT3000. Meets all your requirements. 6.5 lbs, will play any game out right now, great price, lots of config options.

ZT3000

Well, the 4200 RPM HDD isn't going to let you blaze through games, no; but a slower hard drive usually means slow startup times and loading times. During actual gameplay, what's more important is the graphics card and the amount of RAM/VRAM present.

I would recommend the zt3000 too, but you take a hit w/ the video card (Radeon 9000 vs. Radeon 9600/9700 being the fastest currently) and configuring a faster HDD from HP is going to cost you.

You can try the AOpen 1557g notebook. The cheapest that I've seen that chassis is at ibuypower.com; I would recommend tweaking around this:

http://www.ibuypower.com/confirm/con...attalion-E.htm

And seeing what you can come up with. From resellerratings.com, ibuypower.com has a good reputation, so no worries there.

Datheron- What kind of battery life do you get with your F2 Config? Also, how warm does it get?

CPtPizzo - I should have my ibuypower machine in the next couple of days (it shipped monday with fed ex 3 day. I have to call them about the tracking # tho..) I'll let you know how well of a machine it is, build quality, (i got a paintjob as well).

Flashram, I get a little less than 4 hours of battery life if I'm doing basic stuff - web surfing, word processing, a little SSH'ing into school UNIX systems, and the like. I usually have QCD (better than Winamp, IMO ) and Miranda IM (AIM + ICQ client) running almost all the time too. With games, though (NFS:U, UT2004 Demo, etc.), it goes down to about 2, 2.5 hours max.

As for warmth, it's runs cool other than with games turned on full blast. I play NFS:U at 1280x1024 w/ everything on high and motion blur, and you can feel the hot air blowing out the side...you can place the laptop on your lap, but it'd get uncomfortable after a while. Otherwise, the system is virtually silent.

CptPizzo, if it makes your decision any easier, I'm using the zForce F2 right now, which is just a 1557g (the same chassis as the ibuypower notebook) and have had no problems with it. I carry it with me almost daily to school, and it's been good enough to survive multiple classes + research meetings, with the exception being 10+ hours of comp. lab (projects, argh!) where I needed to bring my power brick along with me. It's light enough to carry in my messenger bag, although my shoulder does start to hurt after 20+ minutes of walking, although it's not bad at all considering the pain I'd get from carrying my GF's 7.8 lbs. HP.

A few things you should be wary of, though, is the sound that comes out of the F2. Frankly put, the speakers suck. They don't output as much volume as I'd like them to, and with some of the DivX movies I have, the rattling of the CD drive actually makes it hard to hear conversations when the volume's turned on full. Of course, with headphones or DVD's (DVD's don't rattle the drive as much), it's not a problem.

Also, the screen doesn't quite have the viewing angles that I'd like....colors do get distorted around 45-50 degrees left/right and <50 degrees above.

But if I were you, I'd make sure to note the shortcomings of the other notebooks you have in mind before you make your final decision. (for example, the Gateway x505 only has WXGA, which is too low a res. for me)

i've found myself in the same boat for a while now. it's so painful. i've got the emachines 6807, and i'm really happy with it. for the amount that it is, it is an absolutely amazing computer. i'm really satisfied with it. there is one machine that find myself very intrigued by, and that is the ibuypower or cyberpower AMD64 system. the ONLY thing that it doesn't have that i'd really want is widescreen. otherwise, check it out:

http://www.ibuypower.com/confirm/con...648000.asp?v=d

these are the same systems that the voodoo m:855 is (mitac is the odm and 8355 is the model number). it's got it all. SXGA. 60 gig 5400 RPM drive. 128 meg video card. AMD64 3000+ processor. b/g wireless card. i've read the anandtech and a couple of different reviews that link off the amd64notebook.com site for it, and they are EXTREMELY solid. as i said, it's not widescreen, but i can see myself being just fine with that...

the ibuypower you have to add the wireless card. otherwise, you don't have to pay tax, which puts you around the 1700 mark for this pretty amazing machine.

i just don't know how i'd feel about buying from these smaller companies.

hp & compaq just released new AMD64+ models today:

HP: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...omize_start.do

compaq: http://www.hpshopping.com/cgi-bin/sh...ario&aoid=1433

look all the way over on the right side...

if you're looking at lowering your price a little further, these might be viable choices, although i don't particularly like compaq. the machines look really nice though.

.a.

The eMachines have been quoted to get around 2.5-3 hours on normal use (i.e. non-gaming). The Gateway and iBuypower are very similar w/ their P-M configurations, so you should expect 3-4 hours of normal use. The HP zt3000 actually gets 3.5-4.5 hours according to my roommate, which I suspect has to do w/ the video card (a Radeon 9000/9200).

At <$2000, I don't think you can find better systems than what you listed. The next thing up are business-class notebooks with their quality chasses and powerful hardware, but those start at ~$2200 (I'm thinking of the HP nc8000 here) and go up quickly from there.

I have an eMachines m6805, and I got around 2.5 to 3 hours of light gaming. I was playing Master of Orion 2.

The HP and Compaqs are unfortunately paired with an old and slow GeForce4 440 go graphics cards. Some designer at HP should be fired for that!!!

You're right, they should be fired for that decision. The Geforce4 440go is alot slower then the ati9600. I believe they are also not as good at power management.

But as long as the rest of the laptop meets the users needs and they are either not a gamer, or a very casual gamer (only play games that are not very graphical challenging for the video card) then the HP/Compaq amd64 is just a great system at a great price.

just in case anyone cares, for a more common benching reference on the 440 go, use the radeon 7500. The discreet memory version of the 440go is about 20% faster than the radeon 7500.