NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › Need help selecting a laptop....
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Need help selecting a laptop....

post #1 of 7
2/2/05 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking for help/opinions in buying a new laptop. I've been reading a lot of posts and looking at specs listed here, but I still am not sure which laptop is the best for me. I'm looking to spend 1000-1500, or more if the extra cost will significantly increase performance or life of the laptop. I want one capable of playing todays games at high, or close to high/max settings, a decent battery life, and good processor.

Some of the laptops I've been considering are:
Dell i9200, but I am hesiatant because of the spec sheet I've seen on the i9300. Any idea when it will be avalible?

**configured on MWAVE**
MWAVE CL56 Intel Centrino Mobile//15" SXGA/ATI M11-P 128MB/MODEM/LAN/3xUSB 2.0/1xIEEE 1394 Details (PENTIUM M 745-1.8GHz; INTEL 802.11B/G; 1GB DDR (512MBX2); 80GB (5400RPM) HDD; DVD/CDRW COMBO; NO SOFTWARE)


**configured on MWAVE**
MWAVE N258KA AMD Athlon 64 Mobile/15.4" WXGA/ATI M11P 128MB/MODEM/LAN/3-in-1 CARD READER/3xUSB 2.0/1xIEEE 1394 Details (ATHLON 64 3000+; 512MB DDR; 80GB (5400RPM) HDD; 8X DVDRW+; NO SOFTWARE)


I few questions I have are:

1) Does the mobility radeon 9700 256mb increase game performance enough to buy it over the mobility radeon 9700 128mb?

2) What are the best processors for laptops? AMD, Pentiums? One thread said something like AMD where, but I've seen some talking about the new pentiums.

3) Which laptops out there can be upgraded down the road, mainly video card?

4) Should I just wait until more laptops are availibe with the Geforce 6800 or Radeon X800 are availble? I know you can buy them now, but I don't really want to spend $2500 + on a laptop. However, buying a laptop with a decent lifespan is important to me because my current laptop is almost obsolete by todays standards and it's only a 1.5 years old.


Any and all suggestions welcome.

Thanks

I would like this laptop to play games like WoW, HL2, Farcry. I will also be using it for progamming and some photo/video editing.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 7
2/2/05 at 10:40pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, after some more searching in the forums I think I've narrowed my options down to three. Tell me what you all think.

1) CL56 Intel Centrino Mobile
15" SXGA
ATI M11-P 128MB
PENTIUM M 745-1.8GHz
1GB DDR (512MBX2)
80GB (5400RPM) HDD


2) N258KA AMD Athlon 64 Mobile
15.4" WXGA
ATI M11P 128MB
ATHLON 64 3200+
1GB DDR (512MBX2)
80GB (5400RPM) HDD

Both of these were configured on mwave for about $1300+

3) Dell 9200, only because of the 17" screen my friend described as "PIMP" and configures the same at about 100-200 more.


Which of these is the best chioce?

Thanks
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 7
2/2/05 at 10:41pm
Thread Starter 
another thing, what is the differnece between SXGA and WXGA??? which looks better?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 7
2/3/05 at 2:48am
Thread Starter 
Anyone?

Still haven't been able to find info on which brand processor is better, AMD 64 or Pentium M. Another thing I'm wondering, does having 1 gig ram make that much of a difference over 512mb in the laptops I've configured? Will I notice any performance gains because of it?

Someone that is knowledgeable please respond. I would like to buy a laptop in the next couple of days but want to be as informed as possible.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 7
2/3/05 at 2:56am
see sticky
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 7
2/3/05 at 2:57am
by the way, i'll go with option 2 you've mentioned
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 7
2/3/05 at 3:13am
see DDDa's sticky. but i'll still answer some.

SXGA vs WXGA: SXGA gives you more pixels on the screen than WXGA, the pixels are smaller, and gives you more on-screen "room" overall. WXGA gives you more left-to-right space but the pixels overall are larger and there are fewer of them. SXGA is a standard 4:3 screen, WXGA (that of the 258KAO) is 16:10. Most poeple say that for gaming the 4:3 is better because not all games yet support widescreen thus they are "streached". To me personaly i don't care and in over-all use I'd say the WXGA is more convinient and is EASIER to use than a 4:3 screen.

AMD vs INTEL: Depends! the AMD64 will give you more raw power and you'll be able to run 64bit os and software, but you'll have to settle for no more than 2 hours off battery. with the p-m CPU, you'll be getting 5 hours, but you will be stuck in the 32bit world and have slightly less raw juice.

ATI 9700 128mb vs 256mb: I have not seen official benchmarks but people say that it won't make a HUGE difference.

Video Upgrades: Neither of these systems will support a new GPU, it is permenantly attached to the mobo. you'll only be able to upgrade in some PCI-E systems like the new Clevo or Sager.


i have option #2 (slightly diff spec, see sig) and i love it, but i don't travel much so i don't need crazy battery life. i'd rather enjoy a few more FPS while fragging @ home / school
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Notebook Forums - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › Need help selecting a laptop....