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Please help: Looking for lappy ~ $1000

post #1 of 21
3/16/05 at 3:21am
Thread Starter 
I am looking for a laptop around $1000 preferably of course below because of taxes and stuff. Heres the catch ... I would like for it to be able to play games but not necessary to be the ultimate gaming but the availability to play the current games like HL2 without choppy or glitches.
Is that possible for this price range or am I crazy?

I was considering the i8600 which was below $1000 deal with the 1.4 P-M, wxga, cd-rw, 512 2 dimms, (the most basic config), and the ATi 128mb 9600 proturbo.
Is this video card resonable like the 128mb ATi 9700 in the i9200?

Also does anybody know how the the P-M 1.4 rate/stand with the Pentium ... just so I can imagine the performance.

Name brand is not important as long as its reliable and goes long term.
Thanks for any input .... I plan to buy by the end of the month unless it is
really really cheaper after that? Sorry for the long explanation
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post #2 of 21
3/16/05 at 3:31am
Quote:
I would like for it to be able to play games but not necessary to be the ultimate gaming but the availability to play the current games like HL2 without choppy or glitches.
Is that possible for this price range or am I crazy?
You are slightly crazy.

Quote:
Is this video card resonable like the 128mb ATi 9700 in the i9200?
The two cards are very comparable. But they can't play HL2 with coppy or glitches at medium or high settings.

Quote:
Also does anybody know how the the P-M 1.4 rate/stand with the Pentium ... just so I can imagine the performance.
Probaly around a 2.4Ghz P4. If anthing, higer.


The only thing I can think of is a Dell. You might be able to get a system if Dell decides to make lots of coupons on sometihng you want. Other than that, I don't think you'll find what you want that can play new games without spending a bit more. I may be proven wrong however...
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post #3 of 21
3/16/05 at 3:51am
Tiger Direct and New Egg are your friends. They have lots of available systems that might meet your needs. You could also try Emachines.
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post #4 of 21
3/16/05 at 3:56am
the emachines M6811 can play HL2 pretty good for under 900
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post #5 of 21
3/16/05 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the quick responses
Some more questions:

Do you guys/gals think the i8600 for ~$1000 with the
128mb Ati 9600 proturbo,
15.4' wxga,
P-M 710 1.4 ghz/400mhz fsb,
512MB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms,
CD Burner/DVD,
60GB hd,
72 WHr Primary Battery (whats avg batt life?),
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)?

Would this be able to fit most of my needs for a moderate gamer, internet, pwrpoint lecture, dvd, etc, for that price?

I don't know much about laptops but how much would this monitor with this video card affect the gaming?

The i9200 deal for $999 would probably have been better but I don't feel like carrying a 17' monitor around.

I know upgrading the RAM would also help the gaming also, right?

Would I get a better deal for more RAM elsewhere later?

How would I know which RAM fits and perform better with this mother board?
Sorry for all the questions again.
THanks
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post #6 of 21
3/16/05 at 5:53am
Yes, that would fit your needs. The video card is adequate. I've read some posts on a peculiarity of Dell monitors in that they sparkle, but I've only seen one 8600, and I didn't notice anything that would annoy me. If you can afford it, getting more RAM will improve virtually every part of your computing experience. You might be better to just get 1 DIMM of RAM, and buy some more from Newegg.com or a place like it to put in the other slot. As to the type of RAM used, it's PC-2700 DDR running at 333 Mhz. Hope that helps. I'm tired and must go to bed now. It's almost 3am where I live. Good luck!
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post #7 of 21
3/16/05 at 5:39pm
Half-Life 2 will run with that video card, I tested it out on my machine.

I get about 3-4 hours on average with brightness turned down, clockspeed throttled down, and wireless on.
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post #8 of 21
3/16/05 at 5:41pm
Quote:
Half-Life 2 will run with that video card, I tested it out on my machine.
How well does it run? As in, what FPS do you get at specific settings? I'm interested to know
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post #9 of 21
3/16/05 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by B Nietsnie
How well does it run? As in, what FPS do you get at specific settings? I'm interested to know
No access to my laptop right now, but I did find a review someone else did involving Half-Life 2.

http://notebookforums.com/showthread...ll+8600+review
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post #10 of 21
3/16/05 at 6:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Youhou
Half-Life 2 will run with that video card, I tested it out on my machine.

I get about 3-4 hours on average with brightness turned down, clockspeed throttled down, and wireless on.

Your laptop is 1.6 Dothan ... would it matter if the one i'll order is 1.4?
Does anybody know what the L2 cache would be for this P-M 1.4 i8600 because dell doesn't have the specs on it anymore since it is discontinued?

Thanks
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post #11 of 21
3/16/05 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
I tried looking at other comps in tigerdirect.com and newegg.com and it doesn't seem to come close to ~1000 with a better memory .. its either integrated or 64 mb Ati.

Also, I thought the latest deal for the i8600 was $929 basic but when I checked it out ... it is much higher now? I'm not familar with dell but are they raising the prices eventhough that deal has not expired yet?

thanks all
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post #12 of 21
3/16/05 at 6:21pm
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1382&CatId=216
This will run games better than the 8600 and is cheaper. It has less memory in the video card, but the althon 3200 is much faster than the 1.4 in gaming
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post #13 of 21
3/16/05 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AzN
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1382&CatId=216
This will run games better than the 8600 and is cheaper. It has less memory in the video card, but the althon 3200 is much faster than the 1.4 in gaming
crack in hinge comes standard
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post #14 of 21
3/16/05 at 6:49pm
nah my brother-in-law bought one like 6 months ago and he doesn't have a cracked hinge
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post #15 of 21
3/16/05 at 7:06pm
Compal CL-56?

Is exactly what you're after, the only thing it lacks is in the RAM department. It has the 9700 Mobility with 128MB of VRAM.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec....ria=NB-BA20074

With the Pentium M 725 (1.6Ghz), and an extra 128MB of RAM (256 total), it comes to only $1050. You can add more RAM later if you want/need it.

There are many reviews on this forum about it, and all seem to regard this laptop as a very good purchase. The only complaint I have heard about it is that the viewing angle of the screen isn't too crash hot, but other than that it's all good.
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post #16 of 21
3/16/05 at 7:12pm
Also the Mitac 8050...
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post #17 of 21
3/16/05 at 7:19pm
The new Dell 1000 series is dirt cheap hehe
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post #18 of 21
3/20/05 at 1:35am
Thread Starter 
Thanks to everyone for their helpful input
I think I am going with the i8600 but I have some questions:
Since I am looking for a moderate gaming laptop but can play all the current games, will this be ok?

Will 1.4ghz be suffient for now because that is the only option?

Does anybody know the L2 cache on Intel® Pentium® M Processor 710(1.40GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4in WXGA? Is it Banias 1mb or Dothan 2mb? The site doesnt say anything about i8600 anymore.

I was planning on getting the 512 2 dimms because I figure it would be cheaper just buying aftermarket 1gb RAM. Seems reasonable?

Thanks all for any help
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post #19 of 21
3/20/05 at 1:37am
Thread Starter 
oh yeah ... i am leaning towards the i8600 because it seems like a good deal with a very good GPU as oppose to some over $1000 and some other lappys that are used/refurb.
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post #20 of 21
3/20/05 at 1:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brendan
Compal CL-56?

Is exactly what you're after, the only thing it lacks is in the RAM department. It has the 9700 Mobility with 128MB of VRAM.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec....ria=NB-BA20074

With the Pentium M 725 (1.6Ghz), and an extra 128MB of RAM (256 total), it comes to only $1050. You can add more RAM later if you want/need it.

There are many reviews on this forum about it, and all seem to regard this laptop as a very good purchase. The only complaint I have heard about it is that the viewing angle of the screen isn't too crash hot, but other than that it's all good.
Or for $50 more now he can have 512MB...
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