Hello, looking to replace my laptop (over 3 years old, 1.73Ghz, 1GB, 128MB Integrated - it runs LFS at low framerates only in high priority mode lol) with a better one, to use for general stuff and for photos etc, and just wondering if it's suitable enough to also be able to play LFS as well.

Specs I'm aiming for:
At least 2Ghz C2D
2+GB RAM
Dedicated graphics, 256MB+
15"ish screen, plenty enough HDD, not too heavy (<3kg), yadayadaya etc
For less than £700

Found an Acer Aspire 5738G-643G32Mn (with 512 graphics) - does anyone know if it's a wise choice regards running LFS? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to laptops I should look at?

Cheers!

The one you've found is more than adequate for LFS, and quite a lot of other games, I'd say.

I'd like to thank you for that validation

I would recommend Dell studio 15, you can choose one here. I would recommend this configuration:
My Components
SYSTEM COLOR Black Chainlink
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T6600 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE Classic Protection: 2yr Ltd Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
HD DISPLAY 15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
HARD DRIVE Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
VIDEO CARD 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load Super Multi (DL DVD+/-R Drive + RAM support)
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11agn Half Mini-Card
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 WHr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
KEYBOARD Standard Keyboard

Wow I didn't know you could get those cards in the Studio....

To bad the 17" studio sucks, can't get anything in it!
I still want to upgrade mine in my e1705 but it costs $500 to get the top of the line graphics card for mine and they're always breaking down on everyone...


But for the Studio 15, I personally would say bite the bullet, and spend $150 total price on the graphics card, get the faster one, it will matter a year later I promise.

I also would spend the extra $75 or whatever to get the 2.4GHz processor, not because of that, but because it's 1066mhz FSB, that.. is a big difference.

Then you can take that.. and select only 4GB of RAM, and that subtracts $115... RAM will be 1000x cheaper if you don't buy OEM, get something from newegg, 2GB of that ram isn't worth $115, I'm just saying, so if you do that, you're pretty much getting the graphics card for considerably cheaper.

Also, don't buy now, look for deals online, they should have some good ones soon when school starts up.

Also.. think about buying refurbished, you can save several hundred dollars that way too.
I got my Mini 9 refurbished (looks brand new still...) but I saved $200 on something that only cost me $169 and it's fully specced.

Quote from XCNuse :

Then you can take that.. and select only 4GB of RAM, and that subtracts $115... RAM will be 1000x cheaper if you don't buy OEM, get something from newegg, 2GB of that ram isn't worth $115, I'm just saying, so if you do that, you're pretty much getting the graphics card for considerably cheaper.

It's a good suggestion to take 4GB, but it will not be 1000x cheaper to get 6GB through newegg. The reason why >4GB is expensive in notebooks is that they usually have only 2 dimm slots. This means that for >4GB you'll need a 4GB module, and these cost a lot more than 2x2GB. $115 is really a difference between 2 and 4GB modules, and not the cost of an extra 2GB.

I like Studio 15 too, though I'm skeptical about 1080p on a 15.6" screen from the above system. I mean, text and stuff look very small on a 10" netbook, and this is significantly worse, not to mention that 4570 will have some problems with 3D games at native res...

I'd take 2.4GHz CPU too, P-series has lower TDP, so better battery life too in addition to more MHz.

Well.. I'm just saying, no one reeeeeally needs 6GB of ram, nor should the upgrade cost that much money in the first place, you can live longer with 4GB of RAM than with a slower graphics card.

I promise you, it's far easier and cheaper to have the factory install a graphics card, than to do it yourself, to upgrade my graphics card to the top of the line of what I could've had STILL costs $499 to buy it from a parts store, it would've cost $350 for the factory to install it 3 years ago.

RAM is always getting cheaper, those graphics cards may never.

Well, I said I agreed 4Gb is a way to go, no need for more. Just want to say that 4->6 ugrade price is not a ripoff by Dell as there's a reason for it. Though I find that Dells are generally good deals as long as there's some sort of discount deal and one doesn't start to upgrade the base package too much, their upgrade prices are pretty bad...

Well.. for being DDR2 I think it's a tid bit to much...

I'm trying to figure out what i'm going to get next, my E1705 mocked up as M1710 isn't going to last forever, I'm stuck between laptop or desktop because I want something quad core (for rendering), 64 bit (what isn't these days?) and a good graphics card, but not insanely priced.. I mean I could get an awesome desktop for half the price it would cost to get same laptop, just.. depends on how much portability means to me.. dunno yet! Will see in next two years or so.

I just checked prices on newegg and:
- the cheapest way to have 4GB of ddr800 (the same speed as in studio 15) is 2x $25 = $50
- the cheapest way to have 6GB is $25+$170 (the cheapest 4gb module) = $195.
Upgrading through newegg from 4 to 6 would therefore cost $145, and that's assuming you can sell 2Gb for the full price.
So, Dell's $115 is actually cheaper. You could go with ddr667, that would be $105 for the upgrade...

Quote from boothy :

Hello, looking to replace my laptop (over 3 years old, 1.73Ghz, 1GB, 128MB Integrated - it runs LFS at low framerates only in high priority mode lol) with a better one, to use for general stuff and for photos etc, and just wondering if it's suitable enough to also be able to play LFS as well.

Specs I'm aiming for:
At least 2Ghz C2D
2+GB RAM
Dedicated graphics, 256MB+
15"ish screen, plenty enough HDD, not too heavy (<3kg), yadayadaya etc
For less than £700

Found an Acer Aspire 5738G-643G32Mn (with 512 graphics) - does anyone know if it's a wise choice regards running LFS? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to laptops I should look at?

Cheers!

I got a laptop in curries with this spec for £500:

C2D 2.13Ghz
3GB DDR2 ram
nvidia 9200m with 256mb dedicated
17" screen
320gb hdd

Not too bad and I managed to haggle a free bag they were selling for £30 out of it.

This laptop plays LFS on 1440Xwhatever it is pretty much easily

Its a HP g70, cant remember exact model, not got it with me.

Quote from AutoPilot :

I just checked prices on newegg and:
- the cheapest way to have 4GB of ddr800 (the same speed as in studio 15) is 2x $25 = $50
- the cheapest way to have 6GB is $25+$170 (the cheapest 4gb module) = $195.
Upgrading through newegg from 4 to 6 would therefore cost $145, and that's assuming you can sell 2Gb for the full price.
So, Dell's $115 is actually cheaper. You could go with ddr667, that would be $105 for the upgrade...

Okay it may be cheaper, but who needs 6gb of ram.. honestly?

Unless you're working on poster size images, you don't really need it that much, 4GB will suit you just fine.

I mean sure you can go ahead and get the 6GB of ram, but that's only 2 more gb of something you may not even use. I still say save that money and wait for ram prices to drop considerably (like they always do)

Just.. whatever you do, don't.. get.. a 9400M in a laptop, it sounds nice and all.. but it's an integrated card, I didn't realize that until two months ago.