Hey people,

I'm looking to get a laptop/notebook or whatever they are called.

However I've got no idea where to start.

I've got around £400 to spend on one and I'm wanting to get something that is practical and 'can' game but not neccessarily HAS to game... if you catch my drift.

Can anyone help me out,

I have no idea about what processor/make to get, as GFX are intergrated, i have no idea whats any good.

I guess I would be looking for 2 gig of memory and also, what are my options regarding XP or vista?

Cheers all and I appreciate any advise you give.

I'm specifically wanting to get one now as the sales are on still

for instance are these any good?

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4Y3N

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4SM0

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4V3Y

Cheers all,


Dru.

Assuming your after a 15.4" laptop (ie the "standard size") i'd get this...

Use the base warranty, Vista Home Business and the 9-cell battery.

That comes in at £398.33 inc free delivery. With that graphics it won't game very well, however if you upgrade to the 8400GS for £70 it'll game better, however if you do that you might as well go the "whole hog" and get an 8600GT for £117.50 extra, but then if you do that you should look at getting the faster CPU.

that was quick Jack

Yes,

I've got the main PC for Gaming, but i'm liking the sound of this Dell.

At the mo my PC is a Duo Core E6600, 7600GT and 2 gig mem so I guess I'd have to upgrade the lappy alot to get that level right?


What about the options with Vista..... should i get it with vista then put XP on it or just get XP or just get vista?

I have a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pa2510 and I have 50-60 FPS on average, which is not that bad... BUT it's with Vista, and I also wanted to go back to XP, but I haven't found a proper driver for my ATI X1200 videocard. I had all drivers for XP except that one... So now I'm running Vista

Well, I've been looking at a laptop also since I didn't get one for Christmas. Looking around for £400, about $800, there aren't many that can game well. You could wait up and buy a laptop later, as the Penryn line of CPU's are coming out for laptops. With that, you might be able to get a cheap Core 2 Duo Txxxxx, but Intel has decided to pull the plug on most of them.

From experience with a laptop with a GMA950 - LFS=FAIL.

The x1300 is a little better, but not by much.

TBH the 8600MGT will probably be around the same speed as a 7600GT (a BIG guess!), however the 1.4 GHz CPU will be NO match for your 2.66 GHz E6750.

I think you are mistaken, Jakg. The 8600M GT has these specs.

16 Pixel Shaders 16 Vertex Shaders 475 MHz Core Clock 700 MHz Memory Clock 128-bit Memory bus and uses DirectX 10

The 7600 GT has these specs:

12 Pixel Shaders 5 Vertex Shaders 500 MHz Core Clock 600 MHz Memory Clock 128-bit Memory bus and uses DirectX 9C

The 7600 GT and 8600M GT both have DDR2 memory type, but certain 8600M GT's have GDDR3 memory. The GDDR3 can overclock better and are already faster than the DDR2 alternative. Only downside to that is the GDDR3 comes in 256MB and the DDR2 comes in 512MB.

Edit: I forgot to add, the chart I got this info from lists them performance wise. The 8600M GT is just above the 7600 GT, even though the 3DMark04-06 scores of the 8600M GT is much better. Another card that is litterally the same as a 8600M GT is the Quadro FX570M (Quadro NVS 570M), usually found on the business laptops.

Just a little note, never EVER compare GFX cards on technical specs (like Clock Speed, Pixel Pipelines etc).

Quote from Jakg :

Just a little note, never EVER compare GFX cards on technical specs (like Clock Speed, Pixel Pipelines etc).

Too right Jack, compare them on how good the picture is on the box


Gonna have a look into this over the weekend and see what sort of bargains are to be had


Of course, I colud just spend the money on a G25 and a 22" widescreen instead.... now theres a thought.....