After years spent on a desktop pc,i suddenly decided to go for a notebook.That'll give me a bit more freedom while at university (or slavery maybe) and a decent platform to run lfs on.The problem is that MY desktop pc is out and i dont want to spend any more money to fix this or that little bit.
I think im going with an Acer 5520 equipped with a 8600gs.Now the problem is...will it be enough to support lfs and a bit of CAD apps?Will i notice any frame drops?I know lfs doesn't have high requirements but it would be nice to hear about this choice from any of you which maybe own this particular config of notebook.Thanks in advance
One more thing...i tried lfs on a Satellite with a 7600gt or gs (i dont remember) and it ran absolutely fine

I believe a 8600M GS will run LFS fine, and if you push it a bit with RivaTuner, it will fun even better. If you could get a better card, you should as it will have a better chance of running LFS in the future if it needs a higher end graphics card.

if you want something that runs cad apps well youd need a quadro or whatever the competition from ati is called these days

Quote from Shotglass :

...whatever the competition from ati is called these days

FireGL.

Yeah i want to run CAD apps.But not that massively.I want to stay on an ordinary VGA that can give me a bit of margin even if lfs improved on the visual side.

7600gt is faster than a 8600gs by quite the margin. and it would be nice to know about how much you wanna spend and go from there. just becuz the number is 8xxx series does not mean its faster than the 7xxx series. the first number is the generation with 8 series being the newest. the second usually tells you what you need to know. as the lower the number the slower it is and so on with the higher number being better. notice the 7600gt its generation 7 but 6 is the second number meaning its about a mid range card. look at the 8600gs its generation is 8 but once again you have the second number 6 witch tells you that its in the mid range class again. dont be fooled by the 8xxx series there not all fast but some are the fastest. try and get the notebook with the 8800 in it. i forget if its a 8800gs or something different. but please post about how much you wanna spend and that would help out a lot in terms of finding the best notebook for your needs and more

edit: maybe check out this site as you can have a core 2 duo, go 7600 265mb, 2gigs of ram, 160gig hd, dvd/cd burner for $750 us witch i think is a pretty nice deal for a laptop of that quality witch will run lfs and cad plus many more 3d apps flawlessly for what you need it for. not to mention a pretty kool looking case that comes with it.

http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=188

And i was told Quadro or FireGL GPUs are only usefull for people modeling huge buildings with complete enviromets. If you're not making huge and detailed models an ordinary card should (apparently) be fine. And there's not much betterthan a 860 in a laptop. There are 8800s but i think it's a stupid idea to put that much horsepower into a laptop. Smarter to get a desktop then. And cheaper.

heres another one that might interest you more. its only $650 and it has all the same things really just a different processor in it witch isnt really that slow if you ask me. fast a notebook.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X5-2800_Notebook/

edit: and by the way dont get an amd system with ati videocard in it there not that great. just take a look at how there company is doing not good as of right now but may be better in the future. stick with an intel and nvidia system and you will be happy.

Quote from Primoz :

And i was told Quadro or FireGL GPUs are only usefull for people modeling huge buildings with complete enviromets. If you're not making huge and detailed models an ordinary card should (apparently) be fine. And there's not much betterthan a 860 in a laptop. There are 8800s but i think it's a stupid idea to put that much horsepower into a laptop. Smarter to get a desktop then. And cheaper.

i think for $650 the one i posted below your post is a great deal. a desktop version would be a little cheaper but $650 is good for what you get with this setup and will work just fine for his needs. it will actually out perforn his current desktop pc he has.

edit: the acer 5520 has a x1250 as the videocard witch would get smoked buy the 7600gt in the one i posted above for $650.

Quote from Shotglass :

if you want something that runs cad apps well youd need a quadro or whatever the competition from ati is called these days

You don't need a MASSIVE graphics card to run CAD programs until you get into REALLY complex parts. What's really important is the CPU. My Tablet with integrated X3100 graphics by Intel doesn't do too bad even when you open up files like "front suspension." Even then the framerate is no worse than 3-4 FPS - which doesn't sound FANTASTIC, but is more than enough when you're just working with the model. Unless he's modeling the Queen Mary 2 in full detail, he shouldn't need a MASSIVE GPU. The processor is what's really important.

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

You don't need a MASSIVE graphics card to run CAD programs until you get into REALLY complex parts. What's really important is the CPU. My Tablet with integrated X3100 graphics by Intel doesn't do too bad even when you open up files like "front suspension." Even then the framerate is no worse than 3-4 FPS - which doesn't sound FANTASTIC, but is more than enough when you're just working with the model. Unless he's modeling the Queen Mary 2 in full detail, he shouldn't need a MASSIVE GPU. The processor is what's really important.

yes and the T2130 1.86ghz processor and 7600gt is enough for what his needs are. i dont think you would have any complains about this setup.

Thank you all guys.Nice link Nate tnx...
Thou i dont know,the notebook is good but shipping from USA could cost me a fortune...am i wrong?

go to ur shippers site and do an estimated shippment to ur house from were the company is. it should be located on the site i linked to find were there at and see how much it would be.

Quote from natedog420 :

go to ur shippers site and do an estimated shippment to ur house from were the company is. it should be located on the site i linked to find were there at and see how much it would be.

Says free shipping but i suppose its for USA only right?

damn! do you know anybody here in the US that could get it for you and ship it to you if its cheap enough

NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS

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Quote from natedog420 :

damn! do you know anybody here in the US that could get it for you and ship it to you if its cheap enough

NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS

• Certified Preowned PC is not eligible for free shipping offer.
  
• All discounts are not eligible in this computer system: MEDIA CENTER ULTRA EDITION.
  
• We only ship to the 50 US states and APO/FPO addresses as listed in the selection box above. We do not ship internationally or to Puerto Rico, Guam, and US Virgin Islands.
  
• Fedex Ground and Fedex 3 Day shipping methods are not applicable on orders shipped to Alaska and Hawaii.
  
• For purchases with 10 or more number of items, we reserve the right to adjust the shipping charge.
  
• We do not tolerate credit card fraud, which is a felony. If it is determined that an attempted order is fraudulent, we will report all information to the FBI, at http://www.ic3.gov

Doh...
No relatives in USA damn...i gotta look for it nearby me...

yes if you could find it near you for good deal it would be a good buy. lol

Eurocom is a nice place to buy laptops like that over in Europe. Site is : www.eurocom.ca. I believe they do have the Compal HEL80 in their site too, look around in there.

Quote from MINIz guy :

Eurocom is a nice place to buy laptops like that over in Europe. Site is : www.eurocom.ca. I believe they do have the Compal HEL80 in their site too, look around in there.

I found a decent note for 799€.But my question again is...anyone who has a 8600M GS in his note,can please tell me the average frame rate.I tryed the 7600GT and it was brilliant,far above 60 fps...

I can't give you a LFS frame rate, but I do have 3DMark06 scores for both the cards.

Go7600 GT: 2800
8600M GS: 2552

Judging by the scores, the 7600 is the faster card.

Quote from MINIz guy :

I can't give you a LFS frame rate, but I do have 3DMark06 scores for both the cards.

Go7600 GT: 2800
8600M GS: 2552

Judging by the scores, the 7600 is the faster card.

I think a 8600M gs would be pretty good for LFS...i hope...

Quote from IlGuercio :

I think a 8600M gs would be pretty good for LFS...i hope...

If my old 6800GT desktop card can run LFS at FULL (high-res texture upgrade) settings at 8x AA and 16x AS, at a resolution of 2560x1024 and still get more than 40 FPS 90% of the time... I'm sure an 8600M should be fine, lol.

It should run fine. Best bet would be to update to the latest video drivers for your OS from laptopvideo2go. Should fix most bugs and usually does increase some performance.

Quote from MINIz guy :

It should run fine. Best bet would be to update to the latest video drivers for your OS from laptopvideo2go. Should fix most bugs and usually does increase some performance.

???

When you buy a laptop, it usually doesn't come with the best or the most updated video drivers. Many people also don't suguest using the standard nVidia drivers either. www.laptopvideo2go.com is where most people go to get video drivers, and those are usually more stable and better than the nVidia ones.

Quote from MINIz guy :

When you buy a laptop, it usually doesn't come with the best or the most updated video drivers. Many people also don't suguest using the standard nVidia drivers either. www.laptopvideo2go.com is where most people go to get video drivers, and those are usually more stable and better than the nVidia ones.

Oh sure...thanks a lot for your support...