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Hey everyone, long time no see

I'm moving abroad to Australia to study, and I want to buy a laptop before I leave. I'll be using this laptop not only for school projects (which I expect will not be much more than regulare MS Office type stuff), but also for gaming and for playing movies and videos.

I have concluded that even though I would want a 17'' screen, it would probably be a bit cumbersome and afaik, those computers usually have shorter battery time. So I have set my sights at a 15.4'' screen. Battery time is important.

I am also wondering if anyone of you know how well a modern computer handles older games, like Fallout, BG and the others on these boards? Since all computers nowadays have Vista on them, will I have to install XP instead if I want to play those games (and use some of the programs that Kitrax recommends to boost your computer, if those are necessary for Vista).

With that said, how does this one look:


Name Acer TravelMate 5320-202G25MI Intel Celeron M 550 2.0GHz / 2048MB / 250GB / TFT15.4 / DVDRW / Win Vista Home Premium

PC

CPU Typ Intel Celeron M

CPU Speed 2.0 GHz
RAM 2048 MB
Harddrive 250.0 GB

Screen:
TFT
15.4''
DVD-RW / -RAM / CD-RW

Graphics
Multiple GPU No
Grafikkort No (?)

Wireless LAN Yes
Modem Yes
Nätverkskort Yes
USB Portar Yes

Touchpad
Windows Vista Home Premium

?


Thanks in advance!

 

That's horrible!

Seriously, any laptop with an Intel CPU should be a Core2Duo. Celerons are garbage. Also, for gaming and movie playback, you're still going to want an ATI or NVIDIA videocard...It looks like it has built-in graphics, which you don't want.

As for the programs you mentioned, Vista isn't perfect either, so you'll still need CCleaner, a good anti-virus, firewall, and anti-malware program...but make sure they'll work with Vista first. As for older games like BG, I wouldn't know...but I haven't heard anything to suggest that they won't work.

You should look in to HP laptops...they're solid performers and are priced fairly well.

 

No fear for Vista. However, xp will get more power from the laptop. If vista, at least 2 gig ram, 3 advisable.

On board graphics asks memory from the ram. A graphics card has its own. I assume you understand german. http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...31&tn=HARDWARE&l1=Notebooks&l2=Alle+Notebooks

This is an example based on amd/ati. The intel/nvidia: http://www.alternate.de/html/produc...-7225VHP_Performance/262778/?articleId=262778

 

Only about as much as a german child who has learnt the first 30 or so words...


Ok, so I followed both of your advice (graphics card and Core 2 Duo), so I found this one:

How would you rate it?


Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo Mobile V5535 Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz / 2048MB / 160GB / TFT15.4 / DVDRW / Win Vista Business

Intel Core 2 Duo
2.0 GHz
2048 MB RAM
160.0 GB
15.4''
1280x800
DVD-RW / -RAM / CD-RW
Dual Layer

Graphics card: SiS Mirage 3+
64 MB
No multiple GPU

Sound:
Integrated Realtek ALC268
Line In /Line Out /Mic In

Wireless LAN
802.11g/b
Build in modem

Sucky battery time though: 1,2 hours (can this be improved somehow?)

 

Am I missing something here? Since when are multiple gpu's so important that you feel you should mention that the said laptop doesn't have them.
It could be important, but only if you're a biology/physics student who wants to program simulation models with Cg.

 

Still no good. You want ATI or NVIDIA. SiS is about equal in crappyness to Intel's built-in graphics.

As for the poor battery life, you've got to understand that the length of time given by the manufacturer is rated during ideal conditions...you'll experience much lower times.

 

Alright, how about the one below? It's a computer I looked at when I thought I needed a 17'' screen, but apart from that, is it solid? It's more of a corporate computer, but still..


Acer TravelMate 7520-7A2G16Mi
Built in camera, modem, memorycard reader
Up to 2,5 hours battery life

17''
1440x900

Radeon X1250
Maximal shared graphics memory: 384 MB

160 GB
2048 MB RAM

Windows Vista Home Premium

CPU:
HTT 800 MHz
1,9 GHz
Dual Core
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Mobile TK-57
64 bits


All for a resonable price

 

Looks good, but I would rather jump of a (low) bridge instead of buying an Ati gpu or AMD processor

 

How come?

 

Intel are generally making faster, more efficient processors at the moment. There's still plenty of decent AMD processors out there, but Intel's Core range seem to be kind of 'in' now. Same goes for the GPU's but again there are still some pretty decent cards out there at very competetive price points. Morgoth's just being a fanboy

Where in Australia will you be studying?

 

I guess I am But I have never been happy with my current videocard (Ati x800), it came with the wrong drivers, installation of correct driver package is 300+MB - because it needs some weird software library - and later it turned out that if I would have been more patient at the time and bought a similar geforce card that was sold out and also costed less, I would have been able to play Bioshock .

I just dislike AMD because of their ridiculous decision to buy Ati, that just displayed bad taste.

 

In Adelaide! I just saw that under your avy.


@Kitrax, I am very interested in hearing what you have to say about the laster laptop I posted about.


Also, I should mention again that I will mostly be playing old games, so in that aspect, I probably won't be needing a super-duper graphics card.

 

The Phenom processors are pretty damn good.

 

You need a decent GPU in the laptop to keep memory and procesor power free for vista. A nvidia 8600 or the ati 2600 are the two cards that will do that, let you game and keep the price whitin reason

A good dualcore of either brand, combined whit one of those cards and enough memory does the trick. If it an acer, toshiba or anything is the second step.

They all come whit a lot of extra nice things

 

So, any final words about this one? I've looked around some more, but price- and statswise, it seems to be hard-beat. Buy or not buy?

 

It would handle Infinite engine games fine (I reckon just about *any* new graphics card would). The cards Merlanni mentioned would be better should you decide to play newer games (though they're likely to push the cost up).

The main concern I have with the laptop you posted above is the size - 17" laptops make good desktop replacements, but they're not the type of thing you'd want to lug around uni each day. This is my 2nd year at Adelaide uni and I think I might have brought my 15.4" laptop in twice - just because the extra weight isn't worth it given the availability of uni computers and relative lack of wireless hotspots. Granted things might have been different if I was at a different campus and studying something like IT or the like, but I'd still consider 17" too large for day-to-day carting around.

What's the cheapest 14 or 15" that doesn't have integrated graphics?

 

Couple things from me...

AMD's decision to buy ATI was to counter Intel's offering off 100% Intel platforms (CPU, Motherboard, Graphics)...Also, Intel has been trying to integrate the CPU with the GPU in the same chip...to be competitive, AMD needed ATI.

I won't disagree with that. However, I couldn't find any laptops that have the Phenom CPU...but then again, I didn't look too hard.

Like Morgy, I too dislike AMD...(I'd rather push an AMD fanboy off a low bridge though...why punish myself? )
Their latest attempt to dethrone the Core2Duo machine - the Phenom - came close, but failed. Don't get me wrong, the Phenom is the AMD CPU to get right now...if you're set on getting an AMD CPU. However, I don't really pay much attention to AMD, so I don't know how a Athlon 64 X2 Mobile would stack up against something like a C2D T7200.

 

Are you living under a rock? Mobile Athlon 64 processors have long been discontinued - replaced by Turion processors. The Turion Ultra is available - it uses the Phenom architecture tweaked for lower power consumption.

 

Ok, here is a strong runner-up (or leader?):

Dell Inspiron 1525 Intel Core 2 Duo T1400 1.73GHz / 2048MB / 160GB / TFT15.4 / DVDRW / Win Vista Home Premium

Intel Core 2 Duo
1.73 GHz
2048 MB RAM
160.0 GB HD

TFT
15.4''
1280x800
DVD-RW/CD-RW

Graphics card: Intel GMA X3100 (says "N/A" on graphics card memory size. What does that mean?)

Wireless LAN
Built in modem

Windows Vista Home Premium

No info on battery time (says 0.0 hours, but that can't be right... right?)


Costs 4990 SEK, compared to the 17''s 5698 SEK

 

Let us ask it from a differant angle. This i a bit personal so if you do not react I understand. What is the amount in euro's that you can/want to spent.

If we know the budget we can find the right one for that price at this moment. And the golden rule whit pc hardware: buy as late as possible, prices drop regularly.

Why do I press towards the 2600 or 8600? Many games that come out now like Mass Effect use this level of graphic power as the minimum. this level is the border between looking at the desktop or
doing more than looking at your desktop. In case of playing video's these cards are also desinged to do that in HD.

The laptop you chose costs around 540 euro. It is the correct price for this class.
Manufacturers use all kinds of numbers and codes but most of them are based on Ati or Nvidia chips. the wiki page concerning the intel gma x3100: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_GMA

How about the MSI ex600 680 euro?