new laptop

[Phatguy]

ok, I never had a laptop. these two are the choices I have:

HP Pavilion dv681us
AMD Turion 64x
3gb ram
160 gb hd
nvidia go 7150m
$599.99

Toshiba a305-s6841
intel core 2 dupo pros. centrino
3gb ram
400 gb hd
ati mo radeon hd3470
999.99

Question I have is this . Which one would be better for mostly gaming(nothing graphically intensive except LOTRO and silent hunter IV.everything else stuff like FM, crusader kings, FOF2007, Forge of freedom ,Med II,CEAW ,future matrix games... etc etc..)


I would prefer an amd and ati combo, unfortunalty thats not an option. Thanks in advance for any help.

[V22 Osprey]

I dont know...I would rather have a nvidia card than ATI but AMD is really good too.If you have the money get the 1000 dollar one.The cheaper one is on the low end side of HP laptops.

[Phatguy]

thanks.. was looking at the toshiba more and more. still trying to decide laptop or desktop...don't know if either of them will handle thye conan mmorp coming soon. 

[JudgeDredd]

I would think desktop is always your best bet because, bang for buck, you'll get better performance from a desktop and it's upgradeable.

Laptops have come a long way...but they are still pretty "closed box" and for the euivelant cash, you'll get less performance.

As an example, I reckon I could build a half decent rig for £600 - £800. For the same performance on a laptop, I'd be looking at £1000+.

If I'm talking poo poo, please don't hesitate to tell me so.

[Phatguy]

No JD, you are correct, but I'm planning on getting a desktop  too. The laptop is going to be for gaming and business. I hate the idea of traveling and not being connected to anything. It's a long-ass haul from Buffalo to Dallas so having something "gamey" would be a godsend. Plus the company is paying for it[:)], but max of $1000 not including tax.

[JudgeDredd]

company is paying? Then get the $1000 [:D]

[Grell]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

company is paying? Then get the $1000 [:D]

LOL! Yeah no hesitation there.[:)]

Regards,

Greg

[RedArgo]

I got a Toshiba Satellite in January, it is lower end that what you are looking at, but there seems to be a known problem with the gpu overheating and shutting down the computer. You can fix it by running the computer on no power saving mode so the fans always run, but if you are on battery it will cut in to the time you have on your computer.

I have been beta testing War Between the States which isn't a high end graphic game and it will shut my computer down if I am in power saver mode where the fans don't always run.

Then again, I can run Visual Studio 2005 until the battery runs down with no problem, so I guess it just depends on what you are doing.

Don't know if the Toshiba you're looking at has that issue, but you might check if you plan on running off battery a lot.

Bill

[Phatguy]

Well, the financial officer will also pay for a "gamer" desktop for me too, but I only have a max of 2000 to spend for both. I want both a lap and desktop. The FO is a cheap SOB. I know......its me

[SemperAugustus]

deleted

[Jeffrey H.]

Vista.........

[Phatguy]

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

Vista.........

I know.......[&:]

[Phatguy]

Sorry, got another question but about desktops. My rig is dead. I don't do to much graphically intensive games. What would be better: getting a ibuypower "gamer" rig i saw that had a Intel quad 6600 with 2 gb ram and a 320 gb hd and a gt8600 for  800.00 or a HP "media" rig with athlon 64x2 5200+, 500gb hd,3gb ram and crap integrated geforce 6150se for 559.00......

I'd be upgrading the 6150 with a msi radeon hd 3650/w512mb.

Both would seem to be adequate for my needs..i think

Which one?

[Anonymous]

[Deleted by Admins]

[Grell]

Where would you get that from?

Regards,

Greg

[Phatguy]

i went with the intel but with duo 2 core(3.0ghz). got it from newegg.700 bucks. more than adequate for me.  the laptop will get from office depot as I like the service they have always given me. No one at my local one ever lied to me. Never had a sales associate(every S.A. there on different products) tell me not to buy a certain product before. usually they extoll the virtues of crap just to get a sale.

cant remember where i saw that other intel(quad)

[Jeffrey H.]

FWIW I'm considering building my own laptop. I've built 2 desktops from parts so it's not all that difficult conceptually. The cool thing is you get to use whatever OS you want, native, without any extra bloatware stuck on it. I think they call them "white box" laptops or something. You add the processor and the various bits, (RAM, vid card, harddisc, optical drive etc.) and load up your OS.

[uncc]

I'd be very interested in your opinion on your new Ibuypower PC. I've been eyeballing this one at Costco. I'm very close to telling my wife what I want for my birthday [:D]. Thanks...

ORIGINAL: apathetic lurker

i went with the intel but with duo 2 core(3.0ghz). got it from newegg.700 bucks. more than adequate for me.  the laptop will get from office depot as I like the service they have always given me. No one at my local one ever lied to me. Never had a sales associate(every S.A. there on different products) tell me not to buy a certain product before. usually they extoll the virtues of crap just to get a sale.

cant remember where i saw that other intel(quad)

Ack. Just re-read your post. Did you go with an Ibuypower PC or another brand....

[sabre100]

3GB Ram for Vista is not enough and especially a gamer system!   You need minimum 4GB of RAM to even have Vista Walk let alone play games.   It's a nice system for XP OS not Vista.

[uncc]

yeah, I figured that. Theres no way I can re-configure the system Costco has, but I can always buy some more RAM after I have it...and who knows, I may end up putting XP on it anyway...