Gaming Laptop

jookalook · 07-12-2007, 09:15 PM

I want to buy a laptop that I can use for school, but that can also take care of my gaming needs. I mostly play world of warcraft and Half Life 2 mods. I would also like the computers gaming capabilities to last for a couple years at least so I can play new games if I want. I have been looking at the Alienware Area-51® m5550 with some customizations:

GFX - 256MB NVidia Geforce Go 7600
Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Memory - 1GB Dual Chanel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz
MOBO - Alienware Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
HardDrive - 80GB Serial ATA 1.5 Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/NCQ & 8MB Cache

I was also wondering if there is a noticible difference between 5400 and 7200 harddrive speeds. This comes out to be a little on the expensive side, I'm shooting for about $1,000 budget (give or take). If anybody has any suggestions on where I can downgrade without noticeable differences or another site where I can buy a similar system for less, please let me know. Thanks for your help in advanced.

luckyedboy66 · 07-12-2007, 09:33 PM

i have the exact same specs as those, and my laptop runs games like a champ. i would strongly recommend a larger HDDi have a 120gb, and im running low on space. as far as HDD speeds, there is a difference, but i dont think it justifies the extra cost, unless its over 250gb in size. a smaller hdd doesnt need 7200rpm, unless youre doing some major computing.
laptop sounds like a good buy...i didnt think you could get such alienware specs for that cheap.

jookalook · 07-12-2007, 10:27 PM

How long do you think a laptop with those specs will last before going out of date and not supporting new games.

luckyedboy66 · 07-12-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jookalook

How long do you think a laptop with those specs will last before going out of date and not supporting new games.

it just depends how good you want your games to look in the future. you should be able to game for 2-3 years before you start running into problems...

jookalook · 07-12-2007, 11:04 PM

I saw your signature and decided to check out the HP site. This is what I came up with, which seems pretty sweet:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...add&disp_msg=0

The only thing I am sacrificing is the 17" screen for a 15", but I'm going to have a 19" monitor hooked up to it for most of the time anyways.
Let me know what you think about this one.

bumblebee_tuna · 07-13-2007, 03:26 AM

Consider a Dell; you can get a pretty nice deal on an Inspiron 1520 with a 8600m GT card for under $1500 with the same processor, a 160 Gig HDD and all the add-ons which includes bluetooth, web camera, ect.......

luckyedboy66 · 07-13-2007, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jookalook

I saw your signature and decided to check out the HP site. This is what I came up with, which seems pretty sweet:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...add&disp_msg=0

The only thing I am sacrificing is the 17" screen for a 15", but I'm going to have a 19" monitor hooked up to it for most of the time anyways.
Let me know what you think about this one.

sorry bro, the link is a dud. hp is a great choice. i personally am an HP fanboy, and would not recommend a dell to a gamer[or anyone, really].
a 15 would be ok. the 17 has a 2nd hdd slot, for later expansion, and 1 extra usb port, along with HDMI output. if it werent for the fact that you have a 19'' monitor, id say go for the DV9500. just make sure you get a DX10 g-card.

[-0MEGA-] · 07-13-2007, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luckyedboy66

it just depends how good you want your games to look in the future. you should be able to game for 2-3 years before you start running into problems...

The only thing is DX10 games are right around the corner, so he may run into issues when they become more popular.

luckyedboy66 · 07-13-2007, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [-0MEGA-]

The only thing is DX10 games are right around the corner, so he may run into issues when they become more popular.

crap...that means im in trouble with my dx9c machine........

jookalook · 07-12-2007, 10:34 PM

Are cyberpowerpc.com laptops reliable, because I think if I customize one with similar specs it comes out a bit cheaper. Where did you get your laptop from and how much did it cost when you bought it? How long have you had it?

Heres what I came up with at cyberpowerpc.com for a couple hundred cheaper.

Processor - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Mobile T7300 Dual-Core Processor @ 2.00GHz 800FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
MOBO - NVIDIA PM965 + ICH-8M Chipset Mainboard
Memory - 1GB PC5300 DDR2-667 SODIMM Memory
GFX - Built-in NVIDIA Geforce Go 8400M-G 256MB Supports up to 1GB TurboCache Video
HDD - 160GB 5400RPM SATA150 HARD DRIVE

I'm not sure how good that video card is, better or worse than above?

07-12-2007, 09:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
jookalook New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 11	Gaming Laptop I want to buy a laptop that I can use for school, but that can also take care of my gaming needs. I mostly play world of warcraft and Half Life 2 mods. I would also like the computers gaming capabilities to last for a couple years at least so I can play new games if I want. I have been looking at the Alienware Area-51® m5550 with some customizations: GFX - 256MB NVidia Geforce Go 7600 Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB Memory - 1GB Dual Chanel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz MOBO - Alienware Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset HardDrive - 80GB Serial ATA 1.5 Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/NCQ & 8MB Cache I was also wondering if there is a noticible difference between 5400 and 7200 harddrive speeds. This comes out to be a little on the expensive side, I'm shooting for about $1,000 budget (give or take). If anybody has any suggestions on where I can downgrade without noticeable differences or another site where I can buy a similar system for less, please let me know. Thanks for your help in advanced.

07-12-2007, 09:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
luckyedboy66 Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: AlAbAmA Age: 20 Posts: 1,143	i have the exact same specs as those, and my laptop runs games like a champ. i would strongly recommend a larger HDDi have a 120gb, and im running low on space. as far as HDD speeds, there is a difference, but i dont think it justifies the extra cost, unless its over 250gb in size. a smaller hdd doesnt need 7200rpm, unless youre doing some major computing. laptop sounds like a good buy...i didnt think you could get such alienware specs for that cheap. __________________ Laptop: HP DV9000z CPU: AMD Turion64x2 2.0 Ghz GPU: nVidia GeForce go7600 RAM: 2048Mb, HDD: 2.5" 120Gb, OS: Windows Vista ____________________''''!____. \|------- [hp] -------- \| ![=\|[ ]\___ \|_...__...____________\| ![ \|_\| ///.]\| "(@)'(@)'''''''''''''''''''''''''''(@)(@)***(@ )

07-12-2007, 10:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
jookalook New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 11	length How long do you think a laptop with those specs will last before going out of date and not supporting new games.

07-12-2007, 11:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
jookalook New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 11	Hp I saw your signature and decided to check out the HP site. This is what I came up with, which seems pretty sweet: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...add&disp_msg=0 The only thing I am sacrificing is the 17" screen for a 15", but I'm going to have a 19" monitor hooked up to it for most of the time anyways. Let me know what you think about this one. Last edited by jookalook; 07-12-2007 at 11:29 PM.

07-13-2007, 03:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
bumblebee_tuna Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mission Viejo, CA Age: 20 Posts: 1,338	Consider a Dell; you can get a pretty nice deal on an Inspiron 1520 with a 8600m GT card for under $1500 with the same processor, a 160 Gig HDD and all the add-ons which includes bluetooth, web camera, ect....... __________________ Antec 300 / Antec EarthWatts 650 Watt / Xigmatek HDT-S1283 AMD Phenom II x3 720 2.8Ghz / 4GB DDR3 1600MHz OC / WD Caviar Black 500GB Sapphire ATi Radeon HD 4870 1GB / Creative X-fi Xtremegamer / steelSeries Siberia Headset Haikus are easy. But sometimes they don't make sense. Refrigerator.

07-12-2007, 10:34 PM	#10 (permalink)
jookalook New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 11	Are cyberpowerpc.com laptops reliable, because I think if I customize one with similar specs it comes out a bit cheaper. Where did you get your laptop from and how much did it cost when you bought it? How long have you had it? Heres what I came up with at cyberpowerpc.com for a couple hundred cheaper. Processor - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Mobile T7300 Dual-Core Processor @ 2.00GHz 800FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit MOBO - NVIDIA PM965 + ICH-8M Chipset Mainboard Memory - 1GB PC5300 DDR2-667 SODIMM Memory GFX - Built-in NVIDIA Geforce Go 8400M-G 256MB Supports up to 1GB TurboCache Video HDD - 160GB 5400RPM SATA150 HARD DRIVE I'm not sure how good that video card is, better or worse than above? Last edited by jookalook; 07-12-2007 at 10:42 PM.

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