Laptop Specs Help

[sourboy]

I'm in the market for a new computer and ultimately would like a laptop. I know that the more powerful, the better for gaming, but let's keep it reasonably priced (I need to buy a new car too). Basically I just want one strong enough to run a few games without video lag (Civ4, Age of Emp 3, Dung-Siege 2), wirelessly for as long as possible (1-2+ hrs), and for an affordable price ($1000-1500?). After reading many, many sites, I've decided to request help from those in the know, not just via some companies opinion.

So... correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears these three games all have very similar minimum req's: ~1.5G processor, 512M RAM, 128M vid card.

Processor: Intel or AMD? If Intel, then Celeron or Pentium M? Single or Duo-Processor? Other? How important is cache (1 or 2MB)? Dimm?

What I know: Intel seems the popular choice, though I hear AMD is better for gaming. Duo-Proc is faster, but for a laptop -- probably wears the battery quickly.


RAM: DDR2, SDRAM, etc? Huh? Can someone tell me what's the best buy?

Hard drive: 7200rpm adds a lot of speed vs a 5400, yes? Is that more important than the storage space (assuming same price)?

Monitor: I have a 19" on my desktop, but for a laptop -- is it really worth the extra cash to go from 15 up to 17? Also, is widescreen worth it if I only plan to game, not watch DVDs?

Video Card: In my day it was GeForce or bust... has ATI caught up with it's radeon? Also, what's enough? 128 or 256MB?

Any feedback it greatly appreciated!

 

[ummmm........]

I'm technically challenged and so can be of limited help. Which begs the question of why I'm posting. Well the one thing I can tell you is that if you're happy with your 19" desktop monitor the 15" laptop will be fine. Remember that desktop monitors are measured on exterior dimensions, not screen dimensions, so the screen size of a 19" desktop monitor and a 15" widescreen laptop isn't going to be all that much.

The only thing you have to worry about is if the laptop's native resolution is really high the text might be too tiny on the smaller screen. But even if that was the case, you could change the resolution . . .

 

[Comraddict]

Geforce or Radeon doesn't matter...what mater is which exact model. Also memory size on video card is not important as model.

 

[shadowdude]

Processor: My brother's laptop with a Pentium M works great and gets good battery life too, so I would suggest the Pentium M. I have never used AMD chips so I can't advise you about them. The bigger the better as far as L2 cache is concerned, if you planned on gaming I would suggest 2MB. Dual Core offers superior performance but does strain battery life a little bit.

RAM: DDR2 SDRAM, at least 256MB, preferably 512 or above

Hard Drive: more RPM the better. It should have at least 7200 RPM for good performance

Graphics: Radeon or GeForce, it doesn't matter. GeForce is generally still considered the "best" but Radeon cards are comparable from my experience. At least 128MB, preferably 256 for 3D gaming.

 

[taper]

Laptops are a whole different story from desktops. For processors, if you want a low power budget chip, go with an AMD Semperon. For performance, Pentium Ms are very good. Get around 1 GB of RAM, less than 512 MB is useless, especially if you have shared video memory. While a faster spinning HD is better on a desktop, you will get sizable power savings going with a 5400 rpm. It will be slower though. For a laptop, I doubt there's a significant benefit going to 256 for your video card. There are various listing on the web of laptop video cards, all the way from cheap onboard to desktop cards crammed in.

That all said, since laptops are pretty hard to upgrade, you need to do a little more planning on what you want to use this for. If you want a high performance gaming machine that you can also carry around with you for smaller tasks, it might be cheaper and better to buy a low end laptop and a high end desktop. You also have to chose between either performance or battery life and lightness. You're not going to get both. My Semperon 3000+, ATI Radeon Express 200M, 768 MB RAM, 80GB 5400 HD gets 5 hours of wifi while running Folding@Home. Nice, light, and reasonably priced. A smaller screen will save quite a bit of battery life too.

 

[Comraddict]

7200rpm drive does not waste more power than 5400 one- it could be only otherwise: 7200rpm drive will finish its job quicker.

 

[taper]

I have to disagree. The read/write speed is roughly proportional to speed, but the energy to spin the drive is proportional to the square of speed. That 33% increase in speed brings a 77% increase in power, all other things equal. 7200's also run hotter and are less shock resistant(don't drop your laptop in either case). If speed is more important, by all means buy a 7200, you'll probably want it if you're doing more than moderate gaming.

 

[Chris85]

Sourboy, you're pretty much doing the same thing I am. I just got a new car and I'm saving up for a laptop which I should have enough money for by August. We're probably not looking exactly for the same kind of machine but here's what I'm looking for:

Processor: I'm thinking of going for the 2.0ghz Pentium M. The Intel mobile chips seem to be a bit better than the AMD mobile chips.

RAM: DDR2 SDRAM is the way to go. 1gb is a good amount.

Hard Drive: I haven't decided to get a 7200 or a 5400 myself, mainly because I'm stilling weighing the speed vs power consumption thing. For capacity I think I'll get a 80gb HD.

Monitor: I'm getting a 15 incher. If you want a bigger one and have the $ than why not.

Video Card: I don't know whether to go with GeForce or Radeon, I don't know much about video card performance. To save money I'm getting a 128mb card.

It's also wise to buy an extra battery pack, so if the first one runs low you can go to the spare.

Thats my 2 cents...

 

[sourboy]

Sourboy, you're pretty much doing the same thing I am. We're probably not looking exactly for the same kind of machine but here's what I'm looking for:

Processor: I'm thinking of going for the 2.0ghz Pentium M. The Intel mobile chips seem to be a bit better than the AMD mobile chips.

Pentium M is the best, from what I hear, though I hear the duo-core intel's are very nice too. AMD is good in terms of price.

RAM: DDR2 SDRAM is the way to go. 1gb is a good amount.

I agree.

Hard Drive: I haven't decided to get a 7200 or a 5400 myself, mainly because I'm stilling weighing the speed vs power consumption thing. For capacity I think I'll get a 80gb HD.

I agree, though I'm starting to learn towards 5400, since it's 1) cheaper, and 2) equal or less of a power hog.

Monitor: I'm getting a 15 incher. If you want a bigger one and have the $ than why not.

I agree, although I'd like to note larger monitors take up potentially more power -- though I don't think it's a huge leap.

Video Card: I don't know whether to go with GeForce or Radeon, I don't know much about video card performance. To save money I'm getting a 128mb card.

ATI is popular, but I hear GeForce still has an edge. I also heard the 256's are a major power hog by comparison -- and that it's better to go 128 and plug the extra cash into traditional RAM.

It's also wise to buy an extra battery pack, so if the first one runs low you can go to the spare.

Can they be swapped 'on the fly' ? IF so, I agree. Dell maxes at a 9-cell, Gateway a 12-cell. Anything over 6 is probably good.

All in all, I'd still like to see the cost drop a bit. Dell has the above specs for about $1400 before taxes...

 

[Chris85]

I'm not sure if you can change batteries on the fly, but it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to save, shutdown, switch batteries, startup, and go back to what you've been doing. 8-cell should be good enough, the 12-cells are too expensive IMO.

Last time I checked with Dell it was $1342 w/o shipping & taxes. I'm trying to keep it under $1500, but I won't have the money for at least another 2 months so the price should come down a bit before then. If it comes down to price, I may end up getting an AMD processor.

 

[shortguy]

Dell often has some very good--on the order of $750 off--deals on their high end inspiron notebooks. Look out for those.

 

[sourboy]

Yeah, I think patience is the key here, wait for a special deal, or the right price drop.