Need help chooseing new compuer,

[FMPBeats]

I am planing on buying a new laptop, and would like some advice.

The only game I play is civ IV (with addons) so i want civ to play as smoothly as possible on it. I also want to download mods, but most dont work on my current pc as it cannot handle them it seems. I have a budget of £800. The one I am currently looking at is:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1235901090&sr=8-11

the specs (coppied and pasted) are:

Product Features
Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue Design
16" Acer CineCrystal TFT LCD
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 32Bit
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400
Memory: 4GB RAM (2x2048MB Configuration)
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA HDD
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT Dedicated Graphics
Optical Drive: 1X Blu-ray Disc/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive (Reads Blue Ray Discs/writes all types of CD/ DVD discs)
Connectivity: Wireless LAN AGN, Bluetooth 2.0
Audio: Optimised 2nd Generation Dolby Home Theater
Acer CineDash Media Console
Webcam: Integrated 1.0Mp HD Acer Crystal Eye webcam
Finger Print Reader: Acer Bio-Protection fingerprint solution
TV Tuner: TV Tuner & Acer Media Centre Remote Control
I/O Interfaces: 4 x USB Ports, HDMI Port, 6-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MMCplus, MS, MS PRO, xD)
Software: Acer Empowering Technology
Manufacturer Part Number: LX.ATQ0X.004
Technical Details

Display: 16" HD Acer CineCrystal TFT LCD, WXGA (220-nit), 1366 x 768 Resolution
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 32Bit
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache)
Memory: 4GB DDR3 RAM (2x2048MB Configuration)
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA HDD
Graphics Card: Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset with NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512MB VRAM Dedicated Graphics
Optical Drive: 1X Blu-ray Disc/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive (Reads Blue Ray Discs/writes all types of CD/ DVD discs)
Connectivity: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100/5300 (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N) Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000MHz
56K ITU V.92 with PTT approval
Audio: Optimised 2nd Generation Dolby Home Theater audio enhancement, featuring Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Live, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Headphone, Dolby Natural Bass and Dolby Sound Space Expander technologies, 2 Built in Speakers and Acer Tuba CineBass booster
Webcam: Integrated 1.0Mp HD Acer Crystal Eye webcam
Finger Print Reader: Acer Bio-Protection fingerprint solution
TV Tuner: Hybrid TV Tuner and Acer Media Centre Remote Control (RF-in jack)
I/O Interfaces: HDMI Port, 4 x USB Ports, ExpressCard/54, 6-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MMCplus, MS, MS PRO, xD), Headphone/speaker, RJ11 modem port, RJ45 network port, Consumer Infrared Port (CIR)
Battery: 48.8 W 4400 mAh 6-cell Li-ion battery pack - 2.3 hours battery life
Dimensions: 385 (W) x 275 (D) x 43.6/39.3 (H) mm
Weight: 3.5KG
Software Load: Acer Empowering Technology, Acer Arcade Deluxe, Acer Bio-Protection, Acer Crystal Eye, Acer GridVista, Acer Launch Manager, Acer GameZone, Adobe Reader, CyberLink PowerDirector trial version, McAfee Internet Security Trial, NTI Media Maker, Microsoft Works 9.0 with Office Home and Student 2007 Trial

Will that be good enough to run civ on high settings with large mods (for example that one with 'gigantic' size maps) if not any suggestions?









Thanks and great site.

 

[Riffraffselbow]

I would highly recommend against "high end" laptops for several reasons, which I won't get into here.

That said, that should run civ 4 very smoothly.

My honest recommendation, however, would be to think very carefully if having both a cheap laptop and a good desktop wouldn't suit you better. Something like an ASUS EEEpc (http://www.amazon.co.uk/SD-BLK024L-...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1235951694&sr=1-7), combined with a desktop (for example, from dell: http://configure.euro.dell.com/dell...l=en&m_30=111787&oc=D035416&rbc=D035416&s=dhs Note that the video card that this defaults with IS lackluster, so if you actually want THIS model, you may want to upgrade it either in the order, or aftermarket (much cheaper, if you feel okay installing it yourself)) may be a better option.

A note on RAM: Companies LOVE to sell you tons of RAM, both because it's cheap to manufacture and because RAM is the new buzzword, as far as computers go. The average user, even for gaming, and even on Windows Vista, doesn't need more than 2 gigs. High-end games (Crysis, Farcry 2, a few others) do *Like* to have lots of RAM, but it's definitely not necessary.

And once again: Everything above is my personal opinion. The laptop you picked out looks like it will play Civ4 just fine, and I hope you're happy with WHATEVER you choose to buy.

 

[FMPBeats]

Thanks for the advice, I actually decided to go for a desktop instead, because for the same price it seems I can get a lot more for my money.

 

[oynaz]

Be aware that Windows 32-bit can only utilize about 3,5 GB of RAM. Getting more than 3 Gb with a 32-bit system is a waste, and can potentially cause system unstability.