Laptop, which should I get?

[Ninot]

I'm considering buying a new laptop for University use. I'm also thinking of using it for future civ4 games (and other games possibly). I've narrowed it down to 2 Toshiba's pretty much, but I'm still very open to suggestion.

I hope this is the right forum to post this

M40

a70

I've figured out most of the issues except for 1:

What are the limitations of a 128mb Integrated Graphics card? Will it run Civ4 (or Pirates, since I guess thats the best measure right now). Does anyone know?

Also, does anyone have any other suggestions that are in this same ballpark?

[Kuciwalker]

Wrong forum?

[Ninot]

Sorry if it is. I figured its somehow Civ4 related, and didnt quite know where to put a hardware question.

[Kuciwalker]

Off-topic or Other Games, usually.

[Adm.Naismith]

Re: Laptop, which should I get?

Originally posted by Ninot
I've narrowed it down to 2 Toshiba's pretty much, but I'm still very open to suggestion.

I hope this is the right forum to post this

Probably not. I've to speak about it with your parents

Originally posted by Ninot
What are the limitations of a 128mb Integrated Graphics card? Will it run Civ4 (or Pirates, since I guess thats the best measure right now).

Performance. No way an integrated (chipset on the motherboard) Intel graphic can crunch enough numbers to keep up with recent 3D games.
T&L transform is an announced pre-req of Civ 4, so check this for every notebook you are screening.

Originally posted by Ninot
Also, does anyone have any other suggestions that are in this same ballpark?

Screen area. A 17" 1280*1024 is interesting but really heavy on a laptop, 15" 16/10 wide 1280*800 can let you see more map than a standard TFT screen. Consider a different brand than Toshiba, too.

Anyway, there are sites more adept to this kind of hw review: tomshardware.com or a google search can help you more.
Good luck

[Ninot]

Re: Re: Laptop, which should I get?

Originally posted by Adm.Naismith

T&L transform is an announced pre-req of Civ 4, so check this for every notebook you are screening.

Bleh, i suck at graphics. What is T&L, and how do I check for it?

[Ninot]

M40 with GeForce 6600

This Toshiba has a Geforce 6600. Would that run something like Civ4?

Strangely enough its cheaper too. I havent figured out why yet.

[Zoid]

All new graphics cards has T & L support (takes care of 3D stuff btw). Any new laptop will be able to run Civ4 as long as the graphics card isn´t integrated on the motherboard. Well, some of them might. But why take the chance?

[Adm.Naismith]

Re: Re: Re: Laptop, which should I get?

Originally posted by Ninot
Bleh, i suck at graphics. What is T&L, and how do I check for it?

See definition there.
Intel itself disclaim *unsupported T&L* for embedded graphics here.

You keep asking for the best notebook. I really can't help, because most of notebook are a trade-in/trade-out affair: you chose a better CPU and get less RAM or storage memory, or a slow DVD burner
If you miss your right config, you can't do a lot to upgrade, because usually notebook are almost sealed box.

Today are available some notebook with upgradeble graphic chip, but usually you pay a price for this feature.

[Alexander I]

Get an Alienware Area 51m Mobile Desktop.

http://alienware.com/product_detail_pages/Area-51m_7700/area-51m_7700_features.aspx?SysCode=PC-LT-AREA51-M-7700&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

[Ninot]

thats like a dream machine for me.

but its also something like 800$ more than the one i'm currently looking at.

Bureau En Gros (Staples) has a good laptop at a bargain price. I hope to pick it up by tommorow.

[Alexander I]

Originally posted by Ninot
thats like a dream machine for me.

but its also something like 800$ more than the one i'm currently looking at.

Bureau En Gros (Staples) has a good laptop at a bargain price. I hope to pick it up by tommorow.

I've got an Area 51m. It's great.

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Alexander01
Get an Alienware Area 51m Mobile Desktop.

http://alienware.com/product_detail_...de=SKU-DEFAULT

Sweet! I want one :drool:

[Commy]

Titanium reinforced frame is always a plus...

[Kinjiru]

I have a Dell Inspiron 9100 with a 256meg ATI graphics card and a gig of RAM. It kicks ass on anything I throw at it and I love the widescreen monitor, including the latest and greatest 3D games. It'll run civ-4 just fine.

The laptop outperforms my custom Alienware desktop (which I bought about the same time, with pretty much the same specs (key difference is AMD's 64-bit processor line, don't recall which one exactly), and it's quieter.

Picked it up for $1350 via the outlet page on Dell's site, with a $200 off sale they had going on. It even came with a one-year warranty.