a decent gaming,entertainment laptop..advice

bonzai

hello.. just looking for expert advice as I am planning to get a laptop which I can use for internet, some gaming (new) and watch or listen to dvd/music. Can you recommend any specs given your expertise in this field.where can i can get them online or walk in stores?

any info would be greatly appreciated.

TNx:)

phill106

dell vostro 1500 with the extra nvidia 8600 card is what i have, works very well, was cheap and havent had any problems with games on it.

Alanstrainor

What's your budget?
I spec'd up a vostro 1710 for €968, i did upgrade the processor so if it's too pricey you could downgrade it to a T8100 2.1GHZ and take about €120 off that price:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® Vista™ Business with Service Pack 1
SUPPORT SERVICES 1Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day Included -
LCD 17" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) Display with Anti-Glare Coating
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Glossy Black with 1.3 MP Camera
MEMORY 3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x1024 + 1x2048 MB)
HARD DRIVE 320GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT (128 bit)Graphic Card
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 58 WHr Lithium Ion battery

Dartz

Hehe... I have the perfect one.

XPS M1530.
Pay a bit of money and go for
T9300 processor
4Gb RAM (for Dual Channel)
Nvidia 8600m GT graphics card.
1440x900 screen.

Costs me 1440 Euro... Which I was glad to pay.

Does everything I want, but is still nice and portable. Also quite stylish. It can play most games to a decent standard... I can run Bioshock at full quality for one... And, the 6 cell battery will last okay.

If you want something more powerful, look at a M1730... but you'll be spending an extra 500 Euro... and it'll be an overwight SOB.

bonzai

thanks for the feedback... my budget is around 1K plus or minus. ALANSTRAINOR's suggestion looks impressive, How is Dell's aftersales? can I see it on its web site? I'll try anyway.

DARTZ... maybe prizey but tempted:rolleyes:. forgive my ignorance. what model is XPS M1530?.

I have seen laptop i click an HP around 1250. HP PAVILION DV2699EA

• Core 2 Duo T7500 / 2.2 GHz
• Centrino Duo
• RAM 2 GB
• HDD 250 GB
• DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM

versus this HP from PC world, and would you recommend to buy on thios stores? HP TOUCHSMART IQ772, AMD TURION 64X2, 2000MHZ, FSB, 2X512 CACHE); VISTA HOME PREMIUM; 2 GB RAM; 500 HARDDRIVE; 256MB NVDIA GEFORCE 7600. AT 1449.98

tHANKS FOR SHARING YOUR time and expertise.

Dartz

XPS will; blow that HP out of the water... and back into it again. It's a much better machine alround... but only if you spend the money to spec it up.

For the same price... My XPS M1530.
Intel T9300 @ 2.5Ghx 6Mb Cache
4Gb of RAM
320GB HDD
Nvidia GeForce Go 8600M with 256Mb GDDR3 memory
1440X900 screen
DvD-RW drive
Vista Home Premium
Dells' XPS support...

Something that's lightweight, stylish and can actually be carried around on my back. It feels well put together...bothing rattles loose... and the Ally palm rest is nice. Everything is metal inside under the plastic, so it's well put together.

Linky

Ignore the Blu-ray disk model... it's overpriced... Go for the Third one, which is what I bought.. and spec it up. It really does benefit from it. And Dell were pretty good for me.

It arrived in one piece, and very promptly

Alanstrainor

Hey the vostro range is found on the Small/medium business section of their site. And dartz i know you're machine is very good and all but there's no point slating 17" machines, portability may not be a priority and for gaming and dvds large screens are better. You cant beat the vostro range for spec and value for money, check them all out. Steer well clear of PCworld, do a search for pc world and you'll see just how bad a reputation they have on these boards.

Dartz

I looked at a Vostro meself...

Then realised the prices don't include VAT... that gets added on on your order slip. Just remeber that. VAT on my XPS came to around 250 quid... of the top of my head.

Besides, I think 15 Inch is the best for a combination of mobility and viewabiltity. Seventeen inch screens give me headaches. Though, you can spec a Vostro 1700 up to XPS levels if you need to... it'll cost about the same.

tramoredude

+1 for the Dell XPS m1530 Its the best machine in the price range, with the quality of 2000 euro + machines from Sony etc..... If you have a look in the bargain alerts forum there are 10% off coupons posted regularly and the outlet store is good too, I recently got an

Alanstrainor

Dartz wrote: »

I looked at a Vostro meself...

Then realised the prices don't include VAT... that gets added on on your order slip. Just remeber that. VAT on my XPS came to around 250 quid... of the top of my head.

Besides, I think 15 Inch is the best for a combination of mobility and viewabiltity. Seventeen inch screens give me headaches. Though, you can spec a Vostro 1700 up to XPS levels if you need to... it'll cost about the same.

The price i gave includes VAT and delivery, sorry i should have mentioned that, and specs are almost identical, the processor in the xps is marginally better, but not worth the €270 price tag, 2.4GHZ core 2 duo is more than enough, and everything else seems the same, so the price would be €500 cheaper than the xps. The XPS machines are fantastic though, there's no doubting it, very well designed and sleek, just that the OPs budget seems to be towards the lower ~1000 range.

TerrorFirmer

The dv2699ea has a pretty crap video card for the latest games and the touchsmart, while slightly better, is still an old card and slower processor.

The Vostro is a good machine and will cost 100's cheaper then the XPS at minimal hit in performance - it's mostly aesthetics. The other difference is that the 8600GT in the XPS line uses DDR3 while the Vostro uses slower DDR2, but that doesn't equate to a massive difference.

You should easily get a 17" Vostro with top spec including the 8600GT for under 1K easily.

Others worthy of your consideration if Dell doesn't float your boat:

MSI GX610 - 820

Acer 6920G - 890 - this one is nice, performance close to the DDR3 8600GT and 4gb of ram as standard.

There are other variants of those models with different cards around the same price but most of them are DDR2 cards with 512mb - any card using DDR2 can't make use of more then 256mb effectively, and any card in the 8600 range - including ddr3 - cannot use more either. So it's just a gimmick designed to help people part with their money.

Excluding Crysis - as that game cripples even high end desktop cards - new games would run at 1280x800 with medium-ish options on both laptops. Which is good, considering the price of mobile performance is about triple that of desktop counterparts.

bonzai

thanks to everyone... i'll consider all your input. the xps is great as DARTz has said but budget wise have to source the extra needed outlay.

the ACER looks ok specs & design, any experience using them? I'll make a decsion between vostro and acer. jsut within my budget range unless i win the lotto..ha,ha.
Once again thank you.. will let you know.

Dartz

XPS is good value. Mine will last 4 years. I need it to.

It is easier to buy one high quality PC every few years, than to keep up with the trend every year. You might payu more now, but you will save in the long run.

Apologies.... but I have large amount of drink taken atm... might not be stable.

But... You know what I mean

bonzai

well said DARTZ, will consider the option and look into the budget. will let you kow guys.
Lucky you unlike me at work..shhh, they might know.