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recommend a good Laptop for under €500?

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  • 20-06-2008 5:26pm
    #1
    berliner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 420 ✭✭


    I want a good reliable Laptop that I can use for studying and playing games.Haven't a clue what to go for or where's the best place to buy in Dublin.Please help.Thanks.


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    #2
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Playing games is going to be tricky for under €500, unless you're happy with older-generation games.


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    #3
    berliner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 420 ✭✭berliner


    What kind of money would I need to spend? Is a secondhand laptop a good choice?


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    #4
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    berliner wrote: »
    What kind of money would I need to spend?
    It really depends on what games you want to play (how recent) and what kind of graphics details you want to set them at.

    A €500-600 machine might play 4 year old games (Half-life 2) just fine, not maxed but fairly well.

    A €800-900 machine should play current games (COD4) with good details and framerates, (again, not maxed).

    And in between, you can just slide the scale and try and pick one that suits you best in terms of budget and performance.


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    #5
    Run_to_da_hills
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭Run_to_da_hills


    For anything under e500 you will end up with a celeron processor which is basically a rejected chip that is used in low powered office note books. Borrow the extra e100 and go for the Intel® Core™ Duo processor.


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    #6
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Run_to_da_hills wrote: »
    For anything under e500 you will end up with a celeron processor which is basically a rejected chip that is used in low powered office note books. Borrow the extra e100 and go for the Intel® Core™ Duo processor.
    Not always. I got my sister a laptop before christmas and it cost €500. It has a turion TL-60, 2GBs ram, 160GB hard drive.


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    #7
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    you will want to look out for the centrino duo brand at least. either way dont let the price tag tell you about the processor: thats just silly.


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    #8
    Run_to_da_hills
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭Run_to_da_hills


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    Not always. I got my sister a laptop before christmas and it cost €500. It has a turion TL-60, 2GBs ram, 160GB hard drive.
    AMD :mad:


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    #9
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Run_to_da_hills wrote: »
    AMD :mad:
    What's wrong with amd? Sure they're not as good as a core 2 duo but they still pack a good bit of power.

    @Berliner - We really need to know what games you would be intending to play.


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    #10
    berliner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 420 ✭✭berliner


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    What's wrong with amd? Sure they're not as good as a core 2 duo but they still pack a good bit of power.

    @Berliner - We really need to know what games you would be intending to play.
    old games like Diablo 2,Mech commander etc.


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    #11
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    berliner wrote: »
    old games like Diablo 2,Mech commander etc.
    The likes of those games would even run on older hardware. Get a laptop with a dual core processor, 2GBs ram and graphics wise anything should do.


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    #12
    TomCo
    Registered Users Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭TomCo


    Saw this one today, seems to be priced very reasonably.

    http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/HP_530_-_Core_Duo_T2600_2.16GHz_-_15.4-_TFT_KP479A/version.asp


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    #13
    TomCo
    Registered Users Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭TomCo


    A few others you might be interested in

    http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Lenovo_3000_N200_0769_TY2BWUK/version.asp
    http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Lenovo_Thinkpad_R61i_T2310_UV1DSUK/version.asp


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    #14
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    There's a few on dabs.

    http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4YJV&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105
    http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4XVY&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105


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    #15
    Prezatch
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭Prezatch


    I think the single centrino processor is getting a bit too much of a slating. I have an Acer 5500 which has a 1.7Ghz Pentium M and an X700 graphics card, 1GB RAM. The graphics card being key to it's great performance. Lappy plays COD4 no probs, not on high res but it does the job. I bought this baby 2 years ago and it still performs. AND it's portable at just 14.1 inches

    So if you are buying second hand, remember the video card is key for gaming. I may even be selling my lappy after the summer.
    http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050488,39094260p,00.htm

    But as you said, you're interested in the old games so graphics won't matter much. The cheapest laptop you can find will do basically. But for newer stuff, take a look here for good comparisons of video cards - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html


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    #16
    maradona10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 440 ✭✭maradona10


    in the grahics card table do i take it that number 1 is the best or are they just randomly listed


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    #17
    Prezatch
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭Prezatch


    Eh yea, 1 is the highest. Scores they got on different benchmarks are listed on the 4 columns on the right. Anything that says SLI beside it means that there are 2 cards being used (very expensive, for power users) and is kinda unnecessary for laptops.


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    #18
    maradona10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 440 ✭✭maradona10


    thanks joey. what is the minimum spec graphics card you would recommend for a laptop. ive seen a lot with integrated graphics but ideally would like a dedicated card


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    #19
    Prezatch
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭Prezatch


    I'm no expert, but something like a geforce go 7700 or 7800


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