Laptop for school and some Gaming

Jaafa

Hey. I've been searching for a while but cant seems to find quite what I want. Look for a laptop with these requirements:

1. 11-15" screen.
2. 2.00ghz processor or higher.
3. Decent graphics card. Mainly for strategy games.
4. 3G of Ram or higher.
5. Price Max 750euro.

Are my standards too high? I am willing to compromise on some aspects. Thanks. (BTW can also buy from north. Say what you will).

Jaafa

Also does anyone know where I can get some Alienware stuff? Is it only from Dells online store?

Sephiroth_dude

You wont get an alienware for 500 euro.you might have to increase you budget if you want a decent laptop for gaming,would you consider building your own computer?far cheaper than buying a gaming laptop.

Jaafa

Yes I understand that about the alienware but something like the M11x would be perfect for me so Im willing to pay extra.

How would one go about building ones own laptop? Would it be much hassle consider I have no experience in the matter?

ricman

I WAS in harvey norman, and DID electrical today,theres about 4 toshiba laptops that would do the job, priced at 460 to 540euros
the ml450 toshiba has dual core cpu 2.oghz, 3gig ram 200meg vram around 250gig hardrive size,price 499 euro.Thats the sale price.IT has hdmi out .it could be model ml750,im not sure of the model no, its the only toshiba in harvey norman for 499 euros.screen =15 inch widescreen.

Jaafa

Cool. They sound good. Any idea of the graphics card?

ricman

Its a good graphics card over 200meg video ram on the 499 LAPTOP,i cant remember the maker,i,m look for a laptop that plays sims 3 .
stay away from uma,or intel graphics cards if you are a non casual gamer.
LOOK FOR nvidia graphics card ,if you are not sure.

Jaafa

Thank you but I know what graphics card to look at.

Still wondering if anyone knows where to get alienware? Other than online?

ricman

I don,t think its possible to buy a new alienware laptop under 500 euro anyway.tHEY use very expensive components and graphics cards.
i think a 150meg vram graphics card is fine for strategy games ,as a guideline.

dazzday

What games are you looking to play specifically? Starcraft 2 or older games?

With a gaming rig the GPU is the bottleneck, get the best you can and fit the rest around it.

Jaafa

@ricman.Yes as I said before I understand about the alienware but I am willing to pay extra for that.:P

@dazzday.I was looking at the M11x from alienware @750euro. I take it that can play most strategy games? Despite its relatively slow CPU?

dazzday

HD5650 plus is the kinda of card id be looking at.

I wouldnt advise the alienware unless you have an external monitor or a dedicated rig and are really only using it for on the go. 11inch just doesnt cut it gaming.

Acer have a solid range of machines with HD5650 at good prices, probably the best bet for your budget

msi gx640 and gx740 are definitely what id be looking at for bang to buck but they seem hard to source here with US config.

Jaafa

yes but it would not be for serious gaming. Tops 1 or 2 hrs a day if even. Its main use would be for school work and i like the fact its so portable. Im afraid i was put off acers a long time ago but i will have a look at the models you suggest. Main concern about them would be build quaility.

Jaafa

Anyone know where I might get alienware in stores?

ricman

They are owned by dell, i dont think you can buy them in shops in eire,
see here,http://ireland.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/alienware-laptops-tab?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs
THEY have a 749 euro laptop.

Jaafa

Yeah I saw that. Shame thought I might find it cheaper in stores.

kinda off-topic but where might I be able to purchase 4gb of ram?

TerrorFirmer

The cheapest one has a bizarre configuration. Gt335 but with a 1.3Ghz Pentium Dual Core - what the heck is that about? Games would run like crap!

Voodu Child

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

The cheapest one has a bizarre configuration. Gt335 but with a 1.3Ghz Pentium Dual Core - what the heck is that about? Games would run like crap!

I believe its bios overclockable to 1.6 or maybe 1.73. But agreed, it will still be a bottleneck most of the time.

I'd go for the Asus 1215N instead of the Alienware M11x. It has a slower graphics card (by some margin), but its about €500, so you'll save yourself the guts of €250 compared to that Alienware. Go spend the €250 towards a desktop or a Xbox or something :pac:

Jaafa

ah my friends you underestimate alienware. Go look up some benchmarks for the m11x. It is true the processer can be a bottleneck but you will find few games rely on it to play. Nevertheless what graphics card is in that asus? Cant seem to find it.

TerrorFirmer

Actually, I have, as I was considering one, but as suspected the CPU holds it back in most games as proven in reviews, particularly in modern FPS titles.

Jaafa

Perhaps then the particular benchmarks I was looking at were done with the i5 or i7 versions of the m11x

In any case I think it is enough for my needs.

Any way thank you to everyone who reply to my post and for your help.

crazyFeet

:rolleyes:was ready to click on ORDER button for 11x but then i thought wtf am i thinkin'!
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5739G_Laptop_LX.PH602.129/version.asp
give it a year and that alienware will be so way back, so just get something for 500yoyoz and you will save your regrets after (3 years ago i bought a machine for 1700e and a year after i was pullin' my hear out:()
buy a used xbox or ps3 (100-250e) and job done Plus if you want alien 11x with i7 it will be 1100e me thinks?

P.S just make sure if your doing a computing course get yourself a light laptop after 3 years having a fully loaded 17" muther****er i learned my lesson...

ED E

crazyFeet wrote: »

P.S just make sure if your doing a computing course get yourself a light laptop after 3 years having a fully loaded 17" muther****er i learned my lesson...

Clearly didnt/dont have a decent satchel:)

crazyFeet

i do but when your laptop wieghts around 5-7kg and you cary it from one lab to another it really gets annoying

Jaafa

@crazyfeet
That is a nice laptop but I have had a bad experience with acers and so have many of my friends. Also I would like one that is 13'' or lower.

Oh and I already have an xbox360.

Icyseanfitz

i wouldnt really go down the whole gaming laptop route if i where you it gets very expensive very fast for instance i bought a dell xps m1730 about two years ago and it was worth just about €4000 (€1000 alone for the processor) and now im trying to sell it for €700 crazy:eek:

crazyFeet

yea, that isn't really the best brand i agree. i looking for a laptop myself and i think i will wait a month or two; amd ati danube is launch finally so it will pring the i3,5 n 7 prices down hopefully, plus it is promissed to be a cheaper chip too and should work well with ati radeon graphics. gona go for asus, toshiba or sony myself as they are being proved to be most reliable

ED E

Dont forget the screen, a slow screen will be useless.

crazyFeet

and thats what would puzzle me, have no clue how to differenciate between a good one and a s**ty one, anyone?:eek:

ricman

GET a toshiba with nvidia graphics, around 600 -700euros in did electrical or harvey norman.Toshibas are reliable,well built..
i never heard of any complaints about toshiba.

crazyFeet

yea, i decided to go for
1. Asus
2. Toshiba
3. Sony

I know the spec i am looking for but what display to go for? top 3 anyone?