Laptop for Gaming/Media in Road Warriors, Notebooks & Distance http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20494637 en Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:07:53 EDT Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:07:53 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20586450 anon : The Gateway P-6860fx has 4 gigs ram, 360 gig Sata 2 5400 hdd, 8800 Gts GPU, Raid 0/1 options, Cpu t5500@ 1.8ghz. It also comes with Gigabit wired lan, Wireless A,G, and beta N, a built in dial up modem, 1 Esata port, 3 USB 2.0, Express card upgrade slot, 17" monitor, 1394 plugin, HDMI & VGA video output, and a 9 cell battery.

All this for $1250 in this weeks add at best buy. This Laptop is so easy to upgrade CPU's, HDD's, Ram, I would trust a 10 year old (while I was watching) to upgrade the parts. I installed another exact HDD for raid, and a t9300 Cpu, and it was the easiest laptop upgrade I have ever seen.

Look it up, google it, and drool down your shirt. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20586450 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:47:35 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20530853 ajlong : Where can i find a copy of halo for mac]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20530853 Fri, 23 May 2008 18:38:58 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20525666 dadkins :
said by eX_NihiLo See Profile :

Halo is available for the Mac OS as well as Windows. Or you could use Boot Camp »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Camp_···tware%29 and run Halo/other games as Window apps and then use the Mac OS for everything else.
*If... you don't mind adding the cost of a Windows OS disc.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20525666 Thu, 22 May 2008 19:52:38 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20524697 eX_NihiLo : Halo is available for the Mac OS as well as Windows. Or you could use Boot Camp »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Camp_···tware%29 and run Halo/other games as Window apps and then use the Mac OS for everything else. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20524697 Thu, 22 May 2008 16:47:24 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20519858 ajlong : I'm a new user here and I want to switch to Mac from windows. The only thing i'm worried about is whether or not i can play halo on it. I love Halo, but i have my doubts that a mac can play it since Halo is made by microsoft. I guess if I have to I can by a Dell XPS Laptop w/the core 2 extreme processor in it. The main reason i want to avoid windows is because i have never found a "perfect" security program, and always had trouble with a slow computer for that reason. If you could recommend a really good security program, that would be appreciated. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20519858 Wed, 21 May 2008 19:41:07 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20510639 PeteC2 :
said by ZaRRaZa See Profile :

sorry for off topic... is there 8800m gtx available in any stores or online? because i cant find it. Looks like it comes only with laptop, but i need just a card. Anyone? Thanks
Want to take this to a separate post? It is a good question, but really, a few "details" would be helpful (make/model number of the machine in question, etc.)
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...something is happening here but you don't know what it is...do you, Mr. Jones?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20510639 Tue, 20 May 2008 08:42:31 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20510296 ZaRRaZa : sorry for off topic... is there 8800m gtx available in any stores or online? because i cant find it. Looks like it comes only with laptop, but i need just a card. Anyone? Thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20510296 Tue, 20 May 2008 04:59:02 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497393 PeteC2 : Well then, it is less certain if the performance bump from 3gb to 4gb is necessarly worth it, although I did notice a little improvement. Actually, I was not at all sure that going from 3gb to 4gb would be at all noticeable (or worth doing), but surprisingly, at least on my notebook, it is.
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...something is happening here but you don't know what it is...do you, Mr. Jones?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497393 Sat, 17 May 2008 10:17:54 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497311 kingdome74 : Well, gaming only as much as playing World of Warcraft on. I have desktop gaming rigs I have built for heavy duty stuff. This will never see any of the higher end games and most of the time it will be used by my wife to surf with or streaming movies off the server.
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I'm third generation don't give a fcuk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497311 Sat, 17 May 2008 09:46:24 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497100 PeteC2 :
said by kingdome74 See Profile :

If I'm not mistaken that Gateway has a 32-bit version of Vista and if memory serves correctly aren't 32-bit OS's limited to 3 GB's read of RAM? Or is your point to make it so by putting in 4 gig it will at least run the 3 gig in dual-channel?
You are correct, although really you may have anywhere from 3.1 to around 3.5 gb "usablate" with a 32 bit OS, not the complete 4gb.

However, that still is some gain, more with some computers, less with others, and yes, then you can retain the dual-channel "bump" by going to 4gb. Granted, dual channel is a bit over-hyped, but there is some performance gain, and with the current prices on DDR2, it should not be hard to find a sale and justify the upgrade. After all, if this is to be a gaming notebook, you want every little performance-boost that can be reasonably had.
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...something is happening here but you don't know what it is...do you, Mr. Jones?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497100 Sat, 17 May 2008 08:20:21 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497067 kingdome74 : If I'm not mistaken that Gateway has a 32-bit version of Vista and if memory serves correctly aren't 32-bit OS's limited to 3 GB's read of RAM? Or is your point to make it so by putting in 4 gig it will at least run the 3 gig in dual-channel?
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I'm third generation don't give a fcuk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20497067 Sat, 17 May 2008 08:04:06 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496841 ZaRRaZa : damn that sounds good, to bad i am out of money. I need to sell my toshiba a105-s4334 t5500 1.66Ghz, 2 gb ram (expandable to 4), 160 gb hdd, for 700-800 and then make some $ and buy gaming lappy lol.

edit: wondering if it is possible on P-6860FX, to swap T5550 with t9300? probably this needs to be addressed to gateway's tech crew uh? It would make this laptop a beast.
edit2: reading reviews on newegg, some people who has Gateway P-6831FX, swapped stock t5550 with t9300 so it should work with P-6860FX too. Nice. Anyone wants to buy my a105-s4334? lol

edit3: i actually heard something that quads for laptops are coming out soon, that would be crazy. Can you imagine laptop Quad 2.5 Ghz or something like that, 4 GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM, 320 GB HDD, Video GeForce® 8800M GTS 512MB GDDR3. DAmmnnn. Does anyone have info about intel mobile quads? Thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496841 Sat, 17 May 2008 04:00:22 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496827 eX_NihiLo : The Gateway P-6860FX at BestBuy will be $1299 along with your choice of any game 49.99 or less this Sunday :). Plus you get double points if you are or sign up to be a RewardZone member.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496827 Sat, 17 May 2008 03:50:02 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496784 ZaRRaZa : we have this saying in my country, "people that takes no risk, dont drink champagne" :)
This is a nice idea, but.... only 3 GB ram and its non expandable. I guess i need to keep looking :)

I appreciate your help and ideas :) Thanks

edit: is it problematic to swap proc on laptop?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496784 Sat, 17 May 2008 03:07:22 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496768 eX_NihiLo : This is a bit risky but what you could do is buy the Gateway P-6831FX »www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp···ctdetail and swap out the processor with a T8300 for $250 which is already supported in the P-172X FX model. They share the same MB and I'm 99% sure the BIOS is the same. Email to Gateway support could confirm it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496768 Sat, 17 May 2008 02:53:33 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496740 ZaRRaZa : yeah there is bestbuy around here, the thing is this that hdd, ram and video card, is fine but not the proc. I am about to check what else they have. Thanks for the link

edit: bestbuy has only 5 decent gaming laptops. the one u showed is niceee and the best out of 5. Cons: proc speed.
if it would be at least 2.4 Ghz i would buy that, even if it was for 1700$

i am looking for 2.4+ Ghz, 4 Gb ram, 250+ GB hdd, and on of these video cards:
GeForce 8800M GTX
Quadro FX 3600M
Quadro FX 3500M
GeForce 8800M GTS
GeForce Go 7950 GTX

for 1700$ at most
i dont know if it is possible find that for that price, but hey, the one from bestbuy is almost like that except proc, and its only 1300-something.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496740 Sat, 17 May 2008 02:19:10 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496616 eX_NihiLo : If you need a bigger HD and have a BestBuy around you can check out basically the same Gateway laptop there »www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp···32501169 ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496616 Sat, 17 May 2008 01:17:46 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496597 ZaRRaZa : thanks for sharing thoughts. Alienware at least gives you customizing feature but their prices are ridiculous. Also i found sagernotebook.com, but prices kind a high too.

The one at gateway seems nice, the 3 gb ram issue is not a problem just like mchart said, but processor could be lil bit faster (2.4+), and of course hdd of 250+ GB. I wish gateway had customize-your-lappy feature. I would be willing to spend another 300$ and get faster proc and bigger hdd. To me that 160 seems funny, i bought my lappy almost 2 years ago, it had 160gb, just slower. I guess i'll wait lil bit longer, maybe i find exactly what i want.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496597 Sat, 17 May 2008 01:13:28 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496553 eX_NihiLo : I doubt you could build one on your own. Getting parts would be hard and expensive as laptops are not made as configurable as desktops not to mention BIOS limitations. Anyways getting a 17' WUXGA 1920 x 1200 display, T9300 Penryn mobile CPU and 8800m GTS GPU or better is going to cost you 2-2.5K minimum.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496553 Sat, 17 May 2008 00:59:23 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496545 Mchart :
said by ZaRRaZa See Profile :

thanks for the chart, its really handy.
is there a decent PRICED website where you can built laptops? Also this probably sound stupid, but is it hard to built a laptop on ya own?
The simple answer is no. If you want a decent price, and you want the best components you are going to have to buy prebuilt like that Gateway, and honestly, even if you were to build your own that Gateway is priced really good to begin with. OCZ is planning on starting to sell a build-your-own laptop kit soon - But it isn't very good.

Once again, I highly reccomend that gateway. It is worth noting too that you should pull out the 1GB stick and pair the exsisting 2GB stick with another in order to get the gains from dual-channel mode. Only costs 40 bucks on most at newegg, and the performance gains would be quite significant.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496545 Sat, 17 May 2008 00:56:45 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496387 ZaRRaZa : thanks for the chart, its really handy.
is there a decent PRICED website where you can built laptops? Also this probably sound stupid, but is it hard to built a laptop on ya own?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496387 Sat, 17 May 2008 00:12:09 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496233 eX_NihiLo : The Radeon 3650 is similar to the 8600m GT, the 9500m GS is a little bit faster than both of them. The 88OOm GTS is about 2x as fast. Gateway must be making no profit on those laptops, that GPU is awesome for that price.

Here is a matrix of laptop GPUs and synthetic benches

»www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Gra···4.0.html]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496233 Fri, 16 May 2008 23:30:54 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496210 eX_NihiLo : That Gateway is a great buy. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496210 Fri, 16 May 2008 23:22:49 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496201 ZaRRaZa : are you saying that 8800M GTS with 512MB is the best video card for notebooks? What about ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650? i am not good with notebook video cards, can anybody tell lil bit about it? thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496201 Fri, 16 May 2008 23:20:47 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496149 Mchart : As of right now the best gaming laptop for the dollar is - »www.gateway.com/systems/product/···8033.php

If I were in the market for a new gaming laptop right now, that is what I would purchase. It has a mobile 8800GTS which means you have quite substantial graphics performance. The 8600GT is decent, but it is a castrated version of the 8800 series as it is lacking quite a few shader units.

For a price of 1400 dollars, you really can't find anything better. I purchased a Toshiba X205 when it first came out, and I just wish this laptop would have been out 8 months ago. It really is quite fast, is high build quality, looks sexy, and I still can't beleive it is only 1400 bucks.
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"You figured it out. All new CPU's are nothing but overclocked Pentium 1's with a few bells and whistles added, ask any ol timer whose been around."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496149 Fri, 16 May 2008 23:09:22 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495960 eX_NihiLo :
said by kingdome74 See Profile :

I hadn't noticed before but are most hard drives for laptops 5400 rpms? Why are they slower than a regular desktop HD? Is to keep the heat down?
heat and battery power. Some gaming laptops have an option of an 7200rpm drive.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495960 Fri, 16 May 2008 22:23:00 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495952 ZaRRaZa : my toshiba sat a105-s4334 has 160 GB, 4200 RPM. Bought it in 2006 December. I though that proc creates most of the heat, doesn't it? My core temps are at least in mid 50's all the time, and lappy runs pretty warm tho. Right now it is in high 60's.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495952 Fri, 16 May 2008 22:20:08 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495877 kingdome74 : I hadn't noticed before but are most hard drives for laptops 5400 rpms? Why are they slower than a regular desktop HD? Is to keep the heat down?
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I'm third generation don't give a fcuk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495877 Fri, 16 May 2008 22:01:53 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495714 ZaRRaZa : this is a good thread, because i was just thinking about gaming laptop, since my stepdad is moving out of usa and taking our gaming machine, so i would prefer to get a gaming laptop. The one that eX_NihiLo suggested looks allrite, but can anyone show better gaming laptops (with better video card, that would run new hitman, splinter cell and nba live games, also bigger hdd, better rams and maybe lil bit faster processor)? I would say for around $1500-1700.
Thanks

edit: found this baby ( ASUS M50 Intel C2D T93002.5GHz 15.4" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory DDR2 667 500GB HDD 5400rpm ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 1024MB) for $1,549.99. Maybe anyone knows familiar but cheaper, or better but at a same price/up-to-$1700? What you guys think?
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···34220306

and this »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···34220309
ASUS M70SA-X2 C2D T9300(2.50GHz) 17.0" Wide UXGA 4GB Memory DDR2 667 500GB HDD 5400rpm ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 ATI 3650 1GB VRAM & dual lamp full HD LCD $$1,799.99]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495714 Fri, 16 May 2008 21:28:08 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495439 Joe12345678 :
said by Dogg See Profile :

Most of the current laptops would likely suit your needs just fine...some are even marketed as multimedia PC's. You will mainly want to watch the cpu (faster is better just like in the PC world). The Intel Core 2 Duo would be a good choice (2Ghz+). Also watch the graphics chip, they have integrated and dedicated chips...dedicated chips would be more powerful. For RAM, you want 2Gig minimum...since it will likely ship with Vista get 4Gig. This is especially helpful because the video card will use some of the system RAM.

Dell has good laptops with reasonable prices. I would suggest you hit the B&M stores and check out the various brands. Things to look at are screen types and sizes, as well as any styling or other features that interest you. Also, since you are planning to playback to a TV watch for an appropriate video output. HDMI or DVI would be the output of choice (or VGA for that matter), but it mainly depends on the type of inputs available on your TV.
You don't want to use intel on board video with any 3d games the ATI and nvdia ones are much better and the ati one can use a some of it's own ram as well.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495439 Fri, 16 May 2008 20:25:40 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495389 eX_NihiLo : I would definitely get a discrete GPU minimum 8400GS, you may not play WOW forever in which case a 8600m GT or 9500GS GPU is a good option. Get a 2.0+ Mhz Core2Duo processor. At least 2GB ram. Definitely check out what inputs you have on your TV (VGA,s-Video) and match to laptop accordingly.

Here is a good example notebook

ASUS F3 Series F3SV-B4 Intel Core 2 Duo T7500(2.20GHz) 15.4" Wide SXGA+ 2GB Memory 160GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS NoteBook »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···34220285 $1099]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495389 Fri, 16 May 2008 20:16:09 EDT Re: Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20494735 Dogg : Most of the current laptops would likely suit your needs just fine...some are even marketed as multimedia PC's. You will mainly want to watch the cpu (faster is better just like in the PC world). The Intel Core 2 Duo would be a good choice (2Ghz+). Also watch the graphics chip, they have integrated and dedicated chips...dedicated chips would be more powerful. For RAM, you want 2Gig minimum...since it will likely ship with Vista get 4Gig. This is especially helpful because the video card will use some of the system RAM.

Dell has good laptops with reasonable prices. I would suggest you hit the B&M stores and check out the various brands. Things to look at are screen types and sizes, as well as any styling or other features that interest you. Also, since you are planning to playback to a TV watch for an appropriate video output. HDMI or DVI would be the output of choice (or VGA for that matter), but it mainly depends on the type of inputs available on your TV.
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Google is your Friend]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20494735 Fri, 16 May 2008 17:57:53 EDT Laptop for Gaming/Media http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20494637 kingdome74 : I'm looking for a laptop do perform the following functions:

A. Stream movies, music, etc off my server and be used as a media center for video (TV) and sound. I have Kliptcsh ProMedias that will be used as the speakers.

B. The wife will use it as her main computer but she does nothing more than surf and play online games.

C. When I go on the road I will need it to play World of Warcraft. I understand that it doesn't require a super computer to run WoW but I do want it to run smoothly.

I have built all my computers for years but I have to admit I am lost when it comes to laptops and my fear is my ignorance will cost me lots of money. My budget is around $1000.

What do I need to look for CPU, RAM, etc?
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I'm third generation don't give a fcuk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20494637 Fri, 16 May 2008 17:36:03 EDT