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I've been using a dell xps m1730 for over a year now and its great. Only downside is that its heavy and the ac cord is huge, so its not that portable. I still recommend it though
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SC2 and Diablo2? Buy a desktop comp
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I always wanted a Dell XPS M1730. But I'm a poor college student
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United States37500 Posts
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I'd get one like Acer Aspire 8930G-644G32MN for about 700 euros if you want gaming, has a geforce 9600 which is probably what you're looking for? Anyway I suggest looking that one up.
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The XPS M1720 is rather outdated, if cost isn't a problem and you want something with huge gaming capability that will continue to be incredibly powerful for the next 5-6 year i reccomend thehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220527 Asus W90Vp-X2 18.4" Screen 6GB RAM Core 2 Quad Q9000 @ 2.0ghz Radeon 4870M X2 (!!) 320GB 7200RPM HDD 2,249 USD. Seriously this thing is a monster, faster than most desktops nowadays (unless they're beastly)
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Just a word of advice, if you don't have to don't get anything above a geforce 8800 GTS or the ATI equivalent ... the "newer" GPUs really are the same, just rebranded for marketing purposes. The technology is identical and the 8800 GTS has served me well for gaming even with the newer games. If you want to be on the safe side you can go with the 9800.
If you're going to be gaming a few years down the road I really suggest not getting a laptop though.
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On June 09 2009 23:51 demonix wrote: Just a word of advice, if you don't have to don't get anything above a geforce 8800 GTS or the ATI equivalent ... the "newer" GPUs really are the same, just rebranded for marketing purposes. The technology is identical and the 8800 GTS has served me well for gaming even with the newer games. If you want to be on the safe side you can go with the 9800.
If you're going to be gaming a few years down the road I really suggest not getting a laptop though.
Wat? Good job spewing the same mentality over and over. Yes, because having both a much faster memory core and shader clock, more stream processors, and 4x the video memory means that the radeon X2 and gtx 285 are exactly the same right? Pls lrn2 understand GPU's and the intricacies of their technology. Seriously i hate when random kiddies who barely understand how hard manufacturers work on these cards start saying things like this. There is at least a 3x power increase between the newest Nvidia card (GTX 285) and the 8800GTS. I could just as easily say that Starcraft 2 is exactly the same as SC1, just rebranded, so why should we buy it?
GTX 285 Core, Memory, and Shader Clocks: 648 MHz 2484 MHz 1476 MHz Memory: 1 or 2GB GDDR3 8800 GTS Core, Memory and Shader Clocks: 500MHz 1480MHz 400 MHz Memory: 512MB DDR2 or DDR3 Seriously the only resemblance is in the core clock. Please do your research before you say things like this.
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If you want a laptop for the use that they were intended for, mobility, don't even look at the 17 inch monsters that people are linking - those are called "desktop replacements" for a reason, you wouldn't want to lift them off the desk.
I think the best choice for mobility would actually be some of the tablet convertibles around 11-13 inches, like Dell XT2 if money really isn't an issue, Fujitsu T5010 or T2020 to save some, or for slightly better GPUs the AMD based HP tablets that seem to be changing names with combinations of tx, tz, 2, 25, 2500 a lot since they were around :p right now they seem to be TouchSmart tx2z.
EDIT: Also there were some Gateway models a couple years back, maybe you should look at them too? by now they are probably also updated to have multitouch and whatnot... I just disregarded them because they aren't an option for me (outside of America)
Bear in mind that some of the mentioned models (namely the Fujitsus, but perhaps also some HP variants) could be configured with non-multitouch screens last time I looked at them, and you wouldn't want that. Why I recommend multitouch tablet convertibles at all? Well, Windows 7 will launch by the end of the year and then you will see why.
A problem with buying those tablets that I listed however, is that their platform is getting quite dated already. By one year I expect the next gen to have made them all obsolete. They are also gonna see some stiff competition from cheaper netbook tablet variants, like the eventual replacements of my gigabyte M912X, but it will take more than a couple of years until this happens.
If you want some more GPU power, you'll have to give up some battery life, the tablet and touchscreen functions, go up to a 14-15 inch model and the increased weight that comes with that. Or you may just stick to your desktop too.
Figure out what you want from this laptop. Are you ever really going to use it on the go? If so, just give up playing the latest and greatest on it before you even bought it. But if you want mobility and are ready to lower details in your games, perhaps the tablets that I recommend will run even SC2 and Diablo 3 - Blizzard is known for having their games work on mainstream and more humble systems.
If you aren't sure yet and don't need it right now, the best course is always to wait until you do need it, so you can take advantages of the new developments that will happen until then.
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United States22883 Posts
Asus has been putting out great laptops lately, but like georgir said, you should probably wait until you do need it.
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What are further requirements? Do you really need the mobility? If I wouldn't travel between home and my apartment at university I would probably use a desktop pc and a nice netbook. I need a laptop that I can afford, which I can take to university and on which I can work and play. All these goals contradict each other of course .
Make up your mind on what you really need. If you don't need the mobility, you don't need the notebook. 17'' sucks for mobility, but on smaller notebooks you don't get as good hardware.
I am currently in the process of buying this one: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-MSI-Megabook-GT627-Gaming-Notebook.14601.0.html
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If at all possible go for split laptop/desktop.
Laptop hardware lags behind quickly and with D3 so far off, you're better off getting a mobile laptop and a powerhouse desktop.
You also won't be able to run SC2/D3 at high settings and resolution (read: 1600-1900) without 8800+. Don't even bother with "gaming" laptops.
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Kentor
United States5784 Posts
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17'' sucks for mobility
Lies!
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infinity21
Canada6683 Posts
On June 10 2009 03:34 naventus wrote: If at all possible go for split laptop/desktop. I 2nd this if you care about having nice resolutions for gaming / don't want to buy a new computer for at least 3 years.
Laptops that are powerful enough to play games have 0 mobility -- battery life of 1 hr, heats up very quickly, weighs like a few bricks. If you're not looking for mobility, then you might as well get a desktop.
What I did was compromise on both ends.. got a medium range gpu (9600gt) that lasts 4 hours with 15.4 inch screen. If you're looking for true mobility, I suggest at most 14 inch screens + desktop at home. 15.4 inch laptops are ok but are still a pain to carry around everywhere all day (to lectures in my case).
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