Iso 500-700$ C2d, Gpu, Xp, ...

[kylezo]

Hiya SDers

I'm in the market for a new laptop again, and I'm willing to spend $500-$700. Of course I'm hoping to bottom out in that price range :P I also have some questions since I have been out of the loop for almost a year. Like, are C2D processors still king of the hill for mobile platforms? Whats the newest chipset I should look for in terms of upgradeability if I decide to buy my own processor down the road? etc.

Here are some of the things I am looking for:

14 OR 15 inch monitor (at least 1280x800 but wouldn't mind higher native res)
C2D processor or similar (see above)
Dedicated GPU with at least 128 MB memory
Firewire port (4 pin mini is fine)
Hoping for an integrated mic, but not necessary (I can just get a headset if need be)
Windows XP Home/Pro (yeah, I know...this is the tough part but its pretty important to me...not willing to mess with VMs and junk...some of my favorite [read: most important] programs are not Vista compatible [i.e. Sandboxie] and I'm not too giddy about the prospect of making 4 VPCs with XP installed from god knows what source on each of them just to run a couple progs...:vomit: blargh )
Also hoping to get a 7200 RPM hd...any size from 80GB up would be fine, but I'd really like to see a slight bit more than that if possible.
DVD/RW drive (not a necessity since I have an external LaCie drive but, it's firewire so one of the 2 is needed :P it would be nice to be able to watch DVDs without using firewire tho xD )


I got a Vostro 1500 with everythign above except the dedicated GPU/fast HD and now I'm kicking myself for having a crappy IGP xD I got a kick azz deal tho, about $500 including Vista and XP CDs and licenses and a bunch of other software, as well as a 9 cell battery.

The RAM doesn't matter to me since I can upgrade easily.

So yeah, this might look like a pretty impossible task, but, this is the place to look, imo :D

I'm committed to the task and not really on a crazy time limit so, if you guys also have ideas about when the next big sale might be, let me know about that too.

Thanks SDers!

[kylezo]

I'm thinking about the HP 8510p...any comments or experience with this?

[STi]

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=284727&t=1205183

buy fast cuz they are going like hot pancakes!

[kylezo]

Thanks! I saw this thread earlier and now there's like 7 more listings :P

Having a hard time finding ones with dedicated GPU's tho :(

edit: also I don't think any of them are coming with XP, Imma keep looking tho

[kylezo]

wow...bump? lol no responses, really? :(

[kyzen]

I'm not saying it's impossible, but you're going to have a hard time finding a laptop meeting your hefty (but excellent) specs that's still in your budget. You're especially screwed if you want a high end dedicated card, as opposed to the weak ones typically thrown in laptops.

Keep an eye on Dell's sales and their outlet center.

[kylezo]

i have found several at under 700 already..I figured you folks would be able to do a better job than me tho, what with the 'fingers on the pulse of the deal world' and such...the only reason I havne't pulled the trigger yet is cuz I'm waitin to hear back from more experienced ppl...so, thanks for your input! Maybe I'll get the deals I'm finding already...

HP 8510p Core2 Duo 2.0/15.4/2G/100G/DVDRW/XP/Office2007/
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 2600 256 MB of video memory

Nice card on this one!
and its 695...free ship.

also...
Velcoity Micro NoteMagix L80 2.0GHz/2GB/100GB/DVD±RW/WiFi

256MB nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600GS

not asnice, but 575 great price! both have xp, firewire, ded. GPU, XP Pro, 7200 hd.

Thanks for your input again!

[kyzen]

Sorry, but the Radeon 2600 is *not* a nice card ;)

The Velocity Micro one isn't too bad; I used a 7600 in a desktop for a few months. wasn't the best card in the world, but at the time I was only playing WoW, so it was fine.

If you're looking for a serious gaming machine - and I suppose we still don't know what, exactly, you plan to do with this thing - neither of those are going to be able to keep up with anything modern. If you're just looking for a solid Windows experience, and maybe some HD video, then either will be fine.

[kylezo]

kyzen...are you sure?

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 5997 3DMark score

NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 3241 3DMark score

....
notebook check puts the 7600 in Class3, 2600 in class2...

Said of the HD 2600:

"Technically, the chip owns 120 stream processors which are able to manage vertex-, geometric or pixelshader operations. Therefore DirectX 10.0 and Shader Model 4.0 are supported. To be mentioned is also the 256 bit wide ringbus.

In games the HD 2600 positions itselft between GeForce 8600M GS and GT. Crysis and World in Conflict are only in low details fluently playable."


Said of the 7600:
"The successor, the GeForce 8600M GT is a noticeable faster card with DirectX 10 hardware support.

The GeForce Go 7600 laptop-graphics card features a so called PureVideo Engine, which is capable of hardware acceleration of H.264 (not as fast as the 8600M series), WMV, and MPEG-2 videos."

Much better scores and reviews on the Class 2 2600...

Also..very hard to find an affordable Class 2 GPU in a lappy :P

Sorry for not mentioning my uses in the original...I will be using it for Web, Photo processing, Gaming, Music Recording and mixing, other miscellaneous tasks...Playing WoW and some Counterstrike: Source..decent but not amazing GPU wanted really. I figure either of these will do the trick, since I am used to an Intel AGP xD xD xD its sad.

To be honest, the 2600 is one of the best reviewed/test results card I have found in the last few days...idk tho, I trust you, so let me know what you think...thanks!

[kyzen]

I had a 2600 in a laptop I used on a few business trips for work last year... it was ok for mediocre gaming; the issue was that it got hot quick, and performance went down noticeably while it was hot. A cooling pad may have helped; I didn't have one at the time.

Either of the GPU's will run WoW fairly well. Counterstrike source should also run decently, with a few of the bells and whistles turned down.

I currently have 2 laptops with real video cards in them (and a few more with the stupid Intel Integrated crap). The fastest is a GeForce 9500m GS, coupled with 4GB RAM, and a 1.86ghz C2D - this is in an ASUS laptop. I can run most games fairly well, though I frequently have to turn down or sometimes totally off the really fancy bells and whistles (AA, HDR, etc). Again, similiar to the laptop I used briefly for work, the heat is an issue with this one. I do now have a cooling pad, and it helps considerably, however it's still lightyears behind the GeForce 9600 GT I have in my desktop. It's surprisingly how wide of a margin there is between them.

I also have a Radeon x1600 in a 17" Compaq nx9420 that I was issued by my work. I've used it to play CoD 4 (medium/low settings @ 1440x900) at a LAN party, WoW, Eve online, and Warcraft 3 - almost always on medium/low.

Unfortunately, whatever "class" the video card is in a laptop, it's still going to perform well below that of its desktop counterparts. Hell, most desktop cards draw upwards of 100w of power alone - look at any laptop power cord, chances are you're going to see it rated for 45-110w for the whole system.

Between the two cards you've mentioned, I'd go for the 7600... but still, don't expect desktop quality performance.

[kylezo]

delightfully informative...thank you very much kyzen :D Much appreciated input,

[kylezo]

Ok I found this...the HP Elitebook 6930p for $800 brand new...its a big stretch, but what do you guys think? 3 year warranty, and it has everything I need.

Product Description: HP EliteBook 6930p, Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4 GHz, 14.1" TFT
Weight: 5.1 lbs
Platform Technology: Intel Centrino with vPro Technology
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 / 2.4 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Cache Memory: 3 MB, L2 cache
Hard Drive: 160 GB, Serial ATA-300, 7200 rpm
Optical Storage: DVD±RW (+R DL) / DVD-RAM, internal with LightScribe Technology
Display: 14.1" TFT 1440 x 900 ( WXGA+ )
Graphics Controller: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450, 256 MB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business / XP Professional downgrade
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years warranty


I have to add I thought this was hilarious...there was also this spec listed:

Rugged design: Yes

hahahahahahahaha

[kylezo]

Can anyone else weight in on the GPU for this unit?

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450

I'm ready to pull the trigger on this deal...I'm really only playing WoW and a litte bit of Counerstrike Source...will this GPU handle them ok?

Thanks!