Since I know NOTHING about PC's I thought I might seek out some advice from this well informed group. I would like a laptop that can play the latest MMORPG's like WoW and CoH to SW:Gal. (You like my hip gamming lingo short hand?) I read a bunch of magazines this weekend and have choosen this website as good place to buy from. I love the options and the price. But they offer ALOT of options! So what would you kids get?
Please advise.
http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/notebook.asp
If you want a machine that is truly for gaming then you'll need a full blown Pentium 4, not a Centrino/Pentium M. I have a Toshiba P15-S479 and it can take all the games I've thrown at it (Far Cry, Knights of the Old Republic, City of Heroes etc.). It also has a built in TiVo thanks to Windows Media Center, which is an awesome feature. More info is available
here.
As for IBuyPower, the only Pentium 4 they've got is the Battalion 101 SC Series. It's got a massive 17" display (keep in mind how big that makes the actual machine, my Toshiba only has a 15" screen and it only just makes it in my backpack) and very fast parts. If that's the system you want then go for the Pentium 4 3.0E (with 1MB cache), 1024MB of RAM, the 60GB 7200RPM hard drive (no raid), and the 4x dual format DVD burner drive. Oh and get Windows XP Professional. That configuration is almost comparable to my Alienware Area 51 desktop.
Anyways, if you've got any more questions we're here all day every day*.
*Except when we're not here.
I agree with Devin and if you go with the iBuy do upgrade to the 7200RPM harddrive. You will notice the difference from the 5400.
But I would ask...why a laptop? Because it will be a monster. Not the sort of thing you're gonna want to lug around 8 hours a day. Even Devin's is a cow that I would argue calling a laptop because your thighs would concave after supporting it for two hours. Not quite a desktop but certainly a coffee-table-top. Ok, maybe not that bad.
My need for flawless gaming far outweighs portability. I realize laptops have come a long way over the last year but I'm still suspicious. I want to say that if you take a laptop and a desktop with exactly the same settings and hardware you are going to get better performance from the desktop. Maybe that's no longer the case with the new desktop substitutes but I'm still suspicious.
I've owned a top of the line laptop (customized with gaming in mind) in the past and still had to lower the settings to play (at the time) current games.
But if laptop is the path then slam that bad boy with as many upgrades as possible. I'd even go from 1gig mem up to 2gigs. But that's me.
Well, now I'm up to 3000.00 dollars plus if I go with the Devin suggestion. Which, I thank you for. Don't get me wrong, I know more now then when I started. But I think I need to ask whats important to play todays games?
I keep reading about these "gaming machines" but there are like 4 different ones on each page AHHH! What is it that I really need? Like in MAC all I need is a Graphic card Memory and Proccessor..is it the same for PC? What is it with AMD's are they a shitty proccessor? That why all of the machines with them are cheaper then the Intel's? I gotta go read some more.
The reason I want to go laptop is due to space. I can move a laptop to the coffee table, the dinner table, my desk...But what is it that I need to play today and tommorow?
AMDs are not crappy. They are different. For gaming, Pentium 4s perform better. The safe minimum for playing today's and tomorrows games would be as follows:
-Pentium 4 w/Hyper Threading at 2800MHz+
-1024MB RAM
-60GB 5400RPM+ Hard Drive (if you can only get the 4200RPM drive - which is most common in laptops - don't do it as they are being phased out and you will notice a difference)
-DVD/CD-RW drive
-A screen capable of displaying at least 1024x768 pixels (wide screen displaying at least 1280x76
-128MB+ nVidia GeForce FX or 128MB+ ATI Radeon graphics card
The problem with getting that in a laptop is, as Todd said, they get BIG and EXPENSIVE. My Toshiba weighs 8 pounds and is considered a lightweight in the desktop replacement market. It only barely fits into my backpack. However, if you just want to be able to move it to the couch then this shouldn't be much of an issue.
Just remember, when you get big laptops like the ones we're talking about, they will indeed make your legs collapse after 2 hours iwth them on it. However, that is a non issue because the batteries on these laptops last 2 hours if you're lucky.
If you want the real deal gaming machine then get an Alienware Area 51 desktop. If you want something that will play games - even if in basic modes while somewhat degrading the full experience then spend more and get a high performance laptop.
The best way to go in my opinion is to buy a big gaming desktop and get an Apple iBook for when you're on the go or what have you because you can't beat the iBooks in size, weight, or durability (I've got one).
Bottom line: Powerful gaming notebooks are expensive, and can't perform nearly as well as a similarly specced gaming desktop. Think long and hard before you make a decision on the form factor of your next computer.
Yes, everything Devin said.
First you gotta decide what exactly this computer is for. If it's just for gaming, then go with a desktop. If you need it to be portable for other reasons then be prepared to make some gaming sacrifices unless you ware willing to spend the money. And even if you are willing then accept the fact that it's going to be bulky and heavy. And even after all of that you may still need to bring the settings down on some games in order to play lag and LD free.
How much do you want to spend anyway?
Because you at least want to get the specs Devin has laid out above. Depending on the maker I'd guess those specs are somewhere around 1500 to 2000?
But that said, the system Devin has suggested is the minimum. Those specs will run any game out right now. And probably run them just fine but I'm thinking you might have to lower some of the settings on a couple of games. Far Cry perhaps. And you certainly may have too when the newer games hit -- Half Life and Doom, etc.
If you want to go high end desktop then like Devin said, Alienware is your best bet. Their new ALX system has been getting rave reviews. It's performing much faster than other high enders and that's before they integrate the duel screen duel video cards.
But be aware that it's a funky time (and please don't confuse that with Funky Town) to buy because I don't think either of the newest video cards are out yet. I think both the ATI and the NVidea are still a few weeks off if not months.
And know that with any computer...especially PC...there's at least a 50/50 chance on a lemon. You will be able to return the stupid thing if that happens but just know that the high end companies (Alienware for instance) won't make that easy. They'll do it but it'll be a hassle. And I'm of the belief that there is no safe company out there. Devin's had horrible success with Sony Vaios. Dean's had horrible luck with Alienware. Gateway has bent me over on several occasions. You run the chance of a lemon regardless of spending two grand or six grand.
Take your time and don't stress and know that if you have any questions please feel free to call Dean so that his assistant can give you Noel's number.
Yeah it is a weird time to buy computers. Yesterday chipmakers (Intel & AMD) stocks went way down on projections of a slower PC buying season. The new ATI X800 and nVidia FX6800 are currently only available on top of the line Alienware systems, and even then they will most likely be slightly buggy because they are so new. You wouldn't want to buy a high-end gaming rig right now without one of those cards, because the benchmarks blow the previous generation of cards into tiny little pieces.
Also, PC makers have been dragging their feet about releasing their new products over the summer. Alienware was one of the only ones that actually did their release, with the ALX. Apple, for instance, doesn't have any more iMacs to sell because they stopped production of the current model months before the release of the new model which has created a big problem for them what with the back-to-school shopping season. If you go to the Apple store online and go to the iMac page they have posted an apology letter.
The best time to buy would probably be mid to late fall or early winter, or if you can wait: immediately after Christmas.
But if you need it now, tell us what your budget is, and decide on wether or not you can tolerate a desktop, and we'll help you find your perfect PC.