Going Mobile... Think this'll do?

[Letters]

Alright, I'm going to be getting rid of my desktop because it just won't be practical here in a couple of months... so I'm gettin' me a laptop! I want good battery life of course, but I also want to be able to keep my gaming hobby!

So, I've looked around, and Cyberpower seems to have the best deal for me. With selling my desktop and some money I have coming, I was shooting for $1750. Anything over that, and I'm reaching into my savings a bit. So, here's what I'm lookin' at!


System Summary
# Intel® Pentium® M Processor @ 1.7Ghz 1MB CACHE ~ CNB733
# Intel® 855GM CHIPSET MB W/ Centrino™ TECHNOLOGY
# 1024 MB PC2700 333MHz DDR MEMORY
# 60GB 7200RPM ULTRA ATA 100 HARD DRIVE
# MOBILE ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB VIDEO
# 16X/4X CD-RW/DVD-RW COMBO DRIVE
# 15.0" SXGA TFT LCD DISPLAY 1400X1050
# BUILT-IN AC 97 SOUND
# (SILVER) Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Optical Explorer 4.0A USB & PS/2 Compactible
Price: $1854.00


Specification (S4-3200 Notebook)

Processor & Core logic
• CPU: Intel Pentium-M up to 1.7G
• North Bridge: Intel 855GM
• South Bridge: ICH4m

Display
• 15.0" SXGA+ TFT LCD 1280x1024 Pixels
• Mobile Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB, AGP 8X
• Simultaneous LCD and CRT display at non-interlace external CRT
• Dual View support
• Support TV-Out

System Memory
• Two DDR SoDIMM sockets up to 1024 MB
• 512KB FLASH BIOS with boot block; shadow RAM support

Storage Subsystem
• Enhanced-IDE hard disk drive
• Storage Bay: Combo(DVD+CDRW), DVD+RW Module

Keyboard and Pointing Device
• Built-in touchpad pointing device with large two buttons below the Touchpad .
• 84/85/88-key, inverted "T" cursor layout
• 12 function keys; 4 cursor keys; separate PgUp, PgDn, Home, End keys; two Windows keys; hotkey controls
• Embedded numeric keypad
• International language support
• 4-way Scroll key for internet

V.92 Communications
• 56Kbps ITU standard fax/modem in MDC module

Ethernet Connection
• IEEE 802.3 10/100 Base T compatible PHY

Wireless
• 802.11b / 802.11g WLAN mini-PCI module Solution (optional)


Audio System
• AC-97
• Audio system with two speakers
• Internal Microphone
• SoundBlaster-Pro and MS-Sound System compatible
• Audio DJ

Power Subsystem
• ACPI Compliant, power management supports power saving modes of Standby and Hibernation (S3/S4)
• 65Wh (14.8V x 4400mAh) 8-cell cylindrical Li-Ion main battery pack
• 1.5 hour express charge to 90%(S3/S4); 2.5 ~4hours charge-in-usage(Windows Desktop)
• Max. 5.0 hrs Li-Ion battery
• 70W AC adapter

I/O Ports
• One PCMCIA type-II socket
• One RJ45 jack for Ethernet
• One RJ11 56Kbps fax/modem
• One DC-IN jack for AC adapter
• One external VGA port
• One speaker/ headphone-out jack(SPDIF)
• One Mic in / Line in
• One Parallel Port
• Three USB 2.0 port
• One FIR port
• One TV-out port
• One IEEE 1394 port
• One Audio DJ panel
• One Multi-Media (SD/MS/MMC card) reader

Software Support
• Windows XP Home and Professional

Form Factor
• 2-spindle design, brand new ID
• 12.77 (W) x 10.64 (D) x 1.18 (H) inch
• Less than 6.1 lbs (for 15.0" & Combo model)



Yeah, I'm going a little over for the 16X DVD writer. The only other option was 8X (non-writing too), and that doesn't seem fast enough.

Is this a good bang for my buck? Think it'll run games alright? Anyone have experience with Pentium-M notebooks and how good their battery life really is and their performance in gaming? A 1.7 Ghz Pentium-M is approaching the performance of a P4 3.0 Ghz processor, correct?

(Hurray for rapid-fire questions! )

 

[blahblahblah]

They have a new version of the Pentium M. The easiest way to find these new ones is that they have a 2 Mb L2 Cache. You want one of these new ones because they are faster than the older Pentium M's but still have the same battery life. Link

For gaming the Mobile 9700 Pro, will roughly be between the same performance as a Radeon 9600 Pro and XT. Very good for a laptop, but hardly high end graphics performance. If you do game in the future, be prepared to turn down the graphics options significantly. Link

I think that is a pretty good price for the laptop you are getting. But then again, I don't keep up with the laptop market, so I could be wrong.

 

[oD1Nz]

While they might be reasonably expensive, see if you can get a Mobile Athlon64. They are very nice and fast, although battery life does suffer a bit (~3-4 hours standard, might be more/less depending manufacturer).

 

[Letters]

They have a new version of the Pentium M. The easiest way to find these new ones is that they have a 2 Mb L2 Cache. You want one of these new ones because they are faster than the older Pentium M's but still have the same battery life. Link

The cheapest one is $140 more. Is this upgrade better than getting the the 16X DVD drive rather than the 8X?

For gaming the Mobile 9700 Pro, will roughly be between the same performance as a Radeon 9600 Pro and XT. Very good for a laptop, but hardly high end graphics performance. If you do game in the future, be prepared to turn down the graphics options significantly. Link

Well, my desktop has a regular ol' 9600 that does pretty damn good! So this is really getting better for me! The only thing is future upgrading might be harder.

While they might be reasonably expensive, see if you can get a Mobile Athlon64. They are very nice and fast, although battery life does suffer a bit (~3-4 hours standard, might be more/less depending manufacturer).

I did look around for a bit for one of those, but the only ones that fell into this price range never had an option for any better than an ATI Mobility 9600 pro video card! Little odd... plus, I like that the wireless is free with a Centrino.

 

[gh0st]

id never get a laptop for gaming.. if i got a laptop it would be a powerbook or something. either way, if gamings your deal, i would suggest a64 and/or r9700m. expect the limitations though.

 

[blahblahblah]

Do you need this laptop for portability reason (ie from building to building) or do you need it to occasional move the laptop (ie from a dorm to home)?

If you are going to occasional move the laptop, you may want to check out a small form factor PC's. That may be a better value for your dollar. (They don't seem to sell those at cyberpowerinc.com) Here is what they look like if you've never seen one before.

 

[Asus]

That would be a nice laptop there, parts and all. Awesome pick.