Laptop help

[Hectic Glenn]

Ok guys i've been looking around for a laptop for sometime and i need your help in buying the best one i can for what i need. And that is basically filling it up with lots of music and work. On top of that i need to be able to play games on it, but not too intensively. I'm talking CS 1.6, Pro Evo 5, C&C Generals, HL2 would be a bonus, nice and simple though.

I have £800 to work with.

I'd like it to have

RAM 512mb/1 gig (not bothered)
CPU 1.8ghz +
HD 80gb
DVD RW drive!
A graphics card (god knows which?)​

I need all help anyone can offer, about specifications, battery life, where to buy, and generally about laptops. I've had a look about, but people using laptops with the knowledge about them and the market would be fantastic.

Thanks for anything you can help me with.

 

[ComradeBadger]

Do you have a preference with regards to CPU (i.e. no Semprons/Celerons)

Or graphics?

Basically £800 should set you up for a nice laptop..

Personally I recommend
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Acer_Notebooks.html Acer - they make good laptops, and
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Asus_Notebooks.html Asus, also good (I'd probably go with Asus myself)

[Sony are alright too]

I'll admit I don't know too much about laptops - god knows how many repairs I did on em though!

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Cheers mate, really useful stuff there.

With regard to CPU, i have no preferences at all.

With graphics i prefer ATI, but whatever works best.

I see the processor speeds are greatly reduced for laptops, is it because you are using a battery rather than mains power? Keep the info coming in guys, any links and help would be marvellous.

 

[pomegranate]

The processors in most laptops are 'mobile' processors - e.g. Pentium M. They run at lower clockspeeds than desktop processors e.g. Pentium 4, but, to put it simply, 'do more work' per clock cycle (I think that's the technical word for it). So a Pent M running at 1.8Ghz is far more powerful than a P4 1.8Ghz. Lower clock speed means less power consumption and (I think) lower heat and so less cooling (thus less power consumption again).

This technology - of lower speed, but more efficient chipsets - are eventually migrating into desktops - the P4s will be replaced by Intel Core, which is derived from the Pentium M. Apple have already done this - the CPUs in the latest iMacs are Core Duos (two processors on one chip as I understand it) running at 'only' 1.83 or 2.00Ghz.

more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_Duo

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Thats really useful pomegranate, thanks mate, put alot of my worries to rest.

The laptop i'm looking at from CB's links has this processor

- Intel Core™ Duo Processor T2000 Sequence 1.66Ghz

(how fast is that then in relation to a normal P4, which i understand as a benchmark?)

It also has a GeForce GO 7300 256MB Turbo Cache Graphics Accelerator. I know most of the cards out there, but what does this 7300 compare to? I assume much lower than 7800/7900's? How close to 6800's etc?

Keep the help coming please!

 

[Revisedsoul]

yeah the M's are basicly intels swing at an amd point of view.

also turbocache will have dedicated memory and sharded as well.

and the 7300 will be far below a 6800. basicly its a good starter card,

 

[pomegranate]

Intel Core™ Duo Processor T2000 Sequence 1.66Ghz

(how fast is that then in relation to a normal P4, which i understand as a benchmark?)

I'm really hesitant to be too specific, but I think the general rule of thumb is that Pentium M processors are something like 1.5 times as powerful a Pentium 4s. My laptop has a Pentium M 1.8Ghz, which I understand is akin to a P4 between 2.5 and 3Ghz.

However my processor is 18 months years old and at least two generations behind in the M family, so doubtless a newer M and Core are far more powerful at the same clock speed. As I said before the Core Duo is (as I understand it) two processors on the same chip, so that's going to be more powerful again. Probably less power-efficient come to think of it. To be totally honest I'm not that up to date on laptop technology, I kind of lose interest in what's available after I buy. I'd never owned a laptop before I bought this one, so I did stacks of research (over several months) before hand. The best source of information for newbies (as I was at the time) I found was What Laptop magazine. Their forums are also very useful as there are some very clued-in and helpful people there.

PS I eventually decided on a Sony Vaio S2XP, being a bit of a sucker for pretty gadgets, and plus it was the smallest lightest laptop (essential for Uni at the time) with graphics acceleration (also obviously essential otherwise I wouldn't be here, right?). Turns out it was a bit of a daft choice in the end, as I left my course a few months later (post-grad) without finishing, and so the pretty penny I paid for the incredible portability wasn't really worth it. Oh well!

 

[Revisedsoul]

However my processor is 18 months years old

sorry i found that funny

 

[pomegranate]

sorry i found that funny

oops, I wrote "two years", thought about it then changed it to be more accurate (you don't know what sort of pedants are reading).
I won't edit it cause that will make these two posts look like nonsense....

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Fantastic, they say that the 1.66ghz processor i mentioned is the equivilent of 2 P4 1.66ghz put together, sounds good to me.

RevisedSoul, they also mentioned that fact too, seems to not be as good as i thought it may be. How about the x700, i'm thinking 9800 pro'ish level? Thats about right?

Oh and pommie, can you fill me in with regard to battery life stuff? And if you have any problems with latops as a whole, and what can be done to avoid those or little helpers?

Thanks again. (this links looks great)

 

[pomegranate]

What do you want to know about battery life, exactly? AFAIK, 3 hours is a reasonable minimum to expect (running on power save mode, where the screen brightness is reduced and the optical drive is turned off, and the processor 'tunes down' to run at a slower speed to preserve power.) I can't really make any generalisations about what components drain more power because it seems to vary from one model to another. Professional reviews are great for this as they actually use the laptop properly rather than just quoting the manufacturers' (inflated) figure.

Try and get a bigger HD, especially if you have a lot of mp3s or other stuff, I've an 80gb and it's full, but then I am a bit of a mp3 magpie. It's the main thing that I'd change about my laptop if I could afford it, I keep having to burn programs and photos off onto CDRs, not ideal.

If you're looking to be mobile, you really should aim to get as light and small a laptop as possible, bearing in mind the screen size. Anything much heavier than 2 kilos is going to be a pain to regularly carry round for a long time (IMO). Plus, ultraportable laptops (based around 13" screens or smaller) can more easily be stowed in a normal bag (so long as you put it in some kind of protective sleeve of course!), so you don't need to carry round a seperate (normally ugly) seperate case.
However if you're mostly planning on using it at home and not taking it out with you much, ignore the above, because you pay a lot more for the engineering that goes into shrinking the same system into a smaller package.

One thing to look out for is the coating the manufacturer gives the screen. A handful of companies apply what is best described as a glossy coat to the LCD, which makes an incredible difference to the intensity of colours and the constrast. If you have a look in Dixons or wherever, compare one with it to one without. Most of them have a special name for it, Sony calls it X-Black. When I bought mine only Sony and Rock Laptops had such a feature but I understand more companies are doing something similar now.

If you find yourself having to make hard decisions due to your budget, I might suggest sacrificing a 256mb graphics card for a 128mb one, considering the games you're planning on playing. That said you might kick yourself if you can't play new games a year down the line...

 

[Sanada]

From my experience Acer laptops have poor battery life. They generally last about 1 1/2 hours. Saying that though they are usually cheaper for the same spec compared to other brands.

£800 will get you a good laptop but I don't know about using it for gaming though. In the £800 price range, from what I can find, you can get a X300 or GeForce GO 7300/X1300. They're low end but I believe they'll still run all the games you want to play (even HL2).

Here's some I found that seem good:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=94783

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=102493
(Same but faster CPU)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=98856
(Don't know what GFX chip it has, can guess it's a X300 though)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=105304
(Probably best value, even though it's an Acer it does seem a good deal for a Centrino Duo)

These are just from ebuyer.com.

If you do get a laptop that has 512MB it'd be worth considering getting an extra 256/512 MB stick.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Thanks for the battery info and the stuff on screens pom, i've looked into that right away and added it to my 'i'd like' list of a laptop. Is this the same thing as the X Black? "15.4" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite™"

Sanada cheers for the links, the last one (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=105304)
Looks to be a pretty good option for me, however what would you say a radeon 1300 is the equivilent to with regard to the other ranges? 9600XT or something?

With regard to graphics, i'm not one for needing the best looking visuals around, i like to be able to play the game on medium and for it to work! Of all the games i play, HL2 and Battlefield 2 are the most demanding, so aiming at those on medium settings would be great.

I appreciate all your help so far guys, i've learnt much in the last few days, keep the info and links coming it.

 

[ComradeBadger]

Good luck getting BF2 to play on a laptop for £800

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Good luck getting BF2 to play on a laptop for £800

It's not as intensive as everyone says it is. It runs totally fine on 2.66ghz P4, 512mb RAM and 9600XT on medium settings for me, people get far too arsey about looks and stuff. We'll see though, if it kills the bloody thing, i'll stick with the other games instead.

Wheres pomegranate gone!

 

[$kelet0r]

Well I'll give some advice seeing as I got a laptop for college
- Don't succumb and get a Dell, Acer (who apparently manufacture 80% of the world's laptops under contracts) and ASUS are good quality while Toshiba and Sony are the best but stupidly expensive
- get as much RAM as possible - 1-2GB, selling laptops especially expensive high end ones is next to impossible, most people just buy cheap ones for internet on the go, so see it as a long termish (2-3 year investment, this is not something you will be able to upgrade)
- Get a Pentium M, I got a P4 3.0Ghz and I'd say most of my friends with mobile chips perform as well
- Get a Small HD and a DVDrw - works out sheaper than buying a large HD
- Battery Life and processing power are interlinked - so for 3 hours don't expect a fast processor, besides most of the time you'll find that treating yout laptop like a desktop is good for its health
- Video cards are the luxury item in laptops - they determine if you pay £600 or £1000. The x700 sounds like a good lowish cost long term option. I have the 9700 which plays HL2 well, 50 FPS average on medium high while BF2 plays like a dream on low so expect the x700 to perform well on medium.
- Wireless card, onboard sound and lots of USB ports (5+) are a must

Also don't get suckered into the MS Office is a necessity bullshit - just dl open office and save yourself £300

 

[pomegranate]

Wheres pomegranate gone!

Been at work all day, why?

 

[Hectic Glenn]

You seem to be my cheif adviser and therefore are priceless towards me.

The guys at the forum you gave me suggested this lap top.
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5512WLMi_LX.A7605.021/version-1.asp

Assuming i upgrade the RAM to a good ol 1gig, which i will do. It seems to be a lovely machine, anything on the specs suspect to anyone that you can see? Thoughts?

 

[Sanada]

Seems a good deal to me and yeah, upgrading to 1GB would be a good idea.

Just out of curiosity, does a laptop GPU perform the same as its desktop counterpart? So for instance, would the X700 on that laptop perform the same as an AGP/PCI-E desktop one? Or is it like clocked lower and stuff?

 

[pomegranate]

Yep, looks good!