Small(ish) laptop with a good gfx card?

Mr_T · 27 Jun 2008 at 16:51

I've currently got a Sony Vaio SZ which has a 13.3" screen, I love the size & weight of it but I'm now after something with a bit more oompf in the gfx department. However I've done a fair bit of searching and I can't seem to find a laptop that is a similar size (<15") that has a Geforce 8600 or better.

Anyone know of a laptop that would fit the bill?

iraiguana · 27 Jun 2008 at 17:31

do the dell 13 inch laptops allow you to have an 8600 ?

PinkFloyd · 27 Jun 2008 at 17:48

I've not seen anything better than a 8400 in something that small.

Bipolar Kittens · 27 Jun 2008 at 20:03

PinkFloyd said:
I've not seen anything better than a 8400 in something that small.

Me neither, reckon you might have to go 15" if you want something more beefier

Mr_T · 28 Jun 2008 at 12:28

Yeah, that sucks you'd think there would be a market for that kind of laptop.

beermonster · 28 Jun 2008 at 13:24

Mr_T said:
Yeah, that sucks you'd think there would be a market for that kind of laptop.

Desktop replacements with good gfx tend to be 17" - 20" hardly anyone would want to play games on a tiny 13" screen, hence very few laptops have better than a 8400 card. It would be nice if there were but i think they would be very pricey.

lopkinfop · 28 Jun 2008 at 16:22

the small form factor limits the gfx, also the heat produced in that tiny space is prohibitive

simonnance · 28 Jun 2008 at 16:33

and also the battery would struggle to power it for too long.

Mr_T · 1 Jul 2008 at 19:30

Result!! Finally found a laptop where you can choose a powerful gfx card and choose the resolution all in a 15" laptop...

http://www.mycizmo.com/?main_page=p...figure&zenid=524579c7f8a108a81f9726d1dbc01084

Very tempted

Gilbretto · 1 Jul 2008 at 22:16

If you want a 15" then why not go for the dell XPS?

Its probably cheaper than that company you found.

EDIT:

Ahhh....just noticed that the laptop comes with an 8800M GTX.

fobose · 1 Jul 2008 at 22:37

The upgrade options on there are a rip off though! Vista with 2GB ram.......riiiiiiight.

Mr_T · 1 Jul 2008 at 23:02

fobose said:
The upgrade options on there are a rip off though! Vista with 2GB ram.......riiiiiiight.

Yeah but who really buys a laptop for the os... hardware spec is really nice, I like the way you can choose not to have an os at all.

edit: The more I look at that laptop the better it is... you really don't want a laptop that has a mega high res on a 17" screen powered by any mobile gfx card. These guys have really understood that it's about choice of resolution with the best card possible.

Gilbretto · 1 Jul 2008 at 23:36

just had another look.

Its a lot extra to pay for the boost in gfx.

With Dell you can get a refund if you choose not to use the pre installed OS.

BASE Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista SP1™ Home Premium
COLOUR CHOICE 2.0 mega pixel Camera & Tuxedo Black for CCFL Display
LCD 15.4" Widescreen™ WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display (220nits)
BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION Biometric Fingerprint Reader with BLACK accent
MEMORY 3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048+1x1024]
HARD DRIVE 320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr)
BLUETOOTH Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module (up to 3Mbps)
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card
TV TUNER AND REMOTE CONTROL Dell™ Travel Remote Control

You could get all of that for £759.00 with the Dell XPS1530

Or get the other laptop, with the same spec appart from the gfx card for £1,505

Depends how much you really want/need the 8800 GTX? Is the 8800 GTX worth paying an extra £746 for? Thats a VERY expensive card :eek: