Spec me a laptop please

PsychomIKE · 16 Dec 2006 at 11:07

Hi, can anyone give me some advice on laptops please.

My primary uses (as in, most stressful) will be editing Doom 3, so obviously a system capable of running that at a decent resolution, and associated applications such as Blender and GIMP. I'll also be using it to watch movies, so a decent screen would be nice, but doesnt have to be crazy big - Im thinking 15.1" WS? Bulk isn't too much of an issue as it'll mostly be at my flat, and it'd need a LAN connection, but I assume this is standard. Overriding factor is budget, isn't it always? It's really a portable editing tool for me, so I don't want to be spending anything over than £500+ VAT i guess... but if someone can also quote me a cheapo laptop that could run doom3 comfortably, that would be great.

Cheers

PsychomIKE · 17 Dec 2006 at 12:40

Looking further into this it seems wise to up my budget a couple of hundred, to enable me to get a decent 3D card and processor.

The 3D options seem to be a ATI 1400 or Nvidia 7300. Looking at reviews of these I'd think they'd play Doom3 more than happily, and both seem of a similar speed. Is there any thing to look out for on these boards that might be a decider of what one to get?

In terms of processors, I'm seeing a lot of aderts for "Centrino Duo" and "Core 2 Duo" but I can't work out the difference?!

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB)

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.0 GHz, 4 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB)

Is the extra MHz and cache going to make a substantial difference in the future, as it adds asbout £150 to the price, which is a fair old whack.

Lastly, I'm abroad at the moment, and there is a local shop that has some interesting Asus bundles. Are these known as a quality laptop brand? Or perhaps Overclockers can ship abroad? I'm outside the EU right now.

Thanks for your help.

ringo747 · 17 Dec 2006 at 14:42

PsychomIKE said:
Lastly, I'm abroad at the moment, and there is a local shop that has some interesting Asus bundles. Are these known as a quality laptop brand?

Hi im on lookout for laptop too and was really keen on the Asus F3 range. apparently they are the fastest growing make in the world according to sales stats (read that somewhere else). Also Asus make some parts for the Sony Vaio laptops so their reputation is very good.

I was looking at some Acers but many people have recommended to go for Asus over Acer.

Sony is too expensive, toshiba are pricey for the spec you get and Dells are just Dells!

If you do go for an asus let me know what you think - i am yet to find as good specs and pricing as on the F3 Asus range.

Jonny

PsychomIKE · 18 Dec 2006 at 09:46

Hey Johnny, some good info there. The more I read about Asus the more I like the sounds of them... I won't be purchasing until January time, but I'll let you know how I get on.

Mike

ringo747 · 21 Dec 2006 at 01:14

i actually saw one in the flesh today and they really do look well.. it was one of the 17" A6 series as far as i remember. Next shop i went into had nice 15.4" Macbook pros so i dont know what to go for now!

For the price I dont think you can beat Asus - think MBP is just way too pricey for me at the moment.

Let me know how you get on

GuruJockStrap · 21 Dec 2006 at 09:27

Hopefully ASUS have improved their support because I recall it being utterly shocking a while back with motherboards. Might be different with laptops but I'd seriously look into the after sales support and warranty as a criteria.

If the GPU fails in a desktop PC, you can simply replace it. Not so with laptops.