INFO: Building/Buying a Laptop (PC or Mac)

[Kuriin]

Ahh okay. That's fine then. Thanks.

[Slide]

Originally Posted by Kuriin

Okay, so I'm really interested in getting a laptop now...but, it seems like very few companies sell a laptop with an 8800 for the videocard. Will the 8600 be sufficient enough to play video games? Or does anyone know if it's possible to put in a /special/ request (I'm really wanting a MBP...) to have a 8800 be put in?


edit: Also, do external harddrives work regardless of OS? Is there a special one for OSX, or can I just use any form?

I'm using one of the previous refresh 2.2GHz Macbook Pros with 1400x900 screen and a 8600GT 256MB and it's fine for most gaming. I obviously cant play Crysis with all the bells and have to turn settings down a fair bit (but my desktop with a 8800GT cant either). Everything else i've tried COD4 / Bioshock / UT3 / WoW / NWN2 plays with perfectly smooth settings at native resolution and the settings turned up.

Any external USB drive will work, you'll have to format it FAT32 if you want to use it on both Windows and OSX.

(And there's no chance at all of having a 8800 put in)

[Kuriin]

I bought a macbook pro (customized), but it only has 200GB (7200RPM one) on it. My desktop has a 7950, so I'm hoping the 8600 is better than it. :] I know nothing of the 8xxx series as I am old and decrepit (before my 7950, I played nonstop with a 4600, lol).

Thanks for all the help. Now to buy an external harddrive, lol.

[sumdain x]

having just finished Navy bootcamp and being put up at a comfy A school for the next year or so i decided to splurge and blow my load on an alienware mx-51 2.8ghz processor, geforce 8800 gtx card, 4 gb ram, supposedly broadcasts in 1200p on a 15.4 inch moniter.

im practically drooling waiting for it to arrive, but until then has anyone had any experience with this specific laptop?

[Krowbar]

Originally Posted by Kuriin

I bought a macbook pro (customized), but it only has 200GB (7200RPM one) on it. My desktop has a 7950, so I'm hoping the 8600 is better than it. :] I know nothing of the 8xxx series as I am old and decrepit (before my 7950, I played nonstop with a 4600, lol).

Thanks for all the help. Now to buy an external harddrive, lol.

Hi,

I have a laptop with an 8600M GT and 2.5GHz core 2 duo penryn processor and a desktop with a 7950 GT (EVGA, factory overclocked) and a 3.7GHz core 2 duo processor (overclocked).

The 3DMark2001 scores are better on the laptop.
The 3DMark2006 scores are higher on the desktop.

I don't have the exact numbers right now, I can run the benches again tomorrow if you want them.

Edit: All 8600M GTs aren't the same. I have the Lenovo Thinkpad T61p which is one of the better performers with a 256 bit bus and faster memory (I think DDR3).

[Slide]

The 7950 > 8600 - 7950 is high end of the previous gen, 8600 is mid end of current generation; it's still a reasonable performer if your not expecting it to be uber. The MBP has a decent 8600GT - ie GDDR3 etc.

[Foradream]

Originally Posted by Slide

The 7950 > 8600 - 7950 is high end of the previous gen, 8600 is mid end of current generation; it's still a reasonable performer if your not expecting it to be uber. The MBP has a decent 8600GT - ie GDDR3 etc.

But how much of a difference is there? Would a 8600 still be able to run Crysis at low settings?

[Slide]

Originally Posted by Foradream

But how much of a difference is there? Would a 8600 still be able to run Crysis at low settings?

I run it at Low/Medium @ 1440x900 and the framerate is 20fps+ consistently so yes. Haven't got that far into it tho, too many games to finish atm so maybe later levels with the ice and stuff will cause too much slowdown and force a drop to Low.

At a rough guess, a 8600 is around 1/3rd the performance of an 8800.

Everything else i've tried so far runs perfectly fine.

[Murr]

Originally Posted by sumdain x

having just finished Navy bootcamp and being put up at a comfy A school for the next year or so i decided to splurge and blow my load on an alienware mx-51 2.8ghz processor, geforce 8800 gtx card, 4 gb ram, supposedly broadcasts in 1200p on a 15.4 inch moniter.

im practically drooling waiting for it to arrive, but until then has anyone had any experience with this specific laptop?

I'm sorry you wasted so much money on the alienware brand

It'll be a solid laptop, no worries, but in the future check out Sager. Similar build quality and parts for WAY less.

[Ronne]

Have the 8xxx series of mobile cards eclipsed the 7950gtx yet?

[Kuriin]

Originally Posted by Murr

I'm sorry you wasted so much money on the alienware brand

It'll be a solid laptop, no worries, but in the future check out Sager. Similar build quality and parts for WAY less.

Sager has good computers, but TERRIBLE customer service. I would avoid them.

[Murr]

Originally Posted by Kuriin

Sager has good computers, but TERRIBLE customer service. I would avoid them.

Yeah, but do you think Alienware's brand/ "Customer service" is worth a $2000 or more premium?

[Jysin-DW]

Remember also: Alienware = Dell

Everyone knows their CS is hit and miss, but it surely doesnt justify the premium at all.

[Slide]

Originally Posted by Jysin-DW

Remember also: Alienware = Dell

Everyone knows their CS is hit and miss, but it surely doesnt justify the premium at all.

The Dell XPS series are pretty good, i've had pretty good experience with that series. Still i'm happy with my MBP, it has basically been running 24/7 for 5-6 months now and is still 100%

[Kuriin]

I'm loving my MBP. First time I've ever used a laptop in a lecture and it's just AMAZING being able to take notes quickly.