Buying a SE5-friendly laptop

[boran_blok]

I think any modern laptop will handle SEV (since it's not that graphically intensive) But I do reccomend you buy a laptop with a graphics card. which one doesnt really matter, as long as it has it's own memory and doesnt steal from the system's memory.

With that you're set I think.

And dont spend too much, but also dont goo too cheap, try and aim at the middle. most value lies there.

[Captain Kwok]

Although SE:V is not flashy, with large fleet battles it certainly start grinding with all the animations etc. if you're into tactical battles.

[rdouglass]

I just bought a Lenovo 3000 N100 (basically an IBM ThinkPad) with a Centrino Dual Core (1.83 GHz) and 1.5 GB RAM about 3 weeks ago and it plays SEIV just fine - even with massive fleets, etc.

I'm hoping it'll be fine with SEV since it uses a nvidia chipset for graphics.

I am *very* happy with my decision to go Lenovo. This is *not* a bottom-line laptop but is a much bigger bang for the buck than Dell or Toshiba IMO. One thing I really like is that it runs soooooo much cooler than the Toshibas I've used so I can actually use it on my lap.

I'd be happy to post further specs and price if folks are interested but you can Google them easy enough.

[Fyron]

Have you run any Dells or Toshibas with the new "Core" line of CPUs though? Intel's new chips are explicitly designed to run a lot cooler than previous architectures.

[Captain Kwok]

My wife's laptop is a Compaq Presario. So far, it's been quite a good buy. I'm glad that HPs line of junk hasn't seemed to interfere with Compaq's stuff.

[rdouglass]

Imperator Fyron said:
Have you run any Dells or Toshibas with the new "Core" line of CPUs though?

Nope, can't say that I have. I got a lot of bang for my buck tho and the one I have is a dual core processor. It has the Dual Layer DVD, etc. and is very current technology. They've (Lenovo) actually been making laptops for a long time with the ThinkPad name for IBM. In fact, they still do.

I got a good deal thru the place where I buy 50+ PC's a year tho.

I have found that it doesn't matter what I buy, my brother-in-law will tell me I bought the wrong thing and I paid too much for it. Regardless of your personal preferences, I've been in the computer industry for 26 years now and have put my hands on a *lot* of computers; Macs, Dells, Compaqs, Sinclairs, DEC VAX, - a lot. The bootom lime is I think the Lenovo is a very good laptop for the money and would recommend it to anyone that wanted more than just entry level stuff.

I am by no means saying Dell is only entry level. Just that if you get above that entry level products, consider Lenovo. I did and am not unhappy in the least.

[Fyron]

I wasn't trying to imply anything about Lenovo, just commenting on the heat comparison. It's not really fair to compare anything with a "Core" chip to anything older in terms of heat generation.

[rdouglass]

I'm sure the dual core technology reduces the heat considerably especially when you take into consideration the lower raw clock speeds (1.83 Ghz).

Even tho that sounds relatively slow, it's pretty peppy with 2 GB of RAM.

I am sitting on my couch right now connected via wifi with a game running in the background. (I have to take a break from working every 15 minutes or so; you know how it is....)

The day of the laptop has arrived for all intents and purposes. I develop web databases by trade (both privately and for an insurance agency) and have completely 'detached' myself from desktop PC's for about 3 weeks now and it is a viable solution. (It's also real nice sitting on my deck and doing so-called 'work'.

EDIT: I too wouold be interested in any beta tester's comments regarding laptop video. My "video card" says it's a GeForce Go 7300 so it sounds like I shouildn't have any issues with SEV.