Going crazy trying to choose a gaming, etc. laptop!

[Cherub]

I was all set to buy an eMachines 6805, but figured I should research as much as possible first. Now I have more questions than when I started! I am primarily concerned about longevity, as most notebooks are very limited in the area of upgrades. I know that many only allow memory and HDD upgrades, and some allow the CPU to be upgraded. Almost none have upgradable video and those that do are way too expensive for me. Therefore, it seems critical to focus on the video.

1. The current best video chip is the 9700 with 128MB. But, the premium for this chip over the 9700 with 64MB is over $150. Is it worth it?

2. What would be better, a 9700 with 64MB or a 9600 with 128MB?

3. The 9600 seems to be a great overclocker as people are reporting with regard to the 6805, and the 9700 is essentially just a higher clocked 9600 (still 4 pipelines); is the 9700 likewise overclockable? I'd hate to pay a lot more for a 9700 if both chips overclocked to similar levels.

4. Does the A64 3000+ have a significant lead over a P4 2.8 or 3.06?

Sorry for the shotgun approach here, but I've been trying to reseach for hours and can't find much info!

 

[Abhi]

Dont start another war man!! Try this thread http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=51&threadid=1268427

 

[Abhi]

Btw.... Ocing in a laptop... dont know if thats a good idea...

Wont heat be a major issue?

And the 9700 with 64mb will be better....

 

[ShellGuy]

Well considering I was in that forum as well i will have 2 agree please don't get us started on that again. If you read what has been posted then you will be fine.

Will

 

[Cherub]

Well considering I was in that forum as well i will have 2 agree please don't get us started on that again. If you read what has been posted then you will be fine.

No offense, but my questions were a lot more specific than the pissing match in that thread, and they could apply to machines built by any company. My questions included issues of 64MB v. 128MB performance and overclockability of 9600's v. 9700's. This has not been answered anywhere that I could find, likely because the 9700 Mobility is so new and so few people have them. I just don't want to get caught in a situation like the one that arose a few years ago where GF4 4200's were almost always overclocking further than the substantially more expensive 4400's. (My own 9800Pro is running faster any non-peltier cooled 9800XT I've seen posted recently.)

Also, I actually "own" a 6805. I'm just not going to open the box until I am completely convinced that it offers the most longevity. (I just wish Best Buy didn't have a restock fee on laptops...)

 

[Abhi]

Going a little off the track here... but have u ever OCed laptops?

I ask because i have a 4200 in my laptop.... But i never OCed it becasue of the heat and ventilation issues...

 

[Cherub]

I've never owned a laptop before, but all my desktops (well, none of my systems actually fit on top of a desk...) have been overclocked since 1999. I have read that the 6805 is quite overclockable, though it's not clear whether that is because of the BIOS, etc. or simply the selection of parts. It adds to the future longevity of the system. I have too many friends who have 2-3 year old notebooks sitting in their closets collecting dust.

 

[Abhi]

OCing desktops is one thing... coz u can add fans, better heatsinks etc.

As far as i know, that is not feasable for notebooks. So dont bank on OCing....

You might be able to OC maybe 10% or so, but thats about it. Thats as far as i have heard that is...

 

[ShellGuy]

Cherub check out this fourm for overclocking of the 6805-07 lappy. There are alot of chat about it.

Will