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good 64bit laptops? or duo core laptops? under 1100$

Check out the Gateway series. It's $1,200, but offers a Mobile Athlon 64 4000+ @ 2.6ghz, which is incredibly fast for a laptop. The model is the MX7525, available from Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp...yId=pcmcat39100050016&id=1130986342926

Comes with Windows Media Center 2005, a 6-in-1 card reader, CD/DVD burner, wireless G, 100gb hard drive, x600 video card, a gig of ram, and a 15.4" glossy widescreen. I have an older model, the 7405gx, but I'm planning on upgrading to this model to get the extra vram.
 
Originally posted by: Cybordolphin
Anyone know how the speakers sound on this Gateway? Specs look pretty good...
Click to expand...

They sound like laptop speakers 😛 I have a 7405gx, a couple generations back, but it's all the same basic hardware. The speakers aren't fantastic and they certainly don't "blast", although they are adequate in a quiet room. I would recommend getting a nice 2.1 set if you plan on using them at home or some nice headphones (I use Sennheiser HD-570s) if you use it on the go.
 
Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: Cybordolphin
Anyone know how the speakers sound on this Gateway? Specs look pretty good...
Click to expand...

They sound like laptop speakers 😛 I have a 7405gx, a couple generations back, but it's all the same basic hardware. The speakers aren't fantastic and they certainly don't "blast", although they are adequate in a quiet room. I would recommend getting a nice 2.1 set if you plan on using them at home or some nice headphones (I use Sennheiser HD-570s) if you use it on the go.
Click to expand...

nice lappy, how does it bout up against the x700 ?

as well, does the 64bit processor run better then the centrinos ?
 
A few questions , if anyone could throw their opinion at me about these.

1. is the x600 any good (to run counter strike : source, at most on?)
2. what is the x600 compared to the x700 ? Or compared to any NVIDIA card in laptops these days?
3. What is the equivalent desktop GPU to the x600-x700 ?
4. Do any Toshibas, Sonys, Fujitsu, IBM have a X600-x700 / comparable nvidia cards in them? (or to at least run COUNTER STRIKE 1.6 really well on?)
5. What is a screen type to stay away from, TFT , WUSXGA, ETC?
6. Which processor is a better choice in a laptop? the 64bit TURIONS (what model processors of these should I stay away from? I heard something about the ML's) , but the 64bit processor or the CENTRINOS (1.6+) ?
7. As far as battaries go, say I got a 6 cell compared to a 12 cell, the 12 will run LONGER , compared to the 6 cell?
8. One last battary question : what does mAH mean, do I want a higher amount for the LONGER battary life, or does it not matter and it is only specific to the laptop that the battary goes in?

Thanks, these questions have been a die hard killer on me about laptops!
 
Reason I asked about the Speakers....

I have a Toshiba Satellite that has built in Harmon Kardon subs, and sounds really good for a lappy 🙂 I am looking for another laptop.. but gotta have good sound. Its one of those things you only miss when you have had it.
 
Originally posted by: Cybordolphin
Reason I asked about the Speakers....

I have a Toshiba Satellite that has built in Harmon Kardon subs, and sounds really good for a lappy 🙂 I am looking for another laptop.. but gotta have good sound. Its one of those things you only miss when you have had it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, definately. I would only label the Gateway's speakers as "average." Look elsewhere unless you want an external solution.

 
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: Cybordolphin
Anyone know how the speakers sound on this Gateway? Specs look pretty good...
Click to expand...

They sound like laptop speakers 😛 I have a 7405gx, a couple generations back, but it's all the same basic hardware. The speakers aren't fantastic and they certainly don't "blast", although they are adequate in a quiet room. I would recommend getting a nice 2.1 set if you plan on using them at home or some nice headphones (I use Sennheiser HD-570s) if you use it on the go.
Click to expand...

nice lappy, how does it bout up against the x700 ?

as well, does the 64bit processor run better then the centrinos ?
Click to expand...

I don't know how it compares to the x700, but it has an x600 with 128mb dedicated ram and you can toss in another 128 megs from system memory for a total of 256mb vram. I also don't know how it compares against Centrinos, but I have a 2ghz a64 3200+ and from personal experience it feels MUCH faster than my friend's 2ghz Dothan (Pentium M).
 
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
A few questions , if anyone could throw their opinion at me about these.

1. is the x600 any good (to run counter strike : source, at most on?)
2. what is the x600 compared to the x700 ? Or compared to any NVIDIA card in laptops these days?
3. What is the equivalent desktop GPU to the x600-x700 ?
4. Do any Toshibas, Sonys, Fujitsu, IBM have a X600-x700 / comparable nvidia cards in them? (or to at least run COUNTER STRIKE 1.6 really well on?)
5. What is a screen type to stay away from, TFT , WUSXGA, ETC?
6. Which processor is a better choice in a laptop? the 64bit TURIONS (what model processors of these should I stay away from? I heard something about the ML's) , but the 64bit processor or the CENTRINOS (1.6+) ?
7. As far as battaries go, say I got a 6 cell compared to a 12 cell, the 12 will run LONGER , compared to the 6 cell?
8. One last battary question : what does mAH mean, do I want a higher amount for the LONGER battary life, or does it not matter and it is only specific to the laptop that the battary goes in?

Thanks, these questions have been a die hard killer on me about laptops!
Click to expand...

The x600 should be fine for CS. My previous-generation Gateway has a 64mb Radeon 9600 and it plays HL2 just fine (not with everything maxed out, but it is very playable and looks good). From what I have read about the x600, it's basically just a 9600, so you should be golden.

As far as screens go, I'd stay away from anything too high-rez. There are laptop screens available at up to 1920x1200 and you can't read anything on them. The Gateway has a resolution of 1280x800, which I personally think is perfect for a 15.4" widescreen. Go down to Best Buy or Staples and take a look at the Gateways on sale there to get an idea of what they look like. Another factor to consider is glossy or non-glossy screens. The Gateways come with the "ultrabrite" screen, which is glossy (shiny & reflective), although it is not nearly as shiny as a Sony Viao, which is a good thing in my opinion. I use my laptop at work, home, and school and the reflections don't bother me at all, but on my friend's Viao they're horrible. The glossy screen really makes the colors jump out.

Regarding processors, it depends on how you are going to use the laptop. My laptop drinks from the wall all day long, which is great because my particular Gateway model is power-hungry. You can either have good battery life or a powerful laptop. Pick one. If you want good battery life, get a Pentium M or Centrino or whatever they're selling nowadays (but not a Pentium 4, those eat batteries for breakfast too). If you want serious power, get an Athlon. Keep in mind that if you get an Athlon you're looking at about 2 hours of battery life, less if you run it at full speed and at max brightness. A Mobile Athlon usually uses 62 watts while a Turion uses 25 - 35 watts, so if you get a Turion model expect to get maybe an extra half hour or so of juice. If you're around outlets all day, I'd get an Athlon 4000+. My 2ghz 3200+ already creams everything else I own and I'd imagine a 4000+ would be even better. Also, my 2ghz Athlon 64 walks all over my brother's 2.8ghz P4 HP laptop. It totally owns it, no question. Also beats out my 2.8ghz P4 Dell Dimension desktop.

Here's what I would do: if you want real mobility and good battery life, get a small laptop with a Core Duo chip. I would recommend the HP dv1000t model, which has a 14" widescreen and the dual-core Pentium chip, as well as lots of other great features like dual headphone jacks (they should be available later this month, I believe). If you want mobility and power and will be around outlets constantly, I would recommend going with the Gateway MX7525.

The Gateway has its ups and downs. I'll start out with some caveats. First, it's HEAVY. 7.5 pounds may not sound like a lot, but if you're lugging it around school all day, you'll start to feel it. I'd recommend getting a good laptop backpack; I got the Ogio Metro and it's fantastic, lots of pockets for mice, books, the laptop, power supply, etc. Second, occasionally they have faulty backlights/inverters (the LCD starts flickering), which can be fixed manually if you don't mind opening it up or by sending it back to the factory (just keep the receipts, you'll be fine for a year). Also, the hinges tend to crack. The hinges themselves are made out of metal, but they have a plastic covering for aesthetics. They sometimes develop hairline cracks across them; it doesn't affect operation and it doesn't look that bad, but it does happen. Again, keep your receipt so you can send it in if necessary. That's about it; you'll find problems with any laptop model, however.

The Gateway has many, many plusses. You get a 100gb hard drive, although it's a slow 4200rpm model; I'd recommend spending $200 and getting a nice 7200rpm 100gb Hitachi drive, then put the 100gb drive in a USB or Firewire enclosure for backup. It also comes with a gig of ram, dual-layer DVD burner, Windows Media Center 2005, wireless b/g, and a PCMCIA card slot. No Bluetooth, but I haven't found it to be useful for PCs anyway. It does have a 6-in 1 card reader which reads both CompactFlash and SecureDigital; very, very few laptops have CompactFlash support (my digital camera uses a CompactFlash card). It has a 2.6ghz Athlon 64 Mobile chip and an x600 with up to 256mb vram. I'd also recommend upgrading to 2 gigs of ram, but this requires that you open up the laptop. At least get a gig stick for the user-installable slot, which will let you dump 128 megs to the video card and still have over 1.25 gigs of ram available for the system.
 
Thanks for the super detailed response Kaido. This isnt my first laptop, nor is it my first computer. I am just wondering about what sort of video card and CPU to go with. I might look into a AMD 64bit with at least a x600 in it. I wish they made laptops more toned down (aka, dont include ram, hard drive, software/os) That way I would save money, and choose what I want and not have to pay for extra trash.
 
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Thanks for the super detailed response Kaido. This isnt my first laptop, nor is it my first computer. I am just wondering about what sort of video card and CPU to go with. I might look into a AMD 64bit with at least a x600 in it. I wish they made laptops more toned down (aka, dont include ram, hard drive, software/os) That way I would save money, and choose what I want and not have to pay for extra trash.
Click to expand...

If you're interested in saving money, the Gateway model is probably going to be the best bang for the buck. At $1,200 with a gig of ram, 2.6ghz a64, and an 80 gig hard drive, you're probably not going to get much cheaper than that.
 
Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Thanks for the super detailed response Kaido. This isnt my first laptop, nor is it my first computer. I am just wondering about what sort of video card and CPU to go with. I might look into a AMD 64bit with at least a x600 in it. I wish they made laptops more toned down (aka, dont include ram, hard drive, software/os) That way I would save money, and choose what I want and not have to pay for extra trash.
Click to expand...

If you're interested in saving money, the Gateway model is probably going to be the best bang for the buck. At $1,200 with a gig of ram, 2.6ghz a64, and an 80 gig hard drive, you're probably not going to get much cheaper than that.
Click to expand...

problem with gateways is they tend to be...cluncky and big! I wish Fujitsu, Sony, toshiba, IBM, had these specifications :/.


Anyone else think of any other laptops ??
 
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Thanks for the super detailed response Kaido. This isnt my first laptop, nor is it my first computer. I am just wondering about what sort of video card and CPU to go with. I might look into a AMD 64bit with at least a x600 in it. I wish they made laptops more toned down (aka, dont include ram, hard drive, software/os) That way I would save money, and choose what I want and not have to pay for extra trash.
Click to expand...

If you're interested in saving money, the Gateway model is probably going to be the best bang for the buck. At $1,200 with a gig of ram, 2.6ghz a64, and an 80 gig hard drive, you're probably not going to get much cheaper than that.
Click to expand...

problem with gateways is they tend to be...cluncky and big! I wish Fujitsu, Sony, toshiba, IBM, had these specifications :/.


Anyone else think of any other laptops ??
Click to expand...

Hence the lower price 🙂 They're not the prettiest or the lightest, but if you want power and a great screen on the cheap, they're the way to go. Alternatively, Agear Notebooks has some beauties you may be interested in.
 
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