High-End Laptops Users, pls advice!!

[freemanteo]

I have limited funds, i wish to get every penny worth when i buy a laptop soon.

I'm still thinking whether to choose "Geforce 2 Go" or "ATI M4 32mb" graphics chip. Is the 16mb or 32mb makes any BIG diff when playing 3D games? Are the 3D games playable if i get a 16mb graphics card?

And can i:-

1: Buy a 64mb/10GB/CD-Rom laptop with 3yrs extended warranty, 1 week later upgrade the memory/HDD/DVD myself? Would it void the warranty?

2: Which configuration is the best for playing 3D games at the minimal cost?

Those who have experience pls advice me and other newbies, appreciate it.

 

[pidge]

I have a Dell Inspiron 8000. It originally came with an ATI Rage M4 mobility but I swapped it out and bought myself a Geforce 2 Go. The gaming is actually pretty good with the Geforce 2 Go. The M4 lacks in performance and stability with games. I use PowerDVD and I am able to watch movies perfectly while working on other work or browsing the web. My laptop features 32MB of video memory and I think that is important if you are running multimonitors. If you have one with only 16MB, then each monitor gets only 8MB of video memory and that means that you can't run it in UXGA resolution and 32-bit color. I wish I would have gotten 32GB of hard drive space cause all of my MP3's are stored on my hard drive. Battery life is decent. Toshiba just announced a few other laptops based on the Geforce 2 Go and I am sure come fall when kids go back to school, you will see many other companies releasing Geforce 2 Go featured laptops. Definately go for a laptop with the Geforce 2 Go chip.

 

[andalas]

If you want to play 3D games in your laptop, get GeForce2 Go.
My laptop is using GeForce2 Go and I find it to have a good 3D performance.

Originaly when I bought my laptop I opt for 128mb of RAM, because I believe
that's the lowest memory I could select at that time. I then go out and buy
2x 256 Mushkin memory to put on it. It will not void your warranty by
upgrading the memory yourself. It's cheaper than upgrading the memory
to 512mb from Dell.

 

[hans007]

i think i read somewhere that the toshiba with 16mb geforce2go has ddr ram, and the dell with 32mb has sdram. 32mb might help at like 1280x1024 or something, but otherwise i doubt it . ram and hard drive you can definitely upgrade. easily.


if you get a 64mb ram/ 10 gig

you can buy a new 20 gig for $105 already, which is probably the same as well dell charges to just upgrade, instead of having 2 drives. DVD on dells you can upgrade, on toshibas probably not

 

[Eug]

<< The M4 lacks in performance and stability with games. >>

I have no problems with the ATI in terms of stability. Performance isn't as good as the Geforce 2 Go for games, but it's OK.

I wouldn't advise getting a laptop with a small hard drive and swapping later, because laptop hard drives cost a lot. Same for the DVD.

Memory is something you'd want to install afterwards, because it's MUCH cheaper to get it from crucial.com or something than from the laptop vendor. However, make sure you have the extra memory slot. ie. if you get 128 MB to start, get it as one stick not two 64 MB ones that would use up both memory slots. That's exactly what I did, and then added another 128 stick for a total of 256 in my Sceptre.

Go Toronto Olympic bid!

 

[bigshooter]

The Dell implementation of the Geforce2Go is 32megs DDR.

 

[hans007]

hmm i guess i had it backwards. toshiba has the 16mb sdram

 

[freemanteo]

thnks guys, i was thinking to a Dell Inspirion 8000 too, i hate Toshibas cos they use only the Pointing Device, i only want the Touchpad.

But its gonna be expensive cos of the Geforce 2 Go, shucks.... where can i get more money??


So i won't void the warranty if i install ram/HDD/Graphics card myself? Thats cool.


PIDGE, how much to buy the Geforce 2 Go and installing it? Is it cheaper to install in yourself later or buy a lappy with Geforce 2 Go in it?

Sharp notebooks are using Geforce 2 Go chipsets with 8mb memory, I think!

Can i get 3yrs warranty from Dell refurbished lappys?

is it cheaper to buy from Dell.com or B&amp;B locations? maybe after coupons?

Can it hold 2 batteries? or is is possible? I heard the battery life sucks on the Dell 8000!

 

[AndyHui]

You can't change the video/graphics on a laptop. It's usually integrated onto the motherboard.

 

[Pariah]

&quot;You can't change the video/graphics on a laptop. It's usually integrated onto the motherboard.&quot;

Some laptops have mini PCI slots that allow for video card replacments. One of my friends has a Dell 7500 series laptop with this feature.

 

[pidge]

<< PIDGE, how much to buy the Geforce 2 Go and installing it? Is it cheaper to install in yourself later or buy a lappy with Geforce 2 Go in it?

Sharp notebooks are using Geforce 2 Go chipsets with 8mb memory, I think!

Can i get 3yrs warranty from Dell refurbished lappys?

is it cheaper to buy from Dell.com or B&amp;B locations? maybe after coupons?

Can it hold 2 batteries? or is is possible? I heard the battery life sucks on the Dell 8000! >>



The Geforce 2 Go cost me $180 shipped from Dell. This card only works with the Dell Inspiron 8000 using a newer BIOS revision. Sharp doesn't make notebooks featuring the Geforce 2 Go. Sharp is more concerned about batter life than performance so they sticking with ATI M4 (crappy performance, but good for power consumption and DVD's) for now. Plus, I think NVIDIA's strategy for now is to stick with the top selling laptop companies and work their way down.
I don't know about warranties. Check with Dell about that.
The Dell Inspiron can hold two batteries. It has a slot for one battery and you can remove the floppy drive to fit a second battery. The hard drive is only 4500 RPM. I wish manufacturers included 5400RPM hard drives cause the system comes with firewire built in and I would like to capture video with my laptop.

 

[Conroy9]

i believe dell has an option for a 5400rpm 30gb drive (at least it did a couple months ago when i bought my inspiron 8000

you should upgrade the ram yourself

it has 3 bays, one fixed bay for cd/dvd/cdrw, 1 battery bay, and 1 bay for cd/dvd/cdrw/floppy/battery

so you can have dvd + 2 batteries at one time

pidge: you were able to buy the geforce2go later from dell??? i would love to upgrade my inspiron to geforce2go..
i guess i'll check on dell's site

 

[pidge]

You actually have to call them and haggle them for a while cause I have heard that many of their sales people are clueless about this. When I ordered, he checked with his manager and his manager said that they do carry it. The salesman didn't know.

 

[freemanteo]

thnks for the info Pidge.

Does anyone know which B&amp;M sell the Dell Inspirion 8000? So i can go have a look, thnks.

 

[VBboy]

Go to Dell.com and configure this ($4,350):

Dell Inspiron 8000 Notebooks:
Intel®Pentium®III Processor, 1GHz, 15.0&quot; SuperXGA+TFT Display
Memory: 512MB,SDRAM,2DIMMs
Video Card: 32MB DDR 4X AGP NVIDIA GeForce2 Go?Vid
Primary Hard Drive: 48GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Floppy Drive: Modular Floppy Drive
Operating System Software: Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition
Network Adapter: Xircom® 10/100 Ethernet II, PC Card
Modem: 56K,V.90 Gold Card PSION Modem
Fixed CD/DVD Drives: $100 OFF! CD-RW/DVD Internal COMBO Drive
Additional Hard Drive: Modular Iomega 100MB Zip Drive
Carrying Cases: Special Offer Free Nylon Carrying Case,15.4.4
Service and Support Options: 3 Yr Ltd. Warranty-3 Yr Onsite Service + Lifetime Phone Support
Additional Battery: LI-ION 2ND PRIMARY BATT
Premium Color Choices: Iridescent Bronze Palm Rest Inserts

 

[pidge]

freemanteo,
You live in Texas. Just drive down to Austin and knock on Dell's door and tell them you want to check out the Dell Inspiron 8000.

 

[freemanteo]

<< Go to Dell.com and configure this ($4,350):

Dell Inspiron 8000 Notebooks:
Intel®Pentium®III Processor, 1GHz, 15.0&quot; SuperXGA+TFT Display
Memory: 512MB,SDRAM,2DIMMs
Video Card: 32MB DDR 4X AGP NVIDIA GeForce2 Go?Vid
Primary Hard Drive: 48GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Floppy Drive: Modular Floppy Drive
Operating System Software: Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition
Network Adapter: Xircom® 10/100 Ethernet II, PC Card
Modem: 56K,V.90 Gold Card PSION Modem
Fixed CD/DVD Drives: $100 OFF! CD-RW/DVD Internal COMBO Drive
Additional Hard Drive: Modular Iomega 100MB Zip Drive
Carrying Cases: Special Offer Free Nylon Carrying Case,15.4.4
Service and Support Options: 3 Yr Ltd. Warranty-3 Yr Onsite Service + Lifetime Phone Support
Additional Battery: LI-ION 2ND PRIMARY BATT
Premium Color Choices: Iridescent Bronze Palm Rest Inserts >>



THnks, i've tried that and trying to get the best out of every penny.

$4350 is'nt what i have in my wallet, mind, bank etc...

Austin is too far off, a very long drive. $180 for the Geforce 2 Go is lower than what Dell.com is selling.($199)

 

[Conroy9]

haggle awhile? ack

maybe i'll try emailing them
was it hard to install?