HP DV3500nr or Toshiba P105-9312?

[scottiefl]

I can get the the Toshiba for $1650. Processor is 2.0 GHZ, but it's 32-bit and it's not Core 2 Duo - only Core Duo. The hard drive is only 4200 rpm, too.

Best Buy has the HP for $1500 - it's Core 2 Duo, 64-bit, with a 5400 rpm hard drive. But it only has 2 MB of L2 cache, just like the Toshiba.

Both have 2 GB of 667 mhz ram.

Tough decision here. I will probably upgrade to 7200 rpm HD whichever model I buy. I have to buy one of these models at BestBuy - no other options, unfortunately.

Which computer would be faster for high-end gaming? Which is the best buy? (Pun intended).

Thanks for your advice.

 

[HomeyFoos]

The only thing that really matters for gaming is going to be the GPU. The rest of the laptop is fine, but you would need a GeForce 7400go or MRx1400 for minimal gaming experience. The better choice would be the 7600Go or the MRx1600. You should get mid-line performance from either of those parts. Incase you are wondering, you most likely will NOT be able to replace a graphics card in a laptop. So you need to purchase the best video card you can find in a form-factor if you want 'high-end gaming'. To be honest, on a lappy, 'high-end gaming' is a bit of a pipe-dream unless you want to spend $2000 or more. And even then you are getting a machine that will have terrible battery life and will run VERY hot. Neither of these items is a plus when notebook shopping unless, of course, this will be a desktop replacement. And even then, it will still run hot which will in-turn shorten the overall life of the machine.

Furthermore, until recently, 'high-end gaming' could only be found in 17" or better. These days, you can find 14.1" machines with upper-middle gpu capabilities (the 7700go) and the rest of the stuff you listed off. however, the prices are still pretty inflated on such a creature and don't expect to find one for less than $1600ish. Again, you will suffer in the areas of battery life and heat. But if that is cool with you, it could be a good option.

So, any integrated graphics cards are out, the 7300go and the x1300 are out. As are the 6150 or the x200/x300 integrated graphics from NVidia and Raedeon, respectively. No intel graphics solution will work either. So that means the 950 is out. You will need a minimum of the 7400 or the x1400 and you actually want the 7600/7700/7900GS/GTX or on the raedeon side, the MRx1600 and I heard the MRx1700 will be out shortly. Anything less and you will not be doing much gaming unless you are talking avout World of Warcraft. But nothing too action packed.



Good luck,

 

[andrewbabcock]

Save money and stay with the 5400 rpm hdd cause it doesn't matter much at all, especially if the 5400rpm drive has 16mb cache. (depending on the app, more cache will be more beneficial than faster disk-spin)