Recommended Notebook for Casual Gaming?

[CoBRaXT]

I'm going to be attending college this Fall and I was wondering what notebook you guys recommend
in terms of price and quality?

It will be used mainly for surfing the net, typing papers, e-mail etc.

I do some casual gaming such as CounterStrike and WarCraft3 but nothing really hardcore.

Thanks

 

[Tikerz]

Don't settle for anything less than a ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 or Nvidia GeForce4 Go 420. That means no SIS, Intel IGP, or S3 Savage video chipsets. Processor wise, nothing less than a P3 1GHz. I'd recommend Toshiba if you want an easily available (BB, CUSA, etc..) notebook. You could always customize a Dell for a good price.

 

[CoBRaXT]

Do you think this is a good deal for $1400? If not, can anyone recommend me a similar one for around $1400?

Intel® Pentium® 4 2.4GHz (533MHz) Processor
PCMCIA Type II Slot
512MB DDR 333 PC-2700 Memory
60GB ATA 100 Hard Drive
ATI Radeon 9000 M9 64MB DDR AGP
15" SXGA Plus TFT LCD Monitor (1400 x 1050)
24x8x12x24 DVD+CDRW Combo Drive
Internal Li-Ion Battery
Built-In Ethernet Adapter
Built-In Fax Modem
Built-In 1394 IEEE Firewire
Deluxe Carrying Case

 

[TKHDebater]

Who is that made by? Remember unless its a P4M the battery life is gonna blow. Warranty?

 

[Glitchny]

try to find a good centrino laptop, they should be out in numbers by this fall and it will help on batery recharge and performance

 

[sparkyclarky]

Originally posted by: Tikerz
Don't settle for anything less than a ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 or Nvidia GeForce4 Go 420. That means no SIS, Intel IGP, or S3 Savage video chipsets. Processor wise, nothing less than a P3 1GHz. I'd recommend Toshiba if you want an easily available (BB, CUSA, etc..) notebook. You could always customize a Dell for a good price.

He said he only does casual gaming, so frankly your comment is off base. I have a Latitude C400 with Intel IGP and it runs the sort of games he's talking about fine. Your primary concern with a school laptop should be weight (assuming you're going to be carrying it around with you). Don't go over 5 pounds if you can help it. Trust me, I've worked with a bunch of different laptops and I love the 3.6 lb goodness that is my C400. For papers, internet, e-mail, and casual gaming, almost any laptop on the market is fine. Just make sure it is low weight with a decent ammount of battery life - Centrinos are great for this. If you plan on using this as your sole computer, and plan on gaming a bit more, then yes, get a better graphics card. But honestly, if you plan on doing gaming in the long term, get a desktop or a console.