Wanna buy a gaming laptop...

I would like to buy a laptop for gaming. People have been telling me to just get an SFF PC and take it wherever but I would much prefer a laptop. Gaming is really the only thing I am looking to do and while I am aware that is one of the most strenuous things you can do on a computer....it means I dont need fancy CD or DVD burners or a massive HDD. 512 of mem, a nice but not over the top CPU, and a fast graphics card are most important. So far the fastest I have heard of that is out is the mobility 9800 but I hvae no clue where to get a laptop with one in it. So, can anyone help me out here? thx!

BTW, price range is up to $1900 or so.....mabye as high as $2000 if need be.

 

[Eric1285]

Not the most powerful, but you get a lot for your money.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=45&threadid=1369145&highlight_key=y&keyword1=emachines

 

[Munkies123]

mobility 9800 but I hvae no clue where to get a laptop with one in it.

My friend just got one in a Dell, im pretty sure that dells are the only laptops with them right now but im not too sure. And sff arent really good for mobile gaming yea they are easy to move but man its pretty much like a reg computer just 100 times easy to move, but not really what i would call mobile

 

[jvarszegi]

The Dell Inspiron XPS and Inspiron 9100 are the only, um, semi-portable machines to feature the MR 9800 right now, due to a marketing deal between Dell and ATI. The deal means that for the first month after release, only Dell can offer the 9800; then you should see growing support from other vendors. Both of these machines are pieces of crap; they don't deserve to be called laptops at all. They're basically SFF machines with an unremovable LCD screen nailed on top.

Go check out the pictures of the 9100/XPS on the Dell website. That's not a docking station in the picture-- that's the "laptop". It's like they were embarrassed about the size and didn't know what to do but try to fake the eye. I don't know what marketing or design genius came up with that idea, but whoever it is should be fired.

If you buy one of these hulks, you'll probably find that the 9100 is a better buy unless you crave a dipsy "Skullz" insert on the top of your machine for an extra few hundred dollars.

The thing with the 9800 is that it's based on the X800, so it's worth waiting for. However, it's somewhere around half the size of the desktop card! That means that you will only see it in hulking monsters like the 9100 until ATI makes a second pass at the design to shrink it somewhat.

I think you should check out http://www.buyabs.com in your search for a new gaming laptop; they're actually a reputable company, unlike iBuyPower etc. and the other scads of "companies" that are now coming out of the woodwork. I'd also wait a few months, seriously; you'll start to see cards like the 9800 in smaller and lighter designs, and sometime this year we'll supposedly see the release of the next big mobile chipset from Intel (Nocona? Acorna? Myhernia? I can't keep them all straight), which will have a 533MHz FSB, support for SATA, PCIe (with support for upgradable PCIe graphics), DDR2 RAM, etc. That'll make the Pentium M the chip of choice for gaming laptops (at least for me). Intel is going to retire the Pentium 4 in the next year or so anyway.

 

WOW, hate Dell much lol. I have 3 Dell laptos currently and while they are big, the XPS isnt much bigger than the massive 8200 I have. Its supposed to be big, its for gaming, not for wimps who want "thin and light", sure it isnt the prettiest thing to look at but open er up and you find one of the nicest LCDs out there! I'll try buyabs now but indeed, the 9800 is almost a must and it seems to be, buy Dell, or wait. Thanks for the info!

edit: your link goes to nowhere.