Which Notebook??

[jojo29]

Ok my GF is in the market for a notebook, and her budget is in the $800 range, pretty much she doesnt want to get to $1k. So there is some leeway.

Anywhoo, as i will probably be using this notebook from time to time i would like it to run World of Warcraft pretty smoothly, not super smooth, but smooth enough to run i guess.

Well i happened upon these two system configurations and just wanted to know which one between these two would run World of Warcraft best??

Dell System Inspirion 1501 $714

Processor: AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology MK-36
OS: Home Vista Premium
Memory: 1GB
HD: 60GB
Vid Card: ATI Radeon Xpress1150 256MB Hypermemory (Integrated)

HP System V6000Z Series $624

Processor: AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology MK-36
OS: Home Vista Premium
Memory: 1GB
HD: 80GB
Vid Card: NVIDIA Geforce Go 6150

I dont know too much about the integrated graphics on either system so i was hoping someone here can point out which one would perform better between these two systems. Again this is for my GF and all she's going to be using it for is basic internet browsing, photos, music etc.. I'm just gonna use it from time to time but when i do i would like to actually enjoy WoW on it as smooth as possible with as much effects as i can turn on with these lil machines hehe

Also AFTER you recommend which one is better than these two, IF you find a better deal by all means post that deal with link please! Notebooks are so fickle in that you have to BUY ALL OF IT in one go, and can't piece it together like a desktop, how aggravating!!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Integrated video is useless.

Get an Inspiron model that will let you put in a Radeon X1400 or an hp.com custom build with at least an nvidia 7400 go.

The front page of RossMAN's GottaDeal.com has a 20% of $1,000+ coupon for Dells, so you can possibly build one for close to $800. If you get stuck try posting in the discussion for the deal.

 

[jojo29]

so which of the above systems would you recommend??

 

[DaveSimmons]

For your integrated video systems: If you don't mind playing WoW at 640x480 resolution, lowest quality, at 8 fps, then the HP's integrated video is less awful than the Dell's.

For a custom build with real video: I've never ordered a custom HP, just Dells. Performance should be about the same for either one, so if you have a preference either way you can go with it.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I'd look at HP DV6000T before the Dell E1505. The GPU is going to be about the same, 7400 compared to X1400, but HP is putting out a better product right now.

You're looking at $649 for a DV6000T Celeron 430 (which I believe are Celerons based on the Core Duo design so they should be just dandy), DVDRW, 7400 GPU, 80GB. Upgrade the memory or get the brightview screen or step up to a C2D with the money left over in your budget.

If you are handy with computers, then the BEST option is going to be an Asus S96J. Get the barebone for $530. Add a Yonah based Celeron 410 for $54. 60GB HD for $60. 512MB Memory for $35. So that's under $700, so you only need to choose an optical drive for $50 or so and wifi if you want it. Upgrade the memory when you get a chance, and BOOOOM that is one pwning notebook for $800. An X1600 will give you no compromise performance. It's probably around twice as powerful as the X1400 and will run anything on up to Oblivion at high settings. Oh and I'm assuming that you have a spare OS disk sitting around although WoW does run on Linux with Wine from what I understand.

 

[jojo29]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
I'd look at HP DV6000T before the Dell E1505. The GPU is going to be about the same, 7400 compared to X1400, but HP is putting out a better product right now.

You're looking at $649 for a DV6000T Celeron 430 (which I believe are Celerons based on the Core Duo design so they should be just dandy), DVDRW, 7400 GPU, 80GB. Upgrade the memory or get the brightview screen or step up to a C2D with the money left over in your budget.

If you are handy with computers, then the BEST option is going to be an Asus S96J. Get the barebone for $530. Add a Yonah based Celeron 410 for $54. 60GB HD for $60. 512MB Memory for $35. So that's under $700, so you only need to choose an optical drive for $50 or so and wifi if you want it. Upgrade the memory when you get a chance, and BOOOOM that is one pwning notebook for $800. An X1600 will give you no compromise performance. It's probably around twice as powerful as the X1400 and will run anything on up to Oblivion at high settings. Oh and I'm assuming that you have a spare OS disk sitting around although WoW does run on Linux with Wine from what I understand.

thank you, your post was most helpful, i will be looking into te Asus notebook, i like Asus as my quickly aging yet still able to run most new games on pretty high settings desktop has a asus mobo. I m going to see how far my desktop from my signature, can take me in terms of gaming ( im hoping till at least end of 2008, thats when i will be in the market for a new desktop, and hopefully SP1 for Vista will have been released by then..but then again you know MS..)

But again thanks for your post and your recommendation, i totoally forgot Asus and other companies make desktops/notebooks as well.

 

[jojo29]

Also, as again i am new to laptops, i have a question regarding upgrades: namely if i went with the Asus 1 GB and wanted 2 GB, how would i go about getting that extra stick in there? Will it be just like a desktop whereas i can just swap em in or do i have to send it to asus to get the ram in?

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: jojo29
Also, as again i am new to laptops, i have a question regarding upgrades: namely if i went with the Asus 1 GB and wanted 2 GB, how would i go about getting that extra stick in there? Will it be just like a desktop whereas i can just swap em in or do i have to send it to asus to get the ram in?

Yeah it's easy. The S96J has one giant panel that comes off the under side that will reveal everything....cpu, gpu, memory, min-pcie. With notebook memory, you usually place it in at a diagonal angle and once it's seated you push it down flat until it clicks into place. So it's only marginally more difficult than desktop memory because there's two motions. Every notebook out there only has 2 sodimms slots, so take that into account.

This particular model is part of the Intel VBI program, so Asus doesn't directly support it......they push updates to Intel who then releases them. I should also mention that Asus DOES directly support the Z96J which is a preconfigured version of the S96J and is identical except that it has bluetooth and a higher res screen so you can grab its drivers if you want. Lots of smaller resellers sell these and do the assembly for you. I can PM you a list of good ones if that's what you end up wanting to do. Most have a 24 hour turnaround and very little markup on parts, but none I know of offer the celeron as an option, so you may need to request it.

Also forgot that the S96J has a built in camera which I guess is a feature some people like.

The biggest hassle won't be the assembly, but, rather, the install. So long as you're comfortable installing drivers and have an XP install disk with SP2, then you should be fine, though the camera, from what I've read, needs things done a certain way to function. There's an S96J Owner's Lounge at Notebookreview.com that would be an invalueable resource for stuff like that.

 

[jojo29]

Thank you. Due to even more budget "restrictions", as i like to call them, I wont be able to get the whole $800 system BUT thanks to yoiu and the Asus S96J and the ability to treat it like a desktop, i CAN buy the "core" system on that site you listed for i think 575 i just pretty much need to pick up the RAM and HD i believe

also pM the sites that you mentioned if you could please

 

[jojo29]

I know this might sound 'dumb' but if i have a windows already on one computer, will i be able to use that windows on the laptop???

I bought my OEM version of Windows XP from Newegg, so its a legit copy. Just wondering if it can shared to others comps that i own?? just wondering as im not sure how that works.....

if anything ill probably get vista for the laptop

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: jojo29
Thank you. Due to even more budget "restrictions", as i like to call them, I wont be able to get the whole $800 system BUT thanks to yoiu and the Asus S96J and the ability to treat it like a desktop, i CAN buy the "core" system on that site you listed for i think 575 i just pretty much need to pick up the RAM and HD i believe

also pM the sites that you mentioned if you could please

Well, you need to enable PMs for me to send you one. As for buying the barebone, check the price on froogle and go with the cheapest site you're comfortable with.

You may be abe to reuse your copy of Windows. I'm not sure about reusing and oem copy. I'm sure it's against the EULA, but I don't know if their activiation site will notice.

 

[jojo29]

Ok PMs enabled

 

[jojo29]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: jojo29
Thank you. Due to even more budget "restrictions", as i like to call them, I wont be able to get the whole $800 system BUT thanks to yoiu and the Asus S96J and the ability to treat it like a desktop, i CAN buy the "core" system on that site you listed for i think 575 i just pretty much need to pick up the RAM and HD i believe

also pM the sites that you mentioned if you could please

Well, you need to enable PMs for me to send you one. As for buying the barebone, check the price on froogle and go with the cheapest site you're comfortable with.

You may be abe to reuse your copy of Windows. I'm not sure about reusing and oem copy. I'm sure it's against the EULA, but I don't know if their activiation site will notice.

Hi there,

I posted that my PMs were enabled and you never got back to me about the ASUS S96J Laptop that i can build one step at time like a desktop. You mentioned some good websites where i can get good deals on these?

Anyways, you were most helpful, and im almost ready to purchase this laptop. Also are the video cards able to be swapped out? I was thinkng about this, since i will get Vista for this laptop, and DX10 coming out, was thinking maybe id be able to get a DX10 mobile graphics card later down the road? anywhoo thanks again and hopefully you can get back to me asap

 

[TheVrolok]

My notebook:
* AMD Turion64 x2 TL-50 (1.6 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache total, 256 KB on each core)
* 1 GB 533 MHz DDR2 RAM (2 x 512 MB)
* 120 GH Hitachi 4200 RPM HD
* 15.4-inch WXGA Acer CrystalBrite screen
* ATI Radeon xPress 1100 integrated graphics card
* Dual layer DVD +/- RW combo with lightscribe? (comes with lightscribe software, but drive doesn't specify if it has lightscribe or not)
* Windows Media Center Edition 2005
* Atheros Wireless 802.11 a/b/g with Signalup high efficiency antennae
* 8-cell battery with a max of 4.5 hrs battery life with settings on low

It does NOT run WoW at any playable level. Got it for 700 or so at a black friday sale last year. Food for thought.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
For your integrated video systems: If you don't mind playing WoW at 640x480 resolution, lowest quality, at 8 fps, then the HP's integrated video is less awful than the Dell's.

... have you ever even played WoW on a laptop using integrated graphics? I play WoW on my year old HP laptop in full resolution using a Radeon M200 integrated graphics without a problem, and this is with add-ons! Of course it's not as fast as my desktop, but I wouldn't expect the M200 to rival the 8800GTX.

EDIT:

You also cannot reuse your copy of Windows. It's for one license, which means 1 PC.

 

[Modeps]

I recently bought WoW because it ran great on my G4 laptop... I dont even have it installed on my desktop, although I will eventually because it'll be good to have it in multiple locations. Basically, just buy the laptop thats the cheapest for you because it'll run well.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: jojo29
HP System V6000Z Series $624

Processor: AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology MK-36
OS: Home Vista Premium
Memory: 1GB
HD: 80GB
Vid Card: NVIDIA Geforce Go 6150

I had this laptop. Got it from Costco (except it came with XP), and it ran WoW just fine (got it for my brother for xmas).

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
For your integrated video systems: If you don't mind playing WoW at 640x480 resolution, lowest quality, at 8 fps, then the HP's integrated video is less awful than the Dell's.

... have you ever even played WoW on a laptop using integrated graphics? I play WoW on my year old HP laptop in full resolution using a Radeon M200 integrated graphics without a problem, and this is with add-ons! Of course it's not as fast as my desktop, but I wouldn't expect the M200 to rival the 8800GTX.

EDIT:

You also cannot reuse your copy of Windows. It's for one license, which means 1 PC.

i played WoW on a friend's laptop once. after a few hours it started oevrheating and locked up. i don't know what the specs were though.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i played WoW on a friend's laptop once. after a few hours it started oevrheating and locked up. i don't know what the specs were though.

Heh, it certainly isn't the best experience ever, but what people forget is the WoW engine/game was designed to scale well for crappy PCs up to the uber-est of uber PCs. Blizzard did a good job in not alienating customers who may not want shiny graphics and then there's those that do.