Yet *another* help me find a laptop thread

[McCartney]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to start off saying I've been really hard pressed to find a GREAT laptop. To me I've been looking and I've had 2 laptops in the past 2 years that havent' filled the void in my portable life.

I had the following:

T43P: The FireGL. Had it 2 years from this fall. Too ugly, great laptop but weak on games (business Video Card) and what not. Great laptop but overall I was gonna give it an 8/10 because it really sucked for minor gaming.

The Macbook 13" running a Core Duo @ 2.0GHz with 2gb ram. Pretty good laptop but I hated integrated video. I didn't like it for the sole fact that it was not able to game at all.

So here I am at another crossroad; trying to figure out what I need/want. I would like the following in my new laptop:

Sleek (Thin and not too thick, I'm not looking for a brick)
13-17". I'd prefer a smaller one if possible because it's going to be in my bag.
A Geforce 8600M GT or higher for gaming.
High resolution screen, webcam not required.
C2D with the new 800 FSB.
Good Integrated sound card/emulation.
Hard drive - Don't care I can swap this out myself
Same with the ram.
High resolution screen is a plus.
Wireless N is also good.
Expansion PCMCIA Slot is a PLUS (Which is why I'm holding out on the MBP @thistime)

So far I'm leaning towards the 17" MBP because it can run 1680x1050 and has a 256mb 8600M GT which is real cool beans. I'm wondering if there's any competitors?

 

[Brainonska511]

Asus G1s: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834220182
Asus G2s: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834220182 (you could try another store for this one, such as Proportable)

Originally posted by: McCartney
So here I am at another crossroad; trying to figure out what I need/want. I would like the following in my new laptop:

Sleek (Thin and not too thick, I'm not looking for a brick)
13-17". I'd prefer a smaller one if possible because it's going to be in my bag. If you want something smaller, why are you interested in the 17" MBP? I'd be looking at a 15.4" notebook as the maximum size. You could go for a 13" or 14" notebook with an 8400M GT instead, but you trade performance for size.
A Geforce 8600M GT or higher for gaming. You'll only find this in a 15.4" or larger. If you're lucky, Asus will release either the A8 (maybe they already have) or the newer, soon to come F8 with the 8600M GT.
High resolution screen, webcam not required.
C2D with the new 800 FSB.
Good Integrated sound card/emulation. Intel based notebooks use the Intel HD chip while AMD based notebooks use RealTech chips. Software emulation is garbage and a waste of money if you pay extra for it.
Hard drive - Don't care I can swap this out myself
Same with the ram.
High resolution screen is a plus.
Wireless N is also good.
Expansion PCMCIA Slot is a PLUS (Which is why I'm holding out on the MBP @thistime) Almost all notebooks sold today are using ExpressCard/54 or ExpressCard/34 style slots. PCMCIA is going the way of the floppy drive. In time, you'll see more expansion cards come out for the new standard. Any particular reason for PCMCIA?

So far I'm leaning towards the 17" MBP because it can run 1680x1050 and has a 256mb 8600M GT which is real cool beans. I'm wondering if there's any competitors?

 

[Oil]

Originally posted by: McCartney
Hi guys,

Just wanted to start off saying I've been really hard pressed to find a GREAT laptop. To me I've been looking and I've had 2 laptops in the past 2 years that havent' filled the void in my portable life.

I had the following:

T43P: The FireGL. Had it 2 years from this fall. Too ugly, great laptop but weak on games (business Video Card) and what not. Great laptop but overall I was gonna give it an 8/10 because it really sucked for minor gaming.

The Macbook 13" running a Core Duo @ 2.0GHz with 2gb ram. Pretty good laptop but I hated integrated video. I didn't like it for the sole fact that it was not able to game at all.

So here I am at another crossroad; trying to figure out what I need/want. I would like the following in my new laptop:

Sleek (Thin and not too thick, I'm not looking for a brick)
13-17". I'd prefer a smaller one if possible because it's going to be in my bag.
A Geforce 8600M GT or higher for gaming.
High resolution screen, webcam not required.
C2D with the new 800 FSB.
Good Integrated sound card/emulation.
Hard drive - Don't care I can swap this out myself
Same with the ram.
High resolution screen is a plus.
Wireless N is also good.
Expansion PCMCIA Slot is a PLUS (Which is why I'm holding out on the MBP @thistime)

So far I'm leaning towards the 17" MBP because it can run 1680x1050 and has a 256mb 8600M GT which is real cool beans. I'm wondering if there's any competitors?

I am in the same exact situation as you are. My Macbook (while fun to use) is terrible with any type of 3d graphics. So I am looking at a Compal IFL90 for myself actually. It fits all of your requirements (except PCMCIA slot unfortunately) after you choose one of the higher resolutions

 

[McCartney]

Brain I'd get the 17 in macbook because I would liek 1920x1080

Which models are the A8 or F8?

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: McCartney
Brain I'd get the 17 in macbook because I would liek 1920x1080

Which models are the A8 or F8?

I don't think the F8 is out yet, I heard a month or two ago that it would be coming out in August or September as the replacement for the aging A8 chassis. The A8 series was a set of 14" notebooks ranging from integrated graphics to higher-midrange GPUs. I don't know if they released one with the 8600M (of any kind) yet or if they were planning to do so, but it would be worth looking into.

 

[McCartney]

The reason for PCMCIA is for an Edge/EVDO card.

 

[McCartney]

Hmm I'll keep an eye out. I was looking at the F2s as well.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: McCartney
The reason for PCMCIA is for an Edge/EVDO card.

They do make those kind of cards in the ExpressCard format, but the downside would be you'd need to purchase a new one. I'm not sure, but there may be some kind of PCMCIA to ExpressCard adapter being created by another company - something else to look into.

 

[pontifex]

dell vostro?

 

[McCartney]

the vostro sucks and is ugly

 

[McCartney]

bump