Curse

End · Sep 28, 2009, 01:15 AM // 01:15

So the other day in class while waiting for the school computers to finish the 20 minutes of processing it takes for those computers to load firefox. I thought to myself and said "Hmmm....I've been avoiding laptops for so long maybe I should give them another shot." So I've decided that it would be helpful for school...and could give me something to do when I'm bored and not at home.
The problem is...I'm not quite sure were to start with a laptop. Keep in mind I have what I consider a fairly large budget (tentatively 2000ish$) when you think about anything here.

First off, what parts are comparable from Desktop to laptop. I know I can just take a look at processors and memory and know how they compare. But video cards I'm not sure about. As far as I know they are so far off I shouldn't even begin to compare them. So I'm wondering whats good out there.

Next, are there any companies known for making good laptops. Like after my incident with gateway I shall never trust them again.

Also, Any other tips are much appreciated, like always use extra cooling and such.

Lastly, if anyone has any specific laptops that they know are good or worth the money a link would be nice

.

Thanks for any help.

Elder III · Sep 28, 2009, 02:29 AM // 02:29

what do you want to do with your laptop? any gaming, if so what games? what programs will you use it for, anything other than word processing and firefox?

Painbringer · Sep 28, 2009, 03:16 PM // 15:16

To answer your question on what is comparable between a laptop and a desk top well I would consider them different. The parts may all have the same name but they are much different. The key to a laptop is shoving everything into a really confined space and lower power consumption so the system does not give off much heat. Heat is the killer and it is amazing how hot a laptop can get from running a game. So with that in mind I will give an example the performance of 9600 MGT graphic card in a laptop will be less then a 9600 MGT in a desktop. Everything is tweaked to conserve but give good performance on a laptop. A desktop graphic card on the otherhand will have its own fan which allows them to increase the performance. The processor is the same way the laptop will have lower power consumption then a desk top one because a laptop can not cool the same way a desktop can. The picture below show how compact a laptop is. Notice the copper… that is what channels the heat out and the system relies just on the one fan to cool everything.

I like my HP but it is a media computer with a 9600MGT nothing high end or anything. Only problem I had was a key fell off. They sent me a box the next day to send the laptop back to them... well I had my laptop back in 3 days no questions asked and no money paid at all. That kinda says alot. (1 year full warrenty) It has blueray and hdmi output which if you stream movies which is nice to watch on a big LCD Or even to play guild wars

Look for

1. Dedicated graphics card (well its part of the MB but runs on its own)
Research this site to compare the performance marks (I just picked a card to link no preference to it) make a list of the marks you like then search laptops. look at the cards performance of the laptops you choose then base your decision.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...TS.9918.0.html

2. Processor (the faster ones you will pay for it)
3. Ram 4 gig at least... more the better
4. Windows 7 upgrade for free (some companies are offering it)

The rest is flare Screen size definition etc...

Good luck

TBH I still like playing on my desktop just because of the keyboard... I am addicted to my programmable keyboard

End · Sep 29, 2009, 05:42 AM // 05:42

Sorry about the horribly late reply. Silly guild stuff about who did what to whos account junk has been keeping me busy. Anyways

@Elder first off nice to see you again XD Yeah theres the usual word processing barebones type stuff for class...but If I'm going to have a computer with me I might as well be able to play games on it. Anything that can play at least guild wars, preferablly CoD4 would be nice (is it weird to carry a wired gaming mouse along with a laptop?).

@Painbringer Not a new face but one that I haven't gotten the pleasure of being helped by before. Thanks for the links for graphics cards research. And all the help there. One thing though is that I'm not worried about the free upgrade to Windows 7 as I can acctually get it through my school for free