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hello all. i dont know if this is the place to post this so accept my apology if it is not.


I was considering a laptop for away from home gameplay, ut2003, gore, ect.. can i get by with a dell 999.00$ deal, or do i have to shell out 3k for a alien ware. keep in mind i just want to simple game play nothing with the graphics set high. i would also use this for my studies, but that is a side consideration. anyone have an opinion?

P.S. i have heard nothing great of any laptop review sony, dell, gateway, so i am looking at the lesser of the evils.

What specs do you get for the $999 Dell? Most systems these days have high end enough processors, adequate RAM though slightly slower HD (4200 rpm, you get only 5400 rpm drives either through upgrades or more expensive laptops)

The limiting factor would be the graphics cards inside. To get the best out of UT2K3, you'd need a Radeon 9000 in your laptop at least, coz of the Direct X 8 features that is used in game. If you just want to get around, I think a Geforce 4 Go should still be adequate, though this is really subjective.

the ram and cpu are adequate(pc2700 1.7 p4), but there is no mention of what kind of graphics adapter so i am asuming its crappie. but for 1499 i can get a lesser cpu 900MHZ P3 and 512 of PC133, but with a radeon adapter 16MB i think .

Definitely do what you have to to get a Mobility Radeon 9000 Pro--I've heard this is the mobile solution to have. And probably a proc over 1GHz, too, if you can do it for the kind of money you want to spend.

It could be some Intel internal graphics crappy. And which series of Dell laptop is this? If it's the Inspiron series, you'd get at least a Radeon 7500, with better versions using the Geforce 4 Go series.

And last I heard, there was only PC2100 DDR RAM for laptops.

Just a note here, the Alienware laptops are actually rebadged Clevo laptops. Sager has the same line, along with a few other companies. If you want the alienware laptop w/out the alienware price, check out http://www.sagernotebook.com or powernotebook.com both offer fairly good notebooks for reasonable prices.

Keep in mind, the more of a desktop replacement the notebook will be, the less portability and battery life you will have.

As an aside, I generally recommend extended warranties on laptops. If something breaks, you'll pay through the nose to get it fixed out of warranty. If anything dies on the mainboard, you're looking at $300-600 in parts and another $200 in labor. Get at least 3 years of parts and labor. That may cost you an extra $200-300, but its worth it unless you plan on getting a personal body guard for it. If it breaks out of warranty you're going to cry because you're screwed.

Think about the dumbass warranty, too. It will cover if you drop it, spill pop on it, etc. It usually runs about $175.

And since even a mobile 9000 Pro isn't blazing fast, you probably want to go ahead an pony up for it. A slower model will just be obsolete faster.

If you want a laptop, spend some bucks on a good one or just skip it. With a good warranty, you're probably looking at $1600-2000. Dell Inspiron 8000s are nice. The 1600x1200 UXGA screen is awesome.

The Mobility Radeon 9000 is the fastest mobile chip on the market right now. It is more than capable of running the newest games, and because it is a DirectX 9 part, it will even run future games, like Doom III. (See John Carmack's comments in the testimonials section)

Power Notebooks consistently has the highest rating (currently at 9.97, was at a perfect 10) on ResellerRatings, and they have several notebooks that use the M-Radeon 9000, and their prices are unbeatable.
These are essentially the same machines that Alienware has on their site, but priced significantly lower.

If you can afford Alienware, then by all means, buy it: they offer labor-free laptop upgrades, more options, and are geared toward mobile gamers.
But if you need a price break and want the most power for your money, Power Notebooks is unbeatable.[/url]

The Mobility Radeon 9000 is the fastest mobile chip on the market right now. It is more than capable of running the newest games, and because it is a DirectX 9 part, it will even run future games, like Doom III. (See John Carmack's comments in the testimonials section)

Unless I am mistaken, the Rad 9000 is a DirectX 8.1 part, not a 9. The Radeon 9500 and above are DirectX 9. Even if it is not DirectX 9, it will probably still run DOOM ]I[, but I would not have high hopes for it. However, the Radeon 9000 mobile is the best laptop graphics card out there. There are plans however, of nVidia releasing a mobile version of the Geforce4 TI4200. Don't know when this is coming out though, so it may not be wise to wait around for it if you need the laptop soon.

eckslax wrote:

Unless I am mistaken, the Rad 9000 is a DirectX 8.1 part,

You may be correct. I could have sworn I read somewhere that the M9 was a DX9 part, but I may have been mistaken. Reading ATI's website, it seems that it is indeed an 8.1-compliant card.
Still, Carmack's comments on it's ability to run Doom III are impressive, at least to my mind. It wasn't too long ago that graphic accelerators on a notebook were just a dream.