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Post by Doomy on Dec 8, 2008 15:56:48 GMT -5
Oops, posted in the staff forum last time. Duly deleted. I am a stoopid.
Anyway, has anyone got recommendations for a new laptop?
My current machine is a 3-year-old Dell Inspiron 9300 running XP. It's a good system, but due for an upgrade.
I am looking for another laptop, with enough grunt for NWN2 and decent storage (120 gig or better) without spending a ridiculous amount of money. Any recommendations welcome.
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Post by eviltb on Dec 8, 2008 15:57:30 GMT -5
TBH dude, you mite as well go with a Dell XPS (the m1330). They come in at around £700 and will quite happily run NWN2. I have one and it runs it very smoothly. The spec should also hold out for the new KOTOR mmo thats coming as well. Good thing you moved it before I did  |
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Post by Doomy on Dec 8, 2008 16:02:35 GMT -5
This thing? Looks good. Think my Inspiron has a bigger screen though. Edit: It is quite amusing watching the price shoot up when you select options on the Dell site. Then I went to Alienware and built an imaginary £4,000 laptop. That was hilarious. My current machine was bought under HCI, so I had no say in the spec. It's fairly high-end though, especially for 2005. It laughs at Doom 3, could handle Oblivion on low settings and would actually run NWN2 if it had a better graphics card, but there are other reasons to replace the system (dead battery etc).
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Post by eviltb on Dec 8, 2008 20:45:12 GMT -5
Yea thats the one. Their nice little machines, especially if you dont wanna splash out huge amount of money. Even with minimum spec, they do come through. The only thing I added extra was upping the memory to 4GB and getting the higher volt battery, but that was last year when I bought it so dunno what options are on there now. Configing the alienware shit on their site is always fun though  |
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Post by Doomy on Dec 9, 2008 3:06:55 GMT -5
Can't find the option to add an ASCII accelerator though. I hope my next machine can cope with Angband. Edit: Found a contender today, the ASUS M70VN Ultimate, which has pretty good specs and wouldn't cost much more than my current lease does. I need to see some reviews though. |
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Post by Doomy on Feb 18, 2009 17:01:12 GMT -5
After waiting since December 17 for Play.com to get off their arse and send me the computer I ordered, I scrapped the order and went for an ASUS G71 XTreme from Mesh instead.
The spec, as it is traditional for geeky types to post these things on internet forums:
ASUS G71V-7T001C
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
17.1" WUXGA TFT with ColourShine (1920x1200)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9400 Dual Core Processor (2.53GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
512MB VRAM GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® 9700M GT (DX10)
4GB DDR2 1333MHz Memory (2x2GB)
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (2x 250GB)
It should arrive in a couple of weeks.
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Post by eviltb on Feb 18, 2009 18:50:47 GMT -5
Shame about vista home, but still good setup you got there. How much? RAID0 I presume....
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Post by Doomy on Feb 18, 2009 19:14:30 GMT -5
No choice on the OS, unfortunately so I'm stuck with Vista unless I downgrade to XP or set up a Linux dualboot. £1100+VAT.
The drives are Serial ATA, RAID has a reputation for reliability problems. I'm sure it'll be fast enough anyway.
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Post by eviltb on Feb 18, 2009 19:37:36 GMT -5
very nice, Dawn of War 2 would make a nice benchmark test for it |
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Post by Doomy on Feb 18, 2009 19:46:24 GMT -5
First game I'm installing on it is NWN2. Which is more of a hardware workout than you'd think, as it hates dual-cores.
According to PC Format, DoW 2 should run no bother with everything turned up. Pity I hate RTS games really.
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Post by NightHunter on Feb 24, 2009 7:54:30 GMT -5
The drives are Serial ATA, RAID has a reputation for reliability problems. I'm sure it'll be fast enough anyway. Nice rig Doomy. About the RAID, it's depending on what you are. A Raid 0 is fast but if one of the two breaks, you lost everything. Raid 1 is more secure as it do a mirroring. In case of a RAID 0, I suggest you to get an USB hard drive and do your backup on it. Leave it unplugged and the investment will be more than acceptable. On an another note, I have heard peoples having RAID 0 systems for two years and more and haven't got a single problem. The reliability of this is more of a lottery than anything else. Just bought a month ago 2 WD 320GB for a Raid 0 and it's pretty fast. ;D |
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Post by Ghost Bear on Feb 24, 2009 10:44:15 GMT -5
I think the dislike of Vista varies from person to person. I've had a machine with Vista in it from December and have had very little to complain about. The only mildly annoying thing are the security popups, but I can certainly deal with them.
Setup looks good. I can't look at laptops without sorely wanting one (despite not needing one, and the fact that it'd be a complete waste of money). The XPS is especially nice.
-GB
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Post by eviltb on Feb 24, 2009 10:56:11 GMT -5
Jsut ordered myself one of those new Dell Minis with the Intel Atom. Should be coming soon, nice little web-browsing and travel laptop. If Im lucky it might just run Jedi Knight Was gonna put linux on it but when I told the missus she looked at me in that funny way..... |
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Post by Doomy on May 13, 2009 14:15:26 GMT -5
FINALLY got the dispatch notice for my new lappy. There was a supply problem with ASUS apparently. I was starting to wonder if I'd get my Pandora first.
Is it normal to be sent an invoice when you've already paid?
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Post by Beowuuf on May 13, 2009 15:17:23 GMT -5
Yeah, some companies generate an invoice and dispatch note together and it probably automates sending the invoice out to the customer.
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