Games Looking at a laptop with gaming viability - stuck between two models

[Bugz]

Computer Supplies and PC Components from Novatech

X15 GS PRO above

& the

X60r Pro below

Computer Supplies and PC Components from Novatech

Does the extra £100 justify upgrading from a Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS 256MB Graphics to a Nvidia 8400M G Turbo Cache graphics? Please note I will also llose the ability to put in 2gb more ram, as the x15 can hold 4gb and the x60 2gb.

My aim is to play recent games; detail I am not bothered about; just playability.

At the moment, to me it seems, pumping the X15 will 4 gb ram will do a lot more use than the new graphics card which will only support 2gb.

Secondly; how do laptops handle vista? Will 4gb be enough to run Vista well? I was learning towards XP for it's friendliness with gaming but as I understand Visa does have a lot to offer.

Lastly, could someone explain how 'Extra Boost of Performance
GeForce Boost technology kicks in when the GeForce 9300M GS GPU is combined with a GeForce 9100M motherboard GPU, resulting in a GeForce 9400M-class performance system.' works for the X15? Does this mean that the combo will effectively allow them to both be better utilised?

Thank you.

 

[Huntingtons]

spent the money on hookers and booze, will grant you more fun. and you'll get laid before you die!

 

[aika]

they both will struggle to run recent games on medium settings.
you need 4gb of ram to play with Vista, if you get a laptop with 2gb - install xp.
17" is not recommended because your video card will struggle with its native resolution.
Also a very good vidcard atm is 8600M GT 512 mb version.
8400M is a waste really, not sure about the 9300.

 

[Overdriven]

Wait for the 9800 gpu.

 

[Lamp]

I thought laptops were supposed to be shite for gaming ? Everyone says go with a tower for gaming and and a laptop for looking a porn while you're in the bath


...those of you who do take a bath

 

[kirennia]

Just as a word of warning, I'm pretty sure you'd still be able to get a better quality of laptop for less money then those posted. The X60r Pro is pretty much the same as the one I'm typing on now except that one has a slower chipset, 8400 instead of 8600, 160gb hd instead of 250 and its only apparent redeeming feature is the 17inch screen... mine was £500 including vista and that one doesn't even have that on there

I'm not someone in the know with laptops nor machine parts anymore, I was just lucky enough to stumble across this 6 months ago.

I'd suggest you post in the FH techie section, Kryten is awesome for knowledge about these sorts of things.

As for the 17" screen, unless you're going to be doing graphical design (which I'd recommend a desktop for anyway), it's more of a burden then a benefit. It's more of a nuisance to carry and will make any potential games you decide to play on it look a lot worse as well because it'll require higher resolutions to get the same quality of a smaller screen.

To put things into perspective of what you'd be able to run, my 8600 allows for UT3 to run on low settings with... problems to put it mildly. Older games such as C&C tiberium wars run on max and it only starts to stutter when you have a few players on the same large map. Basically, my desktop with a 7600FX, an older chipset (more powerful though, granted) and XP instead of vista but otherwise the same machine, runs games I'd say around 30% better then my laptop.

If you want to run modern games either you spend £1000+ on a gaming laptop only to have it outdated within a year or spend the money on a gaming desktop. Sorry, I know it's probably not what you want to hear but running newer games, while they may run, they will be on low settings and still struggle at times.

Yes XP would improve it by a fair amount but when you consider a low spec desktop outperforming a brand spanking laptop, I was a little disappointed myself, that's why I don't want others to have the same feeling...