Debating on which computer...

C

Crossfire

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Jun 14, 2009
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Hello guys, just stumbled upon this forum. I hope you can help with my situation.

I'm going to college this fall and looking for a laptop. I don't do much gaming other than COD4, but I may get into some other FPS games. My three options are to:

-Buy an average laptop and upgrade my current system for gaming. Systemax Case (6 fans but not the best design), Intel Core 2 duo @ 2.4Ghz, Asus P5N-SLI mobo, 2 Nvidia 8800 GTS 320 MB cards, 500 GB HD, 2 GB DDR2 RAM, 19" widescreen 1680 x 1050. Possibly upgrade to a 9000 series card, 2 more gigs of RAM...

-Buy the Gateway P-7805u FX. Like the 1GB GPU, 4 GB DDR3. Dislike the 1440 x 900 resolution, no bluetooth, and bulk. When was the computer released and when will it possibly be replaced? I want to make sure I buy the newest.

-Buy the ASUS G50VT-X6. Like the smaller size, 1680 x 1050 resolution, better processor, and warranty. Dislike the DDR2 RAM (not as fast right?), 512MB GPU (still good, just not as fast). When was this computer released and when will it possibly be replaced?

I would probably rather go ahead and get the laptop for everything, but alot of people tell me gaming won't be as good. I'm sure both of these systems outperform my current setup. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to post them. Thank you!
 
Actually your current setup is probably faster than both of those.
I would definitely go with the weak laptop and upgrade your system.
 
desktop + laptop >>> laptop

take it from someone who thought 'oh, a good laptop will do me for college!'

If you're enough of a geek to be on these forums, you'll want both. Get a cheap, small laptop with 4-6 hours of battery life and pump the rest of your $$$ into the desktop
 
a laptop is a lot better for college. use the desktop they have. i would sell everything get as much money as you can, and buy the most expensive laptop you can afford.
they have some nice + - $600, compaq laptops (full keyboard) at pricegrabber.com or newegg.com.
 
To answer your question about the P-7805u FX, another thread here is talking about a possible update for this laptop in late June:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1427758

As I mentioned in that one, I'm going to hold off and see what sort of laptops come out and what value they have.

From my own 4-year experience, its probably ideal for you to have both your PC and a laptop up there. Do you know how much space you'll have in your room? Even if you can only fit the tower and one monitor, its probably worth it. You can stow away the laptop in a bag somewhere safe, then pick up the bag to run to the library/friend's room. I say that its worth it to get a budget gaming laptop if you see yourself going to someone else's place to play moderate-demand games like Source Engine games... or if you see yourself coming home every so often and would like to play.

If you decide on a 15-16'' laptop, be sure to look at the other dimensions. A 15.5 laptop can still have an inch of case on either side of the screen, making it just about as big as a 17''. If you decide to get a gaming laptop, its going to weigh more. 7.0+lbs does not sound bad at first but unless you're a big person its going to bother you after 10-20 minutes of carrying. This is OK if you see yourself using computers at the library instead of your own laptop.
 
Between the Asus and Gateway I doubt you will be taking either to class (both are damn heavy). So I would just go for the Gateway. You can often find the Gateway with 1920x1200. A good number of them had that resolution even though it was advertised as 1440. Or you can get the 7811. Half the Vram but not going to make much if any difference. I had one for awhile. It was a good PC but I used it to run Linux the entire time (LOL).
 
Just get a cheap laptop. I did exactly what you are thinking.
After I got my first laptop I never really used my desktop. Admittedly, the desktop was a piece anyway. I figured I'd just get one good laptop so I wouldn't have to keep everything synced, so I got my Macbook Pro.

Now I know that spending that much money on a laptop is stupid. :rolleyes: I could build a desktop for a few hundred bucks that would beat it into the ground.
 
Hi,

My first question to you is are you going to live in the dorm??? If so I would NOT Spend big bucks for a laptop that could get damage by unthinking friends...

Myself, I would get something like LOCOLAPTOP is selling for school and keep your desktop for gaming.. Then you would have some money to use for other things.... :D

MnR
 
you are going to college right? a laptop with a not that slow cpu (a dual core, pentium) and 4gbs and a 160gbs+ hd. upgrade later with a huge external hd. what more could you want?
 
Arkangyl said:
desktop + laptop >>> laptop

take it from someone who thought 'oh, a good laptop will do me for college!'

If you're enough of a geek to be on these forums, you'll want both. Get a cheap, small laptop with 4-6 hours of battery life and pump the rest of your $$$ into the desktop
Click to expand...
this
Really the best option is a compact desktop for gaming (mATX/4770/C2D/4GB will blow away all but the best laptops) and get a docking station and KVM (to switch between the docking station and the desktop) to use the same KB/mouse/monitor with the laptop for EVERYTHING else.
 
Last edited:
Arkangyl said:
desktop + laptop >>> laptop

take it from someone who thought 'oh, a good laptop will do me for college!'

If you're enough of a geek to be on these forums, you'll want both. Get a cheap, small laptop with 4-6 hours of battery life and pump the rest of your $$$ into the desktop
Click to expand...

i did the exact same think 2 years ago. bought an expensive gaming laptop that lasted me all of 6 months before i was having trouble running games. when out and spent another 1800 on a new desktop and monitor and would never go back to a laptop for gaming
 
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