Durability

P

psychofurryewok

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
267
Probably hear this one a lot but here's basically my situation:

I'm purchasing a new laptop and have been looking at Sager's, the 17" WXGA ones. I basically want it as a mobile gaming machine, however, I want to be able to work on it at school as well. This laptop is going to be getting a lot of use, lots of transport, and probably on around the clock whenever it's at home. I need something that's tough and durable that I won't have to worry about exploding if I move it too much. I don't need like something that's nuclear warfare proof or something just a laptop that I know won't die if it gets moved around a lot. I'm also looking for a good cross between portability and power. I REALLY want to switch it over and have it be basically my gaming machine since I don't tend to game at home (strange, yes?). That is basically all, suggestions on what to look into would be most appreciated. Price range is preferably below $2000, I can probably deal with as high as $2300.
 
this might hight the high point of your budget, but look into a T42.

15" or 14"
Dothan 1.8ghz
Mobility 9600.
6 hour battery life.
IBM Quality. (there are laptops at work that are left on 24/7 and have been in use since 1999 that still look and work just as good as when they were brand new.
 
Yeah but won't the 1.8ghz suck for gaming? Aren't those mobile cpu's like junky? I thought the M and all that was bleh.
 
psychofurryewok said:
Yeah but won't the 1.8ghz suck for gaming? Aren't those mobile cpu's like junky? I thought the M and all that was bleh.
Click to expand...

Err.... no the Pentium M's are the bomb. Centrino CPUs have some of the highest IPC you'll find, even compared to an Athlon/Athlon 64. All of that, except they also use little battery power...
 
Josh_B said:
Err.... no the Pentium M's are the bomb. Centrino CPUs have some of the highest IPC you'll find, even compared to an Athlon/Athlon 64. All of that, except they also use little battery power...
Click to expand...

I concur with Josh - when you're looking at Pentium M CPUs vs. Pentium 4's, it's not a GHz-to-GHz comparison. The L2 cache is 4 times larger on the Pentium M, which makes up the gap in clock speed. The 1.4GHz Pentium M in my Toshiba Tecra S1 seems to keep pace decently with my 2.4GHz P4 desktop at home.

I also second IBM Thinkpads for durability. I have owned over a half-dozen laptops in my career, and the Thinkpads were the best, bar none for build quality and reliability.
 
psychofurryewok said:
Yeah but won't the 1.8ghz suck for gaming? Aren't those mobile cpu's like junky? I thought the M and all that was bleh.
Click to expand...

considering one of the new Dothan Pentium M procs at 2.4GHz just about owned or matched every single ultra high end desktop proc, i wouldnt call it junky
 
I know this is a strange question to ask...well, it probably isn't...but how would the cache make up for processor speed? Anyone mind explaining how a processor works and how those two pieces would affect eachother? Also...the processors in the Sager's have 2MB of L2 cache and are like P4 3.2ghz and 800mhz fsb instead of 400 so those must really rock right?
 
psychofurryewok said:
I know this is a strange question to ask...well, it probably isn't...but how would the cache make up for processor speed? Anyone mind explaining how a processor works and how those two pieces would affect eachother? Also...the processors in the Sager's have 2MB of L2 cache and are like P4 3.2ghz and 800mhz fsb instead of 400 so those must really rock right?
Click to expand...

high numbers doesnt mean anything, it can have a 2GB bus and still be slow as shit if it isnt used efficently
 
psychofurryewok said:
I know this is a strange question to ask...well, it probably isn't...but how would the cache make up for processor speed? Anyone mind explaining how a processor works and how those two pieces would affect eachother? Also...the processors in the Sager's have 2MB of L2 cache and are like P4 3.2ghz and 800mhz fsb instead of 400 so those must really rock right?
Click to expand...

The Pentium 4 processor is VERY inefficient when it comes to how many instructions it can complete per clock cycle (known as "IPC"). This is why current AMD processors can compete so well with Intel's higher-clocked offerings, despite having a clock speed nearly 1GHz lower. I could attempt to explain one of the main reasons for this differential (a longer "pipline" on the P4 processors), but Anandtech does a great job on Page 2 of This Prescott Review.

In terms of the P4 3.2GHz processors used in the Sagers, they definately will provide the fastest performance...... but at a price. These systems are by no means light (most weigh at least 9 pounds), nor do they have good battery life (expect 60-90 minutes or so of basic use on a charge). In contrast, Pentium-M systems still provide good performance for most tasks, and most have a solid battery life of at least 4 hours -- sometimes more depending on the specific laptop).
 
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