Help finding a laptop with a good graphics card (1 Viewer)

[Cyan_phoeniX]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently looking for a new laptop. I want one that can handle newish games fairly well - mainly dues ex 2 (which wants some pixel-shader and vertex shader thingy - probably for the lighting).

I'm hoping to spend around no more than $2500 (but also hoping to get microsoft office with it - word etc, and most importantly a 'backup CD' just in case it crashes - apparently few companies do that anymore). Basically I probably want too much given the money I want to pay, but the essential aspects are that it has a back-up CD, office and can handle newish games like Deus ex 2. I'll probably go up to $3000 - assuming even that is enough.

The main problem seems to be the graphics cards, and as I know close to shit about this, i need someones help. I went to Dick Smith electronic and they had a laptop package with all the stuff, except that it has a 'GeForce G 72MV with 128MB video memory.' I looked up what this means and could only find "NVIDIA GeForce Go 7200."
Is this any good? and if not, what 3d card should I be aiming for?

Cheers.

 

[MuffinMan]

I'm pretty sure theres better graphics card than the geforge go 7200 for notebooks. Try some asus notebooks, forgot the model number though. Maybe you should have a look at their website?

 

[drunkontea]

I'm pretty sure theres better graphics card than the geforge go 7200 for notebooks. Try some asus notebooks, forgot the model number though. Maybe you should have a look at their website?

Yesh I'm looking at an asus as well, been reading about graphic cards for the past few days. The laptop I'm looking at is a Asus jpf3, which has a Radeon ATI x1700 with 256 mb (this is a more up to date card than the go7200). It has a core2duo 1.66ghz, 15.4 inch screen, and a 2gb ram. The price is $1600. From my research so afre I find that the Asus laptops are the best value.

 

[MuffinMan]

mmhmm i'm gonna get the as8c, although I don't know if they're going to put on a new model anytime soon (cause that one was quite new), I'm gonna get mine in july. Still thinking of whether to ditch that and find something with a more decent graphics card.

 

[drunkontea]

mmhmm i'm gonna get the as8c, although I don't know if they're going to put on a new model anytime soon (cause that one was quite new), I'm gonna get mine in july. Still thinking of whether to ditch that and find something with a more decent graphics card.

Is that an asus laptop? I cant find it, whats the praphics card on it and rrp?

 

[MuffinMan]

Is that an asus laptop? I cant find it, whats the praphics card on it and rrp?

yeah its an asus
http://notebook.com.au/ProductDetails.aspx?item_id=A8SC4P007E
graphics: nvidia gforce 8400m

weighs at 2.4kg, although the whole package (i.e. the box that they send you weighs 7.00kg!)

 

[Cyan_phoeniX]

yeah its an asus
http://notebook.com.au/ProductDetails.aspx?item_id=A8SC4P007E
graphics: nvidia gforce 8400m

weighs at 2.4kg, although the whole package (i.e. the box that they send you weighs 7.00kg!)

That laptop looks groovy (and powerful).

Just wondering, When they say that the operating system is Genuine Windows Vista Business, does that mean that you get the Vista CD or they merely put it on your computer and you dont have a copy? (i.e. if it crashes later you cant reformat or anything?).

 

[MuffinMan]

i think it's like a restore cd, like what they do with most notebooks these days.
If you need a copy of windows vista download it, as long as you have a legit key it should be alright (i think)

 

[bringbackshred]

The ASUS F3JP is very nice, but get the model witht he C2D T7200 and 2GB of RAM, as well as the ATI X1700. I have the C2D T5500 and 1GB and it plays modern games fairly well, although it may be the GFX in that that will bottleneck if anything.

 

[MuffinMan]

i guess he's not interested in a santa rosa pc?

 

[Collin]

Many features of Santa Rosa are heavily geared towards better Vista functionality and performance. I've been interested in the new Centrino platform since it's announcement, but I don't think I would let it hold me back from purchasing a laptop without it. 800MHz FSB support is nice though.

If you don't want to spend too much on a laptop but want decent graphics capabilities, ASUS offers some good options.

If the system will be chewing through games (with gaming being a priority task for you in general), why not consider building a desktop instead? Unless you really need the mobility of a laptop, a desktop will open many more opportunities for you, especially since you said you were willing to go as high as $3000.

 

[MuffinMan]

^^ I'm getting one, prolly for uni
I'm not really fussed about games and stuff so its all good.
Getting the A8SC, unless you guys have better options.

 

[Collin]

the graphics cars you'd want to be looking at, in order of least expensive to most expensive, include:

nVidia Go 7300
ATI x1600
nVidia Go 7400
ATI x1700

and somewhere the x2300 fits in...

The X2300 is essentially a rebadged X1300.