Buying a new laptop!

[shazza]

http://www.budgetpc.com.au/new-pcs-n...notebooks.html

Help me find a good one for under or equal to $1000 AU! Is DDR3 RAM worth it? Is 4GB acceptable or do I need 8GB? Is this good!? I want to play games if I do decide, but I am not a rigorous gamer. I just want a fast laptop, man.

HELP

[Telume]

IMO, if you want to game a laptop is NOT for you. Unless you're willing to buy a USB mouse, that touchpad for gaming is horrible.

Also: 4GB for gaming now-a-days is almost a requirement. Core 2 Duo is fine too.

[shazza]

I need to move around, and I don't want to game all the time. Just a game here and there.

[Telume]

Hmmm.... then I'd recommend something more like a Toshiba Satellite.

It can balance both.

[Master Rudy]

Hmmm.... then I'd recommend something more like a Toshiba Satellite.

Just bought one of those used last week actually. It's mainly for my mom's personal use since she's sadly pretty much confined to her bed and room. However I'll sometimes use it myself when I know I'm going to be upstairs for long periods and need to be close to her room in case she needs a hand with something. It runs WoW pretty decently but that's on low settings. Besides WoW isn't the most graphics intensive game and really requires no more than a good processor and decent internet connection more than anything. I personally have no idea how it'll handle older but more graphics heavy games such as Oblivion. As for newer games no clue.

Bottom line is this: what games were you planning to play on the go in the first place? While the Sat is a decent laptop I couldn't tell you what it could and couldn't run. If you are planning on PC/laptop gaming the first step is knowing what you will be playing. Next find out the min and recommended system requirements. Finally look for something that surpasses the recommended requirements. A game may run on low settings but some become almost unplayable if your hardware blows.

[shazza]

I really don't care if a game I want to play is on low settings. I don't even know what games I would intend to play, I just want the option if I desire to do so. Grand Theft Auto 4? The Sims 3? Not World of Warcraft; fuck that shit.

EDIT: Just for the sake of it, let's all laugh at my current laptop:

Windows XP Pro, SP2
1 CPU - Mobile Intel Pentium 4 - M, 1.80 GHz, L1: 8KB L2: 512KB
RAM: 1023MB
GFX: ATI Mobility Radeon!

[Master Rudy]

I really don't care if a game I want to play is on low settings. I don't even know what games I would intend to play, I just want the option if I desire to do so. Grand Theft Auto 4? The Sims 3? Not World of Warcraft; fuck that shit.

Well just trying to toss out examples that come to mind. Using The Sims 3 requirements for this example:

FOR WINDOWS VISTA/SEVEN
* 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 1.5 GB RAM
* 128 MB graphics card with support for Pixel Shade 2.0
* Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1
* At least 6.1 GB of free hard disk space, and at least 1 GB
free space to special content and saved games

It doesn't seem like The Sims 3 needs an overly powerful graphics card. However it may be nice to invest in a computer with a decent one. Processors that come in new computers usually tend to be better than what that game needs as well. Just remember: a duel or quad core processor rated at 2 GHz is going to be better than a single core at 2.2 GHz. Pretty much any new computer should be able to cover you in that area even if it's not 2.4 GHz like the box suggests you get. RAM is one of the most important things but shouldn't be an issue either: most new computers now come with 3 or 4 GB out of the box. As for an actual gaming laptop I managed to find this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...&skuId=9728443

Couldn't tell you what the price is in AUS$ is. However this thing is solid all around and had the highest rating average from customer reviews (4.7/5 with 98% saying they would recommend it to someone else). I'm sure with a bit of luck you can find this paticular model Samsung at whatever the Aussie version of Best Buy is ^_~

[Blademaster]

Seconding Toshiba Satellite. That's what my laptop is and it only cost like 599 U.S. dollars.