macbook, T61, or dv2500

Hi all,

I was wondering what I should get, the apple macbook, the Thinkpad T61, or the HP dv2500? I'm aiming to buy a laptop under $1500 (that can hopefully play SC2). I'm going to be a senior at high school, and I'll probably end up getting a MBP for college next year, so I don't want to spend too much money..

 

Well, you'll get a biased opinion here at the Apple forum, but it'll be the same if you post this in the Lenovo forum or the HP forum .

We need to know what tasks you plan to use the notebook for. Basic high school tasks like listening to music, writing documents is fine. The MacBook's GMA950 won't play Starcraft II well, if at all. So if you really need to play Starcraft II look at other notebooks.

 

Go Macbook Pro for Starcraft 2 but anyway if your price is 1500$ and you want to play StarCraft 2.. then go for an Inspiron 1520 from Dell. It'll get ya the gaming machine and it's not overly bulky either.

 

Between those, I'd absolutely go for the T61.

FYI: I would have gotten a T61p instead of my MBP if they were readily available. Its just a more flexible machine imo.

Also, in my opinion... The Macbooks are overpriced for what you actually get hardware wise. The only reason to get one is if you wanted OS X.

 

Mainly it will be used for school since I probably won't have time to play many games. However, the only thing I really want other than portability and battery life is to be able to play SC2 (probably the only game I'll play on PC).

 

Then I think you're better off with another notebook then, if you want to play Starcraft II. I would recommend the MacBook Pro but its over your budget.

 

Yeah same... I mean StarCraft 2 isn't out till earliest next year.. So you'll need a recent GPU... And since from your post you say next year your going to get a MBP for univ \ college anyway. Might as well save yourself the MBP price + what your buying now and just get the machine that'll do both.... Anyway

 

Not that true...Blizzard has been known for keeping system requirements low in its games. I would say the GMA 950 just missed for Starcraft II but anything higher will play it.

 

They keep them low but not that low, WC3 on integrated when it was released played horribly.. as well as Diablo 2 (only machine I had back then). Regardless of the amount of memory associated with the card he'll require at least a dedicated GPU, not shared / integrated.

 

so should I aim for a 8400 or will a x3100 work for me?

 

X3100, I've heard, is actually pretty powerful, more powerful than expected. But to be sure you can run Starcraft II more enjoyably, I'd aim for a 8400.

 

thanks for the replies everyone. I wanted to make the jump to Apple this year, but I guess I'll have to wait until college : (
any recommendations? My dad wants me to buy a laptop from a brick and mortar store...so that leaves me basically Best Buys, Costco, and MicroCenter.

 

I suggest you fill out the FAQ and post in the "What should I buy?" forum.

 

Out of these notebooks mentioned, T61 is best. I have used Macbook before, T61 is better.

MBP is better than T61.

 

g3kko - I had a DV2500 for 1 month (with X3100) - then sold it to my friend and ordered a MBP!

The X3100 is substantially better than the GMA950, however it just doesn't cut it compared to dedicated graphics card. I think if gaming is a concern, definitely go for a notebook with a 8400 or higher