I'm almost ready to order the z81-sp

My current laptop, a gateway 600 series with

P4 1.6ghz
768 mb RAM
radeon mobility 7500 64mb

has served me very well for about the past 3 1/2 years. It can even play half life 2 at medium low settings at a reasonably smooth and consistent framerate. I am probably gonna order an asus z81 sp this weekend and was wondering if anybody could tell me if i can expect to get the same longevity in terms of gameing performance and dependability in the z81sp, or will new technologies like multi core and 64 bit processors render this model obsolete in a much shorter time.

 

Until games and applications are made that utilize multi core cpus then you have nothing to fear.

 

Agreed...... 256mb 6800 is a hardcore graphics card.... I don't think you have much to worry about for a while.

 

oooh ye it will be absolete. They all will be. The main problem with the z81sp is that it has a less favorable design that asus hopefully gets rid off. This should have been combined with the z83v chassis and it would have been a top seller instead of 2 crappy sellers like the z83v and z81sp

 

Well.. it's a P4... hopefully this is the last P4 they ever offer..... but that's one way to tell it as it is........ of course it'll be obsolete.... It's not as bad as getting an old p4 mobile system for a few hundred bucks.....

... you get what you pay for, that's the best way to put it. You'll get your money's worth out of whatever you buy.

 

The main problem with the z81sp is that it has a less favorable design that asus hopefully gets rid off.
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Dah, me is dummy bout these kinds of things. Could you explain what you mean by this.

Also, the only thing that I’m concerned about is that the computer can withstand rigorous gameplay/halflife2modding/video editing without frying itself and handle the newest game titles on low settings (at least) at a smooth framerate for the next 2-3 years (I’ll be out of college by then and hopefully will have a real job).


I’m sorry if I’m bothering you guys with all of these questions about the z81sp, it’s just that my current gateway was so reliable for so long and I want to try and get something that serves me just as well. I’m just afraid that the transition to the new cual core and 64 bit technologies is going to make that impossible for the time being and with my $1700-1800 budget.

PS: B4 anybody mentions it, the reason that I’m not going for a desktop, is that, even though this computer is going to spend most, if not all of it’s life plugged in, I need something that can be easily transported between many different locations.

 

Just a aesthetics thing, the Z81sp isn't as visually appealing as the Z63a, Z70va, among others.

The 6800 will handle everything you throw at it right now, however, don't be shocked that it will be warm.

 

Besides the obvious disadvantage of having a P4 system w/ a super high-end graphics card --- thick, heavy, hot, horrible battery life...... the only issue with the system is the screen falls towards the lower end of what Asus offers in terms of brightness. It's certainly better than most, but I guess after using one that's brighter, it doesn't impress.

That's basically the only downfall to the system. The last big system we had like that was the L5 series and those had the nice ACEview screens --- which are basically what's on the new V6va..... if the Z81sp had that - it would be a much better unit - but at the same time - probably $300 more as well.

 

Can somebody please give me an estimate as to how many years from now we can expect to see game titles that require 64bit or dual core processors as a minimum requirement


Hopefully nvidia will make more mxm gpus. My big worry is that even if i can upgrade the gpu, not having a dual core processor is going to totally render all of the computer's other specs irrelevant for playing the latest games 2-3years from now.

If this turns out to be the case, then I can definitley wait a few months for something that has a dual core processor.

 

... you'd be better off investing in a magic 8-ball...... seriously...

 

The z81-sp is a good gaming machine and the 6800 will defininately last for 2-4 years....I think that proccessors going dual-core or even 64-bit is a wee-bit irrelevent at this point...I mean my gaming PC is still using an Athlon XP (3000) and it runs everything fine. I cant see developers implementing dual core support or 64-bit stuff for another year or two....Even then rest assured that they will still support single core proccessors...

If you can afford a bit more of money..id like to suggest the dell 9400 as it has a 7800 and also a dual core proccessor if youre so worried about dual core support...