Help me decide (8600M GT)

Hello Dear Forum Members:

Here is the thing, I worked up a beautiful laptop for my parents (old and retired by the way) and opted for the Dell 1720. It will be gorgeous no doubt especially since I spec'ed in a 1920x1200 screen. Although we were on a budget, we did spend for a beautiful screen and we opted for a 17" because like I said my parents are OLD...and they can't see too well...heck my Dad uses a magnifying glass when reading the paper...yeah old!!!

So here is the question...all this laptop will be used for is basic Internet surfing, emails, and my Mom likes to play Spider Solitaire and a few web-based games on shockwave.com. My Dad only uses Microsoft Office on occassion. I don't live with them, but I guess I am a gamer...but even I am getting older and I must say I am not as much of a gamer as I would like to think...but I sure would love to play BioShock...something I cannot do with my aging Inspiron 8200 laptop I bought 6 years ago. Okay, so I spec'ed in a basic Intel GMA 3100X graphics card and I am sure I made the right decision for them...but when I visit it would be so cool to play these games like BioShock and Crysis and any of the future games...

So you do you think I should call up Dell and make them change our order (In-Production state) and upgrade to the nVidia 8600M GT? That would add another $200.00 and will go beyond our $1500 budget...but I just feel I should...because I cannot ever change this in the future...but then again...I say I play games...but honestly...even I am getting older...and these games are too much...too frentic...

Oh..if I haven't bored you this far...one other question...my parents said they would like to show pictures on this laptop and thus we spec'ed in the best screen possible...but will that make everything way too small on the screen...both these "old" people can't see too well!!

Thanks in advance.

 

You must already know that you can’t play a game like BioShock on X3100, so if you want to play then get the 8600GT, simple as that. However, if you are planning to get yourself a notebook anytime soon, then better invest that extra cash in getting a better VGA card for yourself instead.

Text and Icons can be made larger by changing DPI while having a high desktop resolution, therefore you don’t have to worry about text size even if you get a 1920x1200 screen.

 

If they are old and can't see fine, get a smaller resolution screen, I heard that vista got better in respect to changing the dpi, but it still not perfect a 1440x900 would be better for them

 

Agreed. If you go with any higher resolution your dad will be using a magnifying glass to read Google News.

Secondly, remember the higher the resolution the more pixels the video card has to move around. No matter what resolution you run your game it still has to display them (WUXGA=2.3 megapixels, WXGA+=1.3 megapixels).

So I would recommend the WXGA+ with the GT card. You will get the speed you need for Bioshock and you're dad can put the magnifier on the shelf.

 

I would go one step further and order the anti glare 1440 X 900. At this point, if you keep the higher resolution and add a faster gaming card it is more for you then your parents. If you go for the higher res, you will be doing them a disservice and they might not even be able to comfortably use it or not use it at all. I would keep the 84xx card since this was made for casual gamers. You can still play but maybe not at full settings. But it will save on power as well. You need to call the modify department and have them cancel/rebuild the system with the lower res screen. And the anti glare will be even better for your folks.. they will appreciate it believe me. If you keep the high res they will not be happy with it and will wonder why you ordered such a high resolution. I used to work in nursing homes and believe me, eye site, hearing, the ability to swallow, digest, the abiltiy to keep correct body temperature etc.. on and one.. the body gets less efficient as time goes on. You need to think about there needs since this is primarily their system, correct?

 

i've got a 1280*800 screen and don't regret it a bit. it looks good + performs good too. in the upcoming games, i don't really see a point of going higher with current gpu's.... imo

 

Everyone:

Many many thanks!! I will consider this and call up dell tonight!!

Steveeb: Was laughing here at work about my Dad reading Google News with the glasses...I can almost see that so I better take on the suggestions you all have offered. Thank you again.

 

Thank you Desert also as I never even thought about the Anti-Glare aspect...this has been a very informative post for me. Thank you again everyone.