How good of a gaming laptop will this be?

I got a great deal on a custom built HP 6500t. I have about a week before I get it, and I've been wondering how good the 128 MB geforce 8400m GS is for gaming... I know I'll be able to play WoW without a problem, what I'm not sure of is.. Will I be able to play CS:source, and TF2 on decent settings without a problem? I didn't just buy this laptop for gaming, I don't plan on playing things like Bioshock or Crysis on it.. just games that I can pick up and play for a few minutes when I have some downtime in between classes and such.

Here are the specs, I got all of this for 901 dollars w/ a coupon.

# Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
# Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7700 (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
# 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
# $50 OFF upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)!
# 383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
# HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Webcam + Microphone
# Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
# FREE Upgrade to 120GB 5400RPM
# SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
# 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

The 8400GS mobile is the weak point and a very big problem for gaming. You'll be able use medium settings on HL2 based games like TF2 and CS:S, but more modern games will only be playable on low settings. Also, a 7200RPM drive can speed up in-game loading, and general use.

 

It's no monster but it's still pretty decent considering it's a laptop and not a pc. There shouldn't be any problem for the games you listed.

 

Yeah, HP had no option for a 7200rpm drive or a better graphics card on this model, but with all the other specs it seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. I guess I can always upgrade the HD on my own, but the graphics card? Isn't that a hard thing to do, and maybe not even possible?

 

That is an excellent machine for the money. The T7700 was probably a waste since you would not notice the difference between it and the T7500, but no one ever complained about having too much CPU power.

I suggest getting a copy of Windows XP with the money you saved on that system and putting it on there. There is a great guide for doing so in the HP forum (check the stickies). XP is faster and more reliable in my experience. It will help your gaming performance a lot (up to +20% to 30%).

The 8400M-GS is the weak point for sure but it is by no means a bad card. It is a solid mid-range card that will handle the latest games fine. Do not expect high settings but the games will look great. Older games - no problem at higher settings.

 

What Chaz said. The thing is though, yu could get a vostro 1500 for the same price with a 8600M GT. It's a Dell though...

 

I beg to differ, I currently have a vostro 1400 with the 8400 GS and I'm playing HL2, CS:S, and HL2 Episode 1 with HDR enabled all with highest settings, and they run great. Though TF2 will probably only be able to run low-med with this card I bet.

 

Yeah Source will run great, but if only every game was so well optimized - Newest games will run like crap for the most part. But if CS:S and TF2 are the height of it, then I don't see any problems at all.

 

My 8400M GS can play CS:Source on between Medium and High settings at 1440x900.