My Customized V4000T... good enough for hardcore gaming?

I finally took your advice chazman and I looked at the v4000t at shopping.hp.com. I have this configuration setup for $1,013.00+$50 mail in rebate, my limit is $1,070 so its just barely affordable. Heres my customized specs:

Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
Intel(R) Celeron(R) M 380 (1.6 GHz)
15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800)
128MB ATI MOBILITY(TM) RADEON(R) X700
512MB DDR2 SDRAM (2x256MB)
40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
Integrated 56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet LAN
12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Microsoft(R) Works/Money

is this good enough to beat my desktop?
1x224mb 1x512mb ram
Nvidia geforce fx 5500 256mb pci
amd anthlon 1800+ 1.5ghz
40gb hdd
dvd-rom, cd-rw
also wat games can i play on this notebook the way it is setup?
i was thinking, cs:s, other source games, farcry, splinter cell chaos theory, doom 3, bf2 and etc.

 

Sounds great Halo, I think that is your best bet as far as a low-priced gaming notebook.

Even though the Celeron processor is not the fastest, it really isn't bad - it gets criticized too often for being a slouch, but it's not. You'll be fine with that on a budget.

The X700 is what really counts, gaming will be great on that.

I assume that you plan to upgrade the RAM at one point? You can get a 1GB stick for around $70 off of www.Newegg.com.

Yeah - with the 12-cell battery, you will get about five hours of life. Keep in mind though that it sticks out the back a bit.

It will definitely beat your desktop by a long shot.

As a regard to gaming though, you will definitely want to jack up the memory. I suggest getting the minimum 256MB, then buying a 1GB stick, that will be the best $70 you can spend on it. Newer games are really RAM hogging.

Cheers

 

You should look into the student discount if it applies to you. I got a Pentium M 760 and 1 gig ram for around $1200. I think the jump to the Pentium and it's better fsb would be worth it if you can afford it. Also, the 4200rpm hdd has been said to be way to slow for gaming.

My previously returned v4000t (it had a defective touchpad) had trouble with source games and stuttering. It was very annoying and couldn't be resolved in the 2 1/2 weeks I had the computer. However, pretty much everything else ran great, including Doom 3, WoW, BF2, and Far Cry. Another user here reported the same thing so it might be an issue with all of these notebooks.

 

Well, the hard drive has nothing to do with your in-game performance, only with the loading of the levels.

About the studdring - that is a pretty common problem, don't worry . . they released some updates for it not too long ago, I noticed that it fixed the studdring for the most part. I believe that the problem was that the game was not correctly caching the sounds/in-game objects, hence it studdered because the game had to access the hard drive in order to get them.

 

how much will the battery stick out?? also the weight and what details levels can those games be played on that V4000T?

 

If you have enough RAM [1GB or so - if you get 256MB from HP, then buy a 1GB stick, 1.25GB is what you would have all together - that would be great] you can play them at pretty much maximum settings.

EDIT: Here, look in this review at the HP dv4000 - this is how it would stick out on the V4000t as well:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2345

 

oh really im defineately goin to upgrade to 1gb sooner or later anyways, and wat about the detail for the 2x256mb=512mb ram?

 

CS:S should be okay, just use the settings it recommends.

Not sure about Splinter Cell, although I think you can manange with that.

Doom 3 is going to be a little tough on it, although playable. Probably be jerky, since you will be using more than 512MB.

BF2 is going to be your biggest hog at 512MB of memory . . 1GB is what I recommend for playing that comfortably.

You'll have to play with the settings, I can't be exact.

 

Ah, thanks for the info Chaz.

I have a feeling the hdd might only have problems with certain games like WoW, due to the world being seamless and the game accessing the hard drive quite a bit when entering new areas, especially during the griffon flights and such (they got a little choppy on my old system with the 5400rpm hdd). It makes sense that games like BF2, which really never accesses the hard drive after loading, wouldn't have any issues.

 

Sounds good taylor.

Hey Halo - since you are on a budget, I would focus on upgrading the components that you can't upgrade aftermarket, or do easily, such as the CPU.

For example - the battery - you can always buy a spare. How much battery life do you need? The standard six-cell should yield 2.5-3 hours.

Here would be my recommend config for your budget:

Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2

Intel(R) Celeron(R) M 380 (1.6 GHz)

15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800)

128MB ATI MOBILITY(TM) RADEON(R) X700

512MB DDR2 SDRAM (2x256MB)

80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive

DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive

Integrated 56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet LAN

6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Came to $1,034 - $50 MIR = $984

I'll be back online in the morning, getting a little late for me.