Smallest and Cheapest laptop to handle source engine?

Just curious here, what is the smallest and cheapest laptop (new or old) that can handle the source engine games (meaning able to complete a game, ~30 fps) I know the eee pc can play half life 2 barely, so if there is any laptop in the tiny - 12" range that'd b able to play it well, for as cheap as possible, I'd love to know of a laptop!

thanks

-TNK

 

Anything with a X3100 can run the source engine.

 

well i guess that is useful, still tryin to find a specific model thats cheap and small, will continue looking.

 

Whoa don't do that. The X3100 is not good for it at all. I sold my last notebook with one, I was getting like 5fps on TF2.

At least get a dedicated solution, like an 8400M GS.

 

Alright, also useful, but does anyone know of a model laptop that would be ~ $600 that could play source games?

-TNK

 

A Dell Vostro 1400 is my suggestion. That's the smallest notebook, 14", that includes the 8400M GS. That would cost about $650. If you wait for a deal, which is pretty common on Slickdeals, you can get it cheaper or around the same price with more upgrades in other areas (CPU).

 

It depends on how well you want Source games to look. If you wanted to, you can set the game to DirectX 7 mode with "mat_dxlevel 70" in the console and switch the textures/models/reflections/shadows/etc to low quality for performance several times faster than with all of the bells and whistles enabled.

IGN.com's Article on DirectX Levels
"DirectX Versions" - From VALVe's developer website

 

That would be fine, but again, what laptop would be ideal for setting it in dx7?

-TNK

 

http://www.xoticpc.com/force-3637-built-asus-s37s-z37s-p-1672.html?wconfigure=yes

small, light, 8400GS so it works but it might get a bit pricey.

 

Yeah, if you're even thinking about gaming, then you will need a 14" with 8400m GS, unless you want to spend a lot to get it in a 13" notebook.

Dell Vostro 1400 is definitely your best bang for the buck for 14" with 8400m GS, but it will cost you about $650. And for $100 more you can get a Vostro 1500 with 8600m GT which doesn't weigh a whole lot more than the 14". Either way though, the Vostro's are heavy laptops compared with others, but they're also built very solid (metal opposed to plastic).

 

I was gonna say read sig, but vostro is smaller

 

I second the Vostro option, probably the best deal.

FYI
My VAIO with a 2.0GHz Pentium + GeForce Go 6400 handles CSS at 1280x800 on High, with AF at 8x.

 

why don't you get the eee pc?

do you want to be able to play other games also? the 8400m gs is the very absolute minimum entry to modern 3d games. it will run the newest games at low to medium settings. but- you still have a lot of choice.

smallest + cheapest has two qualifying factors that don't fit well together. getting a smaller laptop with the same parts costs more money. but you also want it to be as cheap as possible. if you want the best deal (cheapest gaming laptop for the money) you should get a 15" vostro with an 8600m gt.

if you want the smallest gaming laptop, its probably a 13" dell or sony with an 8400m gs. there might be something slightly smaller (but again, it would be much more expensive)

so which matters more to you? portability or gaming?

 

um, well thats the thing, as the post says, aside from the source engine i dont plan on playing any other games, and i dont think the eee can handle that. I know the vostro 1500 is a good deal, but 15.4" is a little big for me, 14.1" would be acceptable, and ideally something 12" would be perfect, (eee pc would be great, but like I said, it just doesn't handle the source engine).

-TNK

Also, used does not matter either.