Ultimate WOW Laptop

I've been reading the forums and I know this question has been asked a lot of times, but every time people mention names of specific machines and turning off some of the eye candy.

I don't have access to the specific machines mentioned, so I would like to know... what are the requirements for a laptop that can run WoW (the only game I play) with all eye candy enabled and highest screen resolution at a decent frame rate?

As a reference, I play WoW on my desktop computer:
AMD64 3200+
1 gigabyte memory
nVidia 6600 GT video card

System plays at 30 FPS with all settings enabled at 1280x1024. If I can get a laptop that can match or exceed the performance of my desktop, I would be satisfied. The machine will not be used for any other games, so I'd like to save as many expenses as I can as long as I can be sure the system is up to the task.

Video Card - the main issue...
Would cards like nVidia 8400 G and ATI x1400 meet these demands? Or would I have to go higher? How high?

Memory
1 gigabyte seems to be more than enough on my desktop, but hearing about memory sharing makes me think maybe 2 gigabytes are needed?

Proccessor-wise, HDD-wise... guess I can't really go wrong there as long as I'm buying a new computer from the store.

Secondary requirements:
Firewire port, 4-6 USB ports - to connect my audio hardware for when I need to record with Cubase.

 

whats your budget?

 

new laptops run vista which needs at least 2gb ram. just my 2 cents. also a santa rosa processor would be good, since it is the newest processor w/ 800mhz fsb. which is 7x00, x being an odd #, such as 3,5, or7.

 

Well from what i can see something along the lines of an asus gs1 or gs2 would rock WoW......an 7900/8600 would be fine with 2 gig ram and a decent cpu would be fine...what size screen and price range you looking at? you could spend 10k on a falcon northwest that would run WoW

 

I was thinking around a 1500-2500 dollar budget.

I don't care for a specific screen size. Whatever is cheaper, though would be nice if it was not wide screen since all the graphical elements tend to work better in standard 4:3 proportions.

I have no desire to jump yet to Vista if I can avoid it and stay with XP. I fear the prospect of facing potential conflicts with Cubase SX3 and I don't want my system performance to suffer just because of a stupid operating system. I imagine any system compatible with Vista will be compatible with XP as well.

Nonetheless, I don't mind spending a bit extra for 2 gigabytes memory to be prepared for when installing XP will no longer be a viable option.

 

hmmm, im planning on using my x61 to play WoW ... however i'm not planning on using the highest settings

btw i paid $1215 for the x61 in my sig

 

I'm sure an integrated video card will not be able to match the performance of my desktop 6600 GT, no matter how new it is.

I'm basically wondering what video card would my laptop have to have to match the performance of my desktop system with nVidia 6600 GT.

 

nvidia 8600 would do the trick

 

Well if you're willing to spend 1500 - 2500, you might as well spend the extra few hundred thousand and splurge for this setup:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/a-real-r...ict-constructs-massive-47-pc-setup-275902.php

 

OK, so just need to have these details clear:
a. ATI's counterpart to the 8600 is x1600?
b. x1400 / 8400 G would be less powerful than my 6600 GT?

 

Been checking laptop prices with the various graphics cards that are available in my country.

Laptops with 8600 / x1600 installed tend to cost around 2500 dollars.

Laptops with 8400 G / x1400 installed tend to cost around 1500 dollars.

I'm wondering if it's worth spending another 1000 dollars for 8600 / x1600.

If I wait 2-3 months, think these prices could change significantly?

Just how much performance can I expect to lose compared to my current setup when using a laptop based on 8400 G / x1400?

 

It might help if you tell us where you live, might be able to help you more directly. You might also want to fill out the FAQ and post in "What laptop should I buy?" section.

 

You want the 8600M GT. The graphics card is the limiting factor in laptop gaming by a large margin. ATI has no competing solution, as the 8600M GT is significantly faster than the X1700, and ATI is yet to produce the HD 2000 line in mobile form.

You are pretty much restricted to widescreen laptops, as all entertainment laptops are produced with the WXGA ratio.

I don't know what country you come from, but look at the Compal IFL90, Sager 2090, Asus G1S, Dell 1520 (With 8600M GT, use $350 off coupon found in the Dell forums here), Asus C90s, or Acer 5920. The Acer and C90s both have MXM Type II upgradeable graphics as well. These can all be configured for less than $1300USD, most will do more than you ask.

The X1400 and 8400M G are not intended for gaming, you'll loose most of your performance. Also, your aging 6600 GT should be quite a bit slower than the 8600M GT found on these notebooks.

 

Thanks for the info, will try to check the computers you mentioned. I live in Israel.

The ASus G1S is one of the computers I already checked and it costs 10000 NIS (Israeli currency) which is equivelant approximately to 2500 dollars. There aren't many models I can find in my country with 8600 GT installed.

I ran 3dMark 05 on my desktop. Score was 3317.

 

Here's some price updates from running google for Israeli pages based on the computer names you gave me.

1 dollar = 4.23 NIS

ASUS G1S - 12500 NIS - 3000 dollars
Sager 2090 - not found
Compal IFL90 - not found
Dell 1520, could only find with 8400 GS and 1gig memory - 7300 NIS - 1722 dollars
Acer 5290 - not found
Asus c90s - not found

Also, I got mixed up... the computer I found for 10000 NIS was:
LG R500 UPOCE 2.0Ghz - 2300 dollars.

...and not ASUS G1S which as stated above costs in Israel 3000 dollars.

So as you see, the local situation here is not very good.

Meh, why am I smiling...

 

One more option I found:
‎W1-EP12E T5600

Has an ATI x1600... costs 9000 NIS. 2100 dollars.

 

That's harsh. I'm sure there must be some options, perhaps a company that does international shipping?

 

Anything shipped internationally would have to run through the customs and then it would cost twice as much anyway, and I would be denied of a warranty. I don't want to try sneaking things in.

Is it possible for a system based on x1400 or 8400 G to achieve a score of 3000 in 3dmarks 2005 like my 6600 GT desktop system did?

If so, such a system could be good enough for my WoW playing needs, if the 3dmarks 2005 score is a good enough indication about the system's actual capabilities.

 

I mean the 8400 could play WoW, but I really don't know how well it would. Perhaps try looking for a review of a laptop with an 8400, see what it gets?

 

Well, that is a definitive show stopper, I don't know of any outlets in Israel that sells laptops. 3dmark isn't a great tool for comparing the x1400 to the 8400M GS, but I'm fairly sure that the X1600 would run WoW the best of the three. Definitive results on notebooks are pretty hard to come by, so I can't really give a solid answer or help any more.

 

TBH, as long as you have over 64 MB dedicated and atleast 1 gig of memory you should be fine. My laptop runs WoW with 60 FPS while I'm questing, or 5 man instances. 30 FPS in major cities..

I'm using atm
1.83 GHZ C2D
Go 7400
1 Gig Ram

So anything over that should be fine.

 

I found this laptop:
Fujitsu AMILO M3438G

It has the 8600 GT and costs around 7000 NIS with 1 gigabyte memory, around 7600 with 2 gigabytes. Starting from 1650 dollars then, which is a very reasonable budget.

If it's a reliable system, then the only thing that is a turn off for me here is the giant screen size of 17 inch which makes the system weigh a whopping 4.1 kilograms.

Yet something tells me "buyer beware" if one system suddenly is cheaper than the rest. Any known issues with this computer?

 

Question for those who play WoW, how does it play on your standard wifi connection?? is it too slow?

 

I haven't heard much of anything about this specific laptop, or much of any Fujitsu notebook, but I've had good experience with other products from them.

 

I play over standard wifi over either my dsl or cable modem (ya i keep one as backup) and have never had any trouble running wow lag wise.

Oh and just FYI system in my sig runs WOW 1680x1050 max all at 30+fps no problem

So you get a nice 8600 gt, or maybe even an original go 7700 g1p like mine will run fine. Might be worth a look if it will save ya some money (seeing as how you ONLY play WOW)
Good luck and I hope you are happy with whatever you decide on

 

@ Vaath, thanks im not trying to de-rail the topic here btw just I think its pointless to start a new thread over somthing similar.

Thats your home connection, so I have a feeling its faster than the wifi you see out in public places. Im going to be going thru my works wirless and its slow as heck. Atleast compared to what I am used too.

I think we have a stanard DSL line for the whole building to share... when it should be atleast a T1 in my opinion.

My home connection is 15mb/s fiber optic and blows my work connection out of the water at about 45x faster speed.

 

How does it do in raids? What graphics settings do you use? Resolution, AA, what eye-candy if any is disabled?

If it holds up even 30-40 fps in raids then the x1400 or 8400 G should be enough for me then.

 

I do also play World of Warcraft. I have found that i can run it all on high settings, which isn't a surprise, but however at some angles of vision where it is possible to see far into the distance or a cinematic forward view, my frame rate can drop to as low as 20fps which is quite poor really. Considering i can play BF2142 all on high setting at 35fps.

For this reason i would strongly suggest a card like an x1600 or more powerful it you want to be playing on FULL settings on 1280x800.

 

just for reference, a mobile 8600 gt is going to outpower any other mobile card 15" and under, by a wide margin.

the ati x1600 is not stacked against the 8600. not even close. x1600 is the ati equal to nvidia's 7600.

ati's hd 2600 xt (already paper launched, you will find these soon) is the competitor for the 8600m gt (which was just released a few weeks ago)

ANY of the cards above will at least match the performance of your desktop's 6600.

i think you should reconsider widescreen, it should work really well with WoW. this game, like 99% of others, especially new releases, understands aspect ratios and adjusts the viewing angle properly, and thus expands your field of view. 1440x900 is about the same number of pixels as 1280x1024, so you will find you get about the same frames per second in either resolution.

my 8600m gt is much faster than a desktop 6600. likewise, the ati hd 2600 xt will be much faster than that desktop card. i don't know exactly by how much though.

 

Here's the offer I have so far:

‎S1-PRIDE T7200 2.0Ghz‎
Intel® Core 2™Duo Processor T7200(2GHz) 667MHz FSB ,2Mb L2 cache
2GB DDR2 (667MHz)
15.4" WXGA (1280x800), Fine Bright Technology
ATI ® New Mobility ™ Radeon ® X1600 (256MB)
120GB SATA, 5400 RPM
2.82KG With battery
Windows XP Pro (English)

That's for 9000 NIS, and the options for a computer with 8600 go for around 12500-15000 NIS which is significantly higher.

Will this set-up be adequate?

P.S.
Now I understand why the Fujitsu was so cheap... I misread! It had a 6800 card, not 8600... *eek*

 

OK, looking again there is also the option of:

LG R500-UPOCE Core2Duo T7300 2.0Ghz 15.4" LCD
2GB DDR2 667Mhz
LCD WXGA GLARE 1280X800 15.4"
GeForce Go 8600M 256MB Dedicated (shared on the S1-PRIDE offer)
160GB SATA, 5400 RPM
2.7 kg
Windows Vista Home Premium

That's for 10500 NIS...

Is it worth in your opinion another 1500 NIS toget this system instead of the S1-Pride?

 

The 8600M is GS model, not GT.

 

Ok... it comes down to this:
2250 dollars for a computer running ATI x1600 mobile 256mb shared with WinXP
3000 dollars for a computer running 8600M GS 256mb dedicated with Vista

Is the difference between 8600 GSM (not GT) marginal compared to the ATI x1600 mobile, or is it worth another 750 dollars, considering the only game I will play on this machine is WoW?

P.S.
3750 dollars for a computer running 8600M GT is really too rich for my blood...

 

I raided SSC, Gruul, Mag, etc. on the Go 7400 at 1280x800 (native for my M1210) with everything maxed but AA/AF and stayed above 20 FPS all the time (even in the middle of Shatt). My boyfriend got similar performance from his x1400. If you want to maintain 30-40, you will have to turn some things down.

HTH!

Laura

 

Man, with this kind of money being thrown around maybe you should just get a MacBook Pro! I mean heck... that thing comes with the same or better components as you have listed for like 2000 or 2500 USD if you want the upgraded 15" model. Do you have an Apple Store in Israel? That would bypass the customs issue I'd think. And you could dual boot into XP or Vista for really any reason with BootCamp (free from Apple). (WOW plays slightly better in XP than OSX, from what I understand).

Anyway, to answer your question above, I found on this site that the 8600m GS scored about 900-1000 points more in 3Dmark06 than the x1600m. Now, allowing for the bloated GS score because it is an 8 series card (newer generation cards have (allegedly) higher 3dmark scores without proportional actual in-game performance increases) the GS will still perform slightly faster than the x1600.

Or the Macbook Pro...

 

The system with GS installed will come with Vista installed while the system with x1600 installed comes with Windows XP. So that might offset the gain from the GS, and need to remember also that it's a 750 dollar difference.

As for MacBook, I can check it out but I don't know what reason I have to believe Macs will not have customs applied to them. From what I saw Macs have even more bloated prices than PCs do since they are for a relatively esoteric market.

Meaning a Mac system with the system components could reach even 5000 dollars here...

 

Right... I stand corrected. I don't know how it's possible... but MacBook Pro 15.4" 2.2GHz Intel with NVidia GeForce 8600M GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory is available in Israel for 12000 NIS.

128 MB however doesn't sound like much... Would this system give me the best performance over the previous two I mentioned?

 

You could get the 2.4 GHZ MBP with 8600M GT and 256MB GDDR3, which would solve all your problems. You could play WoW on either OSX or Windows (actually you wouldn't even have to install Vista if you didn't want to).

1440x900 is a nice gaming res as well, you could play WoW natively at max settings without any problems.

It's about $500 more expensive than the 2.2GHZ version here in the U.S.

 

Well 12000 NIS (3000 dollars) is already stretching my budget by 500 dollars.

The price of the system you mentioned is listed on the Israeli Apple site as 15000 NIS (3750 dollars) which is really out of the question and the same price as the PC system.

Would the 128 megabyte memory be a serious bottleneck or would it still be substantially better than the 8600 GS and x1600 based systems?

 

That will run WoW great on full as it is very similar to my system and i get a great frame rate in busy cities such as stormwind. If you have a look i bet getting a x1700 wouldn't set you back by much more and you may see an improvement as it has higher clock speeds.

But that seems great and i know from personal experience it will run fine.

 

It'll be a bottleneck sort of. It'll still be far better than the x1600 and the x1700 and any of the previous generation GPUs that fit into a 15". Not sure about the 8600 GS...someone with actual benchmarks and has compared fps of both should be able to tell you.

I'm not sure if this applies for Israel, but Apple has an awesome set of promotions for academic discounts for the MBP right now:

As long as you qualify for their higher education discount, you get $200 off the actual computer. Then Apple will give you a $200 rebate off one of their ipods (i.e. if you get the 4GB ipod nano, you'll basically get it for free. Then they'll also give you a $100 rebate off one of their hp or canon photojet printers (again, this means certain models will be free since base price is $100).

Then you take your brand new ipod and printer and sell them, and you just effectively got yourself a $300 further discount on your MBP, which combined with the $200 academic discount = $500.

 

Great! Except that I'm not a student, I'm a freelance technical writer and musician...

I also found this:
http://www.barefeats.com/rosa03.html

Granted the WoW test they did sounds kinda lame, not the most stressing situation. In their WoW test you can see no noticeable change in performane between the two 15.4" models and in general they claimed the difference is 9 percent in performance. I won't exceed my budget by 1250 dollars for 9 percent difference.

So the only question that remains, is whether it is worth spending 3000 dollars on a MacBook Pro for the 8600 GT and exceeding my budget by 500 dollars... or should I stick with the ATI x1600 based system for 2250 dollars? What kind of performance benefit can I expect ratio wise between the 8600 GT and the ATI x1600?

I am tempted to go for the Mac just for the rumor I heard that Macs tend to be more reliable in audio editing situations, which as a Cubase using and abusing musician I could probably benefit from.

Then again, they changed to Intel based processors so what's really the fundamental difference between a Mac and a PC and what's the benefit?

 

if you are only buying the thing for WoW like you say, just stick with the x1600 as i say im running the game great. Also if you bought a Mac you MAY go insane due to the operating System.

So keep your money and Sanity and buy the x1600 notebook.

 

The x1600 isn't a great card nowadays by any means, but you'll be able to run WoW at near-max settings just fine, especially if you optimize the drivers.

Not quite sure why every word beginning with "s" is capitalized, but I personally found OS X to be at least as good, if not better, than XP and Vista. Of course, I have both OS X and Vista on my Macbook Pro, so it's not really like I'm stuck to just one, but OSX is good enough so that the only reason I ever boot up to Vista now is to game.

Other than the OS, the latest gen of MBP has a LED-backlit screen. Also, the MBP is quite a bit smaller and sleeker than most other 15.4" laptops. In terms of performance hardware, currently it's the top-of-the-line, on par with the best 15.4" laptops out there right now (G1S, etc.).

If you're seriously thinking about a MBP, go try out OSX first before you make your decision.

Are you absolutely sure you can't find any other laptop with the 8600M GT in Israel? Quite a few of them are out in the world now - the Compal IFL90, Zepto has a few as well. Those maybe cheaper than the MBP but far better than the x1600 laptop.

 

I don't mind going through the insanity of learning a new operating system if I know that the extra money I spend will give me a noticeable performance increase that will protect my investment in this machine for the next two years at least.

The 3dmark benchmarks show that the 8600 GT scores twice as much as the x1600. I don't know how that translates into real use situations, but it sounds like a performance gap that may be worth another 20 percent investment.

Every model of computer mentioned here and in the nVidia site with 8600 GT I've run a google search on Israeli sites and I also ran searches using the internal search engine of computer store sites in Israel that I know. I also inquired via phone in several of these stores.

Like I said, most of the systems I found in Israel with 8600 GT cost 3750 dollars. The MacBook Pro is the only system with 8600 GT in Israel that costs 3000 dollars.

For 3000 dollars the other available machines in Israel come with the 8600 GS, making the MacBook Pro the only viable choice in the 3000 dollar bracket.

For 2250 dollars the x1600 can be adequate for running WoW and will probably match the performance of my desktop.

For 1500 dollars the x1400 / 8400 G based systems are available, but these won't match the performance of my current desktop.
--

So that's why it boils down to the MacBook Pro or the LG with x1600.

Both could work for me in the short run. I'm just wondering if MBP provides any viable extra benefit for the future and if I can expect it to be more reliable and durable than the LG x1600 option.

 

Why did you say, probably run on high settings? I own the game and the graphics card, so i know that i can run the thing on full great because i am doing just that.

However you are right that the x1600 is going outdated quite quickly and it may be worth buying something with an 8600 in it, but there are a lot of cheaper notebooks out there with that sort of spec which are hell of alot cheaper.
For example:
MacBook Pro

* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM

Ready to ship: 7 days
Free Shipping
£1,599.00
(£1,360.85 ex VAT)
------------

SKU: ASUS G1S-AK005C
Brand: Asus
15.4" TFT (WSXGA+, Colour Shine) - Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2Hz 800FSB - Video Camera Built-in(1.3 million pixels) - NVidia GeForce 8600 256MB - 2048MB DDRII SDRAM - SATA 160GB HDD(5400rpm) - DVD Super Multi LightScribe - Intel 3945ABGN WLAN - Bluetooth Built-in - Ultra-high resolution optical mouse - Gaming Carry bag - Vista Home Premium- More details...
Price: £1,269.00

--------

Pretty much the same but a £300 price difference and there there is alot which just for WoW you really won't need but its futureproof for gaming really

The MacBook has a 13" screen if you are not aware which is quite small, and i know this from experience of using one.


If your looking for something which is just to play WoW on when your not on your desktop which you say is more power, i dont think there is any need to push the price your paying so high, so just go on and get something within that budget and just get the best you can, you shouldn't really go out, buy a MBP pay a huge amount on it, when half the power is not needed, and not used because you have your desktop.

Build quality wise Apple do have it quite high as their notebooks are make by ASUS. I can tell you that that is good build, i am not too sure on that of LG though.

 

Here is a thread about running WOW on a 128 vRam MBP that should more directly address your question BoazP.

EDIT2: Only read the first page, the rest is crap.

From what I have read, the 128MB should run WOW on max settings with 30+ FPS except in VERY busy Auction House areas, where your performance may go down to about 20FPS. I'm almost positive you can max out performance if you run it in Windows XP. WOW generally runs about 10-20% better on a MacBook Pro if you bootcamp into XP. The max FPS is generally the same on OSX and XP, but XP ends up with a more stable FPS while OSX will fluctuate more, especially if you add AA.

Also, XP will utilize the 128vRams ability to use system ram. It actually works pretty well these days and might just nullify most of the argument between the 128 and the 256 in a game like WOW. Differences probably will be...10%

EDIT: A semi-recent OSX patch was released that improved performance on the 8600gt, so WOW may perform a little better than before. Still, XP will probably run it better.

EDIT3: Heh, I can't believe my MBP recommendation actually worked! I hope that if you do get the MBP that it will perform really well for you.

 

Well, it's not just you... my band's drummer has been hammering to me about Macs for the past two years. I wonder if Macs could really offer some new class of stability for me while running Cubase.

 

Here's my take on the MBP.

Asus makes the Macbook, but not the Macbook Pro from what I can recall. The MBP is not the sturdiest of machines out there - it's pure aluminum, which dents and scratches easily. You'll want to be careful with it - it's no Thinkpad. However that said, it's built well for its compact size.

The same applies to LG machines. They're known for style as well - and you'll need to take extra effort to make sure the exterior's not scratched, especially if it includes a piano black finish (although not sure if the R500 has that).

I've been very pleased with software in OSX. Never used cubase though. The best thing to do would be to go to an Apple store or a friend with an Apple and try out the software on it.

On the other hand, even if it doesn't work well in OSX, you could run it in Windows on the MBP too if you needed.

I still suggest contacting Apple and telling them your situation and trying to negotiate an academic discount.