You guys have done nothing but stress me out ?

I have been looking to get a gaming laptop and was excited at first when I found this site.It is really a wealth of information.But now instead of going out and getting a dell with the 8600gmt card . I find myself at 3 in the morning reading threads about which card is better the 8700 or the 7950 .With the 8800 around the corner I think I will never get a laptop . I will leark around these boards forever like the Ancient Marinier waiting for the perfect computer to come out.8700 or 7950 I assume in the long run both are good cards and will make me happy . Is there anyone else out there that has been shopping for months.

 

get a desktop with the 9800. it will last you 2 years.

 

I was shopping for about 4 months before I did a 180 from the *normal* gaming scene and got a MacBook Pro.

I'd say that the MBP is one of the most powerful gaming laptops in a 15.4" size bracket. It is seriously kickass.

If you don't need the new laptop now, you could theoretically wait forever. The problem is that there is ALWAYS something around the corner that is *allegedly* LOADS better than its predecesor (not usually true).

The elusive 8800m is a toughie. Do you wait for a card that might not ever come out? If it does come out, it should be within this year. If it is even half as powerful as the desktop version, it'll be the fastest mobile card ever.

Personally, after using this MBP 8600m GT (256MB), I'd be overwhelmed with even an 8700. I don't believe in going back to a previous generation now that all of these DX10 games are coming out. If you were not going to the consider the 8800m, I'd go for the 8700 because the tech is an entire generation newer than the 7950, it performs quite closely, and you are not only more GFX card futureproofed, but software API (dx10) futureproofed.

Now 8700 SLI, that's what I'd go for, but I don't know if Vista supports SLI yet.

 

that's the great thing about technology, buy top shelf today and its knocked down a shelf by tomorrow

 

You can wait for as long as you want but when you do decide to get a laptop, a different one will come out. That's technology for you friend.

 

I think maybe a better question would be, "what size notebook do you want?" If you say 15", then you'll probably be waiting for an 8700 or 8800 for a LOOOOONG time, since I think those are going into 17"ers. If you want a 17" (or bigger), you might wait a bit. 15.4" or smaller, 8600 is probably going to be "it" for a while.

Disclaimer: I could be totally wrong about everything I just posted. Such is the nature of the industry.

 

This is my story. I started shopping for a new laptop since august last year. I was eagerly searching for a gaming laptop and learnt geforce 7600 and ati x1600 both were good cards for 15.4 laptop. Boy later asus released information about G1P and I waited till Dec 2006. Then There's santa rosta and geforce go 8600m GT so I waited again. Again and again I finally decided what the heck I'm gonna buy a laptop right now and here's my Sager

 

I'm always shopping for new computer stuff. Every other day I build a new computer on newegg. Heh.

The problem people make when searching for a computer, is thinking too much. Stop thinking so much and just buy. You put enough thought into to see if it will do what you want, then you go with it. If you are seriously trying to get a 15.4" laptop for top tier gaming, then you are just silly.

Maybe that's just me but I can never understand the true reasoning behind someone trying to get a small notebook for top tier gaming, it'll be a few years before that really turns up.

 

Try this!! It will allow you to Upgrade possibly in the future. it als was a 17" which is good for gaming!! this going to be my build!

XOTIC / SAGER NP5791 ( Clevo M570RU )
- 17" WSXGA "Matte" Super Clear Ultra Bright Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® Core™2 Duo T7250 2.0GHz w/2MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8700GT DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- ~ 1,024MB DDR2 667 PC2 5300 (1 SODIMM)
- NP5790 White Frame Trim Color (September ETA)
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 80GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA 150)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Integrated System Speakers - Included
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- 110/220V 120W Auto Switching AC Adapter - Included
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support (Extra 2 Year Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

All this for $1672.00 OR $1621.82 if you buy is Check or Money order!!
i with this build you can get the 8700 now and replace it later with the 7950 if you feel you need it. this laptop is MXM-IV so you can swap graphics cards, and hopefully the 8800 if there is one. will be compatible!!

Hope this helped!

 

I would go with the recommendation above. Best thing to do. Get the M570RU and upgrade to an 8800+ when the 7950 just can't handle games anymore (hah, like that's gonna happen within the next 2 years....)

 

THe 9800 GTX is not even out yet. lmao :laugh:

Are you talking about the 8800 GTX or 8800 ultra?

 

Right now I have it narrowed down to 3 models the Toshia 205 the sager M570RU with the 7950 and the xps 1730 with 8700 with sli.Not looking to spend more than 2500 so asumme that the xps might be out .Looking at the 570ru with thte 7950 if going to get the 8700 will get the
toshia.

 

Blah, just get a desktop which you can make 2 times as powerful for less than half the money and use your savings on that purchase to pay for a mid-level laptop like the Dell 1520 with 8600m card in it so you can still play games on the go, just with low settings in worst case scenarios.

 

Maybe he's talking about the ATI Radeon 9800
Anyway, just buy one of the 3 if you need it like immediately.

 

Ahhhh, Ok, oops!

 

?not sure the name of the 8800 card had heard one might become alivible with the xpa 1730

 

The 8800 isn't even out yet. You're probably talking about the 8700.

 

yeah, but they think in the future it will have the 8800

 

roumor was new xps 1730 would have 8700 sli or new 8800 card that has not come out yet .wouldf buy the xps 1730 but assume it will cost over 3000 gran wantg to stay around 2,500

 

well, they gave you you're best choice of a computer up several posts

 

Waiting for xps 1730 if to expensive will get the sager

 

the XPS will most definitely go overbudget, knowing dell

 

yea I know but waiting 2 weeks wont kill me .)

 

hopefully...

 

EXACTLY!

I started stressing out too. But getting a laptop that I really *wanted* put me in the $2200 range, way over my $1500 budget. After some evaluation, I realized that 90% of the time I'll be at home and will use my desktop PC for gaming, and use my laptop for real work stuff with the option for gaming for the occasional LAN party or while travelling.

After playing with my Vostro 1500 for a few days, it's just the right combination of size, weight, screen, and features. Despite the crappy screen I got (hopefully replacement will be much better), it's a pretty good laptop. I am quite impressed with its gaming performance so far.

The Vostro 1500 is also a heavy laptop for a 15.4". I started thinking about lugging around a 17" that weighs a few pounds more. Doesn't sound like much, but try adding a few extra pounds strapped around your shoulder walking through the airport.

A few things to consider, however, is that a 17" laptop will offer a more powerful graphics card, bigger screen, more output options (i.e. DVI), and frequently dual hard drives.

It's all in what you want. If I only had the option of a single PC and needed the portability, I'd try to make a way to buy a quality 17". If I can make due with a desktop for gaming purposes, then a smaller, yet powerful enough for occasional gaming, is the way to go.

 

For under $2400, I built my own desktop with:

24 inch Dell monitor at 1920x1200 resolution
8800GTS 320mb card
Creative X-fi extremegamer sound card
4 gbs of RAM
Vista Ultiamte
quad core CPU, Q6600
5.1 speaker setup

You can just get so much more for the same money. I wanted a "gaming" laptop too but there is no great DX10 options out, and when it does arrive, it'll be very very expensive.

You build a system for $2400 and use the extra $800 or so on a new Inspiron for mid-range gaming performance when traveling. That works really well and when you're home, you will get a very high-end experience.

 

Hell you don't even need quad-core or 4gb of RAM as of yet.. with penryn coming eventually, the best thing to do would be to get a decent core 2 duo and overclock it like crazy.

Here's something I saw in a PC Mag:

for $1,247

500W ATX case: $145
Core 2 Duo E6700 (OC it): $212
Asus P5n-e sli: $100
2gb corsair ddr2-800: $246
Lite-on LG20A1H (optical): $39
WD 250gb 7,200 rpm hd : $50
Sound (onboard): 0$
GeForce 8800GTX 768mb: $506.

And with a decent monitor that is a GREAT gaming desktop for a bit under $1600.

Now use that money you saved to buy a nice little laptop for travel, or spend a bit more to get a decent gaming laptop for the road..

A laptop, with 8600gt, 1gb ram, 2ghz processor, XP home, wireless, and an 80gb harddrive with cost you about $1432.

That's $3000 for a great desktop and decent laptop

 

I recently built a new gaming desktop:

Antec P180b: $85
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R: $135
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (3 GHz - o/c's easily to 3.4): $300
eVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB (580/1700): $375
4GB G.Skill DDR2 800Mhz: $220
Lite-On DVD+-RW: $35
X-Fi Xtreme Gamer: $70
Raptor 150GB: $175
Seagate Barracuda 320GB: $80
Corsair 520W PSU: $100
Windows XP Pro SP2: $130

Total: $1700

You could save some $$$ by choosing 2GB, one HDD, and a slower CPU. I planned on this being a Vista box, but reverted back to WinXP because Vista pissed me off too much.

Then the Vostro 1500 in my sig cost about $1400 shipped. A little over $3K, but a good mix with a powerful portable laptop.

 

You make a good point, a super desktop can be built even for well under $2400 I just really liked the 24 inch monitor....the good news is that thing will last for many years unlike many interchangeable PC parts.

So yea, you could easily have both a power desktop and a mid-range laptop for gaming.

I should also note that SLI laptops may or may not yet work well with Vista and SLI itself is ineffecient or nonexistent on a game by game basis. Even when working, it never uses 100% of the second card.

And laptop drivers are never as fully devleoped or updated as desktop drivers, another important factor.

 

here's what we're trying to say

build a desktop for futureproofness
and get a very cheap laptop for on the go