Heat vs Graphics vs Noise vs Ram ?

Im in the market for my first lappy, but Im very concerned about keeping the noise down, (Im very sensitive).

This is my current problem;

Dedicated card with its own RAM.
vs
Standard intel issue that steals you system RAM.

But, the card generates heat, which in turn makes the fan do more work, which in turn makes more noise.

--------------------------------

So, to get to my point; would it make sense to keep the standard intel card and buy double the RAM, so there will be no noticable knock-on effect on the system RAM.

This should in theory provide the best ballance of RAM managment and keep things cooler and obviously quieter, yes ?

 

Are you going to be playing games? If so, what games? There is no point buying a lappy with a dedicated card if all you want to do is watch dvds and do some work. If you are a light gamer, get yourself an IGP made by ATI or Nvidia (200m, for example, or 6150 etc). Even low end dedicated cards like X1300, or 7200 do not put out much heat/noise.

If we know what you want to do with the lappy we can answer you better.

 

Excluding all the variables mentioned by yourself, I would presume that the key factor here would be that of what you actually need for your particular and specific computing needs...

Are you a gamer?
Do you utilize graphic intensive applications?

If so, then there is really no way around going to a dedicated GPU...modern notebook cards are drastically improved & generally manage heat production quite well while also keeping noise levels low...you could possibly look into one of the $20-30 cooler pads that would help keep heat down and subsequently reduce fan noise/speed.

If not, then keep the GMA 950 & upgrade the RAM...

 

Oops, I forgot that bit !

No, no games at all.

Main use as follows,

70% Web-Browsing
15% Music Managment
15% Photo Managment

The only concern I have is wether the standard GPU will handle Vista ok ?

Im thinking of having 2G of Ram, that should provide enough for me to use and the GPU to syphan off !

 

If you don't play games, just go for an Integrated graphics option. Not anthing by SiS or Via mind you, they are awful. Aim for GMA 950, or something like a ATI Xpress 200, nvidia 6150 if you can afford it. GMA 950 is Vista Aero compatible, whether its performance will be affected by lack of hardware Transform and Lighting I do not know. Guess it depends on your budget.

 

£800 max budget.

Im thinking about the new ASUS F3 range.

All laptops over £600 seem to have extra graphics bundeled in, mabey I need to look at the buisness notebooks rather than those for entertainment.

 

Low end integrated will not produce that much noise or heat unless you are playing games. I have a X1300 in my machine, the fan is always on low, unless I play games or start something CPU intensive (Photoshop for example). Something like a X1300/X1400 - 7300/7200/7400 will not produce more heat and noise when just doing basic windows tasks.

 

This Asus F3Jc-AP040P should be ok then ?

Im still concerned over heat and noise issues though.

 

No Games = Integrated Graphics. Integrated means less heat, less battery consumption.

 

So I could choose a lower spec modle and have exrtra ram added togather with a mini ubs bluetooth if needed.

So, I need a Core Duo/2, 80Gb+ hard drive, 1 Gb Ram, Intel 950 Gpu & Intel 3945ABG WLAN.

Thats a basic must have list.

 

How about this Asusfrom ebuyer?

Core Duo, WiFi, 1gb memory, GMA 950, 80gb hdd, £640 inc vat

 

Its £641 @ ebuyer and £582 @ technoworld.

I dont know what Technoworld is like to buy from, they realy do have very keen prices though !

 

Careful with technoworld, they are not very reliable at all. They often advertise stuff on their site at low prices, only to cancel the order after a few weeks telling the customer it is out of stock. Check out reviews on them

I've often found if something is too good to be true, it often is.

 

How many Ram slots do you get in a laptop ?

I could upgrade the Ram to 2gb myself, but if I get supplied the usual 2 x 512mb strips, when you upgrade you either get 1.5gb and a spare 512gb or you have to spend alot and still get left with 2 x 512gb, Is this a joke ?

Why dont they supply a single 1gb strip so you can upgrade later with minum waste ?

 

They supply two as that way the laptop is shipped running in dual channel mode, and therefore faster than it would with only one memory module installed.

Laptops usually have 2 RAM slots in them.

I got myself 2x1gb, and sold the 2x512mb that came with mine on ebay. Memory is pretty pricey at the moment though, getting 2gb will be costly. I'd wait until after xmas for more memory as prices will go (hopefully) go back down after the xmas demand.

 

If you're concerned about noise I'd make sure whatever cpu you get has a speedstep function and is not near the higher end of that particular range as higher end cpus make more heat and therefore more noise. I'd say lower end core or core 2 or a Pentium-M would be good for that, however Cores don't exactly have a rep for being the coolest cpus out there.

Also install a program like Notebook Hardware Control which does a far better job of regulating heat and fan activity and reduces the amount of time the fan comes on. Also try undervolting your cpu and underclocking your gpu. Both should reduce fan activity.

 

What are the "cool" CPU's ?

Are AMD's good for heat ?

 

The Core's and AMD's both use very little heat. Look for the thermal dissipation numbers.

If you want very cool chips, you want a VLV or ULV Core chip (Very and Ultra Low Voltage, respectively), but those are usually found in highly-mobile laptops, or you can order one if you custom-build.

 

Thanks

Well whats available thats cool specificly by number i.e. Dore Duo T2250, etc.

I need; 80Gb+ Hard Disk, 1Gb+ Ram, Intel 950 Gpu & Intel 3945ABG WLAN.
BlueTooth would be nice but not essential, so would XP Pro.

 

Don't be scared off by integrated graphics at all. My 7400 plays Doom 3 with pretty decent settings.

Definitely go with something dual-core, you won't regret it. Pentium Ms might result in a quieter system, but honestly, a dual-core system will be a lot more responsive. I have a friend who has a similar laptop to my own, same clock speed Pentium M as my Core Duo, and it is a lot more "sluggish," and not any quieter.