The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Fair/moderate Gaming Laptop?

    Discussion in 'HP' started by Curtis, Aug 30, 2005.

  1. Curtis

    Curtis Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    22
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi,

    I'm a current owner of a DV1010us, and as wonderful the notebook is, it's embarrassing when I try to game; even on lowest settings, it's just a completely and utter jerkfest. I've considered to get another one, but one with a dedicated video card, yet still retain (if possible) the svelt and mobility of a 14-15.4 display. Are there any in the HP/Compaq line of products that meet this criteria? I noticed the Compaq V2000 (or was it V4000) line has a dedicated ATI GPU. This is something that looks interesting to me.

    If I decide to buy it used from the open market, is there something I should look out for? i.e early versions did not have Dedicated video, etc. ?

    Thanks
     
    Curtis, Aug 30, 2005
    #1
  2. brianstretch

    brianstretch Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    441
    Messages:
    3,667
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    HP's AMD Turion-based notebooks (Compaq V2000z, HP L2000 SE, etc) have ATI shared memory GPUs. The zv6000/R4000 uses the same chipset with 128MB of dedicated RAM available as an option but it's a heavyweight notebook. This Radeon 200M chipset is the only shared memory GPU I'd consider until nVidia releases their new one. It's a few times faster than the awful one Intel builds. UT2004 is smooth at 800x600 res. If that's enough for you, the V2000z and L2000 SE are nearly identical in size and weight to your dv1000 series machine and the V2000z is likely cheaper (no Intel marketing tax).

    HP doesn't have anything decent for serious gaming in the form factor you're looking for. I'd check out the Acer Travelmate 4400, Acer Ferrari 4000 (if you have the cash) and MSI 1029. Same chipset but with Radeon X700 GPUs, the latter two with 128MB. I'm hoping that HP will surprise us when nVidia's new Turion chipset is ready but I don't know when that will be.
     
    brianstretch, Aug 30, 2005
    #2