Looking to get a gaming notebook

Im looking to get a notebook that I can use to play games on. The main game I play right now is Lord of the Rings Online, also some Orange Box.

I was looking at this HP, any opinion?

dv6700z

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...tion.do?destination=review&config_id=459605#a

This is without a warranty yet. I could also upgrade to 4 gb of ram but wasn't sure if I would even need to or if the 64 bit would even use it.

My main concern is the graphics card.
Would this work for gaming?

 

Hi-That notebook would not be terribly powerful with AMD processor (go with Intel Core 2 Duo if possible) What is your price range? You should focus on graphics cards before Ram (2 gb is more than enough for oragne box and lord of rings online). If on a budget, take a look at notebooks with 8600mGT (not GS) and above. They should play all games pretty well. Dell has some nice deals-and always look at Asus.

What settings do you want to play these games? Again-take a look at 8600mgt or above (nvidia 7900m also okay). For a bit more also-alienware has their new m15x line for a nice price--research is key...

 

I just found out I can get a student discount so now I also have this option:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...ew&config_id=474636&jumpid=in_r329_saveconfig

 

I prefer to spend under $2000

 

If you truly want a gaming laptop HP is not the brand to go. Look at getting an Asus or Sager. Those are just two off the top of my head. You will be able to play the games you listed on that HP laptop, but not at high graphics with a good framerate and you won't be able to play a lot of the newer games that are out now or coming out because they are too demanding and the hardware on that laptop can't handle it (it might handle it at the lowest graphics).

 

I just got my dell Inspiron 1520 with Core 2 Duo 2.0, 2GB Ram, Nvidia 8600M GT, 120g 7200rpm HD, for $965. (with TX tax it was $1065)...that was with the dell coupon that I found in this website. I think that's a pretty good deal..

 

I play Orange Box and Broken Sword on the HP (I have the dv9500t) at full res (900x1440). It runs Crysis demo 800x600 decently at medium graphics. Good speaker sound quality (I've compared with Acer, Dell). It is a good all-around machine if you don't move it around much. If portability is very important, you need to consider it's bulkier, heavier and battery life won't be good compared to a 15".

(someone recommended the Dell 1520 -- check it out in a Best Buy or Staples first, with the battery. IMO it is excessively heavy and thick for a 15". But perhaps that's what is needed to accommodate 8600GT. It also doesn't have DVI/HDMI.)

 

All HP laptop are integrated video card wich are not good at all to do gamming on.

 

really ? my hp 8510p for $1365 has integrated video ?? crap i better return it !

 

HP and gaming = crap
Get one of these if you like mainstream notebooks:
http://www.gateway.com/programs/pseries/index.php#fn1

if not get a Sager

 

look around , i found my hp 8510-p for $1365 at tiger in december , and it can play games , it's relativly light , and has a 3/3/3 warranty .

 

If you're looking for HP and gaming, the 8510p/w models are the way to go. Both have dedicated graphics, equivalent to the 8600m GT. The P model is much cheaper than the W but you sacrifice some GPU power. Both can be had for under $2000 however (pre-config models when it comes to the W).

 

just saw on the hp site 8510-w with ati fire gl 5600 $1499.00 . when did they add the ati 5600 ?

 

You need to explain more about what you post, because people who don't know any better get a completely different picture.

Integrated video cards means that it is a basic video card created by intel or whoever and doesn't have any graphical power. Yes, most video cards in laptops are soldered onto the motherboard (and I hope this is what dinapoli means or he doesn't know what he is talking about) and can't be upgraded, but not all. If you look at gaming laptops such as Sager, Clevo, Alienware, etc. they allow you to swap out video cards and upgrade.

As Ackeron states, if you want to game HP has 2 different options, their 8510 series and their HDX Dragon. If you really want a gaming laptop that will last you and allows the capability to upgrade your video card go with a Sager. The new Sager's now offer the 8800GTX on a few models, and even offers 8800GTX SLI (yes 2 video cards in the laptop) with a quad core on the NP9262.

 

You can get the dv6700z with a discrete graphics card. It's not great but it would handle mid-range gaming, IMO. The 6700z is an update from the 6500z that a co-worker/friend of mine got on my recommendation. He hasn't had any trouble with it.

Krista

 

Is it better to wait Till end of the Year or start of 2009 to get a gaming Laptop

Cos like when the Alienware m9750 (dx9)was out just 6 months back
& now they have a Very dif & better dx10 & 8800 card - Alienware m17x

(HAPPY NOW )

I know things change But if we getting a $5000 laptop & ur outdated in 6 months its sad

 

This is only partially true as recent history suggests. Those who bought the Sager laptops last summer have to spend north of $800 to "upgrade" their graphics cards from an 8700M to 8800MGTX. They have to swap out thier motherboards in order to do it. It wasn't just a video card upgrade. So pragmatically speaking, there are no upgradeable laptops in the market.

So your best bet is to buy a laptop that plays most games and just forget about Crytec's "Crysis" which most desktops have trouble playing at native resolution.

That said, anything with a Nvidia 8600M GT with min 256mb discrete or 8600M GS with 512 MB discrete will be fine. The 17" HP DV97xx series is fine. Dell's XP 1530 is fine (just cross your fingers about a grainy screen). Gateway makes a 17" gaming lappy with an 8800M GTS 512MB for around $1400 @ Best buy. There's a great review of it on here. Asus makes nice lappies but the styling may not be to your liking.

If you're going to buy Sager's 17" gaming notebooks, see xoticpc.com or powernotebooks.com. Both have excellent customer service.

 

You mean Dell's XPS M1730. Not Alienware.

 

You are true about having to replace the motherboard for the 8800GTX card, but before the 8800GTX you had the 7950 and the 8700 which you could swap out without having to change anything else.

In regards to the 8600GT and GS being good enough for gaming you are right and wrong. The GS is far underpowered and I still don't know what HP thinks when they choose their video cards. They can both handle some of the newer games at medium to low graphics, with the GT being superior obviously. Go read some of this post and you'll find more info on what the cards can handle:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=125246

 

Great link! Thanks. I was hoping that the GS w/512MB and a T7500 (2.2SantaRosa) or T9300(2.5 Penryn) would help to compensate for the 16 less stream processors than the GT. Oh well, scratch the 8600GS.

I think I'm going to find those responsible for design/enginering at HP and send them the link along with a simple note saying, "it's the GT, stupid."

IMO, HP makes better looking lappies than the Round Rock clan (Dell). Dell's look like something I'd make given that I don't have proper tools. The XPS's are nice though.

 

Wow, I just tried Crysis Demo on the dragon. Looks very pretty on the HDX9000 Dragon with only 4305 3D clocks 2006. If it looks this pretty with such a low 3dclock number. Imagine how it would look at 10,000 3d clocks.

Sorry to say the dragon is way above your $2,000 range.

 

Oh, an HDX owner. Congrats. How do you like it? Any problems? Also, are the hardrives in RAID 0 config? (In windows, do you see 2 harddrives or only one large one?)


TIA

 

why can't the retards at HP just put a freakin 8800GTX in the HDX or even offer SLi????!!! why i ask why???

 

Thanks,

I have 2 problems. One with with Quickplay. Just like just about every post points out here, When HP went to vista. They should have just goten rid of Quickplay and had the buttons boot into WMC instead.

I got two 120GB drives split into 2. Once I got rid of all the bloatware on C. I had around 75GB free on C (This is with the Restore Partition) and 111 GB on D. I also have a TB network drive.
The other big problem is slow network file transfers. We have no idea how this got past MS's QA department. But it's horrible.
But the fix is in SP2, None of the Tibs. IE. from CNET and other places work to fix this. I had to download VISTA SP RC which expires in June to get this fixed.
I didn't buy the PC as a gameing PC. But I'm glad to see it's not too bad when it came to the Crysis demo that everyone now seems to be using as a becnchmark.

 

I completely agree with you, I love the design of HP laptops, that's why the next one I'm probably going to buy will be the HDX. I just wish they would understand that people need a better video card, they always seem to put the lower model in their systems. I hope that they put the 8800GTX in their next model HDX, I would love it then. The 8800GTS is a start for HP though, and I'm happy they at least put a decent video card in the dragon.

As for Dell's, the only ones that look even a little appealing are the XPS series, but they are so ridiculously expensive for what they are. That's the thing that would set HP apart from everybody, because they already have the style down, they just need to get the performance in them.

 

A HDX "Dragon" letter to HP.

Dear Master HP,

First of all, thank you for rewarding me the Nvidia 8800GTS for my great past reviews.

Now for my birthday, I would like the Nvidia 8800GTX since I'm BIG enough... so I can breathe fire out my mouth and nostrils!

Thank you Master HP for your immediate attention and cooperation in this important request.

Sincerely,

HDX "the Dragon"

 

HP HDX+8800GTX+full 1080p+20.1in=i just came

 

Thanks for the info. Enjoy the unit. May you find it to be reliable.

Looking forward to getting one myself later in the year.