Wow what do I have?

idk what my problem is but i have a pretty decent notebook (so i think) tho ive been looking around and seen that technology has grown rapidly since i got my notebook last year. what i want is to make sure i didnt make the wrong choice when i got my laptop. dont get me wrong the specs are still good for what i use it for but im trying to include myself with the new age of computing. basically i want to play the latest graphicy game out there to date like "lost planet" with my machine. will my laptop be able to adapt comfortably with the new stuff or are their upgrades out there that ive missout on or need to get it!. other than HDD space, what else is my notebook missing. btw my bios is old and its like at f12 so i need to get on that quickly too(if it helps my computer run faster). any thoughts anyone?

 

To answer your gaming question first. Games like lost planet can be played on both older(i.e. the previous generation) as well as the latest video cards. The only difference is that being a dx9 card, the Go7600 would not be able to run the dx10 effects, in games like Lost planet, Crysis, etc. However the games themselves would run, albeit on medium-low settings, and in dx9 mode.
Now to your upgrade query. You cannot upgrade a laptop in the same way as you can a desktop. The only thing you can upgrade without issues are the RAM, the HDD, and that's about it. Also, the processor is upgradeable, but only with another of the same product family.

Hope that answered your questions, to an extent.

 

i was actually thinkin of upgrading the proccessor but idk how much good it'll do me if up grade it to 1.8 or even a 2.0 concidering the prices of these things. im not sure how much better im off with an upgrade

 

It's probably not worth the cost.

 

Upgrading the processor will only provide a minimal increase in power. Looking at your system configuration, I'd say you have the best that notebook is going to have.

Which leads me to your current hardware. It doesn't matter if you do not have the most powerful notebook, or the best graphics. It just matters that the laptop does the job that you ask it to. MANY future games are going to be DX9 compatible because there is only a very small market for DX10 right now. Not many people have it.

You don't want to get caught up in this 'always upgrade or buy the latest' game, because it will only cost you more money in the end for only marginal performance upgrades with each new notebook. Now, the Pentium M->Core Duo upgrade was the ONLY exception mind you...but Core Duo -> Core 2 Merom -> Core 2 Santa Rosa only provides minimal increases in power over the previous generation. Same with graphics cards...DX10 mid-range cards are more powerful, but not powerful enough yet to justify the cost of a new notebook.

As a general rule of thumb for me, I try to update only after two generations of notebooks have passed by. I've had some exceptions to this (like a notebook dying, or wanted a gaming notebook when I didn't have one already)...but if you buy every few generations your money will be better spent.

 

personally i would update to the t7600 - core 2 duo 2.33ghz, cheaper now that santa rosa is out, and fastest processor available to what your cmputer can handle

plus your system will allow for a total of 4gb of memory - which is running about $250 shipped if you find the right deal

 

thanks i appreciate the advice tho my only question is this... wat games is my system able to handle... new age games and upcoming titles... i didnt even think of crysis but if it can handle that then im feeling a lil better.

 

I cannot imagine it having too much trouble as long as you put the right settings on it.