Thinkpad gaming?

I have a question about gaming on the Thinkpad T43 and/or Z60m. I know that Thinkpads are not normally known for gaming, and it's not going to be the machines primary use, but it is a factor for me nevertheless. I'll be using the machine both at home and at work for a variety of tasks (wireless internet, software development, and gaming). I'm not into the latest and greatest FPS or anything, I just want a machine that can run WoW, and maybe the occasional FPS game at acceptable framerates without overheating. I think the x300 hardware on the T43 can suit my needs, and the x600 on the Z60m definitely can. But I'm concerned about overheating. Does anyone have any advice here? I really want an IBM due to their superior engineering, build quality and support. I had been holding out for the Z60m but have been dissappointed with availability, and concerned with it's footprint. I'm now considering the T43 as a fallback.

 

Get this Z60m. It seems to be the best deal going right now. I've never heard of overheating issues with a Thinkpad.

ThinkPad Z60m
2529EFU
$1,699.00*

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
512 MB
60 GB
Titanium
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 1.73GHz
15.4" (1280x800)
128MB ATI Mobility RADEON x600 WSXGA+
6.63-7.0 lbs
UltraNav
Ultrabay Enhanced
DVD Recordable
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)
Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
56K V.92 designed modem
Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG
Bluetooth:2.4GHz
Fingerprint Reader Embedded Security Subsystem 2.0

http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...18425011252&dualCurrId=1000073&catalogId=-840

 

If you really want to game something like the Asus Z70va is probably a better choice.

 

Thinkpad, overheat? That's unpossible!

 

x300 will definately not suit your needs. I can run RS3 RavenShield at minimum settings without huge framerate issues, but thats far from a new game. I didn't have any heat issues when I was running it though.

 

I concur. the x300 will NOT suit your gaming needs... unless you want to play on VERY low settings...which makes gaming suck.
The Z60m is a good choice... but there are better machines out there for what you do (zazonz suggested the Asus Z70Va... I also suggest the Asus V6V or V6Va if you don't mind forking out a little more cash).

 

My understanding is that WoW does not scale down very well, however supposedly FF Online does?

I too just had a Thinkpad delivered, a T43, high speed model, purchased 2GB Ram from Newegg.com (have to pick it up from my father's office though) and purchased it for pretty much the same reasons.

HOWEVER, my expectations are pretty much to NEVER run FPS on it since I don't play much of that. Any super-demanding game I will play only on my desktop which contains my nVidia GeForce 6800GT OC 256.

For the laptop, I am planning on playing some basic RTS stuff that does not have demanding, listed requirements on the box. EG - CIV4, Chessmaster X, other miscellaneous and NON-Major 3D intensive enjoyable things. I figure I should do just fine on 2Ghz and 2GB RAM, lol.

 

I have the 2G T43 with X300 and 1.5G Ram, runs fine on some 3D intensive games. Of course I'll go back to my desktop for serious gaming.

 

My T43 with 64mb x300 runs GTA3 at pretty high settings just fine. It crashes sometimes, though...and it actually seems like it's heat-related. I could be wrong, however. Right now surfing this forum and listening to windows media player, my CPU is at 52 degrees C. Maybe that's too warm? Maybe my machine is pretty warm in general?

 

Something doesn't fully add up with that laptop. That part number is listed nowhere in the IBM catalog sheets, and the x600 w/128MB doesn't come in any laptop with those specs. It also says in one spot "sxga+" and in another just the normal resolution. Maybe a computer glitch?

 

Don't do it. T43's are for business applications. Just because they can play games doesn't mean you should. Buy a Dell 9300 if you want to play games.

 

Karl, you must be out of your mind. Don't you understand that the only difference on the inside of a Thinkpad is going to be the motherboard (mostly). Its the same X300 thats in any other machine. The same Pentium M in any other machine. The same PC4200 RAM in any other machine (aside from brand), Hard Drive, NIC, USB, EVERYTHING, except the motherboard, casing, keyboard, pointer, and LCD. That's it.
a laptop is a laptop is a laptop.

Main differences between companies, is price, *build quality* , customer service, reputation, and general choice of components ONLY if there is a special purpose for the machine (i.e. Alienware, Voodo, etc for gaming purposes typically, because who needs a mobile Geforce 6800 or top of the line ATI card for everyday business).

That's it, no ifs ands or buts. In a desktop its the same deal. The situation only goes to another level when you are talking about servers (for the most part), THEN you can have a MUCH larger variance/array from machine to machine depending on what you want to accomplish, and it is far more specialized. You probably wouldnt try to play games (other than solitaire)on some 1u rack server. lol.

 

I can play DOOM3 on "High" at 800x600 on my 9600. See no inherent problem playing most of the games on modest settings with the X300. Of course, you can shell out some extra $$$ to get the T43p with the FireGL V3200, which is an X600, and it will be even better.

 

consider buying T42 it comes with 1,8 - get 1G RAM , 80 HD and ATI9600 (comparable to x600) and with T42 u can SURE there is ABSOLUTELLY NO overheating or fan issue. T43 is known for overheaintg and fan noise. The only problem i see with the little slower response of Flexview display. I play Americas Army - full details - and surprisingly it gives me much better FPS than my father s asus M6V with x600. Comparable to my desktop - with 9800pro. I ll try some more games soon will let u know

 

Overheating - you are probably right, fan noise - not so sure. There have been reports of fan noise with all T4x models here and there. So you cannot be 100% sure, but there is a smaller chance to end up with a noisy one, here I agree.

 

I haven't heard of any widespread complaints about the T43 having overheating problems - it gets hot, for sure, but I know mine hasn't ever become hot enough to cause stability issues.

The fan noise is worse than on older T4x laptops because it turns on much sooner than older models and doesn't stop. This seems to affect some laptops more than others, though; it must just be luck of the draw, I guess.

Fortunately, there is now a fan control program for the T43 (and any other ThinkPad it runs on - seems to work for most modern ones) that can turn the fan off when it really isn't needed - which is, in my opinion, most of the time.

The most recent Embdedded Controller update also seems to make the fan behave itself a tiny bit.