Ugh, regretting my purchase :(

After I got the refund for my defective U150 that I returned to Lenovo, I decided, reluctantly, to give it another chance as I didn't have a real chance to test it before. So, I got another U150 and I've had it for nearly a week. While I like the notebook itself very much, it seems very solid, the LCD is actually pretty decent this time around, I'm pretty disappointed with the performance. As I said in another thread, because it scores roughly the same as my former 2008 macbook in 3dmark06, I expected the same performance, but it's just not there. So I'm kind of regretting my purchase and thinking of eating the restocking fee and getting a T410 or x201 instead.
Am I right that you can return them within 15 days to Lenovo? I wish I would have listened to ZaZ and stayed with my decision to not get another one.
I don't know, what do you think? I really like the notebook, it's a great general purpose machine, but with gaming I can pretty much forget it at this point.

 

Well, as far as I know, U150 is not a gaming laptop... Now you either have to settle for light gaming I guess, or just have the laptop replaced.

I personally do not game much, prefer to read stuff in my spare time more at the moment, so I think if I were you, I would keep it.

But if you really want gaming, just go ahead and sent it back, it's better to pay the restocking fee if you are going to regret your purchase for a long time...

 

Intel integrated graphic is never good for gaming. I believe that the 2008 mac have nvida integrated graphic

 

The late 2008 macbook had a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, and Intel x3100 integrated graphics. I'm just surprised that the U150 doesn't have as good performance, though they score roughly the same in 3dmark06.
@mujtaba, nearly all of my games pre-date 2000/2001, yet the U150 seems to struggle with some of them, quite surprising really.

 

Why don't you try bigger guns like T or better yet W series?

 

Have you tried using the latest drivers ?
Also, the CPU might be the bottleneck for some games, I think.

 

Yes I have. As I stated in the other thread (gaming subforum, more specific questions there), I've tried different drivers and tweaks, to no avail. I've been testing under both windows 7 and XP. If you like, you can read it here for a more detailed explanation. Long story short, I expected the performance to be on par with my old macbook, but it's a lot less.

 

Sorry to hear that.

Get a Lenovo Thinkpad. Period .

 

Get a laptop with dedicated graphics if you want to game, or at least do some more research before buying another laptop. I'm sure if you ask, someone with a x201 or t410 will test the game you want to play on their system before you go and risk another purchase.

As for the new Intel HD graphics, they're not impressive. They score well in 3dmark06, but the x100e beats the x201s in FPS on World of Warcraft. Benchmarks done by laptopmag.

 

Did you get the Pentium or did you get the core 2 duo version

 

It's the Core 2 Duo version, Ultra Low Voltage (1.3GHz).

I take it I do have 15 days to return it? I think I'm going to do some more testing over the next couple days and decide over the weekend if I want to keep it or not.

 

The difference in the clock speed might be the problem, it's nearly 1/2 less than mac's processor.

 

m8 it's a C2D @ 1.3GHz with integrated graphics, I doubt there will be any recent (last 2 years) games that are playable on that PC. Like didn't you do any research before buying? (no insult here). The only reason ULV processors exist is for extending battery life, performance wise they suck compared to i5. Take a look below:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

Yeah but it shouldn't struggle with battlefield 1942. :\

 

Even though BF1942 is rather old...it isn't that simplistic a game.

 

x100e: for games

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...S/Landing_pages/ThinkPad_notebooks/2010/X100e

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lenovo-thinkpad-x100e.aspx

 

Games? Oh, I forgot Tetris and Sudoku are games too.
Anyway, from your linked review - the little beast lack a proper cooling, I'd not use it for anything stronger than browsing.

 

Check you're CPU usage while playing BF1942, I wouldn't be surprised if it is the bottleneck. SU4100 or SU7300 are closer to Intel Atom's performances than Macbook's 2008 2.1 Ghz (MB402LL/A) performances.

See http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

 

If you can return it, please do. It is not worth the headache for you. You pay money to play game, which the Lenovo does not offer that well. Get the Edge 13 AMD version for $500 from amazon.

 

Running dual-channel RAM will improve graphics frame rates a bit. You'd see better performance with a X201 with it's 5700MHD graphics.

If go an expresscard system, which the U150 is not, could doa US$200 HD5670 DIY ViDock.

 

ehh if you want to game the latest stuff I wouldn't bother with the T or X series.

M11x maybe? though cpu wise it would be similar to the u150

 

The M11x is very thick and cost as much as a macbook.

 

M11x can't handle CPU demanding games. You need at least i5-520M to be mildly future proof. GPU-wise the 335M is about the same as the FX880M (W510)

You can't have both the gaming and the extreme portability.
The later however is very relative. I carry my M17X in a backpack all the time and don't mind the weight. Hate the reflections though...

 

From what I got from his post, he seem to look for a cheap light gaming machine, which I think the AMD version of the Edge 13 fit perfectly.

 

I agree, you can't have both good gaming and portability, but you don't need good gaming for Battlefield 1942. The HD3200 should work well enough.

UL30vt would be a great compromise...build quality is sketch though.

 

UL30vt have the same internal as the u150 if I am not mistaken

 

Sorry I'm late to reply in this thread. I don't want an alienware as it's not my thing. I wanted a culv ultraportable, because quite frankly I don't need a lot of power. Any games I do play are so old, most of them from 2001 and before, that I don't need a true "gaming" machine. I really love my U150 over all, just can't understand why it's struggling with some of my old games, and I'm thinking maybe I should return it and get something a little more powerful (thinking of the x201).
I don't want anything with AMD, they tend to run too hot, and I'd rather go with Lenovo and not another brand.

 

The ul30vt has the same processor as the u150, but it has switchable dedicated graphics. The A2 version comes with with a 84whr battery, the same size as a x200 9 cell. So on integrated graphics, you get 10 hours; plugged in you get decent gaming performance on even modern games.

But if you can swing a x201...then get one, its processor is in a completely different league. Although it won't game as well as the Asus

 

aznguyphan is right the ul30vt might be the perfect notebook for you.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'd rather get a Lenovo, I prefer their build quality over "others".