i need your opinion

i am thinking about geting a toshiba A200-ST2041. i am getting ready to start college. i need something that will hold up. so far this is the only thing i could find that would fit me. i want to do some mild gaming Flight Simulator X, but also some word processing. i am having a hard time finding which computer to buy. but i want to know if this is the right computer or not.

my specs are:
-Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2450 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB)
-Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium 32-Bit
-2048MB PC2-5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (1024MBx2)
-15.4" Diagonal Widescreen XGA TruBrite® display with High Brightness (1280x800)
-nVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 with 128MB dedicated graphics memory
-DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive
-120GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA)
-Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n) (do i need the wireless N?)
-harmon/kardon® stereo speakers

your opinion and information is greatly appreciated.

 

Fill out the FAQ, and people will reply with suggestion. I don't know what you want to do with your machine, so I can't really say whether it is a good fit for you or not.

 

You want something that will hold up well. I suggest you look at the Tecra line of Toshibas. They are tougher and more reliable (being their business line) than the Satellites. Also, if you are interested in games, note that while the A200 has a discrete graphics board and RAM it's only 128 MB of video RAM. Is that enough for what you want to play?

 

i looked at the tecras but they are too expensive. i want to stay at $1200 or less. i am also somewhat unfamiliar with video cards.

 

The Tecras would cost more. Note, however, that many of the Tecras come with a 3 year warranty versus the 1 year on the Satellites.

Before the current set of video chips (the 950 and the 965) you were disadvantaged getting integrated video (where the video components are on the motherboard and the memory for video was chopped out of the total system memory). But now the integrated video circuits are providing video that will satisfy many users. A dedicated video card (which is separate from the motherboard and uses its own memory) is needed especially when using some complex design programs (graphics design or engineering design), doing graphics-intense activities like editing video, or playing the more demanding games, especially 3D games.

The computer you are looking at has 128MB of dedicated video memory. That's good. It's probably, however, not up to the demands of some current video games. My guess (help me here, guys) is that 256 MB of video RAM is more what a basic gamer would want.

Note also that a computer with a dedicated video card will drain the battery more quickly than if it has the integrated. One study showed as much as 1 hour less on a battery charge when there was a video card.

 

i checked out the tecras, but they are still too expensive. i only want to spend $1200 or less. but i want to stay close too the specs that i suggested. also all the tecras i looked at were only one year limited warranty

 

Your spec is quite good, but i dont think you could run Flight Simulator at decent setting with GF7300. For casual/light gaming, GF7300 would be suffice.

 

i just found out about another computer the p200-st2071. it comes with the nVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7600 with 256MB dedicated graphics memory. will that work for what i am looking for?