Laptop shopping

bbor · 03-16-2004, 12:27 AM

I'm looking to invest in a new laptop.I rarely use it for work and mostly use it to surf the net at work.

Unfortunatly the lapper i have now is 5 years old and dying a slow death(toshiba P-133) I would like this new lapper to be able to run FoF and CM and possibly EHM:FE.

Anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone had any success finding a lapper to run these games?

My dollar limit is prolly $2000 US athough i would feel more comfortable spending $1600 to $1800.

JeeberD · 03-16-2004, 12:58 AM

Do you even have a lap, bbor?

3ric · 03-16-2004, 01:33 AM

I run CM and FOF on an old (2yrs) Compaq PIII 850Mhz laptop with no problems at all. CM is limited to only 8-9 leagues with 256 MB RAM tho.

Hurst2112 · 03-16-2004, 01:45 AM

I bought a gateway last year june. It has worked for me just fine. The size of it is quite a bit larger than I wanted (coming from an apple I book). The power is enough to run most text sims and some graphics games. I got to a point where it wasn't enough for games that requires specific video cards.

I know some people don't like gateway, and/or dell. I can assure you that dell's cusotmer service is good and the gateway product that I received hasn't given me fits yet.

Shop wisely...that's my only real suggestion.

Tasan · 03-16-2004, 02:51 AM

I love my Dell laptop I bought, its great, and Dell's website is great for tech specs, even giving you complete breakdown schematics for them, something that I could never find for an old Gateway laptop I had. Dell also has pretty good support, for a company like this anyway.

Philliesfan980 · 03-16-2004, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tasan

I love my Dell laptop I bought, its great, and Dell's website is great for tech specs, even giving you complete breakdown schematics for them, something that I could never find for an old Gateway laptop I had. Dell also has pretty good support, for a company like this anyway.

IF you're going to spend $2000 on a laptop, I'd recommend getting a Sager laptop. Its the most powerful laptop on the market today. Sure it uses alot of battery, and is heavy, but its as close you're going to get to a desktop performance.

thetrilogy · 03-16-2004, 09:28 AM

I got a Refurb Dell Latitude PIII 650 2 years ago for a mere $550, just to play FOF and OOTP. They run flawlessly on my system (the RAM is 256). I don't run CM.

Sager computers are OK, but the employees can barely speak English. I'm not kidding. I had a BIOS battery go dead in one, here where I work, and the whole thing had to be sent back (it was soldered on the board?).

Buzzbee · 03-16-2004, 09:32 AM

bbor - You might want to start looking for information regarding price cuts on laptops in the next 3-5 weeks. I heard on the radio that Intel was overstocked on laptop chips and as a result the prices of laptops would be going down in the next 4-6 weeks (heard it a week ago). I haven't been able to confirm, but you might want to research it and possibly wait a few weeks before ordering.

Rizon · 03-16-2004, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetrilogy

I got a Refurb Dell Latitude PIII 650 2 years ago for a mere $550, just to play FOF and OOTP.

Ah, thats definately something Id be interested in. I take alot of cross-country flights, and I get bored as hell reading those Airplane magazines. Did you get the refurb from their website?

-Mojo Jojo- · 03-16-2004, 10:48 AM

I just went through this process a few weeks ago. As mentioned, Sager is an option. They are desktop replacements. Tons of horsepower, just don't ever try to run them on battery. Some people also find their fans to be excessively loud. I was turned off by those two factors and looked at ABS's zForce notebooks. Finally decided on a souped-up Battalion101e from iBuyPower.com. Great balance of price, horsepower, battery life. I found PC Torque's notebook forum to be helpful.

thetrilogy · 03-16-2004, 10:52 AM

No. There is an outfit on Ebay selling them. Do a Seller search for
dell_financial_services. They always have tons of machines on sale.

Just read each description. Some have OSes and some don't. Look at
the memory size, hard drive, etc. Those are always different too.

If the item is not buy-it-now, don't over bid what you want to pay
because they always have a constant flow of machines listed.

Drake · 03-16-2004, 10:53 AM

I just bought a new Dell Inspiron 5100 (2.8Ghz, 384 mb RAM, DVD/CD-RW blah, blah, blah) and ended up paying just under $1000 when ordering from the Dell website. It's a desktop replacement machine and weighs in at a hefty 7.7 lbs, but it is perfect for what I do. Watching DVD's and/or playing OOTP/FOF, I'm seeing 3.5 - 4 hours out of my battery, and thought he RAM is a bit skimpy for my taste at this point, I've noticed absolutely no system slowdowns. It's really just a stunning, stunning machine.

Drake · 03-16-2004, 10:56 AM

Dola...

On the refurbished laptop side, I've purchased refurbished laptops and desktops from Bob Johnson's Computer Stuff (http://www.bobjohnson.com/) and had great success. They seem to be a Mom & Pop company, but that's always seemed to mean that they took extra care with every order. Outstanding customer service. If I hadn't been shopping for a new machine this time, I'd have ordered from them again this time.

bbor · 03-16-2004, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Do you even have a lap, bbor?

Dude...You wear spanking it last week...

Thanks for the replies guys.

03-16-2004, 12:58 AM	#2
JeeberD General Manager Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Town of Flower Mound	Do you even have a lap, bbor? __________________ UTEP Miners!!! I solemnly swear to never cheer for TO

03-16-2004, 01:33 AM	#3
3ric College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Sweden	I run CM and FOF on an old (2yrs) Compaq PIII 850Mhz laptop with no problems at all. CM is limited to only 8-9 leagues with 256 MB RAM tho. __________________ San Diego Chargers (HFL) - Lappland Reindeers (WOOF) - Gothenburg Giants (IHOF) Indiana: A TCY VC - year 2044 - the longest running dynasty ever on FOFC!

03-16-2004, 01:45 AM	#4
Hurst2112 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Minneapolis	I bought a gateway last year june. It has worked for me just fine. The size of it is quite a bit larger than I wanted (coming from an apple I book). The power is enough to run most text sims and some graphics games. I got to a point where it wasn't enough for games that requires specific video cards. I know some people don't like gateway, and/or dell. I can assure you that dell's cusotmer service is good and the gateway product that I received hasn't given me fits yet. Shop wisely...that's my only real suggestion. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/longliveanalog

03-16-2004, 02:51 AM	#5
Tasan College Starter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Houston, or there about	I love my Dell laptop I bought, its great, and Dell's website is great for tech specs, even giving you complete breakdown schematics for them, something that I could never find for an old Gateway laptop I had. Dell also has pretty good support, for a company like this anyway. __________________ 2011 Golden Scribes winner for best Interactive Dynasty

03-16-2004, 09:32 AM	#8
Buzzbee College Starter Join Date: Jun 2002	bbor - You might want to start looking for information regarding price cuts on laptops in the next 3-5 weeks. I heard on the radio that Intel was overstocked on laptop chips and as a result the prices of laptops would be going down in the next 4-6 weeks (heard it a week ago). I haven't been able to confirm, but you might want to research it and possibly wait a few weeks before ordering. __________________ Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz

03-16-2004, 09:28 AM	#7
thetrilogy Mascot Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ohio	I got a Refurb Dell Latitude PIII 650 2 years ago for a mere $550, just to play FOF and OOTP. They run flawlessly on my system (the RAM is 256). I don't run CM. Sager computers are OK, but the employees can barely speak English. I'm not kidding. I had a BIOS battery go dead in one, here where I work, and the whole thing had to be sent back (it was soldered on the board?).

03-16-2004, 10:48 AM	#10
-Mojo Jojo- High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2003	I just went through this process a few weeks ago. As mentioned, Sager is an option. They are desktop replacements. Tons of horsepower, just don't ever try to run them on battery. Some people also find their fans to be excessively loud. I was turned off by those two factors and looked at ABS's zForce notebooks. Finally decided on a souped-up Battalion101e from iBuyPower.com. Great balance of price, horsepower, battery life. I found PC Torque's notebook forum to be helpful.

03-16-2004, 10:52 AM	#11
thetrilogy Mascot Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ohio	No. There is an outfit on Ebay selling them. Do a Seller search for dell_financial_services. They always have tons of machines on sale. Just read each description. Some have OSes and some don't. Look at the memory size, hard drive, etc. Those are always different too. If the item is not buy-it-now, don't over bid what you want to pay because they always have a constant flow of machines listed.

03-16-2004, 10:53 AM	#12
Drake assmaster Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bloomington, IN	I just bought a new Dell Inspiron 5100 (2.8Ghz, 384 mb RAM, DVD/CD-RW blah, blah, blah) and ended up paying just under $1000 when ordering from the Dell website. It's a desktop replacement machine and weighs in at a hefty 7.7 lbs, but it is perfect for what I do. Watching DVD's and/or playing OOTP/FOF, I'm seeing 3.5 - 4 hours out of my battery, and thought he RAM is a bit skimpy for my taste at this point, I've noticed absolutely no system slowdowns. It's really just a stunning, stunning machine.

03-16-2004, 10:56 AM	#13
Drake assmaster Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bloomington, IN	Dola... On the refurbished laptop side, I've purchased refurbished laptops and desktops from Bob Johnson's Computer Stuff (http://www.bobjohnson.com/) and had great success. They seem to be a Mom & Pop company, but that's always seemed to mean that they took extra care with every order. Outstanding customer service. If I hadn't been shopping for a new machine this time, I'd have ordered from them again this time.

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