looking to buy new computer

[RTO]

Ok i have always used a laptop and prefer to continue.  I have found an Alienware Aurora m9700 with the following specs:

Screen: 17" WideUXGA 1920x1200 LCD
Processor Type: AMD Turion 2.4GHz
Memory (RAM): 2GB PC 3200 DDR SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA 7900GS with 512MB Memory
Hard Drive Capacity: 120GB 7200RPM SATA
Operating System: Windows XP Pro Edition


What comments do you system knowledgeable types have?  Thanks!

[alskahawk]

like most laptops its a bit weak on the video card. Memory fine, cpu fine. HD good. It should work for AH and some other games. I have played AH on my laptop and its slower than the one your looking at.

[Getback]

I never ever will understand why someone would want to buy a laptop for gaming!

[dkff49]

I don't know about everybody else but. I have bought a laptop because at my job I have a lot of downtime. I also have to move from station to station. So buying a laptop that is capable of gaming is a very nice plus so that I can use AH and other games to help occupy my time in between emergency runs. I know that my circumstance is a little different than most but I will bet that the others that use laptops for their gaming experience probably take their compter other places than just home as well.

I don't know much about computers but I can tell you this after buying a computer that I was not happy with mostly because I could not get to play AH. Make sure that the memory on the video card is dedicated memory (this is a must or frame rates will suffer) and the morememory on the computer the better get what you can afford.

On a side note though  there a others you could tell you better than me about such things.

[RTO]

well i purchased the laptop yesterday and soon it will arrive.  It is leaps and bounds more powerful than the current laptop I use.  Biggest difference is vidcard size and memory, currently 768 for mem  and 64MB nvidia for vid.  The vidcard is the max it will take.  My resolution is 1600x1200 in game.  It has served me well though this old 2002  Dell Inspiron 8200.  Before I purchased it I had desktop models and just as stated by DKff49,  it was the portability issue why I chose a laptop.  I like the ability to pick up and go whether it is away on vacation, or just on my deck it is a personal preference.  To each his own.

[Hoarach]

I bought my laptop for gaming and I love it.

I have a AMD X2 Turion processor, nvidia 7600 256MB, 2GB DDR2 pc5300, and windows vista and have absolutely no complaints with it.  I find its great for gaming and is just as powerful as my desktop.  The only thing that is holding it back is that I have to run on single core since AMD hasnt released a patch yet for dual core.

I bought my laptop from cyberpowerpc.com

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Alienware label on your laptop will put a 30% price premium with it. Sometimes even 100%.

Just food for thought.. I'd be looking for max specification OEM brand laptop instead. If you have to settle for a big compromise like laptop that is.

If I had to look for a gaming laptop right now I'd want a couple things:

Minimum of 2gb ram
Intel Core2Duo or quad CPU with highest possible clockspeed. AMD doesn't compete.
7500rpm harddrive (very rare but big impact on load speed). I've even replaced them sometimes myself.
Latest nvidia mobile graphics chipset available.
Windows XP no questions asked.

The rest are a question of preference. Of course 17-19" glossy screen would be on my list too - but at that stage it's not really a laptop due to size and weight. BUT.. as said for a laptop you should try to find an OEM brand with all of the above specs and it will blow that AMD based alienware out of the sky and probably be cheaper to boot.

[Hoarach]

If you want to put money on that alienware, cyberpowerpc makes a intel dual core laptop with a 8800GTX card in it for about the same price I believe.