Need a dual duty laptop:gaming inside,discrete exterior for business

Zanshin

Distinguished
Nov 8, 2008
2
0
18,510
Hi,

Looking for some help in selecting a laptop.

Need a laptop capable of gaming, yet discrete enough appearance to take to businesses on consulting gigs. Not expecting the very best due to budget, but looking for a solid performer. Not sure what right balance between cpu and graphics card needs to be. Currently run XP, so not sure how much of a hardware jump needed to run on Vista.

1_What is your budget?

Prefer to stay under $1300

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

14' - 15" screen. don't prefer the extra large due to air travel/weight concerns

3_What screen resolution do you want?

flexible 1024x768 min to 1280 x 1024

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

this will replace my current desktop for home use also

5_How much battery life do you need?

guessing 2-3 hours for flights. while gaming will remain on AC

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Current play = Enemy Territory: Quake Wars; quake 4; Doom 3; Orange Box;
Future play = crysis; RAGE (not yet released); new Wolfenstein (not yet released)

min settings = medium. High settings would be nice but not required.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing, surfing the web, playing music, watching movies, Etc.)

MS office, project, & visio a must for consulting duties
music, movies

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?

assuming 250-320 gb

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.

thinking of newegg.com


10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

assuming 2-3 years min, longer if possible

11_If you would like to mention some other things about purchasing your ideal laptop, post them.

Minimal graphics on cover to maintain professional exterior appearance. Subtle graphics might be ok - basic black or silverish would be best, i think.

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

familiar with ibm/lenovo and pre-hp compaq from work. ibm seemed more rugged
dell desktop was ok (2005 E510 P4 w/HT 3gb ram, video upgraded to a bfg nvidia 9600 gt oc)
thinking of ASUS laptop - have built desktops from their motherboards before, included warranty seems nice
prefer nvidia video to ati based on past desktop builds

13_What country do you live in?
USA

THX MUCH!
 

frozenlead

Distinguished
The best I think you can get while still keeping your gaming heart under a dress shirt is a Dell XPS 1500 series. You can outfit one with a 9600mGT for that price - it won't power through crysis, but it'll make it will all its solder still on.

Unfortunately most gaming laptops come with ridiculous cases.
 

Zanshin

Distinguished
Nov 8, 2008
2
0
18,510
I'm looking now at an Asus model X83Vm-X1. Seems to have a good processor and memory, but without a lot of extra frills (keeping the price lower at $1049.99).

#
Product Weight
5.7 lbs.
#
Display
14.1" WXGA widescreen with 1280 x 800 resolution
#
Processor Platform
Intel® Centrino® 2 / Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile P8400 2.26GHz
#
System Bus
1066MHz
#
Cache Memory
3MB on die Level 2
#
System Memory (RAM)
4GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
PC5300 DDR2
#
Hard Drive Type
Serial ATA (5400 rpm)320GB
#
Optical Drive
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Digital Media Reader
#
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS 1GB GDDR3
#
Built-in Webcam
#
Built-in Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector
#
Wireless Networking
Wireless-A+B+G+N
#
Bluetooth-Enabled
No
#
S-Video Outputs
None
#
Additional Audio/Video Connectors
HDMI, eSATA
#
Audio
Azalia audio chip
#
Speakers
Built-in Altec Lansing
#
PCMCIA Slots
1 Type II
#
USB 2.0 Ports
5
#
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports
1
#
Parallel Ports
None
#
Serial Ports
None
#
Game Ports
None
#
Laptop Weight
5.7 lbs.)
#
Battery Type
Lithium-ion
#
Pointing Device
Touchpad
#
Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
#
Included Software
Power 4 Gear Extreme, ASUS Direct Console and more
#
ENERGY STAR Qualified
No
#
Color Category
Brown