Hey all. I was pondering what my next PC computer purchace is going to be. Right now, I am working with an EIGHT year old Pentium II with 128 mb of ram and a very ineficient 3d accelorator. I can't even play thinktanks... Yeah, thats right.
So, with the 'rents bickering about when and where to buy a new one, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Unfortunately, I do not know much about PC's so I came to what I think is one of the best places to ask- a site full of geeks. Here are my paramiters:

-Needs to be a notebook (space is limited in this house)
-Needs to be under $1200 (preferably under $1000)
-Needs to have good graphics and sound
Screen size doesn't matter. Personally, I was thinking a Dell 14" 1.76 GHz/2mb cache/533MHz fsb. Stick in a 60gb HD plus 1 gig of memory and it rounds out $999

If any of you guys can find something cheaper, please let me know! I am going to have to pay for this myself, and I I am lucky, I may be able to have this by the TT con. PC's are still some of the better gaming machines... Macs are good fro everything else. XD

^ Remember the LW mullet fund as a last resort... XD
If you find a notebook cheap, you will have money left over for the TT convention.

Acer TravelMate TM4402WLMi

AMD Turion 64 ML-30
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 graphics, 64MB DDR
Hard Disk is 100GB
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
Windows XP Pro
Screen: 15.4" WXGA TFT

The integrated sound should be enough. If not, get an Audigy 2 Notebook Edition.

^ does it come w/ Windows? Unfortunately, I need windows to play a lot of the stuff that I want to play

I went to Dell's site and configured an Inspiron 6000 with these options:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 735 (1.70GHz/2MB Cache/400MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
15.4 inch UltraSharp WSXGA+ LCD Panel
40GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
1GB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY⢠RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics

Oh yeah, and wireless networking.

Comes out to $978.

Hmmmm... ^ is pretty shiny as well. What about the warranty?

Buying a Mac will solve all of your problems, PGG. Seriously.

What's so great about macs? I 've had an HP for years, and never had any problems. I know nothing about mac- I don't think I've ever even seen one. I'm possibly looking for a new comp also...

Macs are more sufficent than windows that's what.

Remember Mac was the first personal computer that used graphic interface..then it was Windows.

Also Windows has many viruses that are made for it, and Mac only has a few, and most of them do not really harm the computer.
Known Malware numbers from 2002: 50,000+
Malwares targeting Macs: 80-100
Malwares targeting Windows: 40,000+

The Mac is considered to use. For instance, installation, Mac only takes a couple steps, while Windows takes a bit longer.

Mac systems are a bit more stable.

The only reason why people use Windows more than Macs is because Macs are more expensive than Windows, making families most likely buy the "cheaper" computer. This is also the reason why many small games are not made for the Mac, for not many people have one.

Must I continue?

-AO

Last edited: Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 8:19:48 AM

:P

^^ That can all be solved by a decent antivirus. And PCs are much better for gaming.

@ pgg: It has a one-year warranty. Not great, but are you planning on breaking this thing?

If you're getting a laptop you should seriously consider an extended warranty. Laptops are expensive to fix.

^ yeah. I take pretty good care. Maybe a two year. Not sure.
@ NEVA DIE: I have a mac right now, that is what I am typing on. But I wanna play freelancer, dangit :P

A three-year warranty is especially valuable as insurance for component failure (which can happen no matter how well you take care of it).

Here's a paragrapgh from Consumer Reports:
You might consider an extended warranty on a laptop computer. Laptops are expensive, fragile, and hard to repair. And the parts are made to fit within the manufacturer's unique case design. For that reason, you should buy the warranty from the manufacturer, not from the retailer. Also, with a manufacturer's warranty, you continue to enjoy access to free tech support.

Here'a an article from PC magazine.

Remember, you are paying a price for the portable form factor. Portables are easily stolen. See if and how batteries are covered. The Apple standard one year warranty can be extended to 3 years at any time during the first year.

Last edited: Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 2:13:49 PM

Also, laptops are great, but there are inherent dangers and costs. Theft is a real concern. Never leave it anywhere in public, not even for a minute.

Another issue is hard drives. I just had one go out on my laptop. Parts aren't too expensive, but repair time is long on a laptop. My tech guy put 1.5 hours into removing and installing the drive. (He's pretty good, too...) I've had this laptop for about 5 years. (iBook- G3 with 600 MHz) Hard to play TT on, though.

The only repair was the drive, but batteries need replacing every so often, and the charging cycle gets less efficient. I used to get a couple of hours of battery life, but this battery has about 50 minutes worth now. Put in a new battery, and it goes back up.

BTW, a battery isn't cheap. I'll be getting my third one soon. $100 bucks each, more or less. They say they should last a year or so. I push them toward 2-3 years.

Last edited: Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 3:57:22 PM

^ I have my mac lappy right now. I have had a mac lappy for two years. I clean it every week, and I NEVER leave it alone in public. I always have my dad or a friends watching it. The only reason I want laptop is space: mainly, it takes a lot less of it. We barely have room for our computers right now (1 laptop, 1 eight year old stupid fat hobbit), so we don't know what we are going to do when my Sister comes home w/ her comp...

Another idea- Mac Mini?

You can use your own USB keyboard and monitor, and it's tiny... $499

All I want a PC for, though, is gaming. Macs are good for everything else.

@ PLAYER- Can you give me a link to that comp you made?

Last edited: Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 7:46:04 PM

No, you have to do all that stuff yourself; if he gave you a link it would be a link to the laptop with none of the stuff he mentioned above.

How to make your mac better-

Download Linux
Install Linux

Done!

If your only reason to own a computer is to play games, then as many have suggested there is a lot to reccommend something running MS OS. On the other hand if games are your that important then a laptop is not the best answer.

1) Laptops have a higher initial cost.
2) Upgrades for laptops are generally more expensive - especially memory.
3) Laptops often have inferior graphics cards.
4) Laptop keyboards are often less sturdy than those of desktop machines.
5) Laptop screens are often slower and smaller than those of desktop machines.
6) Laptops have higher repair/maintenance costs

Games are the most dynamic sector of the software industry. Games, more than anything else, push the hardware envelope. That said - the most important elements of a gaming computer are RAM, VRAM and BUS speed. The more RAM you have installed the fewer page faults ergo the faster applications run. You should set your minimum RAM requirement at one GIG (either installed or added after purchase).

The machine should have the best Graphics card you can budget for - again considering that a less powerfull card with more memory will equal or dominate a more powerful card with less memory.

BUS speed determines how quickly data moves between the CPU and the other elements of your machine. A fast CPU with a slow BUS will compute slower than a machine whose BUS and CPU clocks are more closely synchronised.

So, RAM & VRAM as much as you can afford.

Hard drive size is less important but should not be less than 80 GIGs. And again should have the fastest throughput.

You say you want a laptop because you lack the room for a desktop machine. In that case you might want to consider a desktop machine with a small footprint. Best best of these are, of course, the Macintosh iMacs. A seventeen inch iMac will run about $1,100 US (less if you keep an eye on Apple Bargains on refurbished machines). It has half a GIG of ram (upgradable to 2.5 GIGs) and comes with SuperDrive, gigabyte ethernet, Firewire 400, USB2, AirPort (WiFi), BlueTooth and a Video camera installed. The stand occupies about 7" by 7" of desk space (much less than a quarter that of most laptops and labout half that of my tiny iBook 12") The new two button Mac mouse is adequate for game play though I would recommend an inexpensive trackball for any gamer except a flight sim fanatic. The iMac screen is sharp, bright, responsive and wide. Apple's extended warrantee is excellent, as is Apple support. It runs the mac OS-X operating system which is significantly more stable & user friendly than any MS OS was, is or ever will be.

True it's not a PC and although the many of the best PC games have been ported to the Mac, it doesn't doesn't have direct access to much of the current PC game inventory. Be it understood, that a very large percentage of the inventory is crap. OTOH the Mac does have access to the entire Unix library of software including games and with the recent release of the Intel iMacs (same price, same OS) and the promise of simpler game portability the Mac game base is expected expand very quickly.

That brings me to my final point. Retail price is a poor estimate of computer value. The best estimate is cost-over-time- the total cost of the machine during the time you own it. Macs consitently have shown a lower cost-over-time than have MS OS machines. Their failure/repair rate is much lower so repair costs and downtime are much less. (for example I currently run three Macs - my only after-market cost for any of them in the last four years has been to upgrade memory - in fact the same is true with, one exception a Mac clone, of every Mac I have owned back to my Mac128) Macs often have items installed that are after-market add-ons for MS OS machines. Macs tend to become oblescent much more slowly than to MS OS machines. The operating system is significantly more robust (robustness is a measure of how well software does it job without failure) thean any MS OS.

You might want to take a look at those games that you play often and see if they are available for the Mac. Often older games are and can be found at low cost on such services as eBay, Craig's List or some of the USENET groups.

If you decide that you are more attached to your current inventory of games, etc. Than to what the market may bring in the future, or if you feel a need to purchase and experiment with every new game that releases for the MS OS then buy yourself the best your budget will allow, considering RAM, video card and data throughput.

If, OTOH, you can see an advantage in migrating to a more robust & user friendly OS (and a much prettier[/] machine :) ) and realize that you can always keep your current MS OS box to play the old games that you can't find for the Mac ([I]used 'puters have virtually no resale value ) wander into the nearest AppleStore ( or log onto Apple.com or both) and take a look. It couldn't hurt.

...granpa sluggy who still has his Mac128 in a closet somewhere...

^ except I cannot have a computer that takes up more that 1.5 feet squared of space. I we had room, hell yes, I would buy a desktop. But that isn't the issue. The issue is that I live in a small house with only two internet plugs, and they are both in the smae room. And I already have a mac and all the games for mac. Thre problem is that a lot of those games are not online games. I REALLY want to join one of my friends who lives in NC in Freelancer, or half life, or Battlefeild. If you can point me towards mac versions of these, I would be fine. Comepletely and totally.

*HEM HEM*

The only reason there are very few viruses on Macs is that NO ONE LIKES MACS ENOUGH TO USE THEM.

(Playa, this is your cue to show them the movie... :P )

Last edited: Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 11:52:59 PM

Oh yeah. Hilarious video . A must-see.

That is toooo funny....................... XD

So? It still means that they have less viruses, and it still means they are better. Who cares if nobody likes them (whish is not true). The only thing they are not good for is gaming.

SMART pc users don't get viruses ;). And I'm sure some stupid Mac users get viruses too.

You are rude and ignorant children. Tell your mothers that you are to go to bed without supper.

PGG asked for advice - something you did not provide. You may have expressed a few opinions but opinions are not the basis upon which one decides to spend a significant amount of money. And remember my ill-mannered sprouts, opinions are like rectums - everyone has one.

Sorry, PGG I wasn't aware of your actual reasons for looking for a MS OS box. You're right, at least as far as I know, Freelancer & Half-Life have not been ported to Mac OS. That's something that has annoyed me for some time. Particularly in the case of Half-Life. It is certianly a premier First Person Shooter I can't imagine why it was not ported. I have an old P3 box in the corner that I've kept primarily to play Half-Life, single-player. I was under the impression that Battlefield was ported last year?

It does seem to me, though, that spending a thousand dollars in order to play three games from two generations back is not entirely prudent. I don't know your age but even I engage in a lot of consideration before puttting out that amout of cash, which I hazard amounts to more than a month's gross income for a goodly number of TTankers and their hard working parents.

(as an aside - I'm not suggesting anything here - but my iMac takes up much less that 1 1/2 square feet of desk space) ;)

If your reason to purchase an MS OS box is to play those three games on-line, all of which were released for hardware that was on the market two years ago, you could do extrememly well with a used machine (again browse eBay or any of the multitude of resellers on the web) and pay between a third and a half of what you will pay for a new machine. That will leave you with a substantial start toward a next generation machine sometime in the coming year.

...granpa sluggy who brooks no insolence from adults much less ill mannered pre-adolscents.....

Last edited: Monday, February 20, 2006 at 7:22:00 AM

^ That still doesnt mean that you won't benefit from having newer hardware. And yes, there will be better machines out in a year. But there will also be better ones in 2 years, 3 years, etc. See my point? If he waits a year to buy a new one it will be obsolete in another year.

I have helped him, see my first post. And my advice is to buy a PC :P

^ Me too. Dells seem to be the most reliable, along with Compaq. Dell Inspiron was 2nd on the Consumer Reports Laptops Ratings the last time I saw. The Compaq HP Pavilion was first.

And if you buy lots of your stuff for your windows then you spend a lot more than a mac.

Also with laptops the best mac one is way better than the windows and thhey cost about the same (not including the stuff added)

Can you install windows on the new intel imacs? And linux? Make everyone one happy, install everything.

^ Nope. But someone did get Linux to at least boot.

Nother upside to me getting a fster 'puter is that (if I ever figure put port forward again) I will be able to host a 24/7 server fot TT.

^ Check email...twice... ;)

@ player:

My apples (I ve got 5) never crashed, without a virus scan. How many times did yours crash with ur virus scan??? All I got is a super fire wall built in in the Airport.

Apple just beats the shit out of PC, but AO is right, you have to pay for quality. That is probably why most people buy advanced calculators XD

Scythe