7.2 pounds in addition to whatever the power adapter weighs. On battery you'll only be able to play an hour or so unless you're only playing games with very low system requirements. So you'll probably want to bring the power adapter. Along with a laptop case for it, you'll probably be dragging about 10 pounds around. What happens if you see something else at the mall you want to do? You'll be lugging this laptop around, having to be extra careful you don't bump it or put it down where it can get swiped. I can see that getting old really quick. You'd end up leaving the laptop at home when you went to the mall, and you'd have paid extra for something slower and less compatible than the desktop you could have had.

Do you mean lugging the extra weight around in my backpack when I leave the Food Court and go up to the 3rd level of the mall to the comic book store or Cash-In Culture, or down to the first level to Fye's - man, that's like carrying around several thick college textbooks around in my backpack, not to mention if I want to walk around in the mall between gaming sessions - even if I do find a reliable way to get to the mall and back home on a regular basis so I will not have to take the bus?

Are you saying that when I get tired of having to carry around the extra weight in my backpack, I'm going to start wishing I had kept that netbook that I gave up in favor of the laptop, and I might regret buying that laptop and not that desktop pc?

Yes.

Ok, Jenny, I'll keep the netbook and go for that desktop PC. In fact, today when I asked Mom about buying a new laptop and giving up the netbook earlier today, she pointed out that I wanted that netbook real bad, so I told her now that I'll keep the netbook, to which Mom agreed and replied, "You don't know when you have it good."

But I was thinking of when I do use the netbook to game at the mall and then when I come home won't I be so busy editing photos in Photoshop on my mac that I'd neglect the new desktop PC?

to restate my scenario:
I likely won't be using the new desktop PC that much; thus I can hear Mom telling me 3 - 5 months down the road, "I let you buy that new desktop PC. But are you using it? No! You're taking your netbook to the mall almost every day, and when you come home, you go on your mac to edit pictures! I'm sorry I let you buy that desktop PC!"

What are the chances of the above scenario coming true?

Only you can answer that question, cruise02.

Probably about the same as your getting the laptop, being disappointed with which games you can play, getting tired of lugging it to the mall, and having your mother asking you why you never use it anymore. You may find yourself regretting not getting XP. But a few months down the road, when your mother has enough money to buy you a 4th computer, XP may not be available on a new computer anymore -- even at places like eCollege.

I thought taking screenshots in games and editing them for the backgrounds in your comics was one of the reasons you played adventure games. Assuming that is the case, doesn't it make sense to maximize your chances of playing as many different adventure games as possible?

If you decide to get the laptop, make sure there are electric outlets at the mall that you can use (or your playing time will be very limited). Also be prepared for the number of games that won't work on a Windows 7 64-bit system, or that won't work with the drivers for the emulated video card inside of VMware.

I'm assuming that I'll be disappointed in the laptop as it'll have 64-bit Windows 7, and I won't be able to play some of the games that I used to play in the past on it as well as some newer games?

My PC-savvy nephew and our PC-savvy neighbor are both looking for a good desktop PC for me has an Intel processor, Windows XP 32-bit, and an NVida video card.


Yes, I do take screenshots from my games and I edit them for the backgrounds in my comics, so yes, I want to maximize my chances of playing as many different AG's as I can by getting the desktop PC and forgoing that laptop.

btw, even if I do have a dependable way of getting to the mall and back (I'm working on this) without having to take the bus, I won't be going to the mall every day, so on days that I stay home I'll be using that desktop PC that I bought.

Perhaps after I buy the desktop next month, I can save up for a new netbook that has a bigger hard drive, since the 16 GB hard drive in my current netbook is getting full since I have VMware Player with my 4 GB Win 98SE VM, VPC, DOSbox, several old games that're installed in VMware player, VPC, & DOSbox, plus a bunch of screenshot folders for several games and several DVD movies?

I found this netbook at Best Buy with Win XP and a 160 GB hard drive here Asus Eee PC netbook

Cruise02 as you know my Asus that I bought last April is very similar to the link Draclvr posted for you. Yes it plays games very nicely, yes very heavy and yes, horrible battery life. Plus to add to the weight, unless you want to blow the laptop, you would need a cooler. The one I have isn't heavy, plugs into the laptop by USB, but it is another thing to stuff into the bag. The only place I take mine is to our cabin where we have solar electricity and it is a chore to just drag it from the car. Mine sits on a desk, on the cooler and I use headphones as the sound isn't all that great. Mine is Vista and has the Nvidia 9800 and I am very happy with it.

I think netbooks are more for surfing the web, otherwise they would come with a drive for games and movies. My granddaughter got one for Christmas, spoiled brat, she has a DVD drive so she can watch movies on long drives, etc. Her one gripe is that you have to scroll side to side to see the whole page.

Personally I say get the desktop, maybe you should put it in another room of the house. I would love to have an area of my own again, so much easier to concentrate. Maybe you should switch around, comics one day, games another.

I was wondering about your Asus gamer, Hawka, but I'm going to forgo that laptop Drac linked me to and get the desktop and hopefully a better netbook (he Asus Eee PC netbook) that has a better keyboard (2 "alt" keys, top-row function keys, 160 GB hard drive) since my current netbook (got it from nephew this past Sept.) has a keyboard with left "alt" key only, function keys are combined into regular keys, hard drive is 16 GB and it's filling up really fast, in fact, too fast as I not only play older games on it (DOS/Win 95/98) which I do screenshot captures of, plus I do screenshot captures chapter-by-chapter from several DVD movies on this netbook, but I also have VPC, DOSbox, and VMware Player with it's 4.7 GB Win 98SE VM included on this netbook's tiny hard drive. And that left "alt" key is a problem when I'm installing win 98SE onto VPC 2004 (but that's another story).

The reason that I'm forgoing the Asus laptop is b/c Jenny100 helped me to realize that I'd soon get tired of lugging it around in my backpack while at the mall because of the extra weight (game strategy guides, games, 7 lb. Asus laptop = 10 lbs.) in my backpack, and if I'd need a cooler - forget that! Too much extra stuff to carry around - I want to travel light, and also b/c Jenny helped me realize that I'd be very disappointed in the Asus laptop if I bought it instead of the desktop (to see why, please see my post(s) above).

Yes, that's what I'm going to do, Hawka - I'm back to getting the desktop, with 32-bit Windows XP, NVida graphics card, Intel processor, 500 GB hard drive, DL DVD burner. I'm going to put the new desktop upstairs in my office, and it'll replace the old Dell Dimension 8200 tower that I currently have in my office, and hopefully, I can sell the old Dell Dimension tower and get enough money to buy myself that Asus Eee PC netbook that I have my eye on - it's described farther up in this post.

I was going to suggest upgrading the hard drive in the netbook. But since your netbook doesn't have all the keys you need, you might as well get a new one. Maybe you can sell the old one once you copy all your stored data off of it.

Sounds like a good idea, Jenny - I have a friend whose brother (AFAIK he's a gamer) might be interested in my old netbook, which is a Dell Inspiron w/ Win XP. How much do you think I can get for it?

Not to mention maybe selling the old Dell Dimension 8200 tower after I get my new desktop PC tower - but first, I'll have to talk it over with Mom.

We can talk more about these computers next month (Mom's "January 2010" rule), ok?

You'd probably get more for the netbook than for the Dell 8200. To get an idea of what it's worth, I checked ***completed auctions for the Dell 8200 at ebay*** and they seem to average between $50 and $75. You might be better off keeping the old Dell 8200 as a backup.

Well, tomorrow these new computers will be (hopefully) about 2 weeks (give or take several days) away!

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Just remembered something: If I get a desktop PC with 32-bit Win XP from a place other than EcollegePC, how will I be able to upgrade it (if need be) if the motherboard is going to be tattooed?

You can buy a retail Windows disc (from Amazon or Newegg or wherever) and use it with any computer that has the required specs.

Motherboard tattooing would prevent you from using a Dell Windows disc with a computer that wasn't a Dell (or an HP disc with a computer that wasn't an HP, etc.)

Today while in WalMart McDonald's while setting up my netbook, the external DVD drive that was hooked up to it, the game CD case, the strategy guide, the mouse and its pad, plus my hot tea, I realized that if I gave up the netbook in favor of that laptop I was thinking of getting, I wouldn't have any room on the table (at places where I sit at a 2-seater table) to put my hot tea, the ice needed to bring it to the drinking temperature (it's hot enough to burn my tongue), the spoon, and I'd be more likely to spill my tea on the floor (too close to edge of table) or I'd have to put the tea behind the laptop and risk accidentally spilling liquid onto the keyboard as I rise, reach behind the PC, and bring my tea to the front to drink, plus it'd be more uncomfortable for me, I'd soon get tired of this and again regret not getting a new netbook to take out with me.

How many of you agree that this is true?

Would this prevent me from installing Win 98SE as a guest OS into VPC/VMware Player?

And, are the new netbooks (the Asus Eee PC) motherboards tatoooed?