|
Laptop
#942118
02/26/14 12:59 PM
02/26/14 12:59 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 909 Hampshire, UK
petert
OP
Settled Boomer
|
OP
Settled Boomer
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 909
Hampshire, UK
|
Now that XP is about to die, I need to update my computer, and have decided to go for a Win 7 laptop. I'd be grateful for any advice as to the build standard of such a laptop to play adventure games.
I have done some looking around and have found several items which seem to be OK, but would welcome some advice.
All the ones that I have found come with Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit and all have 15.6" screens.
I have tended to ignore items with on-board video, as I believe that I have read that that is not as good as the alternative. Ones that I have been looking at are:-
1. Dell Inspiron, Intel core i3 M350 2.27Ghz. 4 Gb RAM 320Gb HDD 512 Mb ATI Radeon HD 4330 SRS Premium Sound
2. Dell Inspiron, Intel Core i5 460M 2.53 Ghz 3Gb RAM 320Gb HDD 1Gb ATI Radeon HD4650 SRS Premium Sound
3. Dell Inspiron, much the same as 2. above, but with 6GB RAM and 512Mb video.
4. Dell Studio, 1558 Chainlink Intel Core i7 Q720 1.6 Ghz (quad core) 4Gb RAM 250 Gb HDD 1Gb ATI Radeon HD 5470
As I said, I'd be grateful for any advice.
petert
|
|
|
Re: Laptop
[Re: petert]
#942120
02/26/14 01:35 PM
02/26/14 01:35 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644 southeast USA
Jenny100
GB Reviewer Glitches Moderator
|
GB Reviewer Glitches Moderator
Sonic Boomer
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
|
Of those 3, I'd choose #2.
The video card is the most important thing to look at with modern games. Memory can usually be added, but not graphics. The ATI HD 4650 is midrange, the 5470 is low end and the 4330 is even slower. Slower = longer battery life, but poorer gaming ability.
Unless you get some huge, thick 17" or 18" laptop that's upward of 7 lbs, you're going to get onboard graphics. The only difference is the chipset. Some motherboards have Intel graphics built in, some have Nvidia built in, some have Radeon built in, some have a combination of Intel and one of the others and switch between them.
I assume you're looking at used laptops at Dell to keep the price down. Most current laptops have more than 3 or 4 GB of system memory. Don't get a laptop with 512 MB or less of video memory. There are some current adventure games that won't play well with less than 1 GB of video memory.
For a new PC, I'd choose at least 8 GB of RAM for a 64-bit operating system. If you're getting 32-bit Windows 7, 3 GB or 4 GB is fine. Or plan to add memory -- check the user manual for the laptop and see how easy it is to add memory. Some of them make both memory slots accessible by unscrewing a panel from the bottom of the laptop, while other models put one of the slots under the keyboard, which requires more disassembly.
|
|
|
Re: Laptop
[Re: petert]
#942244
02/27/14 02:48 PM
02/27/14 02:48 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,107 Near St. Louis, MO
Draclvr
Reviews Editor - Hints/Glitches Mod - Site Support
|
Reviews Editor - Hints/Glitches Mod - Site Support
True Blue Boomer
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,107
Near St. Louis, MO
|
I hope you will find Windows 7 to be XP only made much, much better like I did!
Once again, weeds are my life!
|
|
|
|
|
|