Need your guys' opinion

[socalvq35]

Hi laptop noob here


After looking at laptops for sometime now, i have decided to go with the iBuypower CRZ-93E notebook for gaming.

Although one of my big concerns is the Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT not being powerful enough.

But before i pull the trigger i just wanted some of your guys' opinions on this one.


Here are the specs:

Processor & Memory:

* Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz)
* 800MHz front side bus speed
* 6MB L2 Cache
* 4GB DDR2-667 SDRAM memory (both slots occupied)

Drives:

* 250GB (5,400 RPM) SATA hard drive
* DVD±RW drive with dual layer capability

Graphics & Video:

* 15.4" WXGA+ widescreen TFT LCD display (1440 x 900 native resolution)
* 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT graphics

Communications:

* 802.11n WLAN mini card
* Gigabit Ethernet LAN
* 56K modem
* Built-in 2.0MP CMOS camera and microphone

Audio:

* Realtek ALC268 audio
* Built-in stereo speakers

Keyboard:

* TouchPad™ pointing device with vertical scroll up/down pad
* Built-in Fingerprint Security Reader

Expandability:

* Two main memory slots (occupied)
* ExpressCard™/54 slot
* 3-in-1 digital media card reader accepts Secure Digital, Memory Stick and MultiMediaCard

Ports:

* VGA port (monitor)
* TV-Out (S-Video) Port
* Four USB 2.0 ports
* IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port
* Microphone input
* Headphone output
* RJ-11 port (modem)
* RJ-45 port (LAN)

Operating System:

* Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium (64-bit)

Additional Software:

* Microsoft HALO 2 game
* Microsoft Office 2007 (60-day trial)

Power Supply:

* 9-cell Li-Ion battery pack
* AC adapter: 100-240V AC, 50-60Hz universal

Additional Information:

* Dimensions: 14.0" W x 10.1" D x 1.4"~1.5" H
* Weight (approximate): 6.3 lbs
* Warranty: One year iBUYPOWER limited warranty
* Lifetime toll-free tech support



Let me know what you guys think about this one!


Thanks in advance

[FinalJenemba]

I have a 15" Macbook Pro with that graphics card. It does a pretty good job with most modern games. Source Engine stuff, Oblivion, C&C3, all ran fine for me. I wouldn't expect it to play Crysis, but you know, its Crysis.

[ASH-UK]

I have a laptop with:
Core 2 Duo 1.5 GHZ
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT graphics

I'm able to play most of the latest games at Medium or Full and can play Crysis at Medium with AA set at 2x, hope that helps your decide, with 512MB and faster processor should be graphically fine.

[The Kyle]

That depends on how much the above laptop is going to cost you. Also, what kind of warranty are they giving you? I found a phenomenal line of laptops in Asus. I just purchased this one from newegg a few days ago and I'm very impressed for a sub $1,000 laptop.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220303

[day0day]

Originally Posted by The Kyle

That depends on how much the above laptop is going to cost you. Also, what kind of warranty are they giving you? I found a phenomenal line of laptops in Asus. I just purchased this one from newegg a few days ago and I'm very impressed for a sub $1,000 laptop.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220303

Yes indeed it depends on the price and warranty. That ASUS F8 Series F8Sp-X1 is quite nice though, wth extra $49 you can get a Dell XPS M1330 4GB 250GB laptop with a NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS card. A recent deal on it is $1049. I think that's quite a good choice.

[k2joyride]

Originally Posted by day0day

Yes indeed it depends on the price and warranty. That ASUS F8 Series F8Sp-X1 is quite nice though, wth extra $49 you can get a Dell XPS M1330 4GB 250GB laptop with a NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS card. A recent deal on it is $1049. I think that's quite a good choice.

I do not vouch for the 8400M GS. I have it and I do not care for it much. For Windows XP it should be fine but for Vista it lags considerably. Using Aero almost makes using the 8400 unbearable. I am still driver testing to find one that fixes the lagging issues with the card, as seen especially when running videos. It could just be my computer but so far my experiences with it are not very good (note this is with Aero on, with it off it runs considerably better but still has its limitations).

[The Kyle]

Originally Posted by k2joyride

I do not vouch for the 8400M GS. I have it and I do not care for it much. For Windows XP it should be fine but for Vista it lags considerably. Using Aero almost makes using the 8400 unbearable. I am still driver testing to find one that fixes the lagging issues with the card, as seen especially when running videos. It could just be my computer but so far my experiences with it are not very good (note this is with Aero on, with it off it runs considerably better but still has its limitations).

This is true. Check out this website

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mob...50.8839.0.html

According to it, the 8400M GS is a mid-range 3rd class mobile video card (scoring ~2600 in 3dmark05) and the HD3650 is a high-range 2nd class mobile video card(scoring ~7500 in 3dmark05. So we're talking roughly 3 times faster for 50 dollars less. Plus you can't even compare Asus and Dell. Dell's build quality ranges from poor to mediocre while Asus's build quality is among the top tier.