I’m totally not a techhead, so maybe someone can help me.
My landlord’s grownup daughter wants a notebook, but ONLY for playing games.
I told her she’d be better buying a PC, but she’s adamant that she doesn’t want one – “too big, too heavy.”
Can anyone give me a few guidelines to pass on to her, or can anyone suggest brands, specs that might help? Things to look for? Things to beware of?
She doesn’t want to spend more than NT$40,000. Is this a realistic figure?
I’m not a techhead either, but… here’s my 2 cents.
first cent
she won’t get much for under 40000. These are barebones systems, they might be fine for playing a range of older games, but they’re not a par with the latest desktop models.
They will lack
DVD/CDburner
good video card w. fast refresh rates
game controllers (they may not have enough sockets)
good audio
large screen sizes
I reckon they’re fine for internet, wordproc, etc, but not heavy duty gaming. I definitely wouldn’t buy one for a games machine unless I had NO choice. A playstation/XBox would be a far better choice.
Could be wrong though, but I did try a cheap notebook (ie. Just under 40K) running Linux. No branded, but either it was poorly configured or just not powerful to run KDE 3.
Buy a desktop or spend more money.
I love the Sony Vaios but they come in around 60K… cool looking.
Kenneth
Hey, aren’t Sony about to release a notebook for gaming purposes? I think I read something about it a while back…
The Big Babou
…i typed this a couple of times…kept getting an error 
anyway…
the compaq (hp?) presario 2800, equipped with ati’s mobility radeon 9000, is built for graphics intensive stuff like 3D gaming. it can also be enhanced with a bluetooth module (for wireless internet connections).
alienware’s area-51 is also great for intensive, nose-bleeding gaming. no suprise that it’s also backed by ati’s radeon 9000. but it’s heavy…like 10+ pounds.
um…i think they may be on the expensive side. but i don’t look at prices, as i am not allowed to have toys… 
…
[quote=“sandman”]
She doesn’t want to spend more than NT$40,000. Is this a realistic figure?[/quote]
i just checked the conversion rates. with “1 TWD = 0.0289019 USD”,
40,000 nt is only 1,156.08 usd. this is definitely not enough to buy a good gaming laptop.
Notebook PCs are so popular right now that even kids want it. I have given up trying to convince them otherwise. Just the differences in CRT monitors and LCD panels make me keep gaming on a traditional desktop PC. If you cannot change their minds, they can look into those portable PCs (Notebook PCs without batteries). They are cheaper than Notebook PCs so they can spend money on the options.
This the one for gaming and it is the lightest in it’s class and comes with ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 Graphic Controller and a P4 with loads of connectivity like 1394 Firewire and wireless LAN.
Havent seen the portable pc’s around. How much do they run and where can you find them?
Of course, you can’t upgrade the hardware in a notebook so easily and given the speed with which pcs get dated, that could be an expensive mistake, esp. given the fact that teenagers will want to play the latest games. I was quite shocked when I saw the min. specs on an Internet game recently. The models were only within about 2 years.
So if you buy, beware! it could be an expensive mistake.
kenneth
Most are currently sold outside of Taiwan but I am sure you can order them since almost all of them are made by Taiwan companies.
Here are a few examples on the Internet:
computer-circle.com/desknote_pc.htm
shop.store.yahoo.com/4itech/barsys.html
asus.com.tw/products/desktop/d1/overview.htm
Look for the Elite Group brand in Taiwan. They do sell them here. They are famous for high powered notebooks that you can upgrade.
I still think if you want portability get a light notebook with as much power as possible. Otherwise get a desktop PC or both for that matter.
Intel
[quote=“Uncle_Sam”]
I played last year games on this machine,but anything within a few months new,plays horribly.laptops are not gaming machines,a desk top will always be dominate unless money is of no object. :shock:[/quote]
I think this guy knows that Laptops are not the best for playing games, however, he wants a versatile laptop so we should try to help the guy with his request.
I still suggest the P10 or the Q10 from Samsung!! Go with this one, it has the reccommendation of Tom’s Hardware Guide editorial staff and they know PCs and notebooks. http://www.tomshardware.com it is not reviewed yet on their website (I don’t think), but two of their editors have reccommended it to me as a lightweight powerhouse. Now if you don’t care about the weight, you might want to choose something else.
sorry for the confusion Hobart.I basically was trying to say that I am proud of my machine and was surprised that it bogged down on newer software.I was(in a round about way)saying"HELP ME!!forget about the origanal poster!" 
but seriously,the replies on this thread have helped me as well,I hope sandman finds his answers easier than I have. :shock:
Well, the stupid cow disregarded the Sandman’s advice and bought herself a notebook, only to find that – surprise surprise – its much too weedy for playing games.
Serves her right, I say.
Thanks for all the info, though.