Mobile CPUs

[robertito]

I am thinking about buying a laptop for gaming, nothing hardcore, but gaming none the less. I was just wondering if a 2.2GHz core 2 duo would be sufficient or whether I should pay the extra cach and get a 2.4GHz or a 2.66GHz.
Thanx for the help. any comments will be appreciated.

 

[Gravemind123]

A 2.2GHz Core2 will be fine, the graphics card is going to be the weak point in a gaming laptop under the $2000 mark.

 

[animal_chin]

For gaming the GPU is going to make the biggest difference, although if the price increase between a 2.4 and 2.6 (they don't make 2.66 mobile CPUs the t7800 and the x7800 are the fastest at 2.6ghz each) isn't too large it wouldn't be a bad idea to get the better CPU. Just make sure you get a laptop with a dedicated GPU. I got a Sager np2090 (same thing as a Compal Ifl-90) with XP, 2gb of ram, and an intel t7300 GPU (2.0ghz) and with a 8600m gt. I absolutely love it. It gets 6543 in 3DMark 05, and 58 seconds for a 2M Super Pi. I got my laptop off of xoticpc.com but there are other sites such as powernotebooks.com that sell them, and other gaming notebooks.

 

[robertito]

Thanks for all the help, i'll look at some prices and make a decision based on that.

 

[3Ball]

Though I would never recommend a laptop for gaming I would say that since most laptops such as mine with a 15.4" screen have a relatively low res that the CPU will be very important. The one I am currently on has 1.5gb 667mhz DDR2 memory 5-5-5-15 timings, 120gb SATA 5400rpm 8mb cache hard drive w/ winXP Pro, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.86ghz Dual Core with 2mb L2 Cache and an ATI X1600 Mobility. I have had the laptop for slightly over a year now and it runs most games decently. My native res on this beast (lol) is 1280x800 and that is going to be most of the laptops this size native res. If you can afford the higher CPU it will help, but you should make sure to have atleast 2gb of memory, and a 6 series GPU or higher (i.e. x1600, 2600, 6600, 7600, or higher of course) anything below will not allow for a very good gaming experience even if you dont play very often.

So to answer your question I (personally) would spring for the 2.4ghz if I had the cash, but if you are hurtin for cash (since it is the holidays this is understandable) then the 2.2ghz would work fine, but even though the performance difference would be little, it would help since the overall performance wont be to high as it is. I had the same decision to make and I think overall it helped. I could have got with a 1.6ghz dual core at the time I believe it was a Core Duo and then I had the chance for my 1.86ghz processor. It took alil more out of my pocket that I actually had, but it wasnt to hard to make up for and it has paid off I believe.

I know this is scrambled, but I hope it helps.

Best,

3Ball

 

[robertito]

I know laptops aren't great for gaming but I need the portability scince I travel alot. I think I'm going to go for the 2.4ghz for the performance and so it won't become totaly obsolite by next year or so.

Thank you so much for all the help.

All I need now is to pick a company to buy it from.

 

[AdamJ]

the company that has the mobile 8800 series. google it

 

[3Ball]

I know laptops aren't great for gaming but I need the portability scince I travel alot. I think I'm going to go for the 2.4ghz for the performance and so it won't become totaly obsolite by next year or so.

Thank you so much for all the help.

All I need now is to pick a company to buy it from.

Well I bought from the company in the link and havent had any problems with it. I bought without an OS to save $80 and just loaded it myself. I have also added 512mb of ram since then, but this one I have in the link (the default config I looked at "other than vista") seems to be what you are looking for. It is 2.40ghz Core 2 Duo, 2gb of DDR2 667mhz memory, 120gb SATA hard drive, and an 8600GT 512mb video card. It is a 15.4". Not sure if this is what you are lookin for, but if I were buying a laptop right now it is probably the one I would buy.

http://www.buyxg.com/system/XG_Action_9000_Notebook/

Best,

3Ball

 

[MarkG]

Though I would never recommend a laptop for gaming I would say that since most laptops such as mine with a 15.4" screen have a relatively low res that the CPU will be very important.

Only if you have a decent graphics chip first. My dual-core laptop CPU is probably twice as powerful as my desktop CPU, but the crappy Intel graphics chip can't even begin to run recent games that the desktop system still plays well at a higher resolution than the laptop LCD.

Which I don't much care about because I didn't buy it to run games, but graphically it's utterly crippled by the weak GPU.

 

[PCKid777]

Though I would never recommend a laptop for gaming I would say that since most laptops such as mine with a 15.4" screen have a relatively low res that the CPU will be very important.

I bought my IFL-90 with the 1680x1050 resolution on the 15.4in screen. Sure, I can downsize it to 1280x800, but I don't.

As far as gaming goes on the IFL-90, I am somewhat satisfied. It manages to play Halo 2 maxed out at 1680x1050 resolution and can manage BF2 at 1280x1024 with 4x AA and all High details. If I OC the GPU a bit, 8x AA works well (then again, haven't really tried 8x AA without the OC).

3DMark06 Score: OC'd in the 3000+ range.

Note: This beast isn't that portable.... with the 9-cell battery and HDD, it's probably around 8lbs; add the AC adapter and a gaming mouse, and this laptop will get bulky.

BTW, got a t7300 (2.0Ghz) Core 2 Duo, 4Gb of RAM, 8600M GT, and Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit running on it.

P.S. You may have problems finding good drivers for a decent gaming laptop - I've gone through about 30 already (using the latest from laptopvideo2go.com right now).

 

[nvalhalla]

I'd look at spending as much as I could on the gpu, if the 2.4 is ~$100+ more than the 2.2 the money would be better spent on a faster gpu. I know the price jumps for the top cpus can be extreme.

 

[nvalhalla]

the extra 10% cpu speed won't provide a large speed boost. going from an 8600 to an 8700 or 8800 WILL.

 

[3Ball]

Only if you have a decent graphics chip first. My dual-core laptop CPU is probably twice as powerful as my desktop CPU, but the crappy Intel graphics chip can't even begin to run recent games that the desktop system still plays well at a higher resolution than the laptop LCD.

Which I don't much care about because I didn't buy it to run games, but graphically it's utterly crippled by the weak GPU.

When someone says they plan on gaming on the laptop I can only assume that the vid card is going to be decent and not an intel integrated one.

I bought my IFL-90 with the 1680x1050 resolution on the 15.4in screen. Sure, I can downsize it to 1280x800, but I don't.

By my standards I am 100% positive that I would not get the frames that I want out of a laptop with an 8600GT especially running vista @ 1680x1050 res. I dont even get that on all my games with my X1900XTX that is why I am getting a new GPU for x-mas. That is why I recommend a 15.4" with 1280x800, because when I play games at lower than native res it bothers me. If 1280x800 is my full res then I no longer think about it, which makes for a better gaming experience imo.

the extra 10% cpu speed won't provide a large speed boost. going from an 8600 to an 8700 or 8800 WILL.

True, but except for 8600 and 8700 gpu series usually are just a power usuage difference in laptops so in that case the performance difference may favor the CPU speed difference depending on the game and the res it is running, and yes the 8800 would be faster in all cases, but they are difficult to find in laptops that are around 15.4" (or lower) because they then lose their ease of portability, which is not what most want in a laptop.

A middle ground needs to be found and IMPO a 15.4" screen @ 1280x800 res with a 2.4ghz core 2 duo, running 2gb of ram, an 8600 / 8700 Gt and windows xp is going to be the best middle ground for portability, general gameplay performance and longevity. Feel free to disagree if you wish, but to the OP I hope this helps. This is my view and it probably will not change unless someone finds a light laptop with an 8800 series GPU or equivalent in it and decent battery life. 17"ers just dont work for me, but if they do for you then go for it. Those will get you the most power for gaming hands down in the laptop area.

Best,

3Ball

 

[bigblack]

Be sure to check out the HP Compaq 8710p. Allthough it is a bussiness laptop it has an T7300- T7500 cpu, 17" WXGA or WSXGA monitor, an Nvidia Quadro NVS 320M (which is really a 8700m GT) and 2 gigs of ram.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP-Compaq-8710p-Notebook.4456.0.html

There is a 15" model 8510p if you are interested...

 

[zenmaster]

I am thinking about buying a laptop for gaming, nothing hardcore, but gaming none the less. I was just wondering if a 2.2GHz core 2 duo would be sufficient or whether I should pay the extra cach and get a 2.4GHz or a 2.66GHz.
Thanx for the help. any comments will be appreciated.

Try and hold out a few weeks.
My understanding is that the Mobile Penryns will ship early Jan.
That will be a huge boost for laptops.

More Power and Fewer Roated Nutz.

 

[robertito]

Thanks for aal the help! My cousin is CEO of some huge company that deals with Intel and Nvidia. I'm going to talk to him and see what he thinks I should do. I could probably even get sone discounts if he buys them for me through his company. If waiting for the Penryns is best Ill do that.

 

[MarkG]

When someone says they plan on gaming on the laptop I can only assume that the vid card is going to be decent and not an intel integrated one.

When someone is buying a PC, assuming anything is dangerous; just look at how many people bought Geforce FX cards, thinking they were decent gaming cards.

BTW, you attributed quotes to me that were made by someone else.

 

[Shadow703793]

You could get a mid ranged CPU and do a pin/pad mod to get extra speed since most laptop BIOS don't allow OCing. (don't know if pin mods exist for the new Core based Txxxx CPUs but they exist for the Pentium M)

 

[3Ball]

BTW, you attributed quotes to me that were made by someone else.

I was responding to multiple people in one post. Sry for the confusion, I messed up on the quoting parameters.

Best,

3Ball

 

[animal_chin]

http://www.buyxg.com/system/XG_Action_9000_Notebook/9

This is the same note book that I have. The Sager np2090 is basically the same thing as a Compal Ifl-90 which is basically the same thing as this. Go to http://www.resellerratings.com/ and look at the ratings people give the website you buy your computer from.

 

[PCKid777]

By my standards I am 100% positive that I would not get the frames that I want out of a laptop with an 8600GT especially running vista @ 1680x1050 res. I dont even get that on all my games with my X1900XTX that is why I am getting a new GPU for x-mas. That is why I recommend a 15.4" with 1280x800, because when I play games at lower than native res it bothers me. If 1280x800 is my full res then I no longer think about it, which makes for a better gaming experience imo.

I know this thread is old, but THG disabled the automatic reply notification and I forgot to enable it.

Anyhow, that highly depends on the game. I play Halo 2 quite nicely at 1680x1050 and this resolution is very nice to work with (as in web surfing, typing, etc.).

 

[3Ball]

I know this thread is old, but THG disabled the automatic reply notification and I forgot to enable it.

Anyhow, that highly depends on the game. I play Halo 2 quite nicely at 1680x1050 and this resolution is very nice to work with (as in web surfing, typing, etc.).

Well even though I dont think the OP is really reading this anymore. I stopped playing Halo 2 on my PC because it wasnt running to my liking. I have a 20" LCD with 1680x1050 res. Maybe I will try it with my new card. But halo and all else aside. Especially since halo was just a terrible port and that is why I was having problems. I would be impressed if you could run CoD 4 or UT 3 at full res with that thing. When I think of playing games I think of playing newer ones and trying to allow someone to play games on the machine for a while. That is why I made the recommendation.

Best,

3Ball