How much notebook needed for Company of Heroes?

[p3matty]

Looking to get a laptop in the next few months to replace my current Inspiron 2650 (1.7 Ghz P4, 512 RAM, 40 GB, DVD burner, Nvidia Geforce 2 Go, 15" screen.....).

I'm looking to stay with a 15.4" inch widescreen as I like the size (and it's got more options from more companies. Due to work, I'll be getting Vista Ultimate. I'd like to get a Core 2 5000 or 7000 series CPU, 2 GB ram, DVD burner (or even Blu Ray ROM / DVD burner drive), but other than that I'm not sure what I'll want / need. 80% of the time I'll just be doing basic work functions (e-mail, simple sales software, internet, office stuff). Though I will also use it for DVD backups, music encoding, as a mobile media server pictures, video, music).

I will also be doing some gaming on it, the most tortuous game being Company of Heroes. How much would be needed in addition to what's mentioned above should I look for? Specifically in a video card.

I also know that Intel is coming out with a new "platform" for notebooks, called Montevina or something. Would the integrated video in that platform be enough for basic (low/medium settings) gaming?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[theworminator]

Company of Heroes, ah...my roommate can barely play it on minimum with an Intel GMA (he gets like 20 fps at these settings), and I can play it maxed out with a 7950 GTX...so in today's terms, to play it at medium-highish, I'd say go for a 8600 GT.

 

[Maziar]

8600GT will play it fine but not with everything maxed out, for playing it maxed out u will need a 7950GTX+

 

[theworminator]

That's why I said "medium -high"

But yes, depends how well you want to play it, but it's a trade off. You can get an 8600 GT card in a 15.4 laptop, so it'll be smaller/lighter/more battery, but to get a computer for max performance with something beefier like the 7950 will force you to get a 17" laptop.

 

[HardWareBoss]

What's the price range you want to work with?

 

[p3matty]

Really, I don't want to go much over $1,000-1,200 if I can help it. Like I said, I won't be doing much gaming at all on it, but I would like to have the option to should I ever want to. I won't, though, play everything on high. My e2140 OC'ed to 2.67 ghz with a OC'ed 8600GT desktop won't even play it maxed out! What really is more important to me is staying with a 15.4" inch model, being able to run Vista Ultimate smoothly, play and burn DVDs with no problems, go from a cold boot to online in under 2 minutes....things like that.....

Like I said, I can wait a bit for the new centrino 2 lineup that's coming out, and I most likely will. Being able to play Blu-Ray movies, wireless N and bluetooth are all big pluses in my book as well.

 

[theworminator]

Just to point out, the boot time will steadily get longer the more you use your computer, it's just a fact, because of the programs that you load. I keep a tight hold on what starts up, and it still takes me about 1 minute 30 seconds from cold boot to hard drive activity stop.

I personally don't know enough different models of laptops to suggest one, but I think you can find one that will fit your needs for about 1200.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Really, I don't want to go much over $1,000-1,200 if I can help it. Like I said, I won't be doing much gaming at all on it, but I would like to have the option to should I ever want to. I won't, though, play everything on high. My e2140 OC'ed to 2.67 ghz with a OC'ed 8600GT desktop won't even play it maxed out! What really is more important to me is staying with a 15.4" inch model, being able to run Vista Ultimate smoothly, play and burn DVDs with no problems, go from a cold boot to online in under 2 minutes....things like that.....

Like I said, I can wait a bit for the new centrino 2 lineup that's coming out, and I most likely will. Being able to play Blu-Ray movies, wireless N and bluetooth are all big pluses in my book as well.

Since you can wait that will help. That will give you time to see what new stuff is coming.

 

[p3matty]

Yeah, I'll definitely wait (unless my 2650 explodes or spontaneously gets thrown out a window during one of it's infamous long boot ups). I've looked at the specs of the upcoming "montevina" or "Centrino 2" from Intel, and I think it would be dumb not to wait for a few months for one of these unless you can't live without one now. Better/faster CPU support, higher FSB, DDR3 support, better built in wireless, and a better integrated video card should you get one with it.

If I had to get one now, I really like the Dell 15.4" XPS, and can build one with all the things I want (save the blu-ray) for around $1,100, or pick one up from my local Best Buy and do so with 12 months no interest! Going with blu-ray requires going all the way to a blu-ray read/write (not just read) drive ($500 upgrade), as well as going to a 8600GT (another $100-$150 upgrade). I'm not paying an extra $600 to just watch my current collection of 12 blu-ray movies.