Opinions on this laptop

[Player_13]

I'm looking for a laptop for school, but I would also like it to be a decent computer for gaming. I'm talking, Call of Duty, Swat 4, UT2004, decent games but not incredibly taxing ones.

I've found this laptop here and noticed it's got quite a bit going for it. I also noticed a few things that might be fairly significant drawbacks. The level 2 cache for example is quite small. I've always wanted to know if the level 2 cache has a large impact on speed or gaming. Any and all opinions would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...gon=&langid=EN

-Cheers

[jpiermarini]

i personally think compaqs are crap

[[Cerberus]]

i have an old dell 8200 and i can play all those minus swat 4 (never tried it) pretty decently. given that it is a 1.6p4 with 1 gig ram, and only a 64mb video card.

so i would imagine that will have no problem playing any of those games.

[Player_13]

nifty, but any actual information on whether a sempron 3000+ with 128KB L2 Cache and a 128MB ATI Radeon Express 200M IGP, would be good enough for gaming, would be greatly appreciated.

I'm on a budget, so if not this... then I think I might have to go for an Inspiron 2200 with Intel Extreme Graphics *sob*

[ozwald]

What's your exact budget? IMHO, Pentium M are the best laptop processors available. Lightning fast and don't use a lot of juice.

AMD might own Intel in the desktop market, but Intel is far ahead with laptop chips.

[Player_13]

My budget's about $1500 Canadian, I'd just rather spend less. I was also thinking about a Dell 6000 with a 1.6GHz Pentium M and an Intel GMA 900. I think an Intel GMA is the best I can hope for with my budget

[ozwald]

Yea...your options for gaming notebooks with that budget are kinda limited.

[EXreaction]

Well, here is a very nice lappy for around $1500 canadian(I think) after a $400 MIR.
Close
Inspiron 9300


SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Inspiron 9300 Qty 1
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Unit Price $1,673.00
Dell Home Customers: $400 off with Mail-in Rebate on this product!
Limited Time Offer!
- $0.00
Catalog Number: 29
Module Description Show Details
Inspiron 9300 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Display 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display
Memory 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
Video Card 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
Hard Drive 40GB Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
CD/DVD Drives 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Wireless Networking Card Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Office Productivity Software No productivity suite - Corel WordPerfect word processor only
Security Software No Security Subscription
Digital Music Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic
Primary Battery 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options No Extended Service, Support or Ltd Warranty
Internet Access: Dial-Up 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Digital Imaging Photo Album™ SE Basic
Mail-in Rebate SAVE $400 with mail-in rebate! System price shown before rebate!
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service, Support
Financial Software No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial

Dell 720 Color Printer Qty 1
Free Dell Color Printer 720 Unit Price $0.00
Catalog Number: 29
Module Description Show Details
Dell Color Printer 720 Free Dell Color Printer 720
Hardware Support Services 1Yr Ltd. Warranty- Advance Exchange
TOTAL:$1,673.00
Additional Discounts and Coupons
Free Ground Shipping on Dell Inspiron orders greater than $849!

Limited Time Offer!




Total Price
Sub-total $1,673.00
Shipping & Handling --
Tax --
Total Price --


The price is in US$ now, but comes to $1,273 after the rebate, and that is about $1500 canadian $ I think...

[ozwald]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EXreaction

Well, here is a very nice lappy for around $1500 canadian(I think) after a $400 MIR.

If you want a notebook to take with you (you said it was for school - does this involve carrying it around to classes?), that's not the one. 9.4 lbs and a measely 2.5 hours battery life (the monster 17 inch screen completely offsets any battery saved by the Pentium M).

[[Cerberus]]

i hear ya, when i got my first laptop, i got a inspiron 8200(pretty big and heavy at the time). i thought i would carry it to class and all over, till i got to school and realised that the batery didn't last long and it was heavy.

so last year i picked up a dirt cheap c600 to tote around to classes. it is a 14" screen, pIII 1.2, but it goes on the internet, is light and with two batteries i get like 4-5 hours of constant use.