what processor is better?

[roshan]

im thinking of buying a laptop. i will use it for gaming. i want to know the following:

 

1. is it better to have a pentium m or a pentium 4 processor?

 

2. is it ok to have a generic video card or should it have a geforce? if so, what are the good geforce cards to look for?

 

3. how much memory should it have? is 256 enough?

 

4. is there any specific laptop that you can recommend that comes at a good price?

[LostStraw]

1. I'd recomend an AMD64.

 

2. A generic videocard wont cut it.

 

3. What kind of games will you be playing?

 

4. Don't buy from Alienware unless you want to pay too much.

[Dakoth]

My 2 cents.

 

1. is it better to have a pentium m or a pentium 4 processor?

 

If you must go Intel the P4 is the way to go.

 

2. is it ok to have a generic video card or should it have a geforce? if so, what are the good geforce cards to look for?

 

Nvidia isn't the only name brand GPU Ati makes a good mobile GPU also it is really personal preferance.

 

3. how much memory should it have? is 256 enough?

 

I would go with at least 512.

 

4. is there any specific laptop that you can recommend that comes at a good price?

 

If I had my choice a custom built one if I had to go with a line manufaturer the Dell gaming one would be the way I would go.

[mkreku]

The Centrino is actually a very good mobile processor, despite its comparably low MHz. I'd pick that or the AMD 64. If you want to use your laptop for gaming, then YES, you definitely need an ATI or a Geforce. Make sure the GPU doesn't use shared memory (taking parts of the RAM as graphics memory). I would also recommend at least 512 MB RAM. Acer makes very good and relatively cheap computers, if they're availible to you. They might be a european brand though.

[Child of Flame]

The Centrino is actually a very good mobile processor, despite its comparably low MHz. I'd pick that or the AMD 64. If you want to use your laptop for gaming, then YES, you definitely need an ATI or a Geforce. Make sure the GPU doesn't use shared memory (taking parts of the RAM as graphics memory). I would also recommend at least 512 MB RAM. Acer makes very good and relatively cheap computers, if they're availible to you. They might be a european brand though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

You can buy them online. I'd second the vote for the Centrino, and would also like to suggest Voodoo if you're looking for a prebuilt.

 

Is there really any way to build your own notebook? When I was looking into it, I could find just about all the parts except the MOBO/Chassis.

[Judge Hades]

I have to say AMD all the way. You get the most bang for the buck.

[deganawida]

I have to say AMD all the way.  You get the most bang for the buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Amen. And choose Nvidia for your video card; ATI sucks.

[Dakoth]

And choose Nvidia for your video card; ATI sucks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Really? Last product cycle was a definate truning point for GPU's ATI proved Nvidia was not the end all be all of video cards.

[Judge Hades]

Yes, but Nvidia is better supported by the manufacturer and game developers.

[Child of Flame]

I have to say AMD all the way.  You get the most bang for the buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Normally I'm a total AMD fanboy, but the Centrino has a much longer battery life and is designed with mobile platforms in mind; wheras the AMD Mobile is basically the same processor I have sitting in my computer here, with an unlocked on the fly multiplier to enable it to stay cooler.

 

Didn't know they have a 64 bit mobile processor out, I'll have to look into it, but I expect it's extremely pricy...

[deganawida]

Yes, but Nvidia is better supported by the manufacturer and game developers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Yup. I work with a lot of ATI cards, and finding drivers for them is the most ridiculous experience ever. Forget whatever the card is named, as the card's name is not important; all that matters is the card's family. I have, multiple times, encountered ATI cards with the same name but different suffix, where one would be in, say, the Rage family, and the other would be in an entirely different family. Also, ATI has an annoying tendency to drop support for video cards. NVidia, on the other hand, uses an integrated driver technology, so whenever one driver for a family is updated, all cards are updated. Much easier, and my old GeForce 2 in my home PC is fully up-to-date as a result.

[Child of Flame]

Yes, but Nvidia is better supported by the manufacturer and game developers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Yup. I work with a lot of ATI cards, and finding drivers for them is the most ridiculous experience ever. Forget whatever the card is named, as the card's name is not important; all that matters is the card's family. I have, multiple times, encountered ATI cards with the same name but different suffix, where one would be in, say, the Rage family, and the other would be in an entirely different family. Also, ATI has an annoying tendency to drop support for video cards. NVidia, on the other hand, uses an integrated driver technology, so whenever one driver for a family is updated, all cards are updated. Much easier, and my old GeForce 2 in my home PC is fully up-to-date as a result.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I still like ATI better. I have more fun overclocking them, and the utilities they include are pretty awesome.

[LostStraw]

Normally I'm a total AMD fanboy, but the Centrino has a much longer battery life and is designed with mobile platforms in mind; wheras the AMD Mobile is basically the same processor I have sitting in my computer here, with an unlocked on the fly multiplier to enable it to stay cooler. 

 

Didn't know they have a 64 bit mobile processor out, I'll have to look into it, but I expect it's extremely pricy...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It's actually not that pricy.

 

Is there really any way to build your own notebook? When I was looking into it, I could find just about all the parts except the MOBO/Chassis.

 

Yes, you can. There's definitely not as much customization as you can get with desktops though. The mobo/chasis component is called a whitebook.

[Dakoth]

Yes, but Nvidia is better supported by the manufacturer and game developers.

 

Really? Hmm Half-life 2 and about 5 other games in the PCGamer kinda says thats gonna change. Also I have yet to have any problems with my 9800 pro but I didn't buy a 3rd party card either.

 

Normally I'm a total AMD fanboy, but the Centrino has a much longer battery life and is designed with mobile platforms in mind; wheras the AMD Mobile is basically the same processor I have sitting in my computer here, with an unlocked on the fly multiplier to enable it to stay cooler.

 

Didn't know they have a 64 bit mobile processor out, I'll have to look into it, but I expect it's extremely pricy...

 

http://www.computerworldinc.com/Widescreen...s%209-17-04.doc

 

http://www.computerworldinc.com/Centrino%209-16-04.doc

 

I don't know seems right in line with the Centrino's and the P4s.

 

Yup. I work with a lot of ATI cards, and finding drivers for them is the most ridiculous experience ever. Forget whatever the card is named, as the card's name is not important; all that matters is the card's family. I have, multiple times, encountered ATI cards with the same name but different suffix, where one would be in, say, the Rage family, and the other would be in an entirely different family. Also, ATI has an annoying tendency to drop support for video cards. NVidia, on the other hand, uses an integrated driver technology, so whenever one driver for a family is updated, all cards are updated. Much easier, and my old GeForce 2 in my home PC is fully up-to-date as a result.

 

Which ATI has also caught onto, you have heard of catalyst drivers right? Ever since the launch of the 9000 series all new ATI cards use the same catalyst driver just like Nvidia uses its detinator or what ever they call it now. I lost a lot of respect for Nvidia when they launched an 8x version of the TI4600 and charged way more than a Ti 4600 was worth. Also a cards name does matter as some manufaturers just build better cards just like some just build better motherboards, Asus comes to mind.

[deganawida]

Yup. I work with a lot of ATI cards, and finding drivers for them is the most ridiculous experience ever. Forget whatever the card is named, as the card's name is not important; all that matters is the card's family. I have, multiple times, encountered ATI cards with the same name but different suffix, where one would be in, say, the Rage family, and the other would be in an entirely different family. Also, ATI has an annoying tendency to drop support for video cards. NVidia, on the other hand, uses an integrated driver technology, so whenever one driver for a family is updated, all cards are updated. Much easier, and my old GeForce 2 in my home PC is fully up-to-date as a result.

 

Which ATI has also caught onto, you have heard of catalyst drivers right? Ever since the launch of the 9000 series all new ATI cards use the same catalyst driver just like Nvidia uses its detinator or what ever they call it now. I lost a lot of respect for Nvidia when they launched an 8x version of the TI4600 and charged way more than a Ti 4600 was worth. Also a cards name does matter as some manufaturers just build better cards just like some just build better motherboards, Asus comes to mind.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Wow, you got me there. Well, no, actually, you didn't. You see, I mentioned that I work with a lot of ATI cards, and then went on to make a distinction about about "my home PC". I work for the local BoE, in their IT department, and, you know what, they just can't afford to pay for 9000 series ATI cards. In fact, they wouldn't get them if they could, 'cause ATI is always offering school systems "great deals" on video cards, which consist of cards that are no longer supported by ATI. Now, a distinction can and should be made between video cards for personal use and video cards for professional use for the purposes of this discussion, but my experience with ATI has soured me on them for personal use. When one has to comb through ATI's website for an hour just to find the driver for a video card that was only in production for a quarter of a year 3-4 years ago, and then finds that said driver only works 2/3 of the time, one tends to get irritated and hold a grudge.

[roshan]

everyone, thanks a lot for all of your help.

 

I will most probably just play low end games such as rpgs, but i want my laptop to be able to at least run half life 2 or doom 3.

 

So let me clarify things:

 

good brand - acer or dell gaming (ill check these out)

 

microprocessor - intel centrino ???

 

ram - 512

 

video card - i think ill stick with nvidia. what is the lowest card that i need to handle half life 2?

[taks]

Really?  Last product cycle was a definate truning point for GPU's ATI proved Nvidia was not the end all be all of video cards.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

uh, not really... nvidia's 6800 ultra has retaken the lead i think... check at 3dmark to confirm, however.

 

taks

[mkreku]

Wow, you got me there.  Well, no, actually, you didn't.  You see, I mentioned that I work with a lot of ATI cards, and then went on to make a distinction about  about "my home PC".  I work for the local BoE, in their IT department, and, you know what, they just can't afford to pay for 9000 series ATI cards.  In fact, they wouldn't get them if they could, 'cause ATI is always offering school systems "great deals" on video cards, which consist of cards that are no longer supported by ATI.  Now, a distinction can and should be made between video cards for personal use and video cards for professional use for the purposes of this discussion, but my experience with ATI has soured me on them for personal use.  When one has to comb through ATI's website for an hour just to find the driver for a video card that was only in production for a quarter of a year 3-4 years ago, and then finds that said driver only works 2/3 of the time, one tends to get irritated and hold a grudge.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And this is relevant to this discussion how..?

 

ATI's drivers are just as good as Nvidia. I own a Radeon 9800 Pro myself and so far I've never experienced any problems. I used to own a Ti4600 before this card and the difference between the two brands (when it comes to drivers) is minimal.

[deganawida]

mkreku, you need to work on that reading comprehension, 'cause you quite obviously miss the part where I explained that ATI's ridiculous, non-Catalyst driver system and support is why I prefer NVidia to ATI. There is some difference between individual cards performance-wise, but not much, and in such a case accessibility and ease of use become deciding factors.

[mkreku]

mkreku, you need to work on that reading comprehension, 'cause you quite obviously miss the part where I explained that ATI's ridiculous, non-Catalyst driver system and support is why I prefer NVidia to ATI.  There is some difference between individual cards performance-wise, but not much, and in such a case accessibility and ease of use become deciding factors.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nothing's wrong with my reading comprehension. The example you gave as to why you hate ATI still stands, and I don't think your hatred for old, unsupported graphic cards has anything to do with this discussion. He is buying new equipment after all, and for the last few years ATI has supported each and every one of their cards.

[Mr. Brightside]

I am for Intel Inside processor Celeron for notebooks. The notebooks are a little bit bigger but they are better than a M or Centrino.

And I didn't even know that there are Pentium 4 or AMD 64 Athlons for notebooks?

[roshan]

microprocessor - intel centrino ???

 

video card - i think ill stick with nvidia. what is the lowest card that i need to handle half life 2?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

can i have some further advice on these 2 things? what specific nvidia cards should i look out for? and im still confused about whether to get a pentium 4, m, centrino, athlon or celeron!!!

[Mr. Brightside]

microprocessor - intel centrino ???

 

video card - i think ill stick with nvidia. what is the lowest card that i need to handle half life 2?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

can i have some further advice on these 2 things? what specific nvidia cards should i look out for? and im still confused about whether to get a pentium 4, m, centrino, athlon or celeron!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(Is there a possibility to get a pentium 4 for a laptop?)

But I would take a Celeron. It is better than a Centrino, also worser than a pentium 4.

A microprocessor is small. You have the possibilities to build smaller notebooks but a Centrino for example hasn't got the power of a "normal" processor like pentium 4 or Celeron

 

 

 

And I have no idea about this nvidia but "Life is meant to be played"! :D

[Dakoth]

uh, not really... nvidia's 6800 ultra has retaken the lead i think... check at 3dmark to confirm, however.

 

taks

 

You are talking current product cycle Taks and yes Nvidia did take the speed advantage back. Between that and the SLI tech I ahve been pondering going back with Nvidia.

 

Yup. I work with a lot of ATI cards, and finding drivers for them is the most ridiculous experience ever. Forget whatever the card is named, as the card's name is not important; all that matters is the card's family. I have, multiple times, encountered ATI cards with the same name but different suffix, where one would be in, say, the Rage family, and the other would be in an entirely different family. Also, ATI has an annoying tendency to drop support for video cards. NVidia, on the other hand, uses an integrated driver technology, so whenever one driver for a family is updated, all cards are updated. Much easier, and my old GeForce 2 in my home PC is fully up-to-date as a result.

 

The above quote was yiour original statement am I correct? The following was your ebuttle.

 

Wow, you got me there. Well, no, actually, you didn't. You see, I mentioned that I work with a lot of ATI cards, and then went on to make a distinction about about "my home PC". I work for the local BoE, in their IT department, and, you know what, they just can't afford to pay for 9000 series ATI cards. In fact, they wouldn't get them if they could, 'cause ATI is always offering school systems "great deals" on video cards, which consist of cards that are no longer supported by ATI. Now, a distinction can and should be made between video cards for personal use and video cards for professional use for the purposes of this discussion, but my experience with ATI has soured me on them for personal use. When one has to comb through ATI's website for an hour just to find the driver for a video card that was only in production for a quarter of a year 3-4 years ago, and then finds that said driver only works 2/3 of the time, one tends to get irritated and hold a grudge.

 

Quite frankly I did get you because you are giving him out of date information as if it were gosphel. There is very little difference between the main 2 GPU chip makers any more because ATI saw what made people buy Nvidia over them and adressed it. Also I don't see where he said he was going to buy a rage or rage pro or any older ATI cards. You are right a distinction needs to be made between buisness and personal but anyone who is buying for a business where I work usually gets just onboard video because it does the job and really doesn't cost any more.

 

mkreku, you need to work on that reading comprehension, 'cause you quite obviously miss the part where I explained that ATI's ridiculous, non-Catalyst driver system and support is why I prefer NVidia to ATI. There is some difference between individual cards performance-wise, but not much, and in such a case accessibility and ease of use become deciding factors.

 

You are quite right in this statement which is why I felt the need to point out the flaws in your statements when dealing with the new ATI cards. Oh and by the way you are not the only one who works on computers professionally.

[deganawida]

Oh and by the way you are not the only one who works on computers professionally.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not trying to say or imply that. However, my experience with working on computers professionally is what has given me my opinion. The point with bringing up the cards that I work with rather than play with (poorly made, I'll concede) was that unless one can afford to get a Catalyst-supported video card (which the BoE isn't), then one is better off getting an NVidia card. 'Course, I've also let my professional experience sour my personal opinions, and tried to admit it.

 

As to where your place of employment getting on-board VC's, I wish we did. Unfortunately, the BoE contracts out to a local firm that builds computers out of "discount" parts, and they like to get ATI specials. In my home PC, I have both a GeForce 2 and some S3 card, and that S3 card kicks the GF2's butt on everything except games ('cause the games aren't compatible). Anyway, wasn't trying to imply that I'm the only one who works on computers (which, at an Internet forum, would be a ridiculous claim, to say the least), only to point out why I hold the opinion that ATI sucks, which is due to my experiences at work.

 

BTW, if working for the BoE has done anything for me, it's made me even more for vouchers than before. In-bred, nepotism-loving, beauraucratic fools.