Just ordered a new laptop...

[NuAngel]

Well, first of all, let me say "just in time" too. I work on my laptop 8 hours a day right now. And sometimes more. But 9-5, I use it at work. Today I'm on one of the desktops that's usually taken (we have a small staff, but I don't like to get in the way, so I usually take my notebook and just work wherever I can - with only 3 available desktops and an average staff of 5 on duty, it's not very conducive when I'm the web designer that NEEDS a computer at work! ).

Anyways - the notebook I was using (4.5 years old, Celeron 1.2Ghz {of fury, I might add!}) bit the dust on Friday. THURSDAY I had just placed my order for a new notebook.

Getting a Turion 64 w/ an ATi X700 and a gig of RAM.

Now I'm just kind of thinking to myself... why?

You know what I've been playing lately. Doom Collector's Edition and Wing Commander the Kilrathi Saga. Just seems like a bit overkill. But, I guess in time I will get back to some more modern games - but right now I'm on this classics binge, and I feel like I'm wasting some money. ~~~... oh well.

Just thought I'd share. Maybe we should start a system specs thread - for all of your systems (got a dedicated rig for classic gaming, etc... tell us!?). Might be fun.

Nu

 

[Frosty]

I used to have a very nice and unreasonably expensive AthlonXP rig I put together several years ago, but that died on me shortly after I finished Doom 3. Delirious with grief I shambled to the shopping mall and came home with -gasp- a PowerBook.

These are the specs. The only difference between the default 15" PowerBook listed there and mine is the memory; my machine sports 1GB of RAM. I might upgrade that to 2GB for kicks.

This is my desktop:


I love it.

 

[NuAngel]

Do you use Bootcamp for gaming or something? I mean... how do you get your WC Fix? As well as Doom 3 and the like. I just can't bring myself to buy a Mac, because I still game enough to make it "not worth it" - as far as I can tell. Ditto with running linux. Just too much 'extra' involved, ya'know?

Nu

 

[Frosty]

Do you use Bootcamp for gaming or something?

Boot Camp is for Apples with Intel CPUs. If I had a MacBook, I could do that.

I mean... how do you get your WC Fix?

There's DOSBox, and I have a 3DO, so that covers a lot of ground. If I really got the itch to play WCIV or Prophecy/SO, I could probably fashion some kind if horrible undead monster from the remains of various Windows machines I have here.

As well as Doom 3 and the like.

I can play Doom 3 on my PowerBook. The insane resolution of the LCD is a problem, but if I felt like it, I could just plug my Viewsonic G90f in and run at something a bit more practical like 1024x768.

I just can't bring myself to buy a Mac, because I still game enough to make it "not worth it" - as far as I can tell.

I bought a Ybox.

Ditto with running linux.

Lunix is for jerks.

 

[Worf]

Well, can I have your old computer?

(I'm still using my 6-year-old Celeron 533A (o/c'd to 800MHz)...)

 

[Frosty]

It's broken.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I woke up one day and didn't care about upgrading my PC anymore. I have a cute little Dell laptop whose specifications I don't even know now... I use it for all sorts of mundane tasks: school, writing, internet and a little bit of modern gaming.

But! I also have a Wing Commander machine which is in a state of perennial construction. She's a Pentium III/650 with a mess of neat stuff, including five sound cards (a SB!Live, a SB 32AWE and Roland RAP-10, LAPC-I and SC-55 MIDI devices) and three video cards (a Voodoo 5 5500, a DXR2 and an older card for Windows 3.11 stuff).

 

[LeHah]

I bought a big, monster system last year for the singular reason of catching up on the gaming I had missed since 2001. I dropped $1,500 on the thing to get everything state-of-the-art - 2 gigs of RAM, a video card that had more RAM than my last computer, 5.1 surround sound.

Know what I use it for? Watching Star Trek DVDs.

PC gaming is kind of stagnant. Thats not to say there aren't great games out there - I greatly enjoy Riddick, Warhammer: Dawn Of War, Call Of Duty and I'm currently addicted to Freelancer - but it's really not worth it to go crazy trying to make your PC the biggest and best on the block anymore.

 

[NuAngel]

It's HERE! I'm actually posting from it right now, and MAN is it nice... I disabled the 'PowerNOW' stuff - a little less battery life, an extra 1Ghz constantly. heh... I don't want my machine to have to think about anything - just GO GO GO. I'll pay the electric bill later.

I installed the OS using Acer's system restore discs last night... not as bloated as I expected, but it had a few problems at first. Everything seems to be ironed out now. As far as performance goes... everything seems fast, but I haven't had a chance to install any games, so I'll find that out later. But I used DriverHeaven.net's driver modder to ensure that I had the latest ATi Catalyst drivers for my notebook.

I'm excited. Can't wait to get out of work and actually install some stuff on this puppy!

NuAngel

 

[Foxtrot]

well, ive been using a 6 year old P3 Toshiba laptop now. ive done everything from discarding the battery, removing the broken dvd-rom to manually patching up the power cables when they broke up ( man was i sweating during that surgery :s ) specs wise the best game that thing could handel was Elite Force and i drew the line at Halo. yet, now its my mobile computer and since im not gaming at all ive been able to spice make it look beter than anything ive seen around :

 

[d3r3k]

But! I also have a Wing Commander machine which is in a state of perennial construction. She's a Pentium III/650 with a mess of neat stuff, including five sound cards (a SB!Live, a SB 32AWE and Roland RAP-10, LAPC-I and SC-55 MIDI devices) and three video cards (a Voodoo 5 5500, a DXR2 and an older card for Windows 3.11 stuff).

Wow, that's an impressive array of hardware.

 

[Maj.Striker]

I woke up one day and didn't care about upgrading my PC anymore.

Precisely my feelings these days...used to be I knew exactly what was cutting edge, could quote benchmark results on processors, memory and video cards. I would dream about upgrading every six months. Now I could care less. I bought and xbox and after that, even though the game selection isn't quite as good, it's much easier than the PC. You just put in the game and the xbox 360 runs it, no worrying about specs, configuration etc, it just works. AFter that, my pc is pretty much only for internet surfing and other minor tasks.

 

[Mav23]

I just sold my laptop for a mesely 100 bucks to a relative. I hope to save up and get a MacBook or something down the line, but for now my behemoth desktop will have to do for my computing needs. God I wish Mac's weren't so ridiculously expensive.

BTW, Striker, do you still play COD2? I haven't been on in awhile.

 

[TankGunner]

I have a question for the community, you all know alot about laptops. I need to get one in the next few weeks, and know nothing about the specs these days.

My main requirements are: 1. It must be very tough, able to handle a few knocks, and alot of dust, for at least a year before cleaning. 2. It needs to be able to interface with my digital camera, so I can download pictures. 3. It needs a CD writing drive, and the ablity to play DVDs. 4. I have about $850 dollars budgeted, but can adjust by $350 if necessary. 5. It should be light and somewhat small, highly portable.

I would appreciate any help at all!

 

[ChrisReid]

Precisely my feelings these days...used to be I knew exactly what was cutting edge, could quote benchmark results on processors, memory and video cards. I would dream about upgrading every six months. Now I could care less.

How much less could you care?

I have a question for the community, you all know alot about laptops. I need to get one in the next few weeks, and know nothing about the specs these days.

My main requirements are: 1. It must be very tough, able to handle a few knocks, and alot of dust, for at least a year before cleaning.

This is something I've haven't been too impressed with. Laptop computers, by pretty much every company I've seen, just aren't as sturdy as they need to be for some things. However, Panasonic has something they call a ToughBook which is supposed to handle all kinds of drops, bangs and grime from heavy outdoor mobile use. I have no idea how well they actually hold up, but it sounds like something you should look into. http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/home.asp

2. It needs to be able to interface with my digital camera, so I can download pictures.

This is easy. Some higher end laptops have built in card readers, but all you need is a simple USB port, which every laptop made in the last five years or more has had standard.

3. It needs a CD writing drive, and the ablity to play DVDs.

Again, fairly standard for several years here.

4. I have about $850 dollars budgeted, but can adjust by $350 if necessary.

I think there's a bunch of different ToughBook models. They're a bit more expensive though. They range up to $3000-4000. I do think there are some models below $1000, and even though you said you don't care about specs, I think they might be so old/slow that they're not worth it. Maybe something like http://www.shentech.com/1008081sn.html ?

5. It should be light and somewhat small, highly portable.

You're probably looking at something in the 8-12 pound range for the durability you're looking for. Be aware that the weight figures you see usually do not include the battery, which is a couple pounds itself.

 

[Maj.Striker]

How much less could you care?

Well, I guess shouldn't say I care less...I just don't got the money to stay in the upgrading game or the knowledge anymore of what's top of the line, etc.

Mav23, I still play occassionally but I haven't played COD2 online in probably at least three weeks. Its a great game though. We should play again sometime.

 

[ChrisReid]

Well, I guess shouldn't say I care less...I just don't got the money to stay in the upgrading game or the knowledge anymore of what's top of the line, etc.

The joke is that if you could care less, then it's not much of an expression. The proper phrase is couldn't care less.

 

[TankGunner]

Thanks alot, Chris. Gives me a great place to start some research.