New Computer

[PeriscopeDepth]

If you plan on keeping your system for more than a year, a 64 bit system with 4 gigs of RAM will be worth it.

PD

[FIREWALL]

Good decision on the Mobo Spike.

When money permits you can upgrade CPU.

Try to get a 1gb Vid card.

64 bit is the way to go.

Let us all know what you get.

[Lord Justice]

gunning for sapphire 5870, see there is 5890 now, out my price range, may also have to remove one of my sflex 1200rpm side case fans now , darn

[Spike88]

Well laddies and gents. With college around the corner I've put my computer purchasing plans on the back burner to get a laptop instead(so I can play SH5 during lectures) .


Anyone have any suggestions for good laptops that can also play most games on medium/high settings?

I'm thinking about the HP Pavilion dv7t
link
At 749.99
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB
2GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4530
or would it be better to go the extra 150ish and get a
HP Pavilion dv6t
at 999.99

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
• 4gb DDR3 Memory( free upgrade )

Or maybe a dell or sony?



I know whats a semi-good computer, but I have no clue about laptops.

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

If you plan on keeping your system for more than a year, a 64 bit system with 4 gigs of RAM will be worth it.

PD

To really see any gains from going 64 bit you have got to use at a minimum 8 GB and not 4 GB as commonly believed.
This is to offset the larger memory footprint 64 bit programs have (because of 64 bit instructions that is 8 bytes vs 4 bytes for 32 bit programs).

[Spike88]

ColorEspresso Black
Operating systemGenuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
ProcessorIntel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P7550 (2.26GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
MemoryFREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard driveFREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Graphics card1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4650
Display17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
Primary optical driveLightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
PersonalizationWebcam Only
NetworkingWireless-G Card with Bluetooth
TV & entertainment experienceNo TV Tuner w/remote control
KeyboardHP Color Matching Keyboard
Primary battery8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Modem PortNo Modem
Productivity softwareMicrosoft(R) Works 9.0

Here's the dv7t I'm thinking off. $1,016.78, 999.99 for the laptop an extra 16.99 for a mouse. Plus free shipping.

ColorEspresso Black
Operating systemGenuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
ProcessorIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
MemoryFREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Graphics card1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
Display15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
Primary optical driveLightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
PersonalizationWebcam Only
NetworkingWireless-G Card with Bluetooth
TV & entertainment experienceNo TV Tuner w/remote control
KeyboardHP Color Matching Keyboard
Primary battery6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Modem PortNo Modem
Productivity softwareMicrosoft(R) Works 9.0


Here's the Here's the dv6t Quad. $1,041.78, 1024.99 for the laptop an extra 16.99 for a mouse. Plus free shipping.


The only difference between the two is one has a 2.26 Core 2 duo and the other 1.6ghz Quad.

So far from what I've seen HP is a better buy than dell in terms of power and price. Haven't really looked at Sony Vaio yet.

[Arclight]

If it's for gaming I'd say go for the dual-core. A lot of load get's put on a single core; 1.6GHz might be a bit light.

That said, games are becoming more efficiently multithreaded.

That Radeon should prove to be a bit faster as the 230M as well... I think.

Originally Posted by goldorak

To really see any gains from going 64 bit you have got to use at a minimum 8 GB and not 4 GB as commonly believed.
This is to offset the larger memory footprint 64 bit programs have (because of 64 bit instructions that is 8 bytes vs 4 bytes for 32 bit programs).

Larger footprint yes, but not double. Shouldn't be, at least.

[Spike88]

Originally Posted by Arclight

If it's for gaming I'd say go for the dual-core. A lot of load get's put on a single core; 1.6GHz might be a bit light.

That said, games are becoming more efficiently multithreaded.

That Radeon should prove to be a bit faster as the 230M as well... I think.

Larger footprint yes, but not double. Shouldn't be, at least.

Okay, so the Dv7t is not only cheaper but better in performance.

What settings do you think games like L4D2, SH4, Empire Total War could be played at?

[Arclight]

Ooooh, I don't know. I'm not a big fan of gaming on laptops.

SH4 shouldn't be much of a problem, though it might slow down in harbors. Not a clue on L4D2, Empire maybe medium.

Just a guess really, I think you'd be better of asking someone who actually has experience with that chipset.

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by goldorak

To really see any gains from going 64 bit you have got to use at a minimum 8 GB and not 4 GB as commonly believed.
This is to offset the larger memory footprint 64 bit programs have (because of 64 bit instructions that is 8 bytes vs 4 bytes for 32 bit programs).

There is an increase in memory footprint, but like said before definitely not double. If you have 4 or more gigs of RAM it's worth it IMO, but more is better of course. A processor that works in quad words is rapidly becoming standard, if you have the memory it's silly limiting yourself to 4 bytes a register and a maximum of 2-3 GB of data in memory. Reading data from a hard drive into memory is super expensive performance wise.

PD

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

There is an increase in memory footprint, but like said before definitely not double. If you have 4 or more gigs of RAM it's worth it IMO, but more is better of course. A processor that works in quad words is rapidly becoming standard, if you have the memory it's silly limiting yourself to 4 bytes a register and a maximum of 2-3 GB of data in memory. Reading data from a hard drive into memory is super expensive performance wise.

PD

What I wanted to say is that if you have 4 GB of ram a 32 bit os will be just as well as a 64 bit one. To gain a definite advantage with a 64 bit os you really have to go beyond 4 GB ram even if you use 32 bit programs. Otherwise its just not worth the cost.
As far as disk drives, if you have an ssd wether you're using a 32 bit os or 64 bit os you'll see the computer fly.
Buying a top of the line ssd (slc mostly) but also mlc ssd's will give you an enormous advantage that no upgrading video card, processor or memory could ever give you.

[SteamWake]

In the age of fast reliable terrabyte drives those 320gig drives seem small

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

In the age of fast reliable terrabyte drives those 320gig drives seem small

Well of course if you have a p0rn collection then yes 320 GB is small.

[Arclight]

I've got 400GB worth of game-installs. Don't even get me started on the pr0n collection.

Originally Posted by SteamWake

In the age of fast reliable terrabyte drives those 320gig drives seem small

Not to mention ridiculously expensive. As in: over 10x more expensive.

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by Arclight

I've got 400GB worth of game-installs.

damn I don't even keep 5 games installed simultaneously.