Laptops, I need some advice Options

[The_redeemer]

I'm trying to decide between


SONY SZ120P/B T2400-Centrino Duo


Carton Size WxHxD 14.8 x 5.3 x 11.5 inches
LCD 13.3"WXGA with XBRITE™ Technology (1280 x 800)
Processor Name Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2400
Processor Speed 1.83 GHz
Hard Drive 100GB/2.5"/5400/SATA with G-SenseTM Shock Protection
Memory 1024MB(512MB/DDR2/533/SO-DIMMx2)
Hybrid Graphic System NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7400 withTurboCache™ supporting 128MB
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 128MB dynamically allocated shared (RAM/Video) memory
Wireless Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (802.11a/b/g)
Integrated Bluetooth® Technology
Optical Drive DVD+R Double Layer / DVD?RW Drive
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition with Service Pack 2
MOTION EYE™ Built-in Camera
Biometrics Trusted Platform Module(TPM) Biometric Fingerprint Sensor






HP dv8230us T2300 Centrino Duo 17"WXGA; 1GB DDR2; 160GB [2x80]; LS&DL DVD+-RW; 802.11abg; WIN MCE; TV Tuner

Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology featuring Intel Core Duo processor T2300
1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz Front-side bus
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [802.11a/b/g] LAN
1GB 667MHz DDR2 System Memory [2 Dimm filled of 2 slots] max to 2GB
160GB [5400 RPM] Hard Drive [80GB x 2]
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 with 128MB discrete + 128MB shared
Lightscribe and Double Layer DVD+-RW Multimedia Drive
17.0" WXGA+ High-Definition Ultra BrightView Widescreen [1440 x 900] Display
6-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader
High speed 56k modem
Integrated 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet RJ-45
Altec Lansing Audio
101-keyboard and Touch Pad
11.1" L x 15.62" W x 1.48"/1.82" H
8.1 lbs. approximate weight
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005




TOSHIBA G35-AV600 T2400;17"WXGA TruBrite;1GB DDR2;160GB SATA;DVDRW DL;802.11abg;TV Tuner;256MB VRAM

Intel Core Duo Processor T2400
1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [802.11a/b/g]
1024MB [2 x 512MB] DDR2 SDRAM
160GB [80GB X 2] 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Fixed DVD SuperMulti Double Layer Drive
17" WXGA Ultimate TruBrite Display
NVIDIA GeForce GO 7300 with 256MB GDDR2 SDRAM VRAM
Lithium IOn 6-cell battery
RGB, 4USB, TV-Out, S-Video out, RJ11/RJ45, ILink 1394, SPDIF, AV IN
Toshiba Qosmio Player
Toshiba TV Tuner
1-Year LImited Warranty
10.1-lbs unit weight; 16.75-lbs box weight








these are the three laptops i'm looking at getting for graduation. My question is, with these, will i be able to play games with good quality?


I have been trying to find the comparisions between the GO versions and the standard graphics cards. I'm trying to find a laptop that is decently priced, and will future proof me for games for at least a while. any suggestions or insight?

[Silver]

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

[Ouch]

What are the differences in prices. I think you will probably have no problem at all with any games that are on the market atm. Have you looked at dell. They are also pretty comparable to what you are looking at.

[ScrapyardBob]

I see you're smart enough to load them with 1GB of RAM. (My next work laptop will have 2GB... the 1GB in the current unit isn't quite enough for my busy work-cycle with a dozen apps open at the same time.) The more RAM you buy now, the longer the unit will stay useful. Trade CPU speed for RAM if you are strapped for cash.

(Adding RAM to an older system is a good way to breath new life into a unit. Especially if the user is constantly in the swap file.)

Sony's are over-priced. Plus that unit listed uses shared-RAM for the video card (which is slow slow slow for any sort of gaming).

60-100GB is about right for disk space. You'll want to exercise control at how much you install on a system. An external USB/Firewire drive is a must so you can make backups (Acronis TrueImage and Second Copy 7 work well together. Acronis for the quick restoration of the full system, Second Copy for quick restoration of a single deleted / overwritten file.)

Make sure you have a DVD-writer, or at least a CD-writer. DVD Dual-layer is somewhat pointless (disks are $2ea vs $0.25 for the single-layer), so don't kill a deal based on whether the drive does dual-layer.

3-year warranty is a must. Get a 5-year warranty if you can. A modern day laptop should last you a minimum of 8 years if you treat it properly. (My laptop is already 4 years old, I just got the keyboard and DVD replaced. Soon I'll hand it off to a less-demanding user who will probably use it for another 4-5 years.)

Hard to make a recommendation without knowing your budget.

Apple is a good choice. Toshiba might not be bad (we've only used the Tecras which have been moderately reliable and can't speak to how good the consumer Toshiba units are).

There's generally a big difference in quality between consumer level and business level machines. Laptops like the Thinkpad T43 or the Toshiba Tecra or the PowerBooks are built fairly sturdy and are designed for heavy use. Consumer level machines are flimsier and not as sturdy.

...

Just for the record, my next work laptop is going to be a Thinkpad T60p with 5-yr warranty (~$3200). But I don't do gaming on my laptops.

Model 2623DDU - $2200 base cost
Intel Core Duo 2Ghz
WinXP Pro
15" UXGA (1600x1200)
2GB RAM (2x1GB) (2nd GB is $200)
256MB ATI Mobility FireGL V5200
100GB 7200rpm SATA
4x DVD recordable drive
model / gigabit ethernet / WiFi LAN (A/B/G)
USB 2.0 ports
MS Office Professional $300
Advanced Mini Dock $200?
Roxio Easy Media Creator v8 $90
5-year warranty ($250?)

Needless to say, that's a 8 to 10 year machine right there. I'll probably use it for 4 years before handing it off to a less demanding user to use for another 4-6 years. Things have really slowed down in terms of how fast system speed is increasing.

Most systems built after 2000 will probably last around 10 years before being completely out-classed. (As long as they're running Win2000 or WinXP and have been maxed out on RAM.)

[Churchill]

I agree with silver MACBOOKS are the best laptops IMO. They may run OSX but wow are they good

[XYZ Factor]

dont know about playing games but I would go with the 1st one