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General discussion

Games On Laptops

Jun 25, 2005 8:03PM PDT

Ok, so im going to buy a Hp ZD8000 is this notebook good for running games like half life 2 and doom 3. Whats specs would you look for if you were going to get a notebook where you could play them kinda games?

Also what notebooks would you say were good for gaming, multimedia, picture editing and and editing movies?

Discussion is locked

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Laptops are not good for gamers.
Jun 26, 2005 12:50AM PDT

Every gamer on any laptop has bemoaned the laptop.

While you can get decent performance (define that?) with an 128MB Dedicated 9700 or better video card, and bump up the hard disk RPMs so it's not as sluggish the desktop wins on lag and more.

Don't be delusional. It's a compromise and may result in a hot, heavy laptop with no battery life.

Outside of gaming, the other items look easy.

Bob

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What?
Jun 26, 2005 8:09PM PDT

I completely disagree. As the proud owner of a Dell Inspiron XPS2, I can safely say that some laptops are fantastic for gaming.

To the OP, look at Dell XPS2/9300, Sager, Alienware, and Voodoo for high-end performance laptops. The most important factor in gaming performance is the Graphical Processing Unit - GPU.

Look for a Geforce Go 6800 or 6800 Ultra -- it's currently the king of gaming on the go.

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" king of gaming on the go." # "gamer"
Jun 26, 2005 9:14PM PDT

You'll have to run into a "gamer" that is upset at any lag or less than 60 FPS and then you find that no laptop rivals today's gamer desktops.

This is a compromise that some "gamers" will not make.

Bob

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That's odd.
Jun 27, 2005 4:00PM PDT

And when the Dell XPS2 came out, the Geforce Go Ultra had a HIGHER clock speed than it's desktop processor. Only now with the newest graphics cards would any gamer be "comprimising" by choosing a laptop, because of the 7800 from Nvidia.

The fact that my XPS2 cannot compete with the top of the line gaming computing desktops 2 days after the new cards are released is bound to happen. Should we say that all desktops suck too, because in 6 months they won't be top of the line? That's essentially what you're saying.

My XPS2 doesn't lag. It runs Half Life 2 at 110+ fps and BF2 at 60+. I'm a hardcore gamer and I adore this laptop. Now then, I believe you were making generalizations about the entire population of gamers? Of course, afterwards you've specified it to "some", which could very well include the OP.

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Sounds great.
Jun 27, 2005 10:05PM PDT

I wish I didn't have to hear from gamers complaining about their laptops.

Have fun,

Bob