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General discussion

New Game Dev Laptop specs compared (help me choose!)

by shahedc May 18, 2009 4:51PM PDT

Hi all,

My most recent laptop is from Dec 2007, a Dell Inspiron 1521 with a 15" widescreen display and no 3D graphics card.

I am looking to get an additional laptop for game development and gaming:
* 15" XPS M1530
or
* 17" XPS M1730, which is almost twice its weight!

I don't mind the smaller screen of the 1530, and can appreciate the price difference... but will I miss the M1730's dual GeForce 8700M GT 512MB GDDR3, if I get stuck with the 1530's GeForce 8600M GT with "only" 256MB video ram?

How about the Ageia Physx processor, only available on the bigger machine... will I find that useful for game development or the current games on the market?

specs for all 3 machines are below:


-------------------------------
XPS M1530
-------------------------------
Processor: Intel

Discussion is locked

9 Posts
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p.s.
by shahedc May 18, 2009 4:56PM PDT

p.s. I copied/pasted the data from a spreadsheet I wrote up, so items that have nothing after the ":" implies "N/A"

e.g.
SECURITY: (blank)

means that the machine doesn't have any SECURITY item, such as the fingerprint reader.

and

Carrying Case : (blank)

means that no carrying case is included.

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The 8600M is a no sale item.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator May 18, 2009 8:48PM PDT

Type 8600M DEFECTIVE at google to find out more so this helps reduce it to the other two.

If you intend to use this as a laptop, I'd see if the 16 inch is available.
Bob

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oh wow
by shahedc May 19, 2009 2:59AM PDT

oh wow, i didn't know that!

From Engadget.com:
"according to a report in The Inquirer, every single G84 and G86 GPU in the 8400M and 8600M series of cards is affected"

On a side note, I was reading your post on my current Dell Inspiron 1521 and tried to respond to it, suddenly my screen went dim.

I tried to reboot it, but the KITT-style XP boot screen just kept blipping left and right forever. Maybe the laptop had overheated? (I had left it on last night)

Anyway, I am letting it cool upside down right now, with the battery removed, to see if that helps, and I'm on a different laptop right now.

As for 16" gaming laptops, I see that there's the Dell Studio XPS16 for "multimedia" stuff. It only comes with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD3670 with 512 MB RAM, which is apparently not suited for high-end game graphics.

Maybe it's time to look at Alienware?

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I have some HD3650 desktop card.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator May 19, 2009 3:11AM PDT

I think that's a very nice solution. Your third laptop seems to be a value item and not a gamer unit.

The only issue I have with gaming on a laptop is "gaming on a laptop."

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ok...
by shahedc May 19, 2009 3:29AM PDT

right, the "3rd item" is the laptop I primarily use right now. Happy

I am looking at the 1st and 2nd as possible candidates for a new gaming laptop.

I think I can safely ignore the 1st item because of the potentially bad graphics card, and lower specs.

The 2nd item looks great, but is closer to $2k...

But, I just found a Gateway on BestBuy that has excellent specs, with 9xxx graphics card, and is just over $1k, and has good reviews on BestBuy and on the XNA game development forums.

So, maybe I'll go for the Gateway...

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While I don't buy a lot of warranties.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator May 19, 2009 3:47AM PDT

You should price in at least the 2 year coverage. Just my (free) advice.

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2 year coverage...
by shahedc May 19, 2009 4:07AM PDT

2 year coverage... for the Gateway?

Hmm, I've never had coverage for any of my computers. I still have really old computers that still work, until I give them away.

p.s. my Inspiron laptop came back up after I let it cool off. Happy

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first of all
by JonTitor May 19, 2009 9:02AM PDT

the XPS 16's 3670 is quite a bit better than the m1530's 8600m
but yes overall I'd say the Gateway FX is a good deal for a gaming laptop
otherwise for something smaller go with the ASUS G50Vt
if you want something even more powerful though check out PCTorque.com

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looks cool...
by shahedc May 19, 2009 10:46AM PDT

looks cool... they have the 98xx series and new 2xx series too!

and the prices aren't bad either!

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