Simple Laptop Question

[RRFish]

I'm limited in my knowledge of computer hardware, so before I make a purchase I wanted to bring a question to those who know the equipment better than the salesmen themselves.

To start, I'm a simple gamer. I have an obsession with World of Warcraft and Blizzard games, and my wife enjoys playing Sims 2.

I am getting to purchase a laptop while on a budget and right now I am eyeing the Dell Latitude 131L with the following specs:

OS: Windows XP Home Edition
Mem: 1GB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM, 1 DIMM
Vid: ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™
HD: 80GB HD (more than enough space)
Optical Drive: 8X DVD+/-RW
Wireless LAN: Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card

Will this video card smoothly run the above mentioned games and be practical for basic web surfing? (Also out of sick curiousity, do you think I could run Oblivion on this machine?)

Thanks in advance,

-RRFish

 

[sw123]

Might run oblivion, probably not well though. Dont get HyperMemory btw, its just not any better. That laptop should play WoW and the Sims 2.


sw123

 

[RRFish]

Might run oblivion, probably not well though. Dont get HyperMemory btw, its just not any better. That laptop should play WoW and the Sims 2.


sw123

Unfortunately that is the only Video Card they offer.

 

[sw123]

All right then, it should do

sw123(wanna now my real name? PM ME! )

 

[twite]

Whats your price range?

 

[RRFish]

Whats your price range?

Just about $1000. I'm going to be stationed in Japan soon and we are wanting to get a laptop with our tax refund. The further under in price the better. This one will cost us about $940.

 

[twite]

check this one out

http://www.compusa.com/products/pro...uct_code=341653&Pn=Pavilion_dv6113us_Notebook

Will this video card smoothly run the above mentioned games and be practical for basic web surfing? (Also out of sick curiousity, do you think I could run Oblivion on this machine?)

Maybe on low settings, and im not sure about smoothly. The laptop in the link has a better vid card.

Heres a 17" for under $1000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...RW+NVIDIA+GeForce+Go+6100+NoteBook+%2D+Retail

 

[RRFish]

Twite,

Thank you so...so...so...so much! I completely forgot about Newegg.com. Years ago I ordered a video card from them which I installed on a computer I received from a school I was going to. I loved their service and their guarantee.

I am going to order this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834149046 from them. I think it will perform the job that I am wanting it to perform.

-RRFish

 

[twite]

No problem

By the way it has 2 hour battery life (normal for larger laptops), so just make sure you are ok with that. If you are using it at home it shouldn't be a problem as you can plug it in, but when traveling you may need to by a dc charger.

 

[RRFish]

No problem

By the way it has 2 hour battery life (normal for larger laptops), so just make sure you are ok with that. If you are using it at home it shouldn't be a problem as you can plug it in, but when traveling you may need to by a dc charger.

That should be fine. Even when I take it on a ship I should be able to utilize a ready power source.

Now a question about the battery...is it possible to buy additional batteries and keep them charged. (No, I'm not too familiar with laptops.)

 

[twite]

You could buy an additional battery, charge the battery in the laptop, then take the battery out and use it as a spare. I am not sure how long it will retain its charge for, but I'm guessing long enough.

BTW, good luck with your deployment, and stay safe.