Ultralight vs Gaming . . .

[kainlongshot]

I'm in the neighborhood for an ultralight. I do game and I have a good desktop rig reserved for that. In the past I have bought a number of desktop replacement laptop in the form of large heavy, space heaters. For the most part it wasn't a big deal. I was in college at the time but didn't need to lug it around class aside from the occasional exodus back home for Xmas and Thanksgiving.

I've got a job now and have some spare income to plop down for another laptop. In contrast to my prior years, I'm very interested in an ultralight. I travel every now and then but find that having a laptop is convenient when I go on trips, lan parties, watching TV and surfing. I've got a desktop that can play games on higher settings and I'm ok with playing games at smaller resolutions as long as frame rate is around 30ish.

I do have a question. I have been trying to do my fair share of research but I'm a little torn. Games I play primarily are CS:S, lots of WoW, CoH, Guild Wars, and Oblivion. I'm interested in something less than 5-6 lbs and looking for a screen of 13.5 or smaller. Everyone is telling me to get at least a 8600gt (or equivalent). Only problem is I see a lot of larger laptops with this set up but not many ultralights. Most ultra lights are packing 8400gs instead. Many are also saying 8400m GS's are pretty crap for games. Which I can agree.

So I'm torn and a bit lost. I eventually want to play UT3 maybe Crysis (it looks ok). I'm not big on visuals when it comes to laptop gaming. I understand its asking a lot and probably the impossible: 13 incher, ultralight, with a 8600gt, that doesn't' cost an arm or a leg.

My questions:
Would a 8400gs let me play UT3 at normal framerates with everything set to low. What the heck are the system requirements?
Is there such a laptop that has a screen size less or at 13 inches that can pack a 8600gt?
What are your impressions of the Dell 1330?
What other ultralights would you recommend?

 

[shredman]

"My questions:
Would a 8400gs let me play UT3 at normal framerates with everything set to low. What the heck are the system requirements?
Is there such a laptop that has a screen size less or at 13 inches that can pack a 8600gt?
What are your impressions of the Dell 1330?
What other ultralights would you recommend?"

1. Not sure what system requirements are for future games.......but 8400GS is a decent little gpu if you can accept lowered res and options.
2. Nothing less than 14-15" can pack 8600gt. Closest thing I found is 14" T61p with Quadro 570 at 128mb.
3. Dell 1330 is nice and sexy, good performance at lowered settings with todays games, long build time and expensive.
4. see below.

Wow, you are asking for more than the market can deliver right now. I think you will have to compromise on something....either ultralight w/limited gaming or a little bigger for decent gaming on games out right now....for future games it's anyone's guess.

An integrated gpu (ie...X3100) should be able to handle Wow, CSS, and Guild Wars at lower resolution and med to low settings - no oblivion or Crysis.

An 8400GS will take it up a notch, but you still won't be sitting pretty for future games like UT3 and Crysis, although they may still be playable at low res and settings (this is pure speculation of course). (The 8400GT gains you much better performance.)

Going up a step to the 8600GT will allow you to play current games like Wow and other non-demanding games totally maxed out. Not sure about future games but you should be ok if you can lower your res and options.

So, the 8600GT sounds great, right? Only problem is that you can't find it in a Sub 14" or even sub 15" laptop.

Right now you could get a nice little laptop ok graphics:
Toshiba U305 series - 13" X3100

Another Step up and still small:
Sony SZ series - 13" 8400GS Newegg Link
Dell 1330 - 13" 8400GS

Getting a little bigger:
HP 2500 series - 14" 8400GS
Dell 1400/1420 - 14" 8400GS

and the smallest 8600 I could find is:
IBM/Lenovo T61p - 14" Nvidia Quadro 570 128mb (equiv to 8600GT with modded Geforce Drivers)

Upcoming:
Asus V2S - 14" rumoured to have 8600GS
Asus F8SV- 14" w/8600GT or ATI 2600 (pretty big and heavy for a 14" though)

If you can stand the extra lb of weight, the 15" T61p has the 256mb Quadro 570 and isn't all that much bigger. HP business also makes some nice, thin 15" models with very good graphics cards 8510p(ATI 2600) and the 8510w(Quadron 570 256mb). Other 15" options w/8600GT Dell Vostro 1500/Insp 1520, Asus G1S, Sager 2090/Compal IFL90,

Basically, you need to decide what you want, size or 3d gaming ability. The Sony SZ is a very nice (if a little fragile for me) laptop with a very nice screen and a decent graphics solution, but it is pricey. The U305 is a nice machine but the X3100 won't be great for demanding 3d games at all. The HP 2500 is a surprisingly small 14" with a decent card in it for a fair price.... While if you want to go bigger, you can really start getting decent performance. But really, you will need a beefy laptop (C90S or a 17") to get desktop like performance.

It's a tough choice, I recommend you really put some thought into size and weight as your primary consideration because if you need major mobility, you will want small and light, if you don't really NEED it to be small/light, you can get MUCH MORE gaming performance with at 15".

Something you didn't mention but I think is important is the durability of the laptop. If you are going to put it into a backpack and tote it all over the place, you may want to get a business class laptop that is made to be durable (T61p, 8510p/w, Vostro, etc...)

I was in the same boat as you and decided I didn't really need ULTRA light, just light and easy to carry and DURABLE since I will be travelling all the time. So I went with a 14" T61p with Quadro 570 128mb. I loaded the modded Geforce 163.44 driver from Laptopvideo2go.com and I get a 3dmark05 score of 5739 with all of the factory bloatware process still running.

My recs:
13" = Sony SZ configured at Sony Style.com
15" = HP 8510w or Lenovo T61p (both use Quadro 570m 256)
14" = Lenovo 14" T61p with Quadro 570m 128mb

Good luck![/i]