So my younger brother is in school for industrial engineering, but is really starting to link up his two passions ... art/design and computer gaming. He has come to me as the resident IBM hookup for a new laptop. Basically, he wants it to a good computer for gaming as well as running 3D modeling programs and the like for his school. He really thinks the laptop advantage will be huge for him as then he can work on it at home, at school dorm, or most of all at the lab where most folks work on stuff as a team, etc.

So ... with that as the backgroun and knowing that desktops are typically "better" for gaming ... what do you think? In talking with a few folks they suggested, 512MB RAM or more, 2.8GHz or more, nVidia graphics card with 64MB RAM or more ....

As far as what IBM has (I can get discounts as employee) here is what I found:

ThinkPad G41(288678U)
Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 538 with HT Technology 3.20GHz
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
512 MB RAM
80 GB HD
15.0" 1400x1050 screen
128MB NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200
7.1-7.1 lbs
TrackPoint
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo IV
Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
56K V.92 designed modem
IBM 11b/g Wi-Fi Wireless

I looked at the Dell's, but was not blown away at the prices ... where usually their desktop prices compete with even employee IBM prices

Whatcha think?

 

Do a search as this topic was just posted earlier with lots of suggestions...

But, my vote is for Toshiba (i.e. Satellite). Best bang for the buck!

 

nice but you might want to take a look at www.alienware.com

 

if image quality is important...get a dell with ultrasharp uxga display...at 15 inches it should be 1600x1200, at 15.4 inches its 1900x1200 (i think)

the laptops tend to be pretty heavy, but I've had my 8600 for about 1.5 years now, and i still using it for gamming

 

How the hell are you supposed to read anything at 1920x1200 on a 15.4" screen? I run that on my 24" widescreen monitor and even then I have to increase the font size sometimes...

 

i run 1600x1200 on my Dell laptop in a 15in screen...very sharp.

usually i would pick a Desktop over a laptop for designing and 3D app. but that ThinkPad G41 doesnt sound so bad. drop in another 512MB of RAM and it should be ok.

I dont know about AlienWare laptop tho...those thing are suppostly big and heavy as hell compare of any laptop on the market. Alienware laptop is a desktop replacement.

 

looks like a pretty stacked laptop, might want to add some more memory

how much is it?

 

My laptop is an Alienware, heavy hot and loud. But its FAST and will run modern games even though its over 2 years old

 

Yeah i wouldnt mind getting a alienware laptop, but i wouldnt get it to travel and use it as my mobile computer.

 

That gforce 5200 wont cut it for the gaming...

I have looked up various laptops when i was in the market for one and the only laptops with truly decent video cards are Dell, Gateway and smaller oem mfgs.. the rest have crappy entry level radeons or even worse the intel extreme graphics.

The ibm does have a model that has the FIRE GL that is nice but its like a 6000 laptop

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

this thing is off the chain

 

HP and Acer also have laptops with good 128MB graphics cards too (I have the latter)...Cheaper alternatives to IBM...although, when it comes to hardware on PC laptops, IBM probably owns all...

 

oh yeah that laptop is loaded.

 

one question....where can i get some of what u're smoking? IBM owns all....

 

Hey, hey...I don't know if that's proven. But, that's what seems to be the concensus with alot of IT techs I chat with.

Personally, I've never owned an IBM laptop...

 

i've worked on a few and its just craper and craper....best laptop brand for mobile computing gotta be the toshiba tablet...with only a 12" screen it run really high res and super clear LCD screen. very light weight...long battery life. not the fastest but fast enought to get a lot of things done.

 

So, you would say that IBMs are kinda like German cars? *cough* Over-rated? *cough*

 

well not over-rated...i expected those kinda quailty from IBM laptop. i take it back they werent crap...their ok...nothing special tho. IBM have made a name for themself for awhile...cant say their crap. but i would only buy a IBM laptop if it was a good deal only.

 

probably explains why i wear glasses

 

but i still suggest no matter where you get the laptop, try to get uxga or wuxga...the difference in crispness and brightness is quite dramatic

 

IBM produces a very high quality product that goes through the second most vigorous testing regime in the industry (first place goes to the Panasonic Toughbook line).

They might not be the fastest on the planet but their technical support is second to none. Every part in the laptop has an FRU # that is searchable through their online database. Even today you can look up 486 based laptops on their website and pull up the full service manuals and drivers.
I used to service laptops a few years ago and I would rank IBM at the top of the pack for overall quality and ease of repair. Dell would be pretty low on the list.

 

I used to have a dell inspiron and that thing was a tank. We have IBM T42s at work and they are nice but they only have radeon 7500 cards which are okay if you like to run your games at 640x480

check this dellio out

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...0_1&l=en&s=dhs

radeon 9700 for 1400 pppiiemp

 

1) Buy a small, light laptop at half the cost of a big, hot gaming laptop.
2) Build a fast desktop PC at half the cost of a slower, non-upgradeable gaming laptop.
3)???
4) profit!

 

What about collecting underpants?

 

what about underpants?

 

ABreece's post is a spoof on a episode of south park. There were these little guys called underpant gnomes that kept stealing tweaks underwear. During the episode they go to where the gnomes are keeping all the underwear. Their business plan is as follows.

1. Collect underpants
2. ?
3. Profit

http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet...-344/epid-2446

 

Thanks for the input guys ...

gfxdave ... is he really gonna struggle with the 128MB NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with his 3D modeling needs? The gaming can be an 8 out of a 10, but he has to be able to do his school stuff with some zip . His peers and teachers seemed to say that a 64MB nVidia based video system does pretty well with the programs so that's why I figured the above would fit the bill and then some.

I think with my discounts and the IBM quality factor ... I'm gonna stay with the Thinkpad brand as the Dell laptops just don't seem to be as packed and untouchable as their desktop systems.

Thanks all ... any final thoughts?

 

what kind of gaming does he plan to do.

 

gaming on a ThinkPad

 

yeah, i'm not sure if the video card is beefy enough. i have the 128MB nVidia GeForce FX Go 5650 4X AGP Graphic and sometimes it lags when i play Warcraft3 on highest quality settings. I also tried Halo and the refresh rates were horrible even with the image quality settings turned down. This is the laptop I have:

Dell Inspiron 8600,Pentium M, 1.5GHz
512MB,DDR,333MHz,2 Dimms, Inspiron 8600 EA
128MB nVidia GeForce FX Go 5650 4X AGP Graphics
60GB Ultra ATA Hard Driv

If I was to rebuy this laptop today for gaming, I would opt for at least 1GB of ram or a 256MB video card. but thats just me.