Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Recommend a good laptop for a Game Design student

i have a amd 64bit proc and it has the radeon 9700 hungury on battery but nothing really has boged it down as far as gaming goes

the more you spend on a top of the line rig now
the further you can go with out buying another one down the line

i like my toshiba satellite p25 s-609

You could certainly get into an Alienware, I've never bought one but they always seem to have good reviews.

I'd pass on a dell, their reliability is pretty sad these days.

Going along with Sigma (he nearly listed the specs of my laptop ), Dell offers the XPS2...

Even though it has childish looks (LEDs all over it), it boasts gigabit ethernet and the 256MB Nvidia 6800 Ultra, which apparantly has a huge advantage over the 6800go found in the 9300. The XPS2 comes standard with all the highest options off the 9300 like the WUXGA (1920x1200) "shiny" screen, 2.13(?)GHz P-M, wireless, bluetooth, etc.

Other than the gigabit and ultra card, the XPS2 and 9300 are virtually identical. Configured the same, they're only a few hundred dollars off (all of that probly in the ultra card).

Also there's talk of Dell replacing the 6800 ultra for the 7200 when Nvidia releases it. Both the 9300/XPS2 have the standard PCIe port so you can upgrade the video... But as far as people can tell, the ultra will not work in the 9300 w/o the XPS2 bios and the ultra heatsink out of the XPS2. So it's better to get the XPS2 from the get go.

Things you need to upgrade the go to the ultra: XPS2 bios, heatsink, PSU, battery, and 6800 ultra. Reason is the XPS2 bios won't boot w/o the 130W AC adaptor and 9-cell battery. The 9300 comes standard with the 90w AC adaptor and the 6-cell battery (9-cell is optional).

BTW, my laptop is this:
Dell Insiron 9300
1.6GHz P-M
Intel wireless (to complete the Centrino package)
Bluetooth
17" WGXA (1440x900) screen
80GB hd
512MB DDR2
256MB Nvidia 6800go PCIe graphics

I guess I should mention I paid $1247 shipped next day air. Got it off Dell outlet. Yeah, it's refurbished, but it was less than a month old when I got it. Still have a warranty on them.

Check out the 9300/XPS2 forum. Pretty busy over there, so lots of good info.

EDIT: not to mention what Tom's Hardware says about the XPS2:

Originally posted by Tom's Hardware Guide:

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What is the most powerful notebook out there, period? Dell's Inspiron XPS Gen 2 notebook offers nothing less than superior 2D and 3D graphics performance compared to any other laptop we've seen to date.







Our tests confirm the claims we made in our preview article earlier this year - the Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2's performance is the best we've seen so far in the notebook space. Its horsepower can take on many high-end desktops as well.

It creams the Acer Ferrari 4000, for example. Granted the Acer is a thin and light with some good gaming speed, but the winner is clearly the Dell XPS Gen 2.

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link

Ninja!

Seriously stay the fock away from any of these FOR PROFIT education establishments. Do some research and see how the Fed's have been cracking down on them. They are falsfying their grad rates, placement rates, and everythign else.

Get to a normal college and do the 4yr plan, most companies LAUGH at these programs offered by these type of schools and know their training is way below that of a 4yr institution.

Call some prospective companies you would like to work with, companies like Take Two, EA, Sega. Call and talk to their Recruting/hiring rep and ask them where they recruit their employees from.

Call a headhunter who specializes in gamin and find out if students from your school ever get placed.

Do your homework before you ever step foot in. These schools are notoriously bad and their used car-salesman like tactics to get you to sign while they get you student loans is ridiculous. These guys make commission, normal 4yr schools do not base their acceptance on your ability to pay!

I would take his advice. I'm not kidding you, I haven't met you but I would actually talk face to face about it.

There's one thing you left out, though, FMR. I'm not saying anything you've said is not true (as it is certainly so with so many schools!) but it's also all about the student.

I have an awful feeling these schools recieve a bad rep because idiot students who didnt learn anything but were passed actually made it to good companies; and were fired. What about the smart students?

I try to see myself as an aspiring student who studies outside of class (which isn't hard, it's all creativity and fun!) and I think a good portfolio can save the interview.

As for your next choice of laptop, everyone's certainly got you covered Ninja! I will say though, the scenes I've built and rendered do not take long to render, do not lag, etc. I'm running an old Radeon 9000 64MB card.

I imagine the Athlon Barton 3000 and 512MB of ram more than assist it, though

Good luck finding your choice! (Go with Sigma's!!)