I'll preface this by saying that I do actually like Dell computers, as long as people aren't buying the cheapest POS system that is currently on sale on the Dell site. A well researched and customized Dell system will generally last for a good amount of time. I can still play CoH on my Inspiron 8200 laptop purchased in late 2002, although I do have to lower the graphics settings quite a bit to keep it fairly smooth.
That being said, I don't see anything that jumps out as being a problem specifically. I don't know if the 4670 will handle ALL of the Ultra Mode goodies topped out, but it should handle most of them. I was told at HeroCon that my ATI HD 4850 1GB card should handle all but one of the settings maxxed out, and that I'd likely never visually notice that I couldn't get all of that one other setting. Not knowing all of the differences between my PCI-e 4850 and your Mobile 4670 card, I'd think it "should" handle most of Ultra Mode.
If it were me, the things I'd look at customizing on the system (keeping price in mind as well) would be top out the Graphics card (if this isn't the top), increase the CPU if possible, maximize the memory (depending on price). Often, it's cheaper past a certain point to buy the memory elsewhere and put it in yourself but if it's a reasonable price differential I'll go ahead and bump it up until the cost differential is higher than I'm willing to pay.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
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Originally Posted by Texas Justice
I'll preface this by saying that I do actually like Dell computers, as long as people aren't buying the cheapest POS system that is currently on sale on the Dell site. A well researched and customized Dell system will generally last for a good amount of time. I can still play CoH on my Inspiron 8200 laptop purchased in late 2002, although I do have to lower the graphics settings quite a bit to keep it fairly smooth.
That being said, I don't see anything that jumps out as being a problem specifically. I don't know if the 4670 will handle ALL of the Ultra Mode goodies topped out, but it should handle most of them. I was told at HeroCon that my ATI HD 4850 1GB card should handle all but one of the settings maxxed out, and that I'd likely never visually notice that I couldn't get all of that one other setting. Not knowing all of the differences between my PCI-e 4850 and your Mobile 4670 card, I'd think it "should" handle most of Ultra Mode. If it were me, the things I'd look at customizing on the system (keeping price in mind as well) would be top out the Graphics card (if this isn't the top), increase the CPU if possible, maximize the memory (depending on price). Often, it's cheaper past a certain point to buy the memory elsewhere and put it in yourself but if it's a reasonable price differential I'll go ahead and bump it up until the cost differential is higher than I'm willing to pay. |
BIG DIFFERENCE between the 46xx cards and the 48xx cards.
If the 4850 is the baseline for Ultra-Mode, the 46xx isn't going to be able to handle it at all. The 46xx series is a low-end graphics card. I had a couple of RadeonHD 4650's that I mentioned in another thread. In DirectX 9 titles on WindowsXP the 4650 only managed about 90% of the rendering power of the Radeon x1900 or the Geforce 7900 GT KO. In Crossfire mode, due to the lack of a hardware bridge, they weren't exactly performance competitor.
Under Vista on DX10, it didn't do much better. I can't find the numbers I had typed down, but compared to the HD 3870 on Vista, it wasn't even reaching half the speed. The 4650 struggled to maintain a 1440*900 playable resolution across titles like Unreal Tournament 3.
While the 4670 is a bit faster, it's got a higher clock speed and I think a Higher memory speed...
It's still way, way, way slower than the 4850.
As I said, I didn't know the differences, and frankly I was too lazy to research them.
I stand corrected.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
I checked a few other systems they had, and it looks like they got a deal on that vid card - it's what they had for the XPS's. You'd have to step into an Alineware laptop to get an NVidia GTX 260M, and then ther other upgrades would be slightly more costly.
I've had good luck with Dells in the past, too - I'm no basher of theirs - but in this case, if you want a laptop, you might also give this site a look:
http://www.xoticpc.com/
I've not ordered from them, although I think I got the site link from someone here who has done so. The have quite a few Sagers and Asus laptops in the Gaming category on their site.
Also, Newegg has laptops listed here:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...ebooks-Laptops
You might find what you want there, as well.
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I would not get the McAfee security suite. It is a memory hog and is not as good as you might think. I would go third party and get Kaspersky or Trend Micro. Kaspersky is the better in my opinion, low footprint, does not slow down a system.
Defcon 0 - (D4 lvl 50),DJ Shecky Cape Radio
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Twitter: @DJ_Shecky, @siliconshecky, @thecaperadio
When you air your dirty laundry out on a clothesline above the street, everyone is allowed to snicker at the skid marks in your underoos. - Lemur_Lad
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Originally Posted by DJ_Shecky
I would not get the McAfee security suite. It is a memory hog and is not as good as you might think. I would go third party and get Kaspersky or Trend Micro. Kaspersky is the better in my opinion, low footprint, does not slow down a system.
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On those systems, they typically offer a 15-month av package of some sort, but normally "none" isn't listed as an option.
If you build a system via the Business route instead of Home, they will often have "none" as an option, but the other options may not all be there.
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Quote:
Actually, you can get it with a trial or none. Honestly, any tech worth anything will tell you not to install McAfee or Norton if it comes on the system (usually a trial and get you to purchase once you go online and give McAfee/Norton your money). |
Originally Posted by DarkEther
On those systems, they typically offer a 15-month av package of some sort, but normally "none" isn't listed as an option.
If you build a system via the Business route instead of Home, they will often have "none" as an option, but the other options may not all be there. |
Just my opinion though.
Defcon 0 - (D4 lvl 50),DJ Shecky Cape Radio
@Shecky
Twitter: @DJ_Shecky, @siliconshecky, @thecaperadio
When you air your dirty laundry out on a clothesline above the street, everyone is allowed to snicker at the skid marks in your underoos. - Lemur_Lad
I appreciate the feedback. Overall, I'm getting the impression the system itself is pretty good, except for the graphics card which is a pretty significant item. Unfortunately, the Dell site does not allow for any other options.
Since I'm in no rush to purchase this laptop, I'll keep looking for a similarly priced system with a better graphics card. After doing some additional research online, I'm getting the impression that an NVIDIA GeForce 260M would be a good graphics card for gaming. Thoughts?
Q. Just wondering Posi, where are the new dance emotes we were told would come with GR?
A. Positron: Whoops, my bad.
1387 badges, and counting
Quote:
Yeah, the Dell site doesn't offer "none" as an option, but your point is taken. |
Originally Posted by DJ_Shecky
I would not get the McAfee security suite. It is a memory hog and is not as good as you might think. I would go third party and get Kaspersky or Trend Micro. Kaspersky is the better in my opinion, low footprint, does not slow down a system.
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Q. Just wondering Posi, where are the new dance emotes we were told would come with GR?
A. Positron: Whoops, my bad.
1387 badges, and counting
Howdy folks. I'm posting on here to see if any of the resident teckies can opine on a laptop I'm eyeballing, which would act as a secondary computer for my home, as well as (obviously) a mobile computer.
I've perused the forums, and noticed quite a few folks recommend the use of newegg.com, and building one's own system. However, I have not the time or expertise to do this, and don't mind paying a little extra for a pre-built system. Apart from usual day to day use (e-mail, internet), the system will also be used for gaming. I currently play CoH, and Aion. Other games played within the past year include Tabula Rasa, and The MORPG We Don't Speak Of.
The system I'm looking at is Dell. I know lots of folks don't much care for Dell, but my current desktop is a Dell, and my previous desktop was a Dell. I've been very happy with their hardware and, when needed, telephone support, which is the reason I'm looking again at a Dell system.
Anyways, here's the specs of the system I'm looking at:
PROCESSOR Intel ® Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows WIN 7® Home Premium Edition
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works, English
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
HARDWARE SERVICES 1 Year Limited Warranty with 1 Year Return To Depot Service
LCD AND CAMERA HD+ Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1680x945) W/2.0 MP
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 1GB
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1397 802.11b/g Half Mini-Card
SOUND OPTIONS Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi MB
Essentials
ONLINE DATA STORAGE 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection
Accessories
MICE Logitech V220 Cordless Optical USB Mouse - Ruby Red
WIRELESS Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless N Broadband Router
PROTECTION Kensington ComboSaver Combination Portable Laptop Lock - Red
PROTECTION Belkin Inc 12-Outlet Surge Protector
HOT DEALS Belkin Pitch Black Laptop Messenger Bag
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Processor Studio XPS 16 Notebook
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages
Total price (before taxes) for the system and all accessories is $1,613 (Canadian dollars). The system itself, excluding the accessories, is about $1,450 CAD. I initially looked at Alienware, but came to the conclusion they were overpriced, which is why I turned to the Dell XPS system.
My primary questions are thus:
1. Should this system provide 2-3 years of reasonable performance before obsolescence kicks in?
2. Will this system run games smoothly at high settings? Put another way, could I be reasonably confident it will run CoH in the new Ultra Mode (realizing specs are yet to be confirmed)?
Any input from the resident experts is welcome.
Cheers!
Spatch
Q. Just wondering Posi, where are the new dance emotes we were told would come with GR?
A. Positron: Whoops, my bad.
1387 badges, and counting