Anybody game on a laptop?

[Glockstar]

I'll be getting a new computer soon, but have recently been tendering ideas of getting a super laptop instead.

Though I don't PC game much, I'm still going to want a PC/laptop that will be good for gaming - because you never know when I might get into it.

Actually, with the way S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s looking, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting into PC gaming around September. :D

Anyways, I read Lara's thread on flat-screen monitors and have started to wonder about gaming on a laptop. Like, maybe that's not such a smart idea.

The laptop I'm really interested in is the E-Machines M6000.

From C-Net:
This week, eMachines announced the first 64-bit-processor notebook from a major PC maker, offering state-of-the-art components and a 15.4-inch wide-aspect screen on its new M6000 series. This desktop replacement is the first notebook with the Mobile AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor--which lets you crank on high-end graphics, multimedia, and games--to arrive in CNET Labs.

Upside: The M6000 series' spec sheet reads like a who's-who list of top components. In addition to the aforementioned AMD processor and 15.4-inch screen, this notebook sports 512MB of DDR memory, a 60GB hard drive, a DVD-RW drive, four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, 802.11g wireless networking, and a six-in-one memory-card reader. In addition to all that, the notebook weighs only 7.5 pounds--light for a desktop replacement--and costs less than $1,600.

Downside: If you don't need much out of your notebook, you can pay less than $900 for a basic budget machine. Also, 7.5 pounds might be reasonable if you're leaving the notebook on a desk, but if you travel with your laptop a lot, you might want a system that weighs less than 4 pounds.

Outlook: eMachines became the fourth-largest PC maker in the fourth quarter of 2003, according to IDC, putting it ahead of Gateway and Apple Computer. The new M6000 promises to keep the trend going, so check back for a full review.

C-Net tech sheet:
http://reviews.cnet.com/eMachines_M6000_series/4507-3121_7-30674686.html?tag=dir

Well, I've read thru enough of y'alls responses to know that, by and large, you VGR eggheads (read PC gamers ;) ) seem to know what you're talking about. So anything you guys have to say on this subject would be much appreciated.

-

Oh, and btw, I started playing Icewind Dale a while back. I know what that wasn't the game that y'all really reccomended... but it was "handy". I like it - but the going's been slow.

I didn't know that you had to create your own party right off the bat! I made a big mistake in that I approached it like a console RPG - so I was waiting for new party members to join me! Well needless to say, my one guy kept getting his azz kicked! I'd barely beat one enemy (if even that!), then have to run all the way back to the inn for some rest and healing. (Meanwhile wondering, where are all the healing items were - I can't find any!?!) Then go back to the spot where the baddies were at - and repeat the process all over again. I did this for... quite... a... while too. :o D'oh!

[E.T.]

I can think of many reasons for wanting a laptop to game on...three this week alone :[1] passing time @ family wedding rehearsals [2] waiting in big city traffic congestion *as passenger* [3] not having access to my desktop but having free time to game.

The down side for gaming on laptop is current cost of quality units & battery life.

Speaking of eMachines, didnt Gateway just acquire them?
Id pick one up for portable gaming if price was $1K or less.

Re: Icewind Dale experience, lol, I went through the same w/Disciples2 first time around. Man was I ever at a loss to figure things out in beginning. D2 & AoW: Shadow Magic are my current addictions [& easy on system requirements too].

[Jasmania]

I have a Dell inspiron 8000 that I got a few years ago. It was the first model available with a Nvidia Geforce mobile graphics card. I love it. I can play games & watch DVDs when I travel. I got all kinds of oohs & ahhs when I traveled to Italy and played Jedi Knight Outcast & Ghost Recon and watched my own movies during the 10 hour flight.
The batterys are always an issue.
I bought a N-Power 10 hour battery before my trip and would recommend getting one it you plan on using your computer away from electrical outlets for any period of time. It fits in my carry bag and also powers my PDA & cell phone if need be. I got mine for about $300.00.
Auto & airline adapters are also a must for traveling. I would recommend spending the extra cash to get an UXGA screen. I compared all the options and if you do watch DVDs & game with your laptop you will want the best screen resolution you can get. After UXGA, SXGA just doesn't cut it. Also, make sure you get a laptop with a good graphics card. Both Nvidia & ATI-Radeon are making great cards for mobile systems. Don't get stuck with an intergrated chip soldered to the mother board.

Welcome to the world of mobile gaming!

[Glockstar]

E.T.,

I hear ya, on those three reasons.
And here's one more reason why I'm leaning towards a laptop now: I coulda headed over to my folks yesterday if I'da had a one. But because they don't have a computer, and because I've got @%#$ #@$%ing homework to do, I won't be going over there until this evening.

I don't know anything about the Gateway acquisition(?), but I'm curious about what you've said about the high cost for a quality unit. This e-machines I've been looking at seems quality to me, and for what it's got in it, I don't think there's a better deal to be had. Thing is, I've been under the impression that I'm going to want what this M6000 (M6805 to be exact) has in it, at the least, if I'm thinking about playing some of these new and upcoming PC games. As that right, or am I slightly deluded here? I mean, are you, and Jasmania, telling me that I can get a laptop that will be able to handle these games for a lot less than this one?!?

Yeah, you like that story about Icewind Dale, huh? I ultimately had to start all over, because when I finally realized that I had to create my own party it was too late. Because all of the new party members I created were then wusses, and kept dying, and I still had the same problems as before. Only more of them! :mad: :(

-

Jasmania,

Thanks for all of the advice.

But like I asked E.T. above, are you suggesting that I can find a good laptop for gaming for around $1000?!?

This e-machines I'm looking at has a 15.4-in WXGA screen. I've done a little bit of research on XGA/SXGA/UXGA, but I'm still a little confused. How does this WXGA comare? I mean, as I understand it the "W" is for "wide", right? So if you go the "W" route, then you don't get to do the "S" or "U" thing - or what?

One of the main draws for me on this e-machines is that it does have the best graphics card that I've seen in a laptop - the ATI® Mobility RADEON™ 9600 with 64 MB Video RAM. That's pretty good, right?

[Renzatic Gear]

If you want a PC mainly to play games on then it probably isn't a good idea to go the laptop route. I know that, according to the readme file, Farcry doesn't particularly like the Radeon Mobility cards, and if you wanna play STALKER in all it's glory you'll probably want to get a top of the line card.

Overall it's a great computer, any game besides the next gen FPS's it'll scream, and really it might be able to play the most recent games fairly well, but if you want the absolute fastest speed with all the coolie effects turned on I'd go with a desktop setup.

lol, and nice avatar. ;)

[Jasmania]

Here is what I know in regard to screen resolutions.

"U" in UXGA stands for ultra. "W" stands for wide in WXGA. "ppi"= pixel per square inch

UXGA has a native resolution of 1600X1200 with 142 ppi
WXGA has a native resolution of 1280X768 with 129ppi
I have read about UWXGA screens that have a resolution of 1900X1200 with 147 ppi



Also- I'm not saying you can get a top line Laptop for less than $1000.00. Expect to pay in the $2000 range more or less for a good laptop capable of running more recent games.
Also, don't skimp on the memory because so many current games require 512mgs to run reasonably smoothly. I do recommend a laptop for gaming, but RG is right, I'm not sure that any current laptop will run the next gen games with full out visuals. I have a killer gaming PC and use my Dell for travel. Just get the best CPU, graphics card & as much memory as you can afford. The Radeon mobility is definitely among the best options available right now.

Hope this helps.

[E.T.]

Price is the biggest deterent for me purchasing a laptop. Its not just that intro price can be high, theres the additional costs of batterys/charger.

Dell has some of the best [dollar] value mahines out there,but I admit I havnt checked out eMachines yet.

Check out these specs for Dells Inspiron 5100 for $989:
Base Model Includes:
Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.66GHz and 533MHz Front Side Bus
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
15" XGA TFT Display
32MB DDR NVIDIA GEForceFX Go 5200 Graphics
256MB DDR Memory
8X DVD-ROM Drive
Starting at 8.25lbs
Ofcourse you can upgrade hardware.

Good God, a P4 2.66 laptop for under $1K? I paid nearly $2K for a similar desktop a year ago!

Glockstar, if you decide to purchase a laptop for gaming, keep us posted on your choice & how it performs for gaming & other tasks as well, thanks.

E.T.

[E.T.]

Heres a link for Inspiron notebooks specifications, ranging in price from $720 to $2300:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Link me the eMachine you are looking at.

[Renzatic Gear]

Just make sure you do alot of research on the graphics card you're gonna get. The 5200 cards, which might be good by laptop standards, isn't exactly what I'd even call a fairly good card on the desktop scene. In most cases a (non MX) Geforce 4 is faster, and you pay about the same price.

[Glockstar]

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Hope this helps.
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Indeed it does.

And I thank ye! :D

-

<div class=\"smallfont\">
Dell has some of the best [dollar] value mahines out there,but I admit I havnt checked out eMachines yet.

Link me the eMachine you are looking at.

Ofcourse you can upgrade hardware.
</div>

I'm not doing Adele - er, I mean, a Dell. :p
I've heard too many bad things about their customer service - from people that I trust. (No offense.) Emachines doesn't have the greatest reputation either, I know. If I were looking to buy a desktop there'd be no way in hail that'd even think about getting an emachines. But, I've heard good things about their laptops.

This link should take you directly to the M6805 page on the emachines website...
http://www.e4me.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6805

Also, in my initial post I included links to the C-Net website, and their pages regarding this machine. If you check it out, you'll see that this laptop is currently getting a 98% positive user rating. (There's not many of them, I know - and some of the reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt - or thrown out completely - but still...)

Are you sure about the upgrading bit?
From what I understand, the only thing that you can really "upgrade" on a laptop is the memory; I've heard that everything else in it is stuff that's "stuck" to it. (i.e. the videocard.)

<div class=\"smallfont\">
Glockstar, if you decide to purchase a laptop for gaming, keep us posted on your choice & how it performs for gaming & other tasks as well, thanks.
</div>

You betcha!

-

<div class=\"smallfont\">
If you want a PC mainly to play games on then it probably isn't a good idea to go the laptop route. I know that, according to the readme file, Farcry doesn't particularly like the Radeon Mobility cards, and if you wanna play STALKER in all it's glory you'll probably want to get a top of the line card.

Just make sure you do alot of research on the graphics card you're gonna get.
</div>

I hear ya.

The Radeon 9600 is the best videocard that I've seen put into laptops. Well... laptops that cost less than $2000, I mean.

Still, I don't know if any of the mobile-videocards have more than 64MB video RAM.
Is that the biggest hangup for using a laptop to play the next wave of super-games (i.e FarCry, Doom3, and STALKER), you think?

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lol, and nice avatar.
</div>

Why, thankee!

Yeah. Sally Mae's pretty hot ain't she?
That's my new girl! And I only just met her yesterday. ;)

[Renzatic Gear]

Biggest hangup? Hmm...dunno. I haven't really looked into laptop hardware before so I'm really just basing this on little stuff I've heard here and there. Your processor and everything is fine assuming that it'll run at full specs even when you have the thing plugged in, most laptops have a powersaving mode, and they don't like to break away from it even if they're not using the battery..

Assuming that the Radeon Mobility 9600 is about the same as what you'd get on a desktop you won't have too many problems running games like Farcry, Doom 3, and STALKER. You might have to tweak a few settings here and there, but for the most part it should work pretty alright.

I'm still more about recommending a tower since laptops have a whole world of weirdness that you wouldn't get by building a regular comp like the powersaver mod and really tricked up hardware...I can't say that all those games you want will run without a hitch on it. I'd say that if you wanna swank out then go with the laptop, but if you're worried about dealing with potential problems then get a desktop.

[Glockstar]

RG,

Yeah.
Thing is, the laptop fulfills more of a need right now. And honestly, PC gaming is not really one of my needs - not at all.

If it were, I'd definitely go with the desktop. I've been looking at those as well, as the fact that you can get almost twice the machine for the same price - or even for less - is not lost on me. Still, I'd like for my next desktop to be a custom build; but I'm not going to get into that for a while.

Look, you know how I follow this hobby of mine. So you know that even though I don't really PC game, I still happen to catch wind of some pretty cool sounding PC games - games that I really would like to play. Like STALKER. But... you can't do everything. Right?

Still, I'd like to do as much as possible. If you know what I mean.
The laptop may not be the best way to get your PCgame on, but if it can do alright - and it sounds like you guys are saying it can - then that sounds like the way to go for me right now. Because the reality is, that I'm really, probably, only going to get a little bit into PC gaming anyway.

Heck, as sweet as STALKER looks, I honestly don't know if I'd really get around to playing it - even if I had the pen-ultimate gaming rig (which would be a $4000 AlienWare PC, right? ;) ) - because there are other games coming out for the XBox around the same time that I'm really looking forward too - and that I know I'm going to be spending a lot of time with. Namely, one Halo2!

So while STALKER is pretty high on my watch list, I have got to be realistic about it. I mean, it really wouldn't be very... prudent... of me to go out of my way for just one game.

Like I said tho', I do like to cover as many bases as I can.
(And well, maybe I'll get lucky... and I'll get to do everything!)

But I totally appreciate everything that you've said.

[Renzatic Gear]

You know you don't HAVE to wear the Star Trek t-shirts, right? That's just what some of the PC ubergeeks do. Just to give you an example of the power of the PC...I can actually go online, kill a few guys in UT2k3, then log off and surf for porno....THEN photoshop funny pictures of my ex's and post them on internet messageboards they'll never go to so I don't get in trouble. You can't do that with the Xbox can you? HELL NO! Therefore PC>Xbox....I think it's time you stepped into the light and join us down here in the PC section, man.

I think everyone else around here will agree with me. Your kitty consoles just can't compete..
http://users.chartertn.net/greymatt/haha.jpg

Oh..but in all seriousness. That laptop probably will run STALKER fairly well. It's possible you might have to haggle and tweak it a bit, but hey...if you do we have the tech forum down below.

[mandark]

The laptop from E-machine should be able to run most of the games that are currently out now. There is one major downside that was not listed. And that is video card upgradeability. The 64 bit cpu should last you a couple of years as far as that is concerned. But the problem is more and more games are coming out that requires more from the video card than the cpu.

I currently own an Inspiron 4150 with an ATI 7500 32mb. It was great until the newer dx9 games came out(far cry, SC:PT, Prince of Persia, etc.) None of these games will run from my laptop and that really ticks me off since I have been spoiled with mobile gaming. Heck, I game at work sometimes. Heh.

If I was going to get a new laptop today I would really look into laptops with upgradable video cards like the new Dell XPS and the laptops from Alienware. The downside here is the $2500.00 plus price tags. Ouch.

[no.1gamer]

I'll tell you about my only experience with laptop gaming.

When I was living in the college dormitory my hallway would participate in LAN gaming. Counter Strike: Half Life was all the rage at that time. Everyone of the unfortunate students using laptops would just get smoked time after time. I could have probably single handedly taken on teams of 2 or 3 laptop gamers with my desktop. It was that bad. Plus the fact that I'm not even very good at Counter Strike.

I would suggest that you stick to slower paced games (maybe turn based) on a laptop. Don't expect to jump online and play competitively with all games on a laptop.

But this was a few years ago, so I'm not sure if laptops have come a long way since then.

BTW Gear, your ex is hott.

[mandark]

I'll tell you about my only experience with laptop gaming.

When I was living in the college dormitory my hallway would participate in LAN gaming. Counter Strike: Half Life was all the rage at that time. Everyone of the unfortunate students using laptops would just get smoked time after time. I could have probably single handedly taken on teams of 2 or 3 laptop gamers with my desktop. It was that bad. Plus the fact that I'm not even very good at Counter Strike.

I would suggest that you stick to slower paced games (maybe turn based) on a laptop. Don't expect to jump online and play competitively with all games on a laptop.

But this was a few years ago, so I'm not sure if laptops have come a long way since then.

BTW Gear, your ex is hott.

Laptop gaming has come a long way since the time you have mentioned. I have played online with my laptop from CounterStrike, Ghost Recon, America's Army, BF1942, Call of Duty, and Unreal Tournament 2004 and found no difference in performance against my desktop. The only problem with laptop gaming is upgradability unless you spend the 3 to 4 grand for the newer laptops with upgradable video cards.

[Renzatic Gear]

Yeah...too bad she's insane.

So they have video upgradable laptops now? That's pretty damn cool, too bad adding an expansion port seems to add an extra $2500 to the pricetag for no apparent reason...if it drops down in price, and I see what kinda videocards they come out with (I've never seen a standalone laptop videocard before), I might finally consider picking one up.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

I just have to add my input here- 1000 dollars is NOT going to buy you a laptop (or desktop) that will run STALKER- not in a million years. You'll need to throw about 3000+ into one; do that and you'll be assured it'll still be powerful enough to run the game when it comes out. Didn't read the whole thread, but that's my .02 cents.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

Yeah...too bad she's insane.


Yegad! You still pining over that chick? You dated her like, what, 6 years ago now?

[Renzatic Gear]

lol, like 4 months ago now after the big Kristy breakup..you knew about that. It kinda started after July 4th last year.

Read the specs on that one laptop up above. An AMD64 with a Radeon Mobility 9600..it's not a bad machine and could probably run STALKER fairly easily.

[Glockstar]

I went into Circuit City today, with every intention of walking out of there with that emachines notebook that I've been talking about... but ended up walking away with nothing but a headache - and more questions. :(

Everything was going good, until I decided to get in one last look at the other laptops they had on display.

And that's when I saw... it.
It being an HP Pavilion (model# ZV5160US) with...
- processor: HP w. Pentium4 processor 2.8GHz
- 15.4 Widescreen TFT WXGA
- memory: 512MB 333MHz DDR SDRAM
- harddrive: 60 GB
- optical drive: DVD-ROM/CD-RW
- audio: 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro-compatible, internal Harman/Kardon speakers
- modem: Integrated 56K V.90/V.92
- wireless network: 802.11g
- battery: 8-cell Lithium-ion (Li-ion)
- warranty: ???
... with...
- ATI MobilityRadeon 9000 IGP w. 128MB DDR (shared) RAM


As I will show below, it is a lot like the emachines I was looking at (they are even priced the same) except for two things... the videocard and video memory.

The emachines (M6805) =
- processor: Mobile AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (operates at 1.8GHz)
- 15.4 Widescreen TFT WXGA
- memory: 512 MB DDR SODIMM (PC 2700)
- harddrive: 60 GB
- optical drives: DVD-ROM/CD-RW
- audio: PC2001 Compliant AC '97 / Built-in Stereo Speakers
- modem: 56K ITU V.92 Fax/Modem
- wireless network: 802.11g
- battery: 8-cell Lithium-ion (Li-ion)
- warranty: One-year guarantee on Parts and Labor; one-year technical support via telephone.
...with...
- ATI MobilityRadeon 9600 with 64 MB Video RAM

First, I've got to say that I guess I was wrong about that laptop-videomemory-cost thing, eh?
Now the question is, how much does it really matter?

Bah, that's not really the question... the real question is... which one, guys?!?

[Renzatic Gear]

The E-Machine, by and far (never thought I'd say that...)

If I were to base it on an equivalent desktop machine, the only complaint I'd have is the soundcard...everything else is great.

[Hieremias]

I just have to add my input here- 1000 dollars is NOT going to buy you a laptop (or desktop) that will run STALKER- not in a million years. You'll need to throw about 3000+ into one; do that and you'll be assured it'll still be powerful enough to run the game when it comes out. Didn't read the whole thread, but that's my .02 cents.
Without a monitor or printer you can easily get a desktop PC that'll run the latest shooters for under $1000. I got my AMD Barton 2500, 256mb Radeon 9600 XT machine for just over $900 Canadian--what's that, $600-700 US? Granted I didn't get ANY peripherals (I already had a monitor, wireless keyboard & mouse, gamepad, speakers, blah blah blah). But still, hardware prices are falling drastically. As long as you're not so stupid to pay an extra $500 for the miniscule improvement found in the absolute top-of-the-line hardware, you'll be fine. I laugh at the people who paid for the Radeon 9800 XT's.

Unless they're millionaires, of course. Then I envy them.

[E.T.]

The eMachine has better memeory & GPU, BUT what about CPU speed? HP is shown @ 2.8 while eMachine is 1.8.....

btw Glock, are you still considering a desktop, or is your seach strickly laptop?

[mandark]

The eMachine has better memeory & GPU, BUT what about CPU speed? HP is shown @ 2.8 while eMachine is 1.8.....

btw Glock, are you still considering a desktop, or is your seach strickly laptop?

The CPU speed on the E-machines should be faster because its the newer 64 bit cpu's. AMD has a different naming code for their cpu's.

[Renzatic Gear]

Yeah, AMD chips are able to perform as well as faster P4's, that's sorta why you have that rating system. Like my XP 1700 is actually just a 1.45 Ghz, but it can outperform the P4 2.1's when it comes to games.

In fact 3D applications is where AMD's strong suit lies. Intels have always been better business chipsets cuz they're smoother multitaskers, but if you wanna do CAD or Max work, or play games, you go with an Athlon cuz of the superior floating point performance. The actual clockspeed of a chip isn't quite as important as it used to be.

[mandark]

Here is a review on the new Athlon 64 2800+. Its interesting to note that this "slower" cpu is able to best Intel's fastest CPU's in some benchmarks for only $173.00.

I think its time to upgrade my Athlon 1.2 with this baby.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=33&type=expert

Unreal benchmark

[Glockstar]

1000 dollars is NOT going to buy you a laptop (or desktop) that will run STALKER- not in a million years.


Howabout 1500 dollars?

- -


Don't expect to jump online and play competitively with all games on a laptop.


Actually, the thought never crossed my mind.

When I talk of playing STALKER, I'm just talking about playing the single-player campaign. That's the part about the game that first interested me, and, well, it still is.

Other PC games that I'm most likely to get into are the Forgotten Realms RPG's, the Homeworlds, the Lemmings :p ... you know those types of games. And maybe... just maybe... the new Bard's Tale.

Though I did mention them, there's really about a snowballs chance in hell that I'll get Doom3 or FarCry for the PC. Then again... in the words of Lloyd Christmas, 'so you're saying there's a chance?' :cool:

- -


The E-Machine, by and far (never thought I'd say that...)

If I were to base it on an equivalent desktop machine, the only complaint I'd have is the soundcard...everything else is great.


Okay.
You know what guy? I trust you.
The emachines it is.

As far as the soundcard goes... I think it's pretty much a non issue with laptops, isn't it? Because I don't care what namebrand speakers they got on there, rinky-dink speakers like these can't sound very good.

Now, I don't want to open up any old wounds or anything here buddy, but g-at-mer's right... your ex is pretty cute. Sory.

- -

btw Glock, are you still considering a desktop, or is your seach strickly laptop?


Yeah, I've pretty much made up my mind, I'm going with the laptop.

It's just the right way for me to go, right now. It actually fulfills needs.

See, I'm trying to give my image a make-over, and I think carrying around a laptop everywhere I go will make me look cool.

jj :p

- -

I'm still a little curious about something...

Is the 9600 really that BIG of a step up from the 9000? I mean, I'da thought the 128MB of memory would've counted for more than that. ???

[Renzatic Gear]

lol, no open wounds. I've just been bishing about her for years and years now to anyone and everyone. Usually she's brought up in conversations like "you know who I'd like better if she couldn't talk?"

ANYWAY, enough about me..my favorite subject and all but you got teh kwestons.

The first thing that steered me away from the HP and the Radeon 9000 was the unified memory. That sucks badly, you'll wanna stay away from anything that is advertised as onboard or unified cuz it'll just be a huge headache later on....only the Nforce boards actually manage to make it work fairly well, and even it can be a bug on your ass at times.

Second, the Radeon 9000, while being a pretty good entry level card, doesn't even compare in power to the 9600. You wouldn't think they'd be much different considering their branding...just 600 apart, but the performance difference between them is like night and day. Not only that, but the 9600 is also a DX9 card, so you get all those coolie effects from all the new games coming around the bend.

I will admit that since I don't look into laptops much I dunno exactly how a 9600 mobility will compare to an actual desktop 9600, but I hear that those little machines are actually great for playing even the latest games now so I'm gonna assume it's about on par.

Oh, and the amount of ram on a chip is mostly due to the amount and size of textures rendered in a game...there's more to it, obviously, but that's one of the things about it....textures. Since 64 meg is more or less the standard nowadays you won't have too many problems with it...and if you do all you'll have to do is set texture resolutions down to normal or high instead of ultra high or spooky awesome.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

Without a monitor

Indeed- but there's the operative words- without the monitor... a 1000 bucks from scratch just isn't gonna cut it- especially for a good Laptop. Good luck building a comp from the ground up that will cost you under a grand- one that is fully equipped to play STALKER with all the bells and whistles cranked.

[mandark]

Indeed- but there's the operative words- without the monitor... a 1000 bucks from scratch just isn't gonna cut it- especially for a good Laptop. Good luck building a comp from the ground up that will cost you under a grand- one that is fully equipped to play STALKER with all the bells and whistles cranked.

Sorry Steve but I've just built a fully functional computer from the ground up for waaaay less than a grand that is fully functional to run at least FarCry at VeryHigh settings at 1024x768. I don't know about STALKER but if I decide to go with an Athlon 64 2800+ its just gonna cost me $100.00 more than the total I gave below.

ECS n2u400 mobo/Athlon 3000+/w fan combo $179.99
Corsair 512mb DDR $79.99
PC Mid Tower Case $39.99
WD 20 GB HD 7200rpm $59.99
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro $189.99
Netgear NIC $19.99
Logitech optical mouse $14.99
Keyboard $19.99
3 ¼ Floppy drive $9.99
Memorex 52x burner $49.99
Memorex 16x DVD rom $29.99
Total $694.89 USD

I did not add the monitor, speakers and Win XP since I already have them.