Playing VGs on Laptop
 

Well, apparently I'm getting a laptop for Xmas, which means I'm not going to upgrade my computer (Thanks for the help before however). I was wondering how is the laptop for playing games? Are there any videocards capable of playing the latest source games, like TF2 or Portal?

And is there any way to connect my 8600GT to a laptop? That's probably just ridiculous. xD

Well... If you told us what the laptop was, perhaps we could help out.

Most newer integrated graphics chipsets handle Source engine games pretty well. Dedicated ones handle them beautifully. My MacBook Pro has an 8600M GT (I'm not sure which desktop graphics card it is equivalent to), and it rocks. Hard.

Asus have some kind of external graphics solution in the pipeline, but I haven't heard about it for a long time.

That's the problem. I don't know what I'm getting. And I need your suggestions =)

How much did your MacBook Pro cost? I think my price range is below a grand.

Well. I think the best mainstream video card is the 8600M. I mean, they do have better mobile graphic cards on the market, such as the 7900M, but most of them only come with the high priced gaming laptops/desktop replacements.

In fact, if I recall correctly. I think Dell may be the only one that lets you put the 8600 in their default 15.4 widescreen. I think HP stops at the 8400, which is a terrible card. I just priced one out. By choosing the 8600, you'll have an okay $1000 laptop for playing source games. I run an x1400 on my dell and it can handle source games at medium quality decently. Slight hiccups on detailed maps.

MacBook Pro is at least twice your budget. It starts at $1999.

No, you can't connect your 8600.

If you want a good gaming system for $1000, a homebuilt PC is a much better solution. Techreport and anandtech both have had system guides for a good price. Especially anandtechs, which has $700 budget option that can be boosted to a good gaming system with a purchase of a ATI 3850 or nVidia 880GT.

TR's Christmas 2007 system guide - The Tech Report - Page 1
AnandTech: November 2007 Budget Buyers' Guide

Nah, I'm forced to get a Laptop. But thanks for those sites.

How's this?

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
LCD PANEL
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™
MEMORY
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
HARD DRIVE
120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
OPTICAL DRIVE
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability
VIDEO CARD
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT

$908 / $1,248 (if Vostro 1700)

Is that okay for source? I don't mind about the HDD, I can get an external. And I prefer XP over Vista.

Okay Ghey. Why is Dell USA much cheaper than Canada? At least 300 less.

It should be fine. You won't be able to run things at full whack and get fabulous frame rates, but it can handle Source games at medium with little or no problems.

The slow hard drive does lead to a bit slower loading, but it's a really minor issue. The price difference between 5400 and 7200 isn't worth it.

I might get this instead, since it's much cheaper. I forgot to use the Canadian site. I used a coupon which brings it from $1400~ to a little over $1000. Do you think that's worth it?

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB), English
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition, English
Ruby Red Color with Microsatin Finish
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280 x 800)
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm
120G 5400RPM SATA HDD
256MB NVIDIA ®GeForce™8600M GT
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

I know I'm coming in late: If you plan on using that Webcam, then the price increase of ~$100 might be justified. A CPU clock increase of 0.2GHz on a Core 2 Duo really won't give you that much of a boost in performance since the graphics are still 8600M GT.

I'm not sure how the 8600M GT compares to the actual physical GDDR3 8600GT PCI-express card, but my 8600GT and Athlon X2 4800+ with 2gb of PC5300 DDR2 RAM lets me play CSS maxed on my Vista desktop at 1440x900. Going by that, your laptop theoretically should be able max CSS, but I'm not guaranteeing anything.

Yeah. I figured that much, but the deal in the site pretty much restricts what I can get. Nonetheless, it still comes cheaper than the Vostro, which is $1400 CAN, without the coupon.

Any laptop with the 8600M is pretty fine. Both my Mac and a friend's Dell XPS have this card, and we can both run Bioshock at maximum settings with around 40fps average, and all source games are at a solid 50-ish framerate. Original Half-Life 2 runs at about 80fps.

Awesome. I just got a Inspiron 1520. Thanks for the help.... and HOPEFULLY, this TIME. It'll even let me play some freakin games. >_< (Damn my PC and its lack of PCI-E slot).