Neil P Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 This thread is mostly bragging, but I do have one small question about it.I'm buying a new laptop! It's not only my first laptop, but it's also a Windows machine when I thought I'd only buy Macs from here on out. They're just too expensive for what I wanted to use it for. Anyway, specs:Intel® Core™2 Duo* Processor T5500 (1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB), Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium 32-Bit, Onyx Blue Metallic, Microsoft® Office Ready Suite 2007 (60-day trial), 2048MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (1024MBx2), 17" Widescreen XGA+ TruBrite™ display (1440x900), NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7600 with 128MB discrete graphics memory, 100GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial-ATA), DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive, Intel® PRO/Wireless LAN 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g), Li-Ion Battery (6-Cell, 4000mAh)So, the whole reason I wanted this was for some gaming. I'm really in to World of Warcraft, and am looking for not only a better machine (currently playing on my mac mini, which works, but only at the very lowest settings) but also a machine that I can use at work. It's very boring at my job and this will let me watch movies, play some games, whatever. Just something to do.That having been said, I couldn't help myself. I didn't really need this powerful of a machine, but while customizing it I just had to go for the better stuff. The nerd inside me overpowered the frugal guy inside me I wanted Core 2 Duo, so that was an upgrade, but then I saw the 667 MHz FSB one so I had to get that instead of the slower one, so then I had to get better/more RAM, then a video card, then a 7200 RPM drive....but at least this way it will last longer than a strictly budget machine, and hopefully run Vista better while at it.And of course, there is my question. Since the machine will primarily be for gaming, is Vista really my best bet? Should I format and dump XP on it? If so, can I go back to Vista in the future? Oh, I didn't mention anywhere else, it's from Toshiba. I don't have a shipping date yet, but supposedly they ship in about 8-10 business days. Hopefully I have it by next Friday, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll probably get it the 9th or 10th. Unless this is another "super long estimate just in case" deal, but I doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 It should run OK according to this from ExtremeTech:http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1968997,00.aspI have Vista Ultimate but some of my games will not play on it like COD, COD2 and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil P Posted March 30, 2007 Author Share Posted March 30, 2007 Yeah, I'm more worried about weird installing issues than pure performance stuff. I know with XP trying to install older games sometimes needed the crazy compatibility modes and even then didn't always work. It's good to know that WoW should play without issue, and hopefully WarCraft III (made by the same people) will be similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Take the Extremetech "results" with a pinch of salt ... they were testing under the Beta of Vista ... it is, however, pretty accurate. Be aware, older games with some sort of copy protection will/may give you a big headache ... it is left to the game manufacture to supply an hack/fix or a "workaround". Some are not. nVidia have been "plodding" trying to supply decent drivers, though, with their recent release, I did see a remarkable improvement over MSs originals, especially in Guild Wars & Oblivion. I'm not a fanatical gamer, but I am re-playing Oblivion, especially since I got Knights of the Nine ... oh, and it, along with Oblivion DO show up on the game's menu. You may want to consider upgrading to 4Gb memory ... I find 2Gb is fine, but Vista, and you, will benefit if you are a Gamer. Nice spec ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfProRM Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Warcraft III should work without a hitch on Vista. I'm able to play Diablo II and Starcraft with no issues, so there's no reason WIII wouldn't work just as well.I'm running Vista on a slower machine with only 1 gig of RAM and have had no performance issues. I'm able to run Titan Quest on high settings, and NWN2 on medium-high settings, so everything will look very good on your machine. As far as RAM goes, 4 gig does seem to be Vista's sweet spot, however in a laptop, it's much more expensive to get there since you only have 2 RAM slots. You'll be able to do anything you want to with what you've got, and can always add RAM later.The only thing I've found in Vista is that games run best with the sidebar turned off. That's the only thing I do before launching a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Congrats on the new computer...great specs! :thumbsup:More RAM if you can afford it is always good for gaming!If this is your gaming machine mainly, then I would definitely try to live with Vista if you can on your games. They even have the new XBox integration where you can be the 'master.' And apparently many are liking that.There is a wiki Vista compatibility list for programs including games and some work arounds for certain programs/games at iexbeta.com here:http://www.iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Wind...patibility_ListHave fun!NOTE: Adam has gotten Ubuntu to work on his new laptop (I think that's a Toshiba as well, but he would have to confirm that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patio Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 I'm feelin left out...everyone's getting new gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Mo' Better Gears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 NOTE: Adam has gotten Ubuntu to work on his new laptop (I think that's a Toshiba as well, but he would have to confirm that).Yes. :)I am running into a problem with sound, though.Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil P Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 Ok, so I've had the machine for a while now. It's great. Vista runs extremely well, I haven't had a single problem with it yet (knock on wood). It's super fast, windows appear almost instantly. Aero is no big deal, I could go either way on it. All the stuff that was in the sidebar or the dashboard or whatever they call the place for widgets (er, gadgets ) I turned off, just to get the screen space back.I'm using ReadyBoost, but I don't know if it is actually having an impact. It kinda seems like it, but then again it could be me wanting it to be faster. I'm using an Apacer HT203 2GB flash drive, which a lot of places on the Internet say is very fast in ReadyBoost.UAC hasn't been much of a bother to me, I think it's a step in the right direction. Other than that, it doesn't seem like such a huge leap over XP. Definitely worth getting Vista on a new machine, outside of that I don't think you're missing much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 You didn't answer the most important question - is it great for gaming? That's why you bought the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil P Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 It plays them pretty well! I can see more than 5 yards ahead of myself while playing WoW (useful to see enemies before they are on top of you!) so I consider it a useful purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I consider it a useful purchase. That's what counts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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