Laptop purchase req for WoW 4

[lb63640]

My college-freshman son wants to purchase a laptop, primarily to play World of Warcraft. (Insert GeekMom's sigh here b/c she's not into gaming and would rather him spend that extra time working on that big term paper which consists of two index cards and an idea in his head, or even pursuing chasing girls on campus.) Anyway, it's his money and his time that he's spending, so I need some Tek-Tips help on the purchase specs.

WoW basic system reqs are a 32 MB 3D graphics card with hardware Transform and Lighting, such as GeForce 2 or better. We've got a Dell Inspiron 1720 spec'd out and it has a 256 NVIDIA GeForce 8600M video card, but the quote is running around $1,500 and that's really going to bust his budget.

TigerDirect has some decent refurbs for around $600, but they have an Intel integrated 950 graphics interface. How would that hold up to something like WoW sessions? I can't find a comparison chart to see how the Intel gi stacks up to conventional video cards.

Any suggestions much appreciated!

 

[ArizonaGeek]

The problem with refurbs on Tiger Direct is that they only come with a 90 day warranty and at best you can buy an extended warranty but you may have to send it someplace if it ever needs repairs. Also, don't fall for any of their rebates either, they make it almost impossible to get a rebate check back.

Have you checked Dell's refurbs? At the very least you can get a decent in home warranty with them and can usually find some great deals. (We got some fantastic deals on servers from their outlet store) Click Dell.com then click on Home & Home Office on the right, at the top click Dell Outlet then Laptops and see what they have available.

I am sure HP offers a similar program as well. Good luck!

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[ATLMatt]

You can run WoW with all the settings turned down to the minimum on most modern laptops, even ones with crummy built in graphics cards, but the performance ranges from playable but ugly, to unplayable.

You can run WoW and have it look and handle nicely while maintaining a decent frame rate on any of the higher end laptops that come with Geforce 7600 or 8600 video cards, or the equivalent ATI cards.

Here are 2 examples of less expensive gaming laptops that I pulled off Newegg.com. (I haven't used either, just going by stats)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834227036

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220163

You usually won't decent gaming laptops for a reasonable price retail, but there are a lot on-line. You could also look at a small form factor PC with an LCD monitor, if he needs to save space but doesn't have to be mobile. Hope this helps.

 

[ArizonaGeek]

Check out FXEZXCE8 under the Dell Outlet Laptops, thats a good one for $1029 and should more than do what your son needs for his game.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[kmcferrin]

Avoid anything with an Intel GMA video chipset. It will be slow, choppy, and ugly. But it will do in a pinch. I used to play WoW on a system with a GMA 950, and it wasn't a very pleasing experience. Anything with an Nvidia 7x00 or 8x00 chipset should be OK, as would anything with an ATI 2x00 chipset. I suspect that the ATI 1600 or later series would be OK too, but I wouldn't recommend the 1150 or 1250 lines.

 

[Sympology]

or even pursuing chasing girls on campus

funniest thing I've heard here for while!
At least he won't still be paying for the laptop in 18 years after a drunken night!

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[lb63640]

StuReeves, you make a really good point and just made this mom smile

Thanks to all for the good advice on the graphics situation. Son has decided on a Dell Vostro (likes that numeric keypad on the right) with a 17" display, 1.4 Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 256 NVIDEA GeForce 8600M, Audigy sound, 250 GB hard drive. Otherwise, he was going with an Inspiron and same specs. We were able to call in some favors and get it for around $1,100, so he's happy.

Stars to all and thanks again!