Notebook Computers

[Rabenschwinge]

I am considering to buy a new relatively high performance notebook computer. The very latest edge of technology might be too expensive though...I am just wondering, whether or not up to date grphics chips can keep up with recent games. I am not expecting anti aliasing, I'd be content with simple shadows on a notebook computer, but I need to get a stable frame rate of no less than 18 frames per second, with a median of around 25 frames per second...
Is that possible with a notebook computer? And if so how long can a notebook computer this (if at all) from battery? What nVidia & ATI chips are recent, and which are effortable if you wanna stay below 2000€, 1500€ or 1000€?

[KeystoneMan]

Personally I hate laptops for gaming. But Im sure youll be able to find on that runs CO. Although you might want to wait for CO to out to know what you will need.

[rabb1t]

I am just wondering, whether or not up to date grphics chips can keep up with recent games.

Totally. I recommend you look for a higher end Nvidia series 9 or 2xx chipset, or high ATi 4 series.

The problem is that the minute you buy it, that's when it starts to decline. Since you can't upgrade it, you will always be falling more and more behind as time goes on.

I am not expecting anti aliasing, I'd be content with simple shadows on a notebook computer, but I need to get a stable frame rate of no less than 18 frames per second, with a median of around 25 frames per second...
Is that possible with a notebook computer?

Very.

And if so how long can a notebook computer this (if at all) from battery?

Depends on the system and the battery. Gaming systems will last anywhere from 1.5 to about 3 hours on battery power. There will be very few locations you can play from though which don't have power, so you should always be around power.

That being said, you really can't play online games 'in the wild' all that well. While your system may have playable framerates I have yet to find anywhere which "streams" data. (Connections can either stream without pausing, or swap between users, causing pauses in info if you are doing something that is a constant flow.) If you've gamed during the modem days you are very familiar with "pausing" which happens every few minutes. This is very common with WiFi in the wild. Right now I'm restricted to playing at Starbucks on my netbook (the only place I've found that's fast enough to game with) and I'd say on average my ping is around 1,000, as high as 3,500, and I'd say I tend to pause for 5-30 seconds once about every 5 minutes, sometimes far more frequently. It's fine for doing solo questing, but I wouldn't want to risk grouping with it. There can be combats where I'm literally completely lagged out for 25-50% of the entire combat. (Thank the gods solo questing combats can easily be won by auto attack alone.)

So... if you are thinking you can get a high end system and carry it anywhere and have the same kind of gaming experience as you do with a desktop at home on a landline, that's just not going to happen. (Unless you are carrying it to a friends and connecting via landline.) Even with the most amazing system you are more than likely going to be plagued by WiFi issues. If you are homeless and can't game at home, sure, it's tolerable. If not you are likely to get frustrated pretty quickly.

What nVidia & ATI chips are recent, and which are effortable if you wanna stay below 2000€, 1500€ or 1000€?

Again, Nvidia series 9, as example 9800 M GT, or the series 2 which for some reason on mobile is called GT 130 M. You don't want any lower than a 9600. On ATi's side you want a higher series 4, as example ATi Mobile Radeon 4870, though a higher end series 3 may be ok.

I have no clue what the price is in Euro, but in the U.S. you are really talking about $1200+, you might be able to find something in the $1-1.2k range, but it likely would have really terrible battery life or a meh screen.

I'd recommend you look for nothing lower than 1440x900 res for gaming. You can game on less (note that my netbook is 1024x600), but just like the WiFi pauses, it can quickly become frustrating, particularly if you commonly see a desktop screen to compare to.

- - -

Unless you absolutely need something to game with I'd highly recommend you look at a Netbook, such as the Asus 1000HE, and leave gaming on the desktop.

I paid $380 for my Asus 1000HE and +25 to upgrade it to 2 gig of ram. It has much much higher battery life and is lighter than a regular laptop. I gamed for like 3 hours last night on Bejeweled Twist while waiting for Star Trek and it still showed 50% battery remaining. That just wouldn't happen with a regular laptop.