Laptop video card question

[Cathryes]

I have 2 choices to pick from:
256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200

or

256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™

This will be my main PC for school but I also do gaming WoW, DAoC and a few others.

What one would give me the best bang for teh buck?

Thanks

 

[Ford_Prefect]

The X1400 by a country mile:

Go7200

3DMark03: 2700 points
3DMark05: 1450 points
3DMark06: 674 points

X1400

3DMark03: 5070 points
3DMark05: 2270 points
3DMark06: 900 points

 

[mattthenewb]

I just spent a few months in laptop hell and I would advise against it altogether.

You can get twice as much performance for half the price on a desktop machine. Plus you don't have to worry about people stealing your PC, dropping it, and the overall fragility of the things. Not to mention the lack of upgradability on them.

Now I know what you'll say: But I need it for notes! I sang the same tune when I went off to school two years ago. Trust me, its not hard to take notes with your hand, get a binder. Professors dont talk any faster than a high school teacher. I went through hell more than once with hard drives that died because the things are right underneath the keys you pound on all day.

If you really want mobile word processing, the best thing you can do is put the bulk of your investment in a good desktop and then plunk down around $150 for the cheapest used laptop you can get. Depending on where you're located, you can get them from local PC dealers, or try ebay. All you need it for is a mobile word processor.

I spent a pretty $1,700.00 on my PC laptop when I went to college. Top of the line, great deal, faster than my desktop at the time. But you have to remember that you can always get the same specs for half in a desktop. And carrying around all that power and investment in a fragile plastic case can be nerve-racking. Laptops are overrated.

PS: And just because your Laptop GPU has the name of a real powerful Desktop one doesnt mean its the same thing. I had a 128MB mobile Radeon in mine, and it wasn't until I got it that I learned I could never play certain games on it because T&L lighting wasn't a feature. Whatever you get, know that certain features and functionality you would expect on a desktop equivalent will be stripped.

 

[cleeve]

WoW will run fine on either, most other games won't though.

But if you're getting it primarily for other stuff and secondarily as a light gaming machine, an X1400 will do fine.

 

[schwinn]

I agreee with Matt... you don't need a laptop for school (unless you want it stolen more easily, or broken more easily). You simply will not use it in class, as many "think" they would. Unless you absolutely MUST have the portability (a student often does not) you're better off with a desktop for value and reliability... and especially for gaming.

 

[TurdBurglar]

I could not agree more. Much of the population sees a laptop as a necessity for college students when that couldn't be further from the truth. Just a result of marketing.

 

[Parge]

yeah, they are right, i just spent 3 years at uni, two of my housemates had laptops, guess how many times they took them outta the house. yes, thats right, once. Get a desktop, no question

also, I had my laptop stolen first week of uni, got insurance, got a desktop, couldnt be happier!