Gaming laptops -- wait for it -- for chicks!

[Gordon Berg]

Can't have a hardware forum without the requisite laptop question.

The wife has officially decreed we can get a gaming laptop. However, since this laptop will be something she occasionally travels with, it has to be as light as possible. I'm not kidding when I say she has *zero* upper arm strength.

Therefore, any suggestions as to where to start? And since I haven't followed this technology lately, is there a consensus as to which videochip set would be preferable? I'm sure the debate still rages over ATI (Mobility?) vs. nVidia (GeForce2Go?), but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

I suspect the current gaming focus of it will be MMORPG's, etc, but it'd be nice if it was viable a year from now as well (if such a thing is possible).

[Case]

Dell Inspiron 600m's come in at just under 5lbs, but only have a mobility Radeon 9000 -- not a bad 3D chip, but not a terrific performer, either.

Most of the other thin-and-light notebooks have lesser graphics. I've checked into IBM, Toshiba and Sony; they offer, at best, ATI Mobility 7500's.

[Gordon Berg]

Dell Inspiron 600m's come in at just under 5lbs, but only have a mobility Radeon 9000 -- not a bad 3D chip, but not a terrific performer, either.

Most of the other thin-and-light notebooks have lesser graphics. I've checked into IBM, Toshiba and Sony; they offer, at best, ATI Mobility 7500's.

So, to put this into proper context, what sort of game would you be disappointed with trying to run on an Inspirion 600?

[Brandon Clements]

Which MMOG's are you thinking of? I've tried Earth and Beyond on a GF2Go and a Mobility 7500, and it ran well enough at 1024x768. As long as it isn't a really graphics heavy MMOG (think Planetside or maybe one of the newer expanisions of EQ), a 9000 should be OK. I wouldn't try any modern FPS's on it, though.

[Case]

Dell Inspiron 600m's come in at just under 5lbs, but only have a mobility Radeon 9000 -- not a bad 3D chip, but not a terrific performer, either.

Most of the other thin-and-light notebooks have lesser graphics. I've checked into IBM, Toshiba and Sony; they offer, at best, ATI Mobility 7500's.

So, to put this into proper context, what sort of game would you be disappointed with trying to run on an Inspirion 600?

I'll bet most of the current MMORPG's run fine, with the possible exception of Asheron's Call 2 -- and even that may be okay. I suspect Morrowind might be slow, but most other games will probably play fine.

[Gordon Berg]

Well, she's playing DAOC right now, but she's got her eye on World Of Warcraft next January.

Slow for Morrowind? Damn...she loves that game.

[Case]

Well, she's playing DAOC right now, but she's got her eye on World Of Warcraft next January.

Slow for Morrowind? Damn...she loves that game.

If you go for the 1.7GHz Pentium-M and the 64MB Mobility Radeon 9000, you'll probably get decent performance. That's roughly the equivalent of a 2.5GHz P4/64MB Radeon 8500.

[Case]

Well, she's playing DAOC right now, but she's got her eye on World Of Warcraft next January.

Slow for Morrowind? Damn...she loves that game.

I should note that there are faster laptops with better graphics -- but they weigh 6.5lbs or more, and have lower battery life.

[Gordon Berg]

Great stuff as always, Loyd. Thank you! (and thank you too, Brandon ) :D

[gnmarsh]

depending on your wallet pc gamer just reviewed a new voodoo laptop that they really liked.