Help me Pick my Laptop

Hi, i am looking for a good performance/gaming laptop, i will play lots of games on it, like Warcraft 3, rome total war, medieval total war, empire total war, and so on.. I also want to use it for my everyday use, email, internet browsing, youtube, and i want it to have a webcam built in because i like to use skype.

So far i have this:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/cart/showcart...._Notebookdetail

Click the plus in the top leftish area to see the specs.

and this:http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do

i have to copy and paste specs

Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) edit
Memory: FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
Hard drive: FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive from 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
Graphics card: 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M edit
Display: 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1366x768) edit
Primary optical drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support edit
Personalization Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid) edit
Networking Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card edit
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control edit
Keyboard HP Color Matching Keyboard edit
Primary battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery edit
Productivity software No Productivity Software



Now as you can see, these laptops are ultimately the same, and my question is, which is more important for gaming, Processor or video/graphics card?


Thanks for reading

Hey dkup69,

With that video card is it 1G of RAM dedicated memory? I'm assuming it is.
The entire system (Which you posted the copied specs of) looks pretty good, but if you're going to use it for gaming that video card is going to be the choke point. Good processor, good DDR2 RAM.

Also, to see a better comparison it would be helpful to see the specs side by side. It depends on alot of different things.

laptops can heat up a lot(i got one lol)
make sure you can one withs lots of fans(or holes so it can air out) and mabye get one of those tray things you put under the laptop to keep it cool

any way are these the games you only gonna play
Warcraft 3, rome total war, medieval total war, empire total war, (you should add starcraft to the list:)

those laptops should do find on those games

This:
Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) edit
Memory: FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
Hard drive: FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive from 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
Graphics card: 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M edit
Display: 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1366x768) edit
Primary optical drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support edit
Personalization Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid) edit
Networking Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card edit
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control edit
Keyboard HP Color Matching Keyboard edit
Primary battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery edit
Productivity software No Productivity Software

OR

# Notebook: Compal JHL90 Notebook 15.4& quot; LCD w/ 2.0 Megapixel Built-in Webcam, Built-in Fingerprint Sensor, HDMI Port, Li-Ion Battery, & Universal AC Adapter
# NOTEBOOK COLOR: XPLORER X5 Notebook Cover (Original Color)
# DISPLAY LCD: 15.4& quot; TFT LCD Display (WXGA 1280x800 Pixels)
# CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Mobile P8700 Dual-Core Processor @ 2.53GHz 1066FSB 3MB L2 Cache
# MOTHERBOARD: Intel PM45 + ICH-9M Chipset Mainboard
# MEMORY: 4GB (2x2GB) PC6400 DDR2-800 SODIMM Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
# VIDEO CARD: Built-in NVIDIA GeForce Go 9600M-GT 512MB Video
# HARD DRIVE: 250GB 5400RPM SATA300 Hard Drive
# USB PORTABLE DRIVE: NONE
# OPTICAL DRIVE: 8X DVD Rewritable Drive
# SOUND: BUILT-IN AC 97 SOUND
# SPEAKERS: Built-in Stereo Speakers System
# NETWORK: Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps Network Card
# MODEM: BUILT-IN 56K V.92 FAX MODEM
# KEYBOARD: BUILT-IN KEYBOARD
# MOUSE: BUILT-IN TOUCHPAD
# Internal Wireless Network Card: Intel WiFi Link 5300 a/b/g/n Wireless Adapter
# Flash Media Reader: Built-In 3in1 Media Reader
# BATTERY: 6-cells Li-Ion Battery Pack 7200mAh (JHL90)
# CARRYING BAG: Free Deluxe Carrying Bag for 15.4 Inch Notebook
# NOTEBOOK TRAVELKIT: NONE
# AC ADAPTER: Universal AC-DC Adapter (JHL90)
# CAR ADAPTER: NONE
# VIDEO CAMERA: Built-in 2.0 Mega Pixel Webcam
# SECURITY FEATURE: Built-in Biometric Fingerprint Sensor



Thanks for the responses so far guys, but i was also wondering, for games, which is more important, Video card, or Processor.

Thanks for the responses so far guys, but i was also wondering, for games, which is more important, Video card, or Processor.

No problem, you're welcome.

To answer your question, it truely depends on the situation. Usually, especially when dealing with laptops, the graphics card is going to be the most influential factor. But this depends alot on how closely related the systems are. If you are attempting to use an average processor with a higher end graphics card, you will not get the full performance that it can offer. So ultimately they go together.

Realistically if you have two closely matched processors (same architechture/type) and relatively similar speeds, your best bet would be to choose a slightly lower processor and higher power graphics card. I'm not totally familiar with the cards you listed, but I'm going to look them up for you to see if I can better answer the question which would be better for you. I will add additional info if I can find it for you.

If you can think of any more questions, I'll definitely do my best to try and answer.

- Jim

*EDITED: Another thing I forgot to add, would be that I agree with starcraftmaster that both of the system specs you listed would run the games you listed. WoW isn't too intense on the system, by design.*

Edited by jryan32, 15 July 2009 - 01:20 AM.

So do you think that the processor on the first laptop will be able to work with the 1 gig video card?

Or that the the 2nd laptop is better

Sorry it took so long to reply.

If it were up to me, I would take the second system. It seems as if it that processor is quite a bit better. I'm thinking that the first one shares most of that 1gb vid memory..

For the second, you are getting a significantly better processor and still 512mb for video. That extra 1gb in L2cache and higher FSB transfer rate for system #2 would sell me. Even if the top video card is better, I would pick the #2 computer.

I'm not up to date on the latest and greatest notebook cards, but to the best of my knowledge, I think your first choice has a better graphics card. Also, that depends on if that "GO" model of card has any/some dedicated memory. (It will say in the description)

But, from the description given, I would rate the overall system #2 as better. When you are making the systems what does #2 say for that video card? Is it 512 shared or dedicated memory? That would certainly help alot more and I could give you a definite answer if I know that.

- Jim

Edited by jryan32, 18 July 2009 - 02:10 AM.

So do you think that the processor on the first laptop will be able to work with the 1 gig video card?

Or that the the 2nd laptop is better

Yes, it will be able to work no doubt. I believe if that is a fully beastly video card, though, you won't get the maximum performance out of it. That 6600 may possibly dissapoint you.

I responded to the second question in the post I made right before this one, forgot to answer the other Q though.

- Jim