is this a good laptop for £650 for gaming etc

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Originally Posted by silent

nope. can't i upgrade the card at a later date?

and i need a laptop now as no machine except work lappy.

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With notebooks the graphics cards are either soldiered into the motherboard or use a propriety module which means that upgrades are hard to do.The modules were meant to be based upon a single standard but different companies have modified the modules meaning that they won't fit other notebooks usually. Basically companies don't want you to upgrade the notebooks.

Even if you can upgrade the graphics cards the cost will be very high,finding the modules themselves is not easy as they are NOT available in standard retail channels and of course what module you can use depends on what internal cooling and power is available for the graphics modules in your notebook too and the type.

On top of this you will need to find which notebooks use these modules and which ones have a soldiered graphics card.

I would definitely contact Dell and ask them whether the HD4650 is DDR2,DDR3 or GDDR3 version. If it is one of the last two then I would get the Dell.

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

With notebooks the graphics cards are either soldiered into the motherboard or use a propriety module which means that upgrades are hard to do.The modules were meant to be based upon a single standard but different companies have modified the modules meaning that they won't fit other notebooks usually. Basically companies don't want you to upgrade the notebooks.

Even if you can upgrade the graphics cards the cost will be very high,finding the modules themselves is not easy as they are NOT available in standard retail channels and of course what module you can use depends on what internal cooling and power is available for the graphics modules in your notebook too and the type.

On top of this you will need to find which notebooks use these modules and which ones have a soldiered graphics card.

I would definitely contact Dell and ask them whether the HD4650 is DDR2,DDR3 or GDDR3 version. If it is one of the last two then I would get the Dell.

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chatted to dell and its DDR2 ram on the ati. plus a 2 wk delivery time. i need a lappy like now.

really close to just buying the acer one. seems a good machine and likely to run what i need it to.

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Originally Posted by silent

chatted to dell and its DDR2 ram on the ati. plus a 2 wk delivery time. i need a lappy like now.

really close to just buying the acer one. seems a good machine and likely to run what i need it to.

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Some benchmarks of the 9600M GT:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...GT.9449.0.html

Some benchmarks of the Mobility HD4650 DDR3:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI...0.13883.0.html

The HD4650 can run COD4 at 1280X1024 on high settings at around 30FPS whereas the 9600M GT is around 30% slower at the same settings.

so for what i want it for, it'll be fine then. FM2010 etc, odd game of cod - but brought on ps3 so will try and learn pad controls now 2 as far to many ps3 games i dont play.

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Originally Posted by silent

so for what i want it for, it'll be fine then. FM2010 etc, odd game of cod - but brought on ps3 so will try and learn pad controls now 2 as far to many ps3 games i dont play.

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I don't think that 22FPS is playable TBH and this is assuming that COD:MW2 has the same requirements as COD4. Dropping down to XGA probably would give you acceptable framerates.

If you have a PS3 you might as well use that for FPS games as they will optimised for the console and will run better.

This controller may be of use to you though:

http://uk.gear.ign.com/articles/834/834176p1.html

It uses a mouse and another controller for movement. It is meant to be great for games like COD4.

The XBox360 also supports use of a keyboard and a mouse in COD4.

thanks for the advice. it seems a good system for my needs and i'll use it for fm and other such games.

part of me is reluctant but most says do it, so does the missus. it has blu ray as well to and bluetooth etc.

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Originally Posted by silent

thanks for the advice. it seems a good system for my needs and i'll use it for fm and other such games.

part of me is reluctant but most says do it, so does the missus. it has blu ray as well to and bluetooth etc.

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If the missus says OK then get - you cn always blame her if there is any issues with it!!:p Just joking!!

I would check out that controller though as it seems easier to use than the analogue sticks.

what about this laptop? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176508

i looked at that. pc pro rated it to. not as good though spec wise. gcard is not correct. i think it has the 4330 card.

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Originally Posted by silent

i looked at that. pc pro rated it to. not as good though spec wise. gcard is not correct. i think it has the 4330 card.

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you sure the GPU is not correct?

i ordered a new dell last night in the end with these specs:

core I7 720m processor
4 gig of ddr3 ram
1 gb GDDR3 Ati 4650 card
500 gig hdd
17.3" tft.

came in at £760.06 del. available today as deal ends today.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by silent

i ordered a new dell last night in the end with these specs:

core I7 720m processor
4 gig of ddr3 ram
1 gb GDDR3 Ati 4650 card
500 gig hdd
17.3" tft.

came in at £760.06 del. available today as deal ends today.

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Excellent deal!!

yes it is if they accept my details.