More Awesome Than You!

I'm trying to decide if i should buy a gaming laptop, upgrade my current desktop or just let my common sense override my "moar shinies!!! (but it's on sale!) impulse.

Here are the options :

   
Dell XPS M1730 Laptop

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA       
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Speed: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall Sensor
NVIDIA®SLI™Dual GeForce®8700MGT with 512MB GDDR3 Memory   
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition

Dell XPS 730X Desktop
Intel® Core™ i7-920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache)
3GB Tri-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x1GB DIMM)
300GB Western Digital Velociraptor - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 10000RPM, 16MB Cache
500GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512M OR ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio


How do you think both of these babies would run The Sims (with all the expansion packs) or the just-around-the-corner Sims 3.

You're also welcome to try to argue me out of dropping 2k on a frivolous geeky purchase

I suggest you hang onto your money, personally, and don't go dropping it on TS3 quite yet. For one, I have tons of information to indicate TS3 may be made of pure elemental suck. Also, 2K for the computer specs given is way too high, and it looks like you are buying brand name shitboxen. DON'T BUY DELL. Besides, previous shopping around suggests you can get a computer just as good for half the price you're quoting. Avoid Dell, they are overpriced shit! Don't buy brand name computers, you're asking for nothing but trouble doing that. Besides, buying a Dell is automaticaly "non-Geeky", as no one who actually KNEW anything about computers would buy Dell!

Also, UBid, w00t and NewEgg(?) all offer substantially lower prices on things than do bigbox chainstores and compy stores.

Laptops are not really meant to run games, even gaming laptops. Someone here (marhis? Skadi?) had an Alienware laptop melt on them. I had a Dell laptop with an Nvidia GeForce card in it. Sims 2 (base game) never did run correctly on it even though it met the specs.

On the other hand, I spent roughly $4K on my current gaming desktop/new monitor and I love it. I won't shill, but if you want details PM me.

I know I paid too much. I paid for the privilege of not having to deal with building it myself and supporting it. I also paid for a kickass sparkly green case. My last homebuilt computer had major heat issues. Hardware is not really my thing. I'm covered with regards to hardware failure for the next three or four years.

If you can build a new desktop yourself I would recommend that, otherwise I would buy a new desktop from someone who makes gaming machines.,

Well, shit.  I had a Dell laptop for 6 years and played games on it quite a bit.  Even after the six years it didn't melt - it was stolen out of my car.  Now I have another Dell laptop which runs TS2 just fine, as well as a number of other graphics-intensive games that I play, and I've never had any problems with it.  Clearly I must live in some kind of alternate universe.

I forgot to mention that this is 2K Canadian.

I figured I'd go with Dell, just to save myself the trouble of building my own machine.  That's what I did the last time and really I didn't save that much money, if any.  Dell is overpriced mostly if you let yourself get suckered into "upgrading" from their offered specs.  If you choose a discounted system and stick to their spec (or upgrade it yourself later), you won't get ripped off.  At least that's what I think.

I also get an additional 15% discount on the system, because Dell is our supplier at work.

I guess this is a case of "shinie envy".  I want it and I want it now, and I don't feel like having to work for it.  Building it yourself is definitively work

I guess it would be more precise to say that I have 1k burning a hole in my pocket. I'm getting a 1k bonus at work, and I need to buy something with it.  (I can't get it in the form of cash).

But I get your point, maybe I should research it a bit more.

I bought a Dell laptop a couple of years ago, not because I don't know anything about computers, but more because it's not realistic to build your own laptop like you can do a desktop computer...and Dell was shipping computers with XP instead of Vista.  I picked a rig where I could choose all the components myself, and it's still running everything I would like it to nicely.  I'm thinking about upping my RAM from 2GB to 4GB, though, because I like CC, and I can.

If you're insisting on using a laptop for gaming, you have to be very careful before you make your purchase.  Check out reviews for that model, determine where all the fans are, that sort of thing.  Laptops overheat a lot easier than a regular box...a lot of times if your box is getting too hot, you can stick in another fan.  That's not possible on a laptop.  Even if you have a good fan in the laptop, depending on where the heat is channeled out, you can have problems with the heat damaging other components.  There is an HP laptop series where the hinges all break because the heat outlet goes right past the metal clips that hold the hinge on and they melt.

I'd also doublecheck the components.  The model I ended up going with offered choices on the videocards, and I went with an ATI instead of an nVidia because of the infamous issues EA has with getting Sims 2 compatible with nVidia cards.

The vast majority of laptops aren't upgradeable.  You can add more RAM, assuming you haven't topped out what your OS can handle, you can change the harddrive, and that's about it.  If you buy a laptop, buy it with the knowledge that if it's not top of the line, and you are using it for top of the line things, you will be wanting to replace it within a couple of years.

That was the deciding factor for me, too.  I'd much rather have a computer with subpar hardware than one that runs Vista.

My Sony VAIO laptop with an NVidia card runs Sims 2. I do have a cooling pad under it, but that is a fairly recent purchase. Prior to that, I rigged up a way to prop it up on a laptray that has a lip on it so air circulated under it at all times.

Brand new, with all the stuff it has, it would have cost $3500 US. I got it for around a grand through UBid, and insisted on XP. Other than some drama when Geek Squad farked up my installed programs and some minor glitches that had nothing to do with games, it has been serviceable and has a huge screen, which I need for artz, and lots of storage, which I need for packrattiness and large artz & audio and video programs, and is maxxed out on RAMz.

The only slot to stick things in that it does not come with is the Olde Skool floppy drive. If I really need one, I still have the craptop running 98.

Yes, it is a SONY, and I got it before the SecuROM fiasco. Interestingly enough, SecuROM farked up the SONY CD/DVD functionality. That is boneheadedness beyond adequate description, really.

pssh. I can build you a computer better than those dells, for 1/3 of the cost. :P I've done it recently for a friend.

newegg is your friend. :P but you also gotta know how to parts shop.

This

And this. Addison is a Dell, but I got him on a clearance in addition to having a 30% discount from work. I basically wanted the box and the motherboard, and have frankensteined from there.

Don't be a lazy fool--I mean, even I can build my own computer.

It's really not that hard. Just suck it up and save the money, dammit.

This may well be one of the best out of context quotes I've seen in a while!  :D

Newegg does not ship to canada  :-\

Maybe I could ask Obama to drop off some parts next time he's in Ottawa

Seriously, no matter what your interpretation is of the word "box," it probably has more room inside for add-ons than a laptop!  :D

What about the Sager NP5793? (http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=51114) I was able to build a computer with a better processor, video card, and blu-ray drive than the Dell Laptop. They still sell their PCs with XP too. If you're going for a desktop though It would still be a much better value to build your own.

I would tell you that you should not buy a gaming laptop, but I understand the appeal if mobility is very important to you. Just know the drawbacks before you purchase one: it won't last as long as a desktop, you can't upgrade the processor or the graphics card, and you will need to purchase a cooling pad to keep it from melting.

That having been said, I'm very happy with the Dell M1530 that I purchased about a 9ish (???) months ago. It is more than adequate to play Oblivion, Spore, or the Sims with high settings.  I am not normally a fan of Dell, but it's a good idea if you know you can get a discount from them, and they do have a decent warranty. They also sell refurbished machines that are just as good as the "new" ones, but a few hundred dollars cheaper. This is the second refurbished machine I've had from them, and I've not had any problems because of it.

So, shop around, and compare prices with other brands. Maybe take a look at HP. Consider a desktop, or make sure you buy a good cooling pad. Oh, and do research on whatever computer you purchase, to make sure it is possible to find all the right drivers if you want to revert to XP.

Not so.  One should always research before buying.  Whether you research systems or parts for building, the research time is roughly the same.  I would not buy a system until I had researched the parts used anyway (most of these pre-builts cut corners somewhere).

Going out and purchasing the thing and picking it up, taking it home, plugging it in, wiping the malware off and reloading the OS on a clean system will take roughly as long (or longer) than loading a clean freshly built system.

Therefore, the only time saving you actually get (if you already know what you're doing in building a system) is the actual building.  As this can generally be done in a couple of hours, it is easily justified.  You get the system you want with the parts you want (no cheap stuff that they charge you full price for), and likely for no more than you would spend on the pre-built.

$2000CDN is still far too much to spend, unless you're starting from total nothing.  You should be able to save by reusing the monitor, keyboard, mouse, a couple of drives, etc.  Cannibalize the old machine.  Spend money on the motherboard, processor and video card.  You should be able to have the rig of your gaming dreams for a fair bit less than $2K.

(edited for spelling)

or you can get it built for you by someone who works out of the back of a little electronics shop on the low-rent edge of town.  You kind of have to know your geek, but it doesn't take much conversation to figure out if he/she knows what they're doing and understands what you want.  It's what I did this time, and I got a really nice computer with a real person to call if anything does go wrong.  It cost me more than a really cheapo computer, but it cost me less than it could have, and honestly, the lack of hassle is really comfortable.

I built most of the machines I've used out of odd parts salvaged, handed down, bought second-hand, or thrown in for free with another purchase, despite knowing very little about the stuff.  It was fun enough, and whatever mistakes I made could be fixed by having a techie friend over for dinner.  However: I wanted something bulletproof this time.  My real life has had a bundle of ick in it recently and I wanted to indulge myself, so I just bought me some techie time and had my computer tailor-made.

DO NOT RUN SIMS 2 ON A DELL LAPTOP. I ran Sims 2 on a laptop (a Dell 1501 Inpsiron to be exact) for THREE YEARS and then that action menu thing happened and I got an awesome PC with a cool matching keyboard, mouse and monitor and I have NEVER LOOKED BACK, even when I saw that deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.

For 2K I'd want liquid nitrogen cooling and an iMax screen. My god, I am made of phail and stupid but I can still manage to build a PC because I mastered Lego as a 6.