Buying A New Computer - Graphics Help

I'm about to purchase a new laptop within the next few days and I wanted to make sure the one I have in mind will be compatible with SL. The only problem is, all new computers come with Windows 7 and SL's requirements page only list requirements for Windows XP and Vista. o.O

One laptop I looked at has the following specs:

# Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit

# Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor
Features a 6MB L3 cache and 2.8GHz processor speed.

# 2010 Intel® Core i7 processor
Features 8-way processing. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology

# 4GB DDR3 memory
expandable to 8GB.

# 500GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)

# NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics
With 512MB GDDR3 discrete graphics memory and up to 1755MB dynamically allocated shared memory (2267MB total) using NVIDIA TurboCache technology. HDMI-CEC port.

The laptop I have now is basically a bare bones type of thing. I want to get something better and I was wondering if anyone knew if the stuff I mentioned above...specifically the graphics card...would be compatible with SL. I'm not a crazy gamer or anything. I don't need top of the line stuff. I'd just like to be able to get around SL without too much lag and to be able to have decent graphics quality. But I don't want to buy a computer only to find out that it isn't compatible with SL.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

The computer is capable of running SL. The video card is pretty low in performance but should run SL at mid settings without much trouble. My guess is that, since you said your present computer "bare bones" you mean that the computer is just a basic, no frills computer with maybe a little more than the minimum to get okay performance for most games and graphics..........and probably barely runs SL. So, if that is the case, you'll see a big improvement when you run SL.

Two things. First, get the most recent graphics drivers.......I can almost guarantee the driver the setup software installs will be outdated. And second, get a cooling pad........SL is a program that will work your laptop like no other and it will get hot inside. Heat kills computers.

I'd suggest getting something with a better graphics card. I hear you that you're not a gamer, but consider that SL is actually harder on graphics cards than most high end games. Whether you ever play any games or not, SL all by itself demands a good card.

So you know, with the way nVida numbers their cards, the first digit denotes the manufacturing series, and the second tells the card's performance level within the series. Higher second numbers indicate higher performance. In this case, the second digit is a one, meaning the card is the absolute worst performer in the series.

I'd be surprised if that card could handle SL at much above bare minimum settings. If you don't care what the world looks like, or how far you can see in it, then go for it. But if you want things to look at least reasonably good, get at least a midrange card. If you want things to look how they're supposed to, get a high end card. There's really no other answer.


What's your budget on this? Perhaps we could make some suggestions.



As for your concern about Windows 7, don't worry about it. SL works great with Win 7. They just haven't gotten around to updating the requirements page. Trust me, Win 7 is well worth having.

Thanks for the replies so far My budget would be anything under 1k. Again, any suggestions would be appreciated. I know quite a bit about computers but when it comes to graphics cards, I don't know jack. I know the one I have now sucks...but then right now I just have a cheap Toshiba Satellite laptop. Definitely not made for SL.

Basically I would just like to be able to move around SL, type in chat, and be around more then 3 people at a time without freakin lagging like crazy. lol The graphics looking decent would be a nice bonus but I'm not TOO worried about it. I was considering this one laptop I posted about mainly because the processor seems pretty impressive...for a laptop. I know tho that a laptop with decent graphics is going to come at a price.

For under a grand, you're not gonna find anything with comparable specs plus a good graphics card. They have to make cuts somewhere in order to give you that price.

In addition to the weak graphics card, it's also worth pointing out that the machine you were looking at has a slow hard drive. 5400 RPM drives tend to chug. I wouldn't want less than a 7200. The faster you can read and write cache files, the faster and more stably SL (and all other applications that depend heavily on temporary files, like Photoshop, audio/video editors, etc.) will run.

I know the i7 quad and DDR3 are probably quite tempting, but if it were me, I'd probably rather go with a more modest CPU, and DDR2, if it means I can get good graphics and a better hard drive, for roughly the same amount.

A G51 is a pretty good example. It won't be quite as fast at non-graphical tasks, but its GTX 260 will run circles around that 310, and it's got a 7200 RPM drive. It's only $99 above your proposed budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220639



If you really do want something with an i7 quad, DDR3, etc., then I'd strongly suggest you just put the thousand dollars you've got aside, and continue to save up until you can get something that also includes a decent graphics card and a faster hard drive. No sense spending money on something that won't very well do what you want to do with it.

If you can go up to around $1600, a Lotus from Malibal is a fantastic machine. It's easily the best laptop on the market in its price range, in my opinion. It comes stock with a GTX 280M, which the absolute top of nVidia's mobile line right now. Trick it out with a 1920x1080 display (in a 15"!!!), the same CPU and memory you were looking at, and a 7200RPM 500GB hard drive, and the total price is just $1648.

http://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=84

I realize that's 65% more than you wanted to spend, but it's an investment that would last you probably the next four years or so, before it starts to feel a little dated, and you'll love it the whole time. The thousand dollar machine with the bottom of the barrel of graphics, would probably only last about 12-18 months before the graphic card just couldn't keep up anymore, and you'd only sort of enjoy the experience.

In my experience, good gaming laptops are always far less expensive in the long run than cheapo ones. It's roughly $400 a year for Lotus, vs. $1000 a year for the cheapo.


If that thousand dollars is burning a hole in your pocket right now, and you have to get SOMETHING, then I'd say get a desktop. For a grand, in a desktop, you could basically have everything you want: the i7, the DDR3, a MUCH better hard drive, and a nice graphics card.

Here's a quick example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227203

I didn't look very hard, so there are probably even better deals out there. Or, of course, if you just buy the parts and put it together yourself, it would cost even less.


Those are my suggestions. Do whatever you think is best. Good luck.

I'll second what Chosen Few said. The G51 turns in great performance in SL, but if you can live with a desktop, consider that. Even a $700 desktop for SL and a $300 netbook for mobility will give better results than a $1000 laptop.

If you are looking for a cheaper laptop, I would look for at least a 230/330 in the current Nvidia line, or a 9500 or better in the last generation chipsets.

You will also have to pay careful attention to cooling, which is what separates a true gaming laptop from general consumer models. No matter which GPU you get, SL will push it, and that ends up producing heat that kills video cards. The Asus G series does a pretty good job at cooling, but they do downclock the video card to reduce heat. Clevo/Sager models (like the Malibal Chosen mentioned) or Alienware have better cooling than Asus, but they also cost more.

No matter what you get, invest in a good laptop cooler to go with it. It can lower GPU temps significantly, and make the difference between a good SL experience and constant BSODs from overheating.

I just ordered this, based on a recommendation here. Crossing my fingers. I looked *a lot* and this seemed like the best choice. I'll let you guys know in a week or 2.