Laptop requirements? (not sure where to ask)

I have never purchased a pc on my own. Heh ok so I am not so techie. I want to buy a laptop & to make me sound even more lame...lol..or addicted. I want to be able to play SL on it. I found a laptop that has Core DUO 2, 220 GB hard drive & 2GB Memory. Will it be compatible? I am so lost when it comes to what to buy. It has Windows Vista and not even sure what video card it has. Please any info will be helpful.

Lost in Confusion
GoldieFawn Fielding

The most important issue when shopping for a laptop for sl is the video card. This is because so many otherwise wonderful laptops have video adapters that either won't play sl, or won't play it well. I would look for "nvidia 7600" or better graphics. Avoid integrated graphics, ati graphics, or slower nvidia graphics such as 7300. This won't be easy to find, and it will not be inexpensive. But they are available.

Core 2 duo is great and 2gb ram is great. There are forums discussing vista, and some people are having problems with it. Most of the problems seem to involve ati video, so if you use nvidia graphics hopefully vista will run reasonably well. There is a sticky thread talking about problems running sl on dual core computers and how to get around them.

NVidia graphics would be your best bet right now, but there are some issues with it even, see http://www.nvidiaclassaction.org/. Right now, all that is for sure is that Vista is having major driver issues.

From a non geeky dummy with some experience with games and operating systems. At the present time your best bet is an Invidia graphics card with no less than 256 onboard ram, 3 gig processor, at least 1 gig ram. XP, if you are a Microsoft fan..............Vista is too new.

This for running SL as the primary reason for the computer in question.....but, there are many other reasons for buying a computer. You have to remember that Second Life is not really a big time "game" or application in the real world. It only has a little over 3 million registered members (residents for you purists). Big number............but compared to other applications or games it's really sort of small time. SL opted for OpenGL as their rendering choice. Invidia happens to be a bit better than the other graphics developers. So that is the choice for SL. Everything else is pretty much in line with most applications coming on the market.........huge ram and really heavy CPU usage. You just can't expect Microsoft, Invidia, ATI, Apple, Linux or any other software or hardware developer to cater to one application. As time moves all the developers will get drivers and hardware that will work with SL in a more or less optimal state.........but will SL still be the same?

You can't diss Microsoft (Vista), Invidia, ATI, Apple, Linux because they don't run SL as well as we may like. The manufacturers and developers can't focus on just one small time game........they have a much larger audience to cater to.

Make sure the laptop DOES NOT have Intel integrated graphics adapter.
Look for Nvidia or ATI for a video solution.

The integrated graphics adapters are the parts that will most likely give you problems with SL and may not even let you run it.

The other system specs you mentioned were perfect and should be able to run SL.

My laptop has an Intel Centrino Duo CPU, 1gig of Ram, and an nVidia 7300, and it runs SL very well

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your replies it has been very helpful. I have a desk top pc already but I didnt order it. I received it as a gift. I am taking your tips with me, when i go out shopping. I would hate to buy something that would cause interference with SL & cause me grief.

Again Thank You!
Sincerely,
GoldieFawn Fielding

you shouldn't take a laptop for gaming really, they really do not pair with traditional systems , on top of this they are little to no evolutive so after adding a bit of ram or adding a bigger disk you usually have to get a new one

Be careful with what brand of laptop you get. I have an HP with a Nvidia Geforce GO 7600 card and there has been no graphics driver update for almost a year now! Many complaints to them about this still hasn't produced an updated driver.

As others have said, nVidia 7600 or better (unless the price is really good, in which case 7300 or better). Unlike other advisors, I have seen the ATI 1600 or 1900 work really well. Look at a MacBook Pro, for example.

I use an HP dv9000 with a 7600. Works great. It was about $1500.

i didnt want make a new tread but I would like to hear some advice on this Laptop and its info , would this work for SL

Acer
Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5500 (166 Ghz)
17 WXGA High Definition flatscreen
120 GM (5400rpm) HD
2048 (1x1924) DDR2 RAM 533 MHz
Intel Prowireless 3945ABG Networkconection
10/100/1000Mbit netcart & 54Mbit wireless netcart
DVD burner (DVD+- /Dual layer
Nvidia Geforce Go 7300 128 dedikeret /256 MB TC
5 i 1 cartreader , webcam 1,3 pixel
windows XP home

hi sweet yes it wood be ok just check out the ACER model for bugs in google and also see if the graphics card is removable ok
love yer from spencer

Here is one really helpful, and reasonably recent article covering the subject:

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-25-2006-87301.asp

Of the mentioned brands, I heard somewhere else that both Alienware and Voodoo PC are just rebranded M-Tech's with a nice design, but at a horrendeously marked up price (don't have proof for that statement, though).

I'm considering M-Tech myself as I keep reading good things about them, at least their price/value ratio is unmatched. Seems a bit difficult to buy though, short of finding a way of getting it directly from Taiwan. Their main market indeed seems to be the rebranding rather than retail customers.

Other than that, it is true what has been said before that a laptop as such is not the ideal gaming rig, mainly because a desktop pc is much easier to upgrade. You can buy the latest and greatest, but it won't be long before it's dated.

Good luck

Edit: Oops, there seems to be a contradiction - the article mentions M-Tech being a US company. The first time I saw this name about a year ago was a taiwanese website, where they seem to be manufactured, and could find no other place to buy (maybe I'm just blind). Not sure what the exact constellation is. Anyway, just found this website:
http://www.mtechlaptops.com/

2nd edit: One aspect that hasn't been mentioned yet is battery life. High power laptops such as these inevitably have a much shorter standing time than the lighter models, usually around 2 hours running at full steam. Should you want to use it away from a wallplug, it may make sense to get additional battery packs and AC adapter.

thanks for the advice both of y.
i have a good PC but it seemes crashing through and it only happend after i installed SL . need a laptop tu get a lot moved so can take with me and saw thisone the other day.

*love t too SPence * and i know y have checked too as y loose me so many times on crshing

I just realized the same thing about my HP. You can not update your Nvidia drivers from the Nvidia website because HP has somehow made them proprietary, or altered them specifically for the HPs. According to Nvidia, you have to get the upgrade from HP. Of course HP has no upgrades available. I emailed HP last night and asked if they might have upgraded drivers soon. My system has started not only crashing SL, but freezing the entire computer and I have to turn the power off/on. Even the control /alt/ delete function is frozen and the mouse will not move at all. When the system powers back up, there is an error message about the lost desktop settings. It is pretty easy to fix, just use the properties button and pick your background pic. But it is very annoying. Most of the time, I have no SL problems, but more and more, I am getting this freezing. I have the GeForce 6150

BT