Buying a new laptop

I am getting ready to buy a new laptop, and I want it to work well with SL. My current laptop is about 5 years old, and it works, but just barely. Notably, the client crashes any time I try to open the Appearance window, so I can't modify my av's appearance.

I've read the system requirements, so I know in general what to look for. My question is, do any of you have specific laptop recommendations for a SL dream machine, or as close as you can get to that with, say, a $2000 laptop? I expect to buy in the category usually called a desktop replacement.

Thanks for any recommendations you can give.

I have one laptop and 2 pc-s all top of the line with 2 difrent internet conections best i could get and they all crashing on SL so answer is NO

I know I'm gonna get yelled at for this, but I got an Alienware laptop (shaddap all o' yez! I had to! They're the only ones that'd sell overseas!) and it works just great. All told, it was around US$2,100.

There ARE others out there and, if you live in the states, you should be able to get something really, REALLY good for around $2,000.

If you don't really need the mobility of a laptop, consider buying a desktop PC instead. You'll pay less and have far more ability to upgrade its components when you need to rather than having to buy a whole new system.

Agreed. If you NEED mobility, get a laptop. If it's not necessary, get a PC.

If you have money, don't get an Alienware, get a Falcon NW.

If you don't have money, get an XPS. *shrugs*

Avoid. Intel. Graphics.

Most laptops seem to have an Intel GPU and you can forget about using SL if you get one of those. I always try to find a laptop with an NVidia GPU but there's always a significant price difference when compared to other laptops with similar specs but an Intel GPU.

I've run SL on all of these laptops, and performance is "useable" to "FANTASTIC!"

(All used with a wireless IEEE 802.11G connection to a fiber drop)

Dell Inspiron 14xx, with 64 meg unknown video, about two years old, 2 gigs of RAM, Intel Centrino: useable, prone to lag, not the best textures, low fps, but you can get things done. XP SP2. Never crashes. You can get something like this for maybe US$600.

Dell 1705 (17" monitor) 256 meg dedicated video card, new, Windows Vista Home Premium, 2 gigs of RAM, fast dual core 2 cpu. Very Good SL performance. Occasional crashes. Paid about US$1K for this, will eventually upgrade to 4 gigs RAM.

Dell Precision Workstation M, 15 inch screen. New model is out now. Beautiful computer, probably one of the nicest laptops I've ever seen, bar none. Top end dual core 2, 4 gigs RAM, 256 dedicated video card (VPU) that also uses an additional 256 megs of RAM, basically I got the top end of everything Dell offered, and Windows XP SP2. FANTASTIC performance with SL (and Autocad and mathlab, for that matter). This priced out at US$3400 from Dell USA, but I played my cards right and got about US$1000 off with coupons and special offers, so I ended up paying just under US$2200, delivered. You can also get a 17 inch version of this machine that is even more powerful (and more expensive!).

I've played around with XPS models--they are very similar to the Precision Workstation internally, but the video processor units vary, and of course the outercase on the XPS is..ahem...less professional appearing. The XPS is a nice unit but the fit and finish is better on the Precision Workstation.

Why do I have all these computers? For work and play! (I also have a massive desktop workstation, which is what I use most of the time).

So, if you need mobility, there's some choices for you. The most important factors"

VPU RAM--go for the best/biggest you can get.
RAM--get 4 gigs. Just do it.
Operating System--XP Pro SP2, still. Wait on Vista?
IMPORTANT--if you really want to be mobile, get the biggest battery you can when you order the computer. Trust me.

All that being said--and I've done a lot of business with Dell for years--I'm about to buy a...MacBook Pro! Why? Change of pace. Probably not the best choice for SL.....

Oh, good lord yes, Object! That is Rule #1.

Wait. it's Rule #2. Rule #1 is "don't talk about Fight Club", isn't it?

And Mr. Bigwig, I do agree. Unfortunately, I didn't have an option.
And I really haven't had any problems with it at all, nor with the company.

Although the keyboard seems to be designed for a much larger person than myself. Weight-wise, that is. The keys seem to be set for someone with MUCH heavier fingers! *grin* Not sure if that's a comment on people who would buy a gaming laptop or not!

What he said. NEVER. GET. INTEL. GRAPHICS.

nVidia does seem to have the best performance with SL. They do cost, but they're worth it.

I recently picked up a Vaio VGN-FE890N/H that is kicking ass for me.

I did not go in looking for a SL friendly laptop but luckily found a deal at Fry's on this thing for about $1,100 (open box) and it is running like a champ.

Stats:

Core 2 Duo T5500
15.4 WXGA w/ XBRITE-ECO
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
2 Gigs RAM
Running Vista Business

etc., etc....

Highly recommend

Is there a quick and easy way to see your system stats? I knew when I bought, but I can't remember now.

Right click on "My Computer" select "Properties" take the "Hardware" tab, then I think it's profiles. Click on the "plus" signs to get more detail. Or something like that!

Make that "Device Manager" not "HW Profiles"! lol! (this is all for XP, of course)

Thank-you I'll try it out when I get home.

Hp pavilion dv9000
AMD Turion 64x2 @1.6
1470 ram (came with 1024 i added a 1024 stick, drawback was it had two 512's in it and two slots, i had to drop a 512 to place a 1024 stick in, net gain 512)
Nvidia GO 6100

Runs SL like a dream, very nice 17inchwidescreen.
Got about 2 months ago on sale at BestBuy for $900usd.

Very happy with it.

Sounds like a good buy.

Yep, on one of mine I just junked the original 512s and went with two 1024s, worth the gain for the loss.

I put 4 gigs of RAM in one computer. Of course, XP only recognizes 3.5 gigs, but it lets me load XP and a full clean 2 gigs just for SL (the max SL will utilize).

Just a thought.

i have an hp with a nvidia geforce go 7600 256 mb video card an 1024 mb ddr2 sdram . works great when sl isn't buggin . i'm planning on upgrading to 2048 mb of ram soon .

i had a laptop with an ati card an it used to give me problems with the game . not sure if they have fixed that but i'm guessing the answer is no .

A refurbished MacBook Pro? I just got one yesterday (they cost more over here, but some are under $2000 in the US site).

Failing that, a windows (XP if you can) with 1 or 2gb memory and an nvidia graphics where the first digit is "7" or higher, and the second digit is "6" or higher.

Thanks very much to all of you for the great information. I'm going shopping this weekend. I may ping you all again for more guidance. And I heard you loud and clear: Avoid. Intel. Graphics. Go with nVidia GeForce. Got it!