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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
Well, I've been procrastinating forever about getting a laptop, finally I just went and did it. Dell is offering -400$ on their XPS Gen2 laptops, and I figured since my credit card is now clear, it's time to throw something else on there!
XPS GEN2
But, I dont know a whole lot about laptops, so I just played it by ear. Does anyone else else have one of these or something comparable?
How long do laptop batteries usually last for gaming? I'm going to be using it for business as much as portable gaming, but I'm skeptical about it lasting long enough on just battery alone to get a good session of NWN or something in.
Ive read a couple reviews online, but my distrust of gaming sites reviews has grown as much as my distrust of politicians. Except for this site, of course ='.'=
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“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:11 pm |
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Korplem
Swashbuckler
Joined: 23 Dec 2002
Posts: 853
Location: Pearl Harbor, HI |
I really don't like gaming on battery alone. My video card scales to the amount of power available, so if I'm on battery power it lags a lot. It usually lasts about an hour. Sometimes less depending on what I'm doing.
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If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.
-The Prince of Nothing |
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:04 am |
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Davo
City Guard
Joined: 03 Sep 2002
Posts: 146
Location: Massachusetts, USA |
I have a Dell 8100 (PIII 1 Gig w/ a Geforce 32 MB and 512 Megs RAM). When I first got the computer, the battery would last about three hours for word processing and other non-CD functions. With the CD drive running a game or DVD movie, I would get about two hours of play time. Now, three years later, the battery lasts about 10 minutes for any and all uses.
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Apologize, v.i. To lay the foundation for a future offense.
Backbite, v.t. To speak of a man as you find him when he can't find you.
-- Ambrose Bierce, from The Devil's Dictionary. |
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:44 am |
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Myrthos
Spoiler of All Fun
Joined: 07 Jul 2001
Posts: 1926
Location: Holland |
I have two laptops, one for me and one for the wife and kids. Although at some days it's just two for the kids......
The battery only lasts long in the beginning and I don't even use the battery a lot. Both laptops have a normal processor (so not a mobile one), they are meant as a replacement of a desktop PC. At the moment of purchase they were one of the better laptops when it came to performance and the ability to play games. This performance is however only reached with the power cord plugged in.
When it comes to gaming the laptop doesn't last as long as a desktop as its graphics card is quickly outdated. Although the graphics card in my Dell is upgradable, there is no graphics card to upgrade too, so that is a useless feature.
Anyway, my Dell laptop is a power hungry machine that is capable of playing any game (although it can't play Doom3 at the highest quality) and doing any work, like video editing (the only reason I purchased it with 1GB of memory and an external harddisk).
As to the XPS, it is one of the better laptops to play games with (although not on a battery). Related to other laptops it can be rated as excellent in that area (or atleast so the review of a big independant german magazine C't tells me). What I don't think is done well with this laptop is the too small keyboard. It has a 17" screen and a keyboard that fits a 15" laptop. They could have made it more ergonomic by equipping a larger keyboard. That can get annoying over time.
Also the noise it produces is apparently at an acceptable level only, which could be irritating if you let it do that to you. That said, my laptop is just as noisy and I don't perceive it as a problem, it sorta fades to the background quickly.
If you do buy it then buy it with all the options you can afford. There are only a few upgrade possibilities when it comes to laptops and they are very expensive.
I wouldn't want to go back to using a desktop PC, because I can use the laptop anywhere in the house and the garden and it is just soo much easier.
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Kewl quotes:
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Reports Myrthos for making me scared and humbled at the mere sight of his name - kayla |
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:42 am |
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X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place |
However, Desktop PCs have the best performance for sure  And i don't think 2 hours are enough to finsih a season or so (I've neevr played NWN, so i donno really). Can't someone has his laptop on while plugged into electricity so it doesn't consume power from the battery (or sth like that) ??
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 9:44 am |
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pink-hippo
Counselor of the King
Joined: 21 Apr 2005
Posts: 351
Location: Val's hairy legs |
quote:
Originally posted by X-dANGEr
And i don't think 2 hours are enough to finsih a season or so (I've neevr played NWN, so i donno really).
On my lap, I could finish a volume of anime (slightly more than 2.5 hours) without having my battery replaced with my secondary one. Not a computer freak here, so dunno if that's comparable with NWN. XD;;;
quote:
Originally posted by X-dANGEr
Can't someone has his laptop on while plugged into electricity so it doesn't consume power from the battery (or sth like that) ??
What do you mean? >_>
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:59 pm |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
quote:
Originally posted by pink-hippo
On my lap, I could finish a volume of anime (slightly more than 2.5 hours) without having my battery replaced with my secondary one. Not a computer freak here, so dunno if that's comparable with NWN. XD;;;
It really depends on what laptop you use. There are laptops that are geared towards long batter life. And these can work longer than 2 or 2.5 hours.
But if you want gaming PC replacement, than you have to use GPUs, CPUs... that use more power and such laptop cannot be the best in terms of long battery life. |
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Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:33 am |
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X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place |
I mean, can't the laptop work depending on direct power from the plugger (I don't know what they call it, but the thing you wire devices in) ??
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Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:54 am |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
quote:
Originally posted by X-dANGEr
I mean, can't the laptop work depending on direct power from the plugger (I don't know what they call it, but the thing you wire devices in) ??
Sure, it can work like this. But the battery is important because portability is the reason why you buy it. |
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Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:10 am |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
I got it, and it rules!
Youre sure right about that keyboard, the thing is tiny. But, when I look at it next to a regular keyboard, the keys really arent that much smaller. Its the fact it's missing the keypad, and all the other buttons such as delete et al are re-arranged.
Of course, all the crap they throw on the thing is a bit much, so I reformatted it first thing. The Dungeon Siege II demo & WOW looks wonderful on it, the display is something else. It's just a good lookin machine too, even can configure the color of the lights in the vents. Still havent used it unplugged yet, I guess I should bust out the DSII demo on battery power and see how long it lasts in an official test tonight
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:23 pm |
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X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place |
Keep us informed and Good Luck!
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Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:35 pm |
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