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What notebook to buy?

Ardorj

Ardorj

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Ardorj-Njarr
Hello fellow Entropians,

Let me type a few words of introduction first. I have been a long time player, ever since 2006 I think it was. Last year in july I got a violent Windowscrash, but I got it all fixed. Partly, because now I am using Ubuntu and that doesn't work with Entropia. I am not swimming in money and I kinda like Ubuntu so I didn't rush to the store for a new Windows based computer.

Now Entropia is starting to itch and I've started looking for a notebook to play Entropia on. Why a notebook? I do like Ubuntu on my regular computer, but would also like something else that drives on Windows. End of story coming now: what kind of notebook to buy?

My budget still is rather low. I have been looking on Marktplaats (Dutch Ebay-site) and seen notebooks "as good as new" between 200-300 euro. I am baffled as to what is a good one for Entropia and other small things. I have found the "System Requirements" for Entropia, but I just can't get my head around that stuff.
Where do I need to look out for and what can I aim for?
Manufactor: Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba, Sony, ???
Processor: ???
Memory: ???
Graphics Card: ???

Any advice on what to buy?
:confused::wtg::confused:
 
The problem is that EU needs a rather good graphics card/system to work reasonably well. This means higher costs.

In addition, if you really mean 'notebook' rather than laptop, then I think you will find most notebooks seriously underpowered.
 
Your budget might be too low, but if you can get something with an i5 processor with HD4000 chipset and 4gb of RAM you could play at low / medium settings. My best shot with that budget.
 
DELL XPS series or new DELL Insprions :yay:

best support!
 
Ardorj said:
Any advice on what to buy?
:confused::wtg::confused:
Click to expand...
The main problem is that 300 euro for a laptop is a very small budget for a gaming station. Expect to run it at minimal graphics settings.

Processor: Preferably i5, but in your price range an i3 is probably what you can get
Graphics card: You'll get some circuit called HD4000 or similar. Preferably a named card.
Memory: 4gb or above. But memory is easy to upgrade
Manufacturer: Lenovo > Sony > Asus > Acer > The rest
 
Tomkat said:
Your budget might be too low, but if you can get something with an i5 processor with HD4000 chipset and 4gb of RAM you could play at low / medium settings. My best shot with that budget.
Click to expand...

Memory leaks are the biggest problem with EU. You could get away with a moderate video card at low settings, but I'd not put less than 8 GB of RAM in any computer you intend to play EU with for the foreseeable future. 16 GB would be more future-resistant. 4 GB is barely scraping by NOW, let alone a few VU's from now.
 
i personally would only go for a thinkpad.. though i think your budget will be too low
 
300 bucks for a gaming notebook? forget that. Buy a real PC for 500 and you'll have fun, not only with PE

Corsair 8gb ~ 50
ASUS M5A99X EVO ~ 100
AMD FX 8320 ~ 150
some AMD graphics card (look for offers) ~100
some tower that looks cool to you ~ 60
add up the power those need, ad 25% and get some power supply from some brand ~ 40

Maybe get a cheaper mainboard+processor and use a better graphics card if you only play PE. If you plan on using the machine for a while get a decent (meaning early 2012) graphics card and update it later when you feel like it. The mainboard/processor and RAM should be good for the next couple of years.

Regards
Thark

edit: i know, i know there is other stuff out there but w/o knowing more about what he wants to do, just get a decent graphics card and update it later.
 
Thanks for the answers so far.

Memory is my main question now. MindArk says for "Very High Settings": Computer Memory: 4096 MB RAM or more. Yet some of you say that's barely enough to play at low settings?

Second, the videocard. If I find a laptop with, say a Intel GM45 I have no idea if that's perfect, oké or terrible. I found this side to compare videocards: http://www.notebookcheck.nl/Vergelijking-van-Video-Kaarten.112.0.html, but that doesn't have the one I just mentioned ...

And maybe I got to tweak up my budget a little bit?

Ard :scratch2::yup::scratch2:
 
Ardorj said:
Thanks for the answers so far.

Memory is my main question now. MindArk says for "Very High Settings": Computer Memory: 4096 MB RAM or more. Yet some of you say that's barely enough to play at low settings?

Second, the videocard. If I find a laptop with, say a Intel GM45 I have no idea if that's perfect, oké or terrible. I found this side to compare videocards: http://www.notebookcheck.nl/Vergelijking-van-Video-Kaarten.112.0.html, but that doesn't have the one I just mentioned ...

And maybe I got to tweak up my budget a little bit?

Ard :scratch2::yup::scratch2:
Click to expand...

Ignore the RAM complainers. EU uses 1 gb of ram in the 'wild' and up to 2 Gb in areas like Twin Peaks. GPU is the most important component you need and sadly, they are expensive on laptops/notebooks. That site is good for comparing them and if it doesn't have the model you see, don't bother with it
 
Fork out the cash and get an Asus G series....:)
 
I just got an HP Pavilion Dv7. It's reasonable, plays EU on High, has a 17.4 inch screen and full numeric keypad, which is good for gaming.

I'm sure I could have done better, but the price couldnt be beat at just under $600.

What you want is a video card that is at least as good as the GeForce 8800GT, if not better. It needs to be discreet, not integrated, with at least 1GB of Video Memory. You'll want an i5 or equivalent AMD processor to go with.

DO NOT GET AN AMD FX PROCESSOR!!!

These processors are universally recognized as being junk for gaming. If you go AMD get an Athlon or a Phenom II processor. These older processors blow the FX chips out of the water for regular tasks. As an AMD person myself I would not touch the FX processor with a 10 foot pole for anything other than office or database based calculations. For that it excels. For graphics, no.

You want 8GB RAM minimum. You'll need it.

You want a 7200 RPM Hard Drive, minimum.

You can get all this for under $600.
 
Ardorj said:
Memory is my main question now. MindArk says for "Very High Settings": Computer Memory: 4096 MB RAM or more. Yet some of you say that's barely enough to play at low settings?
Click to expand...
Memory isn't just for EU. Your operating system, browser and other stuff consume it as well. RAM need also changes. Solo at a crafting terminal doesn't need the same as standing in twin peaks.

With that said 2 gb of ram was bottom of the barrel five years ago. RAM is also dirt cheap compared to other components.
Magyar_Republic said:
I just got an HP Pavilion Dv7. It's reasonable, plays EU on High, has a 17.4 inch screen and full numeric keypad, which is good for gaming.
Click to expand...
Spec. wise the Pavilion is pretty awesome. They do have a lot of issues with faulty models though. My girlfriend went through two (in a row) which were really messed up (first had a dry squeaking fan, the second they forgot to plug in the touchpad) before she finally gave up and bought an asus.
 
hi

memory - 3-4 gigabytes, or 2 with possibility of upgrade (if u buying used one), 8GB in new doesnt hurt but overall consumption oscillates around 4GB

cpu - at least 2 cores but not the slowest one

gfx - discrete one, not built in cpu or motherboard, no GMA450, HD4000 etc, that shit is not enough (unless its new AMD APU but I don't know current situation).
When it comes to gpu some may have many names, and one name may be diffrend gpus. It's chaos. It also depends on screen resolution. The same GPU will be faster with 1366x786 than on 1440x900 or sth like that.
Remember that for exapmle geforce 630 may be considerably slower than 640. So u need to check performance before buying.

Check this:http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

Also look on this site for reviews and other list. It's chaotic but u need proper notebook. Look for Crysis benchmarks.
 
ALEXANDER said:
Ignore the RAM complainers. EU uses 1 gb of ram in the 'wild' and up to 2 Gb in areas like Twin Peaks. GPU is the most important component you need and sadly, they are expensive on laptops/notebooks. That site is good for comparing them and if it doesn't have the model you see, don't bother with it
Click to expand...

LOL That would be true if it weren't for the memory leaks...are you trying to say there ARE no memory leak issues with EU??? Surely you jest!!

I should also remind the O.P. to be sure they get a laptop with a 64-bit version of Windows. 32-bit flavors will only address about 3 GB of memory, regardless of how much is physically installed. And don't buy a laptop that "barely cuts it right now", because the game and its demands will NOT stay the way they are, right now. You better get something that'll let you run EU 1 to 2 YEARS from now, or guess what? You'll be buying a new laptop again!

Don't skimp on RAM. 8 GB *minimum* or you'll regret it in a few years, if not right away.
 
Still buzzing in my mind all the different specifications. How does this sound:

Compaq Presario CQ57
15,6 Inch Led Display!
AMD E-300 APU @ 1,3 GHz Dualcore
AMD Radeon HD 6310 Videokaart
Harde schijf: 320 GB
Werkgeheugen (RAM): 4 GB
Windows 7 Home Premium

PS. notebookcheck can be handy I guess. MindArk has for "Very High Settings" : Graphics Card (with latest drivers): NVIDIA GeForce 285 / ATI Radeon 4870 or better. That side has those two listed under "Archived (old)", which means there are at least 480 better cards lol. Or did MindArk forget to update that for the past 10 years?!?

PS II. I play on Arkadia, so no trouble with Twin Peaks and those areas.

:wtg::scratch2::wtg:
 
if you do bit of research you could have both windows and linux on same (main) pc...allot cheaper too..might(in worst case) imply buying extra HDD only..
 
Ardorj said:
Still buzzing in my mind all the different specifications. How does this sound:

Compaq Presario CQ57
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound too good. GPU has 80 shaders. Compare this to HD5770 which has 800 and runs EU pretty good at FullHD.
 
if you will only have eu on that comp (maybe word chrome) etc you can get a toshiba satellite

i have i3 prcessor intel HD grafics and 4 gig ram. got my for around 400 euro and when it only had eu on it it worked on high (not for long though) so im guessing get an i3/i5 and you can run medium/low settings
 
I've took out a bit more cash to look in the range of max. 600 euro. I came to these eight laptops I might choose from (all links are to Dutch sites).

Lenovo Essential B560 Cheapest of eight.
Lenovo NZRDUMH Best memory.
Acer NX.M0DEH.001 Best videocard.
Acer Aspire V5-551-64456G75Makk
Acer Aspire V3-571-53236G50Makk
Lenovo ThinkPad E535 NZRDUMH
Acer Aspire V3-771-33116G50Makk
Acer Aspire V3-771-32328G75Makk

Any thoughts on what's a good one or which one to scrap from the list?
By the way: I am not planning to play Entropia on "Very High Settings". Medium with some stats at high is good enough for me.

Greetings,
Ardorj :yup::eek::yup:
 
as a EU geek you should ofc choose the one with the name NZR in it :)
 
I suggest you rent out your body behind grand central station in the weekends a bit so you get a bit more of a budget. Sloterdijk is ok I heard.

But seriously RAM can be an issue at 6 GB already btw, with 8 GB I've never seen problems. Checking the task manager EU alone uses 1.3GB most of the time. Win itsself needs some as well and some more software you got running needs a bit. People have different experiences with this it seems.


Video cards are pretty important.

Keep in mind that goes along with the screen resolution. If you want the image to look sharp on your screen you use the native resolution of your LCD. If that's full-hd then your video card needs to be pretty high end to run smoothly. If your screen is low like 1400*1050 the video card needs to be way less powerful to make it run well.

So for budget pick a lappy with a lower native screen resolution perhaps...
 
just subscribing cuz I will need to make same decision someday coming sooner than I wish
 
Ardorj said:
I've took out a bit more cash to look in the range of max. 600 euro. I came to these eight laptops I might choose from (all links are to Dutch sites).
Click to expand...

http://nextdeal.nl/acer-nxm0deh001-...ds=Acer---...price=600.4297520661157...stock=

I prefer that one. i5 at 2.6 (3.2 for the turbo core); HD4000; 6 gb RAM (although one stick is 2gb and can be swapped for another 4 thus making 8gb in total).
The only bad part about it is the weak HD4000. The processor is really capable of handling a stronger graphics card. And yea, it's acer so expect it to be less rigid than an asus or lenovo. If you can live with those two points its a fairly decent machine.
 
The notebook I use is just eprfect for Entropia, bought last year and still running the game perfectly on a mixed high and very high settings.

It's a Hasee K70P. Paid about less than 500euros.

Take a look at the brand, I bought their most powerful and expensive laptop model, but now, I guess they got nice stuff for cheaper that run perfectly the game.
 
Luckycharm said:
I suggest you rent out your body behind grand central station in the weekends a bit so you get a bit more of a budget. Sloterdijk is ok I heard.
Click to expand...

Selling ME @ 130%, Spoor 4!!

But seriously RAM can be an issue at 6 GB already btw, with 8 GB I've never seen problems. Checking the task manager EU alone uses 1.3GB most of the time. Win itsself needs some as well and some more software you got running needs a bit. People have different experiences with this it seems.
Click to expand...

I don't plan to run other things on that laptop, still keep my desktop for that. Except maybe Excel for some loot data, but that doesn't take much memory, does it? That being said, with my meager understanding I have two Lenovo's that are the same except memory. From 4GB to 16GB with only 14 euro more does sounds good.


Video cards are pretty important.

Keep in mind that goes along with the screen resolution. If you want the image to look sharp on your screen you use the native resolution of your LCD. If that's full-hd then your video card needs to be pretty high end to run smoothly. If your screen is low like 1400*1050 the video card needs to be way less powerful to make it run well.

So for budget pick a lappy with a lower native screen resolution perhaps...
Click to expand...

All except the last two have a resolution of 1366 x 768, that means low right? The other two got 1600 x 900, but also a bigger screen (17" over 15"6).

:eyecrazy::scratch2::eyecrazy:
 
The reason I like Lenovo is because their laptops are built as tanks. I have a thinkpad for my portable needs and it weights a ton due to all the metal. On the other hand I slipped on some ice whilst biking, landed on my backpack (with the lappy) and it didn't even stop running.

They come with a pricetag but I can honestly say that's due to the quality of the builds, nothing else.
 
Funny, on ArkadiaForum there are some who praise AlienWare above all others (did I forget to mention that 1000+ is out of my league)? One who distates everything that comes near Lenovo.
Guess it's with all the bigger brands, it all comes down to preferity. What is better? Canon or Nixon? Heineken or Budweiser? Porsche or Ferrari? Asus or Lenovo? McDonalds or Burger King? The Cure or R.E.M.? World of Warcraft or Entropia Universe?

:tongue2::computer::tongue2:
 
Ardorj said:
Funny, on ArkadiaForum there are some who praise AlienWare above all others (did I forget to mention that 1000+ is out of my league)? One who distates everything that comes near Lenovo.
Guess it's with all the bigger brands, it all comes down to preferity. What is better? Canon or Nixon? Heineken or Budweiser? Porsche or Ferrari? Asus or Lenovo? McDonalds or Burger King? The Cure or R.E.M.? World of Warcraft or Entropia Universe?

:tongue2::computer::tongue2:
Click to expand...
Well to have a quick rundown:

Lenovo (IBM) - Mostly sold to corporations. Never break down; thus the pricetag. Also why the consumer portion of their brand is lacking.
Dell & HP - Bought by corporations because they have simply amazing warranties. If it breaks down they replace it. For consumers they have a low price point and flashy cases. Really badly built though, so problems with heating, lacking lubrication and bad component mixes are rampant.
Compaq - No idea where these went. Used to big ten years ago.
Asus - Produce high quality components. Their PCs can best be described as "Hey, we took all this high quality gear and smacked it into a plastic case. Enjoy".
Acer - Best described as budget Asus
Sony - Exactly the same concept as Asus. Sony however focuses on electronics and not on PCs, which can be shown from time to time.
Alienware - Work good. But if your price point is twice as high for the same components, what can you expect?
Apple - Alienware + Dell & HP
 
You missed Samsung. I bought a Series 7 gamer, and it runs EU well. But, while it was considerably cheaper than Alienware, it still wasn't cheap!
 
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