Jinn

I've got a decent desktop -

Athlon XP 3200+
1.5GB DDR400
x800 XL (256 AGP)
280 GB internal IDE HDs

I've built it and its predecessors myself, so I have a relative idea of desktop hardware.. but I've never had a laptop. I'm looking to get a secondary laptop with a few goals in mind - ability to use it in classes for (a) boredom web browsing, (b) programming in Visual Studio 2003/2005 and (c) playing mid to high end games. I'd also like to be able to bring it home and have it act as a second computer that can play EverQuest II with decent quality.

I went browsing around and found a few, but I think what I've got now represents a pretty good buy:

Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2050 (1.60GHz/533MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™Go 7300 TurboCache
Hard Drive 60GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Draft N Internal Wireless
Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr HW

They're also throwing in a:
Dell Color Printer 725 Unit Price $0.00


Total Price
$923.52

My major concerns: is the 256 Go 7300 going to be enough to play a game like EverQuest II at medium quality? It's an additional $130 - without it, the price drops to $800. And is the Core Duo 1.6 going to be enough? There are options to bump it to a Core Duo 1.8 and 2.0, with repsective bus increases. I'd like to keep it below $1000. Any thoughts? Are there any similiar laptops that'll meet a, b and c for cheaper? If so, let me know.. Dell just happened to be the most convenient to customize.

EDIT: As an added note, I picked up a 500 GB external a few weeks ago, so the relatively small size from the laptop's internal drive shouldn't be too much of a problem.

EDIT x2: After a bit of browsing online it seems the Radeon Mobile x1400 is a much better performer than the geforce go, so I've switched to that and dropped another $30..

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Embic

i think it should be all right, i play WoW on medium settings on my inspiron 6000 with no problems. its got the ati x300 256mb. it plays BF2 ok as well.

Cynthetiq

After having an old machine where i played WoW on medium settings and playing at 20FPS solo and 8 FPS during 40 man MC runs, and upgrading to a new desktop at 60+FPS with all the graphics turned up, I'd never ever ever play on less again. It's like a while new game.

but it seems like a great machine with the important parts, A and B fulfilled, unless you most imporant part is C.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.