Laptop advice

Hecatæus · Feb 18, 2003

I am considering getting a decent WinXP laptop for gaming at the table.

Any advice or reccomendations?

Psionicist · Feb 18, 2003

For gaming, you don't need the latest and greatest. You will be just fine with a used laptop, say 500 MHz+ with 256mb or more RAM.

gariig · Feb 18, 2003

Problem is findind an older laptop cheap. It's almost worthwhile to get a new, inexpensive laptop then an older one. What is your budget right now?

Gariig

Hand of Evil · Feb 18, 2003

Psionicist said:
For gaming, you don't need the latest and greatest. You will be just fine with a used laptop, say 500 MHz+ with 256mb or more RAM.

This is very good advice. If all you are going to be using it for, be sure it has a CD for sound effects.

jdavis · Feb 18, 2003

gariig said:
Problem is findind an older laptop cheap. It's almost worthwhile to get a new, inexpensive laptop then an older one. What is your budget right now?

Gariig

New/used/refurbished laptops:

http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=NBB

New/refurbished laptops (UBID)

http://www.ubid.com/cat/get_cat_page.asp?CatID=1001

Getting a good laptop for under a grand is not that hard anymore. Heck getting a decent laptop for under $800 isn't that difficult, you can get a 500 MHz for under $500 with a little shopping around. Now if you want top of the line then you better be willing to dish out some major bucks.

Hecatæus · Feb 19, 2003

Thanks for the advice and links.

jdavis · Feb 19, 2003

Hecatæus said:
Thanks for the advice and links.

Don't forget to check prices on Pricewatch before you buy.

http://www.pricewatch.com/

Leopold · Feb 21, 2003

Honest to god, go out and spend the 1k and get a brand new baby. It's cheap enough, it'll do everything you need and nothing you don't.

Staples has a good run on cheap laptops around 799 or so.

Honestly spending 500 for a laptop that's 1/2 the speed of a 800 dollar laptop doesn't really work well for me...

gariig · Feb 21, 2003

Hot Deal on a Laptop!!

Inspiron 2650C laptop computer, 1.6GHz 256MB, for $624
Dell Inspiron 2650C is a 1.6 GHz laptop computer with 14.1" LCD screen and 256MB memory. Configure the machine with 256MB of memory, a free upgrade from 128MB. That memory upgrade says it invalidates the mail-in rebate, but there is no mail-in rebate afterall. Price after 15% off code 95895C34C7C6 comes to $594, free shipping, but mandatory sales tax may bring your purchase price to around $624.

Can't be beat really. If I didn't need to build me a new computer I would probably do it. Tempting to finance it...

Gariig

Fenes 2 · Feb 23, 2003

Another thing to be considered is the size of the computer. I bought a notebook last week, not the fastest one (IBM Thinkpad, 700 MHZ), but without the docking station it is barely bigger than the PHB, and weighs around 3 pounds. Even if I don't use it for more than to reference my electronic sourcebooks (SRD, PDFs and homebrew material) (I plan to get some nice utilities for DMing) it already saves me weight and space (both in the bag as well as on the table) when I game abroad.

Knowing myself, I would be tempted to leave the thing at home more often than not due to weight and space considerations and sheer lazyness otherwise.)