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Thread ID: 115668	2011-01-29 04:25:00	Considering laptop for university.	LettuceLeaves (16199)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1173492	2011-01-29 04:25:00	Hi everyone. In little under a month I'll be starting my courses at the University of Canterbury, and I was considering getting a laptop. I'm living at home for my study (this year at least, I may flat from next year). I currently have a desktop at home, which I share with my brother. It's between 3-5 years old, and can only handle games such as Counter-Strike, and WoW on low. Due to the fact that I already have a desktop (which, admittedly, I'll be sharing with someone) I'm wondering if buying a laptop is worth it. My budget would be anything under $1200 (roughly). The degree I'm starting is a bachelor of Science, majoring in Computer science. In addition to taking some notes, doing programming work, and watching videos I also want to play computer games on it. Are any laptops within my price limit going to be able to actually play games such as: Starcraft 2, Dragon Age 2, and potentially Guild Wars 2 comfortably? I don't mind running the graphics on lower settings, as frame-rate is my primary concern. Some of the laptops I've been looking at include: www.dse.co.nz www.dse.co.nz Does anyone have any experience with these/similar laptops, or advice on the matter? From what I've read, the graphics card in the (cheaper) Toshiba performs somewhat better than the Asus, though the Asus has a better processor. At the moment solid-state drives seem to be far to expensive in laptops. On a somewhat related note, I'm also looking for advice on whether I should simply take my notes on paper, and use my current desktop for typing stuff out. Sorry for my post being so long-winded, and possibly circular. Thanks in advance for any and all replies.	LettuceLeaves (16199)
1173493	2011-01-29 04:29:00	afaik unless you get the lappie overseas, in nz they just don't have enough grunt for modern games within your budget. ie., the graphics card. unless you intend to regularly take lappie to lectures and or library etc .. i get a desktop. i assume upgrade is not a solution when you go flatting ... the other(s) may need a computer when you are gone. you could possibly run the games at a lesser setting which might be fine for casual gamers :D PC will give you best bang thou for more intensive users.	Nomad (952)
1173494	2011-01-29 07:47:00	Thanks for the reply. Since I've never been to a lecture yet, haven't decided how I'll take notes. I'm thinking I'll just take notes on paper, and type up whatever I need (probably doing that in the library, during some spare time). If/when I do move out, I'll definitely be getting a laptop then. Anyone else have any advice?	LettuceLeaves (16199)
1173495	2011-01-29 08:08:00	On a somewhat related note, I'm also looking for advice on whether I should simply take my notes on paper, and use my current desktop for typing stuff out. An alternative would be to use a voice recorder to record down what has been said by the lecturer / tutor. Personally, I find it easier to type out what the lecturers have said, especially in classes where no written notes are given out.	Renmoo (66)
1173496	2011-01-29 08:43:00	I doubt you'll get one with a budget of 1200 or less, you'd need a good laptop of around 1700 to play games like dragon age 2 I'd imagine. My laptop was 1200 on a pretty major sale, and it sort of struggles on left for dead above bare minimum, although it can run oblivion rather nicely, just can't look absolutely fantastic. The asus would have a decent CPU but the GPU might be a letdown, the Tosh has better graphics but the CPU is a definite letdown. www.noelleeming.co.nz That might be a go, although the design and build flaws that might be present could put you off. It honestly doesn't seem like there are many notebook GPU's at the moment either - under a certain pricepoint they're all of the same breed, and probably won't handle decent gaming for the most part.	8ftmetalhaed (14526)
1173497	2011-01-29 08:45:00	An alternative would be to use a voice recorder to record down what has been said by the lecturer / tutor. Personally, I find it easier to type out what the lecturers have said, especially in classes where no written notes are given out. how common are they these days? when i was at uni we all just wrote notes, isn't typing on a keyb distracting to other students .. in our days the odd person may have a b/w Mac and they got the odd paper aeroplane bound at them ... :p	Nomad (952)
1173498	2011-01-29 08:46:00	Thanks for the reply. Since I've never been to a lecture yet, haven't decided how I'll take notes. I'm thinking I'll just take notes on paper, and type up whatever I need (probably doing that in the library, during some spare time). If/when I do move out, I'll definitely be getting a laptop then. Anyone else have any advice? what's your expectation of a gaming system? i suggest you attend a week of lectures and see what you gonna do if you don't mind a laptop or a desktop. cannot speak too much of myself as that was many moons ago :D in our days not many had laptops at uni, i had a laptop but just left it on my desk collecting dust, it did save some real estate thou.	Nomad (952)
1173499	2011-01-29 12:50:00	what's your expectation of a gaming system? i suggest you attend a week of lectures and see what you gonna do if you don't mind a laptop or a desktop. Thanks for the posts everyone. Yeah, I imagine that if I am to buy something, it won't be until at least the second week of the semester. From a "gaming" laptop, I'd simply expect it to run something like Starcraft 2, with everything on low, at somewhere between 1024-1400ish for the horizontal resolution (can't remember the usual vertical number) at somewhere between 40-60 frames per second. If that expecting simply is asking too much for a laptop, then I may be inclined to buy a new desktop (if I actually get some vaguely modern video games, and to buy a (cheaper) notebook, to simply take notes on, and do non-3d programming stuff.	LettuceLeaves (16199)
1173500	2011-01-30 05:41:00	I imagine very few people have gone thru your scenario. I suggest maybe you download a game demo you are interested in, put on a USB stick and take it to a retail store and install the game and have a go .. that you are familiar with so you can access the statistics ... When I went to uni, I didn't play games, well we couldn't we had the builtin CD which might of been 8x or 12x speed, anything external wasn'g good enough cos we didn't have USB back then. Parallel port was good enough at 2x. USB1 came out later and that was 4x I think. Heck DVD wasn't out then. Ask the store, first, I imagine they wouldn't have an issue about it, let them know you wanna see if it is fast enough for you and you have a "demo" game.	Nomad (952)
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