Portable Gaming

[CaptShack]

I am in need of a little advice. I do most of my gaming on the road in a hotel room. I am gone 3 days a week and have to lug my laptop everyday while traveling. I virtually never use my battery. I might use the battery a bit surfing in the airport.

Which would be better for gaming on the road in a hotel room plugged into the wall, the NP5793 or the NP9262? Is the 9262 with the desktop CPU's better than the 5793 and the new T9500? If the 9262 is better should I go with the Core 2 Duo or Quad? How about screen size and vist 64 bit or 32 bit?

The 9262 is a bit heavier and a bit more expensive, but about the same size.

Thanks

[Justin_W@XoticPC]

I would really recommend the 5792 in your situation. The 9262 is more of a desktop replacement notebook and will be more weight to lug around. The 5792 is more of the portable version of the 9262. Also the battery life on the 5792 is much better.

[robamb2002]

When you say "lugging around" do you mean you will have it with you all day, or will it be stored in your hotel room? If its just going to be in your room while you work, and you want "top notch" then I would say the NP9262 would be the way to go (if it is within your budget). doing a bit of research has led me to the conclusion that few games yet take advantage of a quad core processor/sli technologies however this is the way of the future and would "future proof" your laptop for many nice upgrades down the line. Also, the NP9262 offers a higher FSB which will speed things up. The screen resolution is a matter of preference, frankly the 1920 res seems a little overkill for a 17" screen (but I got it anyways :) ) The nice thing about both notebooks is you can get vista 32&64 in one package, you can try both and discover for yourself what you like better. The major difference I've noticed is 64 will see all 4 Gb of RAM while the 32 bit architecture can only recognize 3 Gb. Most programs have released 64 bit updates, however some older software may not have updates nor be planning on updating. just somthing to think about.

[CaptShack]

Thanks for the very quick reply Justin.

I am an airline pilot so I drag my laptop with me. I lug it through security everyday on the road and stash it it the cockpit and then bring it to the hotel and do it all over again the next day for 3 to 4 days straight before I go home, so a lot of lugging.

On anandtec they did a review of the 5792 from a different company. It gave it very good marks. Of course they should have gotten it from XOTIC :D.

The reviewer mentioned that the 1680x1050 might be a better screen for gaming because the demands are not as high. Is that true? I assume watching a DVD would be good on either screen.

He also mentioned the T7500 was "plenty fast" for gaming. Is the T9500 worth the extra $310 as far as gaming goes?

How about thoughts on Vista with 32 bit with 2MB or 64 with 4MB. and which version?

That should be all my questions

Thanks again.

[CaptShack]

Some great thoughts robamb2002, thanks. I have thought those same things that you mentioned. I do like your specs on your computer. How big is the power brick? That is a consideration too. I have to lug that thing around.

[robamb2002]

I don't have it in front of me but from memory I would say the power converter is about 6-7"x3"x1.5-2.5" someone could verify (or I could when I get home) everything fits nicely into the free case that comes with the NP5792

[robamb2002]

The T9500 may not be worth the extra 310, but I'm sure the T9300 would be worth the extra 85!

well thats my opinon anyway :wink:

one last point: if my memory serves me, the NP5793 will support extreme processors, though the eta. on support has not yet been released. you may wish to see what comes of this news before ordering a laptop which will be surpassed in a month or so. (although it will be surpassed in a month or so regardless due to the nature of technology :? )

[robamb2002]

ok, official size 6.5"x2.5"x1.5" 8)

[Kubaton]

Another thing worth mentioning, and I don't think has been said yet, is that most of the time 32-bit programs will run on 64-bit platforms. On occasion, some tweaks or workarounds may be necessary for a 32-bit program to work properly in a 64-bit environment. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit on my Dell laptop (until my 9262 gets here tomorrow) and I have had very few issues with software, both 32-bit and 64-bit.

[kpauls]

I don't have it in front of me but from memory I would say the power converter is about 6-7"x3"x1.5-2.5" someone could verify (or I could when I get home) everything fits nicely into the free case that comes with the NP5792

Those dimensions are approximately correct for the NP9262 power unit sitting on my desk. It's maybe 3 lbs? - one of the biggest laptop power bricks I've handled. (edit: I just spotted a good picture of the power brick here: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3783&review=Sager+NP9260 )

Also regarding 32-bit vs 64-bit my 32-bit programs all run fine, but 64-bit drivers will be an issue! I'm currently shopping for a 3G wireless card and haven't gotten a solid answer on Vista 64 drivers.

[wullger]

Here's Microsoft's MSDN section about the WOW64 emulator, which allows 32 bit programs to run on XP and Vista 64 bit editions :)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/win64/win64/running_32_bit_applications.asp