Acer Aspire 5920
NotebookReview has a review of the Acer Aspire 5920. It sounds like a heavy laptop (read desktop replacement) at almost 7lbs. But has quite an impressive spec for the price:
- Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor T7300
- 15.4″ WXGA high-brightness (220-nit) Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, 8 ms response time
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with up to 1GB of TurboCache technology (256 MB of dedicated GDDR2 VRAM, up to 768 MB of shared system memory)
- Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N)
- 2 GB of DDR2 667 MHz memory, upgradeable to 4GB using two soDIMM modules (dual-channel support)
- Dolby-certified surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers and one subwoofer supporting low-frequency effects
- 160 GB hard disk drive
- 5-in-1 card reader
- DVD Super Multi DL Optical Drive
- Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam (0.3 megapixel)
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
They conclude by saying:
I definitely recommend Acer Aspire 5920G to gamers and power-users. This is an attractive, solid, and high quality laptop backed up by a reasonable price.
Intel Boost Graphics Performance On Laptops
TrustedReviews explains how a new driver update for the GMA900 series of integrated graphics from Intel boost graphical performance for laptops based on the chipset. The updated driver adds hardware support for Vertex Shader 3.0 which should allow users to achieve a playable framerate on games like Battlefield 2. They explain:
The reason this update is possible is down to the architecture of Intel’s integrated graphics chips. In a similar fashion to the Unified Shader Model used in nVidia 8xxx and ATI’s 2xxx series of graphics cards, the GMA chips uses “execution engines” which can be programmed to take on whatever task is thrown at them.
So while it’s never going to be as good as a full blown gaming system, it’s a big boost for gamers on a budget.
Toshiba Announces The Satellite X200 Gaming Laptop
Toshiba has also announced their new Satellite X200 laptop which is designed for gamers. It features a 17″ TruBrite WSXGA+ display, nVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT, 1GB of RAM plus 1GB of Intel Turbo memory. Four Harman Kardon speakers on board and Dolby Sound Room. On top of that you get fingerprint security (just what every gamer needs), a Dual Mode touchpad, Bluetooth 2.0 and an HD DVD-ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive. There’s a five-in-one media adapter, built in 1.3 megapixel webcam and integrated mic too.
It comes with Windows Vista Home Premium Edition. The UK starting price is apparently £1,199.00 excluding VAT.
XtremeNotebooks Xtreme 917V
US based XtremeNotebooks announced its new Xtreme 917V laptop recently. The laptop is perfect for gamers with an Intel Core 2 Quad processor. The Xtreme 917V includes the option to have RAID 0, 1, or 5, dual SLI nVidia 8000 or Quadro series graphics cards (Microsoft DirectX 10 support) and triple SATA hard disk drives up to 300GB each. It’s a perfect laptop for anyone wanting a high-end graphics or gaming rig.
Three different models are available: Fusion, Reactor and Accelerator. Each model offers a 17″ display (1680×1050 Super Wide Angle Glass View LCD) with the base configuration featuring a 60GB SATA 150 hard drive and an 8X DVD+/-R/RW burner. RAM can be expanded up to 4GB.
Asus Gives The G1S Gaming Laptop The Santa Rosa Treatment
The Asus G1 is based on the Intel Santa Rosa architecture and has apparently been designed with mobile gaming in mind. While the spec is fairly modest by hard core gaming standards:
- Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz)
- Screen: 15.4″ WSXGA+ (1680×1050)
- RAM: 2048M DDR2 667
- Hard Disk: 160GB HD 5400 RPM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForceGo 7700 GPU 512 MB
It’s prefectly adequate for mobile gamers and at 15.4″ it’s slightly more portable than many top end 17″ gaming laptops.
Alienware Offers The m5550 Laptop As A “Quick Ship”
Alienware is apparently now offering the Area 51 m5550 laptop as a “Quick Ship” that is they promise to ship within two business days of payment confirmation and validation. The configuration for the Quick Ship laptop is as follows:
- 15.4″ glossy screen
- Core 2 Duo 2GHz processor and 2GB of memory
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics
- 802.11g wireless
- 160GB 5400 RPM hard drive
- An 8X Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW
Gizmodo Reviews The Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV680
Toshiba’s Qosmio G45-AV680 has quite a specification:
- Genuine Windows Vista(TM) Ultimate (32-bit version)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T7300(5) 2.00 GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB with 64-bit(6)
- 2048MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory(7) Maximum capacity 4096MB
- Intel(R) Turbo Memory 1024MB
- 320GB using two Serial-ATA hard disk drives(8) Primary 160GB + Secondary 160GB
- HD DVD-R/DVD SuperMulti (+/- double layer) drive (in one optical drive) supporting 13 formats
- Toshiba USB HDTV Tuner (External)
- 17-inch diagonal widescreen Ultimate TruBrite(R) display 1920×1200 native resolution (WUXGA) Supports 1080p content
- PCI-Express(TM) x16 graphics subsystem, featuring: NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 8600 GT with 512MB DDR2 discrete graphics memory, plus up to 255MB dynamically allocated shared graphics(9) memory using NVIDIA(R) TurboCache(TM) technology
- 1-bit Digital Amplifier
- Four built-in Harman Kardon(R) Bass Reflex stereo speakers with subwoofer
- Dolby Home Theater(TM)
- Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
- Toshiba Remote Control
- Embedded Webcam and microphone
- Fingerprint reader
Perhaps more of an entertainment laptop (HD DVD and HDTV) than a gaming latop it’ll still no doubt be quite a compentent gaming machine.
Dell Inspiron 1720 Laptop
PC Advisor has a review of the Dell Inspiron 1720. The dell laptop has a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, 2GB RAM, and an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card, making it a compentent gaming machine. Undoubtedly like all Dell PC’s you’ll be able to configure your purchase selecting more RAM, faster hard drive or processor and so on.
I’m a long term Dell fan so it’s a tempting proposition, the price however remains a little too high.
CNET Reviews The Alienware Area-51 m9750
CNET has a review of the Alienware Area-51 m9750. They gave it a 8.2 out of 10. Their verdict is:
The good: Massive resolution display; twin SLI video cards offer unparalleled 3D performance for a laptop; DVI and surround sound outputs; matte finish on case repels fingerprints.
The bad: No HDMI; requires Windows XP for optimum performance; reasonable starting price disappears quickly with upgrades; battery life weak, even for a desktop replacement.
The bottom line: Alienware’s flagship gaming laptop, the Area-51 m9750, has plenty of appeal for high-end gamers, but the alien head aesthetic seems dated, and newer components are right around the corner.
It’s an awesome looking laptop, I’ll have to start saving up!
Alienware Aurora m9700 17-inch Laptop
There’s a review of the Alienware Aurora m9700 over on The Tech Lounge. It might be a $4000 laptop but it’s got to be one of the top gaming laptops about and like all Alienware kit looks simply stunning!
With 2x GeForce 7900GS 512MB, 2x 1024MB DDR2 800MHz and 2x 150GB 7200RPM SATA (RAID 0) hard disks (two of everything really) it’s as more gaming from a laptop than most desktops will ever deliver.