Hello, I need some advice from you guys.

Am getting a new laptop and was wondering if these specifications are good for a university student who is also into a bit of computer gaming. The main thing I wanted to know from you guys is if the graphics card is good ENOUGH? It says dynamic graphics this is what is also confusing me. Am not PLANNING on buying another laptop for a long time so I was also wondering the specifications is good enough to last time for a few years.

Also should i upgrade to windows vista or remain on windows xp?

Thanks in advance


Here are the specifications-

Brand ACER
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor model number T5600
Processor speed 1.83 GHz
Processor bus 667 MHz
Processor cache 2 MB
Memory (RAM) 2048 MB
Storage (hard drive) 120 GB
SATA storage Not featured
Screen size 15.4 inches
Screen type Widescreen
Built-in wireless networking Yes
Wired networking Yes
Gigabit LAN Not featured
Optical drive Plays & records CDs and DVDs
Lightscribe technology Not featured
Operating system Windows XP Media Center
Windows Vista upgrade available Windows Vista Home Premium
Application software Not featured
Shared graphics Not featured
Dynamic graphics 256MB GF7300GO
Dedicated graphics Not featured
USB 2.0 slots 4
Firewire Not featured
Media card slots 5-in-1
PC card slots 1
Speakers Stereobuilt-in
Built-in bluetooth Not featured
Built-in webcam Yes
Watch & record live TV Not featured
Battery life (maximum) 2:00 hours
Laptop weight (kg) 2.8 kg
What kind of budget are you WORKING with? It's not a bad machine, but if you're going to have it for a couple of years, you want to get the best that you can possibly afford.Hey man thanks for the quick reply.

My budget is £650 and that computer is exactly £650. When I mean am not gona buy one for some time i mean 1-4 years.

So what do you think of the graphics card?


ThanksWhat games do you play?
Check the GPU FAQ, it still applies to mobile GPUs like that one, although the mobile versions are slightly slower than their desktop equivalents.
Other than the graphics card, it's a fantastic buy, especially for that price.I play games like far cry, half life 2, and most importantly microsoft flight simulator X.

Yea it seems like a good laptop but am just worried about the graphics card..

I checked the GPU Faq and found it here From lowest to highest performance:
Nvidia GeForce 6200
ATI Radeon X300
Nvidia GeForce 7200
Nvidia GeForce 7300
ATI Radeon X1300

But am not sure if thats mine still. I don't see anything about dynamic graphics. So should I take it? I don't want a graphics card that can't play some of the latest games.
That is your card, but the desktop version.
The dynamic graphics may be another way of saying that the card is actually the GeForce Go7300TC, or it may not.
It's a low performance card really, you won't be able to play the latest games on it.
Flight Sim X needs a good graphics card, and so does Far Cry.
I think HL2 is pretty intensive too.
Anyway, that's not a gaming card, or not for modern games anyway.
Sorry.
I don't think you'll get a better laptop for the price though, gaming laptops are pretty expensive.
It'll last a few years, but not for gaming.
Does it have to be a laptop?
A desktop for that price would tackle modern games easily.I dunno, my 7600GS runs everything that I give it with grace, even maxed out! 2GB will PROBABLY boost the performance quite a bit over standard 1GB systems (like mine). You could afford to lose about 512MB to your gpu with that kind of ram.but memory is only 1 factor. the actual chipset might be a problem as the 7600 chip is much faster than the 7300 chip. with a desktop, you could get a pc that'll be amazing. I BOUGHT the tower of mine for about $525 and its a pretty nice gaming machine. I have a cheap keyboard and even cheaper speakers, but that doesn't really affect performance. also notice that it's integrated graphics that you have. That will really slow it down. How much gaming do u do and what games do u play. If i may ask, whats your budget? it'll help me find u a good deal.The 7600 class is far above the 7300 class.
A desktop would work great, but a laptop is a whole different story.Yea, I need a laptop because am a univeristy student I need something to take with me.

On my sister's laptop she has a dell inspiron 6000 which has a graphics card called the ATI Mobility Radeon X300. It's 128mb and can play far cry on the best settings. Now this new laptop that I want to get the Nvidia GeForce 7300 is 256mb but it's dynamic graphics.. So if my sister's laptop can play far cry with 128mb and reading the GPU Faq it says the x300 has lower performance. My sister's laptop can also play flight simulator 2004 on best settings.

So I am really stuck here, the laptop was supposed to be for my birthday lol but after reading your post I might have to postpone the laptop. :-/
Quote

I dunno, my 7600GS runs everything that I give it with grace, even maxed out! 2GB will probably boost the performance quite a bit over standard 1GB systems (like mine). You could afford to lose about 512MB to your gpu with that kind of ram.but memory is only 1 factor. the actual chipset might be a problem as the 7600 chip is much faster than the 7300 chip. with a desktop, you could get a pc that'll be amazing. I bought the tower of mine for about $525 and its a pretty nice gaming machine. I have a cheap keyboard and even cheaper speakers, but that doesn't really affect performance. also notice that it's integrated graphics that you have. That will really slow it down. How much gaming do u do and what games do u play. If i may ask, whats your budget? it'll help me find u a good deal.

On my sister's laptop she has a dell inspiron 6000 which has a graphics card called the ATI Mobility Radeon X300. It's 128mb and can play far cry on the best settings. Now this new laptop that I want to get the Nvidia GeForce 7300 is 256mb but it's dynamic graphics.. So if my sister's laptop can play far cry with 128mb and reading the GPU Faq it says the x300 has lower performance. My sister's laptop can also play flight simulator 2004 on best settings.

Quote

On my sister's laptop she has a dell inspiron 6000 which has a graphics card called the ATI Mobility Radeon X300. It's 128mb and can play far cry on the best settings. Now this new laptop that I want to get the Nvidia GeForce 7300 is 256mb but it's dynamic graphics.. So if my sister's laptop can play far cry with 128mb and reading the GPU Faq it says the x300 has lower performance. My sister's laptop can also play flight simulator 2004 on best settings.

Are you sure?
I doubt that somehow.
BTW, if it has 256Mb, it's shared memory, so it may have 128Mb of its own memory and steal 128Mb from the system, so it's even slower.