Laptop vs. Laptop: Which should I buy

[roberttitus]

My wife & I have been saving up to buy a new computer (along with Christmas gifts for our little boy... but thats a different story) & we are rapidly reaching the amount needed. We recently found a somewhat decent laptop (Dual core, 2.1ghz, 3 GB DDR3 & 1405 MB Graphics memory) which absolutely smokes our old laptop. The thing that is bothering me is that we also found another one with similar stats (Dual core, 2.0 ghz, 3 GB DDR2, 1GB Graphics memory) for $50 less.

Could somebody

A. Tell me the difference between DDR2 & DDR3
B. Tell me which is the better deal
C. Tell me what you think that the strongest game that higher end laptop would be capable of playing & vice-versa.

You don't have to answer all 3... just answer what you can.

Thanks in advance

[Elvenmonk]

If you could post links that'd help.
DDR 3 is faster then 2. Also the type of videocard, RAM, Proccy, and such being used matters. As say the DDR2 RAM has WAY better CAS latency then the 3 the 2 RAM will be faster then 3.
Based on the descriptions I'd say one, but neither will highend game. Especially if the videocard is of the intel series. Like mine, it's a 1GB intel videocard that nothing supports.


Note, I wrote a longer much more detailed response but my touch pad screwed up and made me go back a few pages.

[Avistew]

What are you gonna do with your old laptop, if I may ask?

[Elvenmonk]

Oh, also another important question I forgot to ask.
Also, battery information would be nice too, so we could reccomend a better battery for your situation. Like my battery lasts 9+ hours.

[Fealiks]

What are you gonna do with your old laptop, if I may ask?

He's giving it to me.

[Elvenmonk]

Oh, then you want 50mhz proccessor.

[JedExodus]

I'd say shop around for a good tower PC, you can get something that'll last far longer with better specs for your money.

DDR2 RAM is like the last generation of RAM, it's still used in a lot of stuff, but you just won't be current and maybe won't have the option to upgrade down the line if you're looking for something to last you a good few years.

If you can give us the name of the graphics card we can get an idea of how well it performs and what it can play, RAM isn't the sole thing that makes a card perform well, the actual speed of the card counts for a lot

[Elvenmonk]

I don't get why DDR2 RAM is still so expensive. I was looking at building a new comp and DDR2 RAM was $3 cheaper then DDR3.

[roberttitus]

I can't quote everything since I'm using a PS3 & in an effort to keep this as small as possible I'll do it this way

@Avistew Throw it in the garbage... it is beyond repair

@Elvenmonk Could you put that into plain english please? I don't speak tech

@JedExodus I really don't want a Tower. I prefer the mobility of a laptop. The graphics card is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250

[Elvenmonk]

Well, basically, if you give us the links we can help you out way more and tell you which is a better deal. As just naming specs doesn't help as much as knowing the actual parts.

[JedExodus]

Got an overview from an owner of the same card

No problem with The Sims 3 or Empire Total war. Even though the Radeon HD 4250 is integrated, those games aren't very demanding.

Oblivion will play, but you're not quite to the recommended graphic power of an x800. Figure you may have to run it in low to medium settings.

You'll be able to play Telltales games, but Crysis is pretty much out

[Chyron8472]

We recently found a somewhat decent laptop (Dual core, 2.1ghz, 3 GB DDR3 & 1405 MB Graphics memory) which absolutely smokes our old laptop. The thing that is bothering me is that we also found another one with similar stats (Dual core, 2.0 ghz, 3 GB DDR2, 1GB Graphics memory) for $50 less.

Could somebody

A. Tell me the difference between DDR2 & DDR3
B. Tell me which is the better deal
C. Tell me what you think that the strongest game that higher end laptop would be capable of playing & vice-versa.

DDR2 vs. DDR3: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/12461.aspx
DDR3 is apparently somewhat faster and uses less electricity, but it is more expensive. You can use DDR2 if you're on a budget. It certainly doesn't suck.


Which is the better deal? It's hard to say with only those specs. With a laptop, there are also other things to consider:



Is the monitor big enough?
Is the laptop small enough or light enough?
How hot does the laptop get when it's on for a long time? (I have a Toshiba that can really get very warm. This matters not just because less heat generally means better performance, but also because you'll have it on your lap and can make you hot after a while.)
What brand is it? How big a deal is it to you to have a particular brand? Different brands can be different prices even with equal specs.
Does the laptop have a full size keyboard (including numpad)? Do you care?
How does the keyboard/key-presses feel to you? Is it quiet/soft enough?
How many USB ports does it have? My laptop has 3, my dad's has 2. Keep in mind you'll need at least one at all times for use with a standard mouse.
How long is the battery life? Check other reviews on this, don't just trust the manufacturer.
How much hard drive space does it have? How much do you need?


In any event, you'd be able to play Telltale's games on it just fine.

[roberttitus]

It has a 15.6 inch screen, a 250GB Hard Drive & 3 Usb ports. If it gets hot, I'll just buy a laptop fan.

The rest of the stuff you mentioned I couldn't care less about. It is an updated model of my old laptop so it should be perfectly fine when it comes to those things

Also Telltale's games are the furthest thing from my mind right now... I already know they'll work (& I'm not even sure if I'll bother with them in the first place seeing as I redownloaded most to my consoles after my laptop died)