What laptop should I buy?

[oozle]

I am wanting to purchase a new laptop. I am going to use it heavily for work and gaming.

My budget is about $1500USD ($3000AUD)

I want a good graphics card in there also.

What graphics cards are available for laptops and how good are they? What price range am I looking at for such cards?

What is a good buy?

[411sponge]

Hey oozle,

I too have been looking for a nice laptop for a decent price. I've looked at numerous companies and in my opinion, Dell is probably your best bet. The new Inspiron 4100 series has the 16 MB ATI Mobility graphics card built on the motherboard and most people have been satisfied with it's performance. However, if you want the best video card in a laptop that is available today, it would have to be the "Ge Force 2 Go" video cards available in the Dell Insprion 8100 series. This laptop has a 15 inch screen compared to the 14 inch of the 4100. Unfortunately, you may have to budget a few hundred dollars extra to get these laptops. (1600-2500 USD)

One other point that I would like to mention would be the fact that at the beginning of the next year, ATI will have available the 7500 Radeon Mobility graphics chip in large production. This chip is supposed to stomp the GeForce 2 Go in performance (actually almost double from what I've heard) AND will use a third less battery than the GeForce. There is one Hewlett Packard model that has the new ATI 7500 mobility chip but that will run you over $3500 US dollars!

So, it really depends when you want to purchase youre laptop. I think I'm going to wait until the beginning of next year to get my hands on one of new ATI's! Well, I hope I helped you out some. Good luck in your laptop hunting! Also, let me know if you hear anything as well!!