Is this LAPTOP worth it (2 Viewers)

[Lord Ac]

For $1000:

Averatec 3250H Notebook PC w/ AMD™ Athlon™ XP 2200+ Processor

Product Specifications
Processor AMD Athlon XP 2200+ processor
Memory (RAM) 512MB DDR RAM
Memory Expandable to 1GB
Hard Drive 60GB
Optical Drive DVD/CDRW combo drive
Display 12.1" XGA TFT display
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software included Microsoft Works 7.0, Power2Go, Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, Norton Antivirs 2004, PowerDVD XP 5.0
Battery Type Li-ion
Network Card Built-in 802.11g wireless LAN
Modem Speed/Type 56K
Ports/Connectors Three USB 2.0, one audio out
Other ports one VGA, one microphone in, one RJ-11, one RJ-45, one type II PC Card/Cardbus slot
Audio Integrated
Video Graphics S3 UniChrome video controller
Dimensions 10.9"x9.6"x1"
Warranty One year limited(notebook) 6 months battery

Thanks for any input, basically this is FIRSTLY for uni and SECONDLY for playing games.

Ac

 

[Not-That-Bright]

yep it is, however there's nothing written there about its battery..... the most important thing with laptops is there's a balance between Power/Size/Battery Life

 

[MedNez]

Video Graphics S3 UniChrome video controller

^ Heh, got any idea what that is ?

I ask because it sounds like a generic video card.. no specs on ram size or anything, so how well you're going to be able to play games, I dunno.

 

[sunny]

^ Heh, got any idea what that is ?

I ask because it sounds like a generic video card.. no specs on ram size or anything, so how well you're going to be able to play games, I dunno.

Its some sort of integrated graphics from VIA - from memory its 64MB shared, but I'm not sure. Probably very iffy for games - and with a 12.1" screen playing games won't be that much fun.


You want to know how heavy the laptop is.

 

[Ziff]

Yeah, If you want games only settle for ATI or GeForce cards. These S3, Intel, Trident or other dodgy cheap graphics controllers are absolutely horrid.

 

[Panda Bear]

Yeah, If you want games only settle for ATI or GeForce cards. These S3, Intel, Trident or other dodgy cheap graphics controllers are absolutely horrid.

agree .......

 

[Slidey]

Word of warning: Don't expect to play games on it. S3 is THE WORST EVER GRAPHICS CARD, and the screen type (XGA) sounds dodgy, too.

 

[Slidey]

Its some sort of integrated graphics from VIA - from memory its 64MB shared, but I'm not sure. Probably very iffy for games - and with a 12.1" screen playing games won't be that much fun.


You want to know how heavy the laptop is.

Incorrect. Gaming on a 12" is fine. Mine is 12", although it's not a normal LCD screen, so the quality is that of a CRT. Anyway, I don't notice the size.

 

[Templar]

It's a 12 inch. The only reason you get a 12 inch is because of mobility. Hence battery life is the most important issue. Performance, especially gaming, is secondary. Most people know that they buy a 12 inch to trade mobility for the extra performance, so as long as it is sufficient for normal day to day tasks, I don't see why it's a bad laptop.

 

[sunny]

Incorrect. Gaming on a 12" is fine. Mine is 12", although it's not a normal LCD screen, so the quality is that of a CRT. Anyway, I don't notice the size.

I find it strange that you seem to believe there is a "correct" or "incorrect" answer to such matters. In my experience it has been quite horrible.

 

[MedNez]

I find it strange that you seem to believe there is a "correct" or "incorrect" answer to such matters. In my experience it has been quite horrible.

I have to agree with Sunny on this one. Laptops <15" are undesirable. However, each to their own tastes, and one man's bad gaming experience is another's best.

*shrugs*

In saying that, I also don't think there's a right or wrong answer, however personally I feel that you have to have a decent laptop video card + 15" monitor to get any decent gaming.

 

[neuro_logik]

I have to agree with Sunny on this one. Laptops <15" are undesirable. However, each to their own tastes, and one man's bad gaming experience is another's best.

*shrugs*

In saying that, I also don't think there's a right or wrong answer, however personally I feel that you have to have a decent laptop video card + 15" monitor to get any decent gaming.

If you are gaming, I agree you need 15", but if you are just doing some basic stuff like watching movies, writing documents, looking at websites and cutting code I think 12" is good enough, but then again is a laptop meant for hardcore gaming?

 

[MedNez]

this is FIRSTLY for uni and SECONDLY for playing games.

I suppose not ;P. Whatever the screen size, I do think the video card needs to be looked into though.

 

[equiski]

This all depends on what kind of gaming he plans to do. If AC wants oldschool gaming (pre 2004) the onboard AGP card should be fine. The laptop would be suitable for emulating systems up to the Playstation and Nintendo 64. There will be incompatabilities with quite a few games though. But then again, how many people feel the desire to play the latest games on a laptop?

 

[anti]

Be more specific with what exactly you want to do with it.

If by uni work you mean 'COFA graphic design' then you'll definitely need something with a bit more grunt. If by games you mean 'minesweeper, nethack and sometimes (when I want to push the limits of my new machine) commander keen' then you probably don't care about the graphics card or the size of the monitor.

For the record, you can't go back from a real graphics card. Your eyes won't let you (i speak from experience)

 

[equiski]

For the record, you can't go back from a real graphics card. Your eyes won't let you (i speak from experience)

Heh... ok.

 

[Templar]

Considering I've played most games on my TNT2 Ultra quite decently and that only scored 600 in 3DMark01 and the latest integrated graphics in a laptop score ~2000, integrated isn't that bad.

But that was before the 6800GT. True, you never could go back now.

 

[neuro_logik]

Considering I've played most games on my TNT2 Ultra quite decently and that only scored 600 in 3DMark01 and the latest integrated graphics in a laptop score ~2000, integrated isn't that bad.

But that was before the 6800GT. True, you never could go back now.

TNT2 Ultra is sooo 1999

 

[Templar]

TNT2 Ultra is sooo 1999

It was good when it came out. Plus with a bit of tweaking you can even play Doom 3 on it at a reasonable frame rate.

 

[neuro_logik]

I had a TNT2 Ultra too, It was good but now its in my file server.