Thoughts on a laptop?

[saintjimmy]

Ok, before everyone starts saying that laptops aren't good gamers and that they can act as personal heaters, I've already considered both those parts

But anyway, what I'm wondering is how would this laptop handle Trainz 12? I haven't purchased the laptop yet, but it would be great to know ahead of time.

Specs:
Intel Quad Core i7-2720QM (2.2 GHz base, 3.3 GHz max Turbo Boost)
8 GB DDR3
1.5 TB (2 750 GB, 7200 RPM hard drives in RAID 0)
AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics w/2 GB GDDR5
1920 x 1080 17" screen
All for $1,500 (best all-around specs I could find for that price)

It's not a terrible loss if I have to turn off AA/AF or bump down the resolution/draw distance, but I just wanted to know how well I should expect it to play.

Oh, and BTW Trainz won't be the main focus for this laptop. I'll be using it mainly as a mobile workstation of sorts so that I can edit a lot of HD video when I'm not at home. Eventually it MIGHT turn into a desktop replacement, depending on how much I like it

Thoughts and suggestions welcome!
-Kyle

 

[cascaderailroad]

I think Trainz only uses 2 cores ... What make and model are you lookng at ?

I looked at the HP-DV7 but I believe it has somewhat bad reviews

 

[saintjimmy]

It's the HP dv7tqe. I read about heat issues with the dv6, but looks like the new dv7 models are a little more heat efficient.

 

[cascaderailroad]

I saw the HP-DV7 for @ $850 at Best Buy big box store

 

[saintjimmy]

This one that I'm going to get is a custom config straight from HP.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Are they putting some upgraded, non-factory parts in ?

I would like to hear more of your experiences. I think the HP-DV7 comes factory, with 1Gb dedicated graphics memory.

 

[saintjimmy]

Well, all the parts that I've configured it with are right there when spec'ing out the laptop, so I assume HP's getting the parts straight from the manufacturers (AMD, Intel, etc.) But it does come stock with like a 1 GB AMD 6490M or something.

I have another, more midrange HP laptop, the dv6-1260se Artist Edition, but it's been acting up for quite some time (will go to sleep randomly, it's ginormous 12 cell battery is already dead, but both are well documented problems with that gen of HP laptops). So I figured I would at least try them again since they're the only ones with these kind of specs at $1,500.

 

[schweitzerdude]

I'm running Trainz on a laptop fairly well with lower specs than u are considering

I have a fairly high-end Sony Vaio laptop (not top of the line) that is nowhere as good as to what you are considering, with a Windows gaming experience of 6.0. Draw distance sliders midway and my route is heavily urbanized, if it were not, I could increase draw distance.

I suggest one thing you should determine before making a decision is what the Windows gaming experience rating is (the max is 7.9). Also, you should get opinions from this forum as to whether Windows gaming experience is even relevant for Trainz - see what additional comments you get.

Several months ago I went to Best Buy and said "show me a laptop for under $1,000 with dedicated graphics" and they did - it had a Windows gaming experience of 6.6 (I expected more, so I walked out the door).

You will also hear that performance/$ is better on a desktop and of course they are right. But I also believe I will not buy a desktop again due to space and convenience reasons.

 

[saintjimmy]

Well, in my research, it seems like the WEI scores should be about 7.5 for the CPU, 7.3-7.5 for the RAM, 6.9-7.0 for both graphics, and probably 5.9 for the hard drive. Not that the scores really matter, but sometimes it helps to have an idea of relative performance while out shopping without having to do a lot of research.

I also understand that laptops have almost no upgrade ability past the hard drive, RAM, battery, and optical drive, and I'm willing to make that sacrifice. It'll just mean holding out a few years on doing major upgrades by buying a new system.

 

[cascaderailroad]

I use my laptop to build routes in surveyor ... but I seriously play the simulator on a separate desktop PC

 

[saintjimmy]

Well my goal would be to be able to use the laptop independent of my desktop, and eventually replace it. I'm well aware of the trade offs, it's just that right now I'm not so sure about what kind of performance to expect from it playing the newest Trainz.

Any other ideas?