Graphic Cards / memory

[XRadium]

Alright so I'm looking at two laptops at the moment (XPS M1730) and I don't know a thing about computers so here I'm asking.

512MB Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® 8700M GT with NVIDIA® SLI® Te
OR
NVIDIA®GeForce®8700M GT graphics

wich one is better? Keep in mind I want to enjoy Aion to its fullest with high graphic settings.
Also, regarding Vista. Is 2GB RAM enough to run it? If not, is it possible to uninstall Viasta and install XP instead?
Is it recommended?

Thanks for your answers and I'm sorry, I dont even know the difference bwteen a processor and an engine so.

[Acyd]

Well the first option is 2 cards running in SLI. And it looks to be 2 of the second option you listed. If you want best best performace, go with option 1.

2 Gigs is just fine. And Vista is just fine. Only time vista matters if your benchmarking and want the best best best score you can get, you use XP then. Vista wont make a difference for AIon.

[Sabre]

Vista will slow down your computer when playing any game, compared to XP. It takes a great deal more capacity to run Vista than XP, so I'd suggest getting XP if you can, although I know Dell makes it hard to get it (You can with the M1730s though). The M1730 will be amazing for the game, and 2GBs will run it fine, but more is always better. It's only $100 more for twice the memory~

[Denmaru]

I second that - get rid of Vista, install XP, and if you have the 100$, by all means get 4GB.

[XRadium]

Thank you all for your quick answers. I knew Vista wasn't a good idea, baaad reputation. The other M1730 is 4GB, though it costs like 500$ more because they added another graphic card. Guess I'll have to make some changes on it.

[Acyd]

Funny this is. I got Vista 64. I have had 0 problems and all my games run fine. People who complain about it are the people who dont got it.

[Howling]

Originally Posted by Acyd

Funny this is. I got Vista 64. I have had 0 problems and all my games run fine. People who complain about it are the people who dont got it.

I was just about to say that Vista is fine tbh, it's marginally slower on the high end games because theres chunks of redundant code in Vista.. But that only really matters to speed freaks like Kalean

[Acyd]

Well it does matter to me, im a benchmark freak. And my Q6600 is now my bottleneck. Its running at 3.6 and still its not enough.

[Kalean]

If possible, try to get a 8800M if they offer it...It still performs better then two 8700m's....

[XRadium]

8800M is so expensive though, a little too much for my wallet. Will I still be able to perform good with high setting if I have 8700M though?

[Kalean]

The 8700M is a weak gpu in comparison to the 8800m series...It's pretty much a oc'ed 8600...So don't let the number scheme fool you. Performance difference will be anywhere between 3-4 times over a 8700m for a 8800....

In regards to your question..Depends on the resolution..But a 8600 will not be capable of playing on high settings enjoyably. Sorry to say, you're going to have to pick up a 8800m if you want high ingame settings and some AA/AF....Sorry bud =(. So no unfortunately, it won't be able too...If you want to enjoy Aion on the highest settings as you stated, you'll have to pick up a 8800M GTS or GTX, along with 4 gb's of ram as 2gb has become a bottleneck recently, ESPECIALLY for vista. Laptops are expensive if you want to game, why a laptop anyways? You can build an AWSOME gaming computer for FAR less on a desktop, and still have money left over to pick up a decent laptop if you need one and it'll still come out cheaper...The laptop obviously wouldn't be able to game, but it will grant you portability if that's why you want a laptop to begin with.

[XRadium]

I won't be home and will always be traveling since the college I'm entering in fall is kinda far from where I live. And thanks for your support, it was very helpful and was bale to find something that is even cheaper than the previous one with better graphic card and memory, so here it is.

Gateway® P-172X FX
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor2 T8300 (2.40GHz, 800MHz FSB, 3MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (32-bit) SP1
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800M GTS with 512MB of GDDR3 discrete video memory
320GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive w/ Raid 0 (2-160GB hard drives)
4096MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-2048MB modules)

That's the best I could find so far, and it's even cheaper than the Dell.

[Kalean]

Xradium: Those specs are literally perfect...the only downside is the fact it's a gateway...I share my despise for Gateway and nvidia chipsets with the public..But if it's priced right, then go for it =P. That's a spanking system, glad to see you pick up a 7,200 rpm as well, that'll help with aion especially and other MMO's.

But curious, how big is the res on the monitor?..and how long is the warranty for the product?...If the warranty is short, and it doesn't cost that much to extend it to 2 or 3 years...I'd do so...If it comes out to be around the same price as a computer from a different company with the warranty...I'd still rather go with a dif company..Sager, Dell, HP....anything but gateway...But if it's much cheaper...you can't really complain...but make sure you get an extended warranty...Gateways aren't know to be very reliable =P...

[kitsuneofshadow]

*Edit

Sorry wrong thread.

[XRadium]

The warranty for Gateway is 3 years for 160$.
Also, 1920 x 1200 max. resolution.
It would cost around 2160$, including 8800m and 4GB RAM and the warranty.

While the Dell with 8700M and 2GB is 2200$ (standard price) and would cost an additionnal 100$ to get it up to 4GB.

Looking at this I feel like Gateway is much better. But what do you mean by 'not reliable'?