So... the title should give you some idea about what are you going to read. I have been thinking for setting up gaming environment at the apartment for quite some time now. And guess what, this project is accomplished successfully. :)
I'll give you details (configuration + $$$) which you can use if you are going to setup the same environment. Let's start with laptop.
I had this feeling that laptop won't give performance for gaming as I see people are crazy about gaming consoles. But for me it was not only gaming, you know what am talking about here. :) And now I feel so relaxed about this dilema after buying this laptop. As far as the consoles are concerned, believe me when I am saying that you can buy 10 X-Box colsoles, yes you read is correct it's ten, in cost of the setup I have got. I'll come to this later. :)
OK, the configuration for laptop is:
Intel® Core™ Duo 2 processor T7600 (2.33GHz/667MHz/4MB L2)
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA 1920x1200
Black LCD Cover (Dell has this special cover which I guess they copied from Alienware)
2GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM
512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
100GB 7200RPM SATA HARD DRIVE
Three year complete care warranty
Rest common stuff like 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, Vista etc.
Click here to see this at Dell's website.
Two most important thing are CPU and GPU. I think choosing best in class gives you results. Another thing you have to consider while buying a laptop is that HDD. All manufactures (especially sony) just mention the capacity and dont say a single word about spinning speed. Whatever CPU and RAM you get, if the HDD is comsuming all the time in returning data, you are not going to get any perfomamce. I pity Sony. They don't have a single model with 7200 RPM.
After playing AOE III and NFS on this beast, what all I have to say is that this thing rocks. I played these games on full settings and it gave awesome results. I mean playing NFS with all effects on 1600x1200 resolution is amazing. For example I took this screen shot. Look at the details in the game. Come on Amit (my ex-roommate), this thing is calling you out loud buddy. :)
Now the price. I configured this on dell's website and price summed upto $4300. OMG. This is huge. Now you know why I said that X-Box number for this. (basic kit for X-Box is $399).
Wait. Dont drop the idea of buying it due to this price. I didn't. I turned to online forums to see if there is anything which can drop the price. And the response was overwheling. I met couple of guys who sell these new PCs way lower than this price. They get some discount which doesn't make sense to discuss here. The fact of the matter is that I got this machine for $2900, delivered. Yes, thats $1400 saving which is gr8 as now a days you can buy a nice lappy for $1000. :)
So, if you ever think of buying this PC and want to save some big bucks, drop me a note and I can redirect you to the right person. :)
Lets see what we have got in accessories. Yes, I have some recommendations for you here too.
Speaker:
Forget Bose (Logitech and Creative are not in competition) and depending your requirement (2.1 or 5.1) bye Klipsch. You can get same performace in 1/3 of the price Bose asks for. I bought Promedia 2.1A GMX model ($140 from amazon, delivered) and you wont believe it but the bass is so strong that it hits every corner in the living room. And it hits hard. We never go beyong 10-15 % bass otherwise neighbours will start crying. And its not just bass, high and lows are so clear that I hear something in the songs I never heard before.
I am using Logitech MX Revolution (bought for $85 but now yours for $65 on buy.com) and its turning out to be a gr8 mouse. Click here to see the thread on NBF for this.
One more thing is the Game Controller. Microsoft is releasing a wireless X-Box controller for Windows in december (wired is already there) and I am going to buy that.
Thats all I have to say now. But I will be posting some intersting game shots as I play them. As of now I am playing AOE, NFS and Company of Heroes. So keep an eye on the blog. And as always, post it in the comments if you feel like saying something. You know you do. :)
