About to buy a netbook...

Hey guys.

I'm about to buy a small netbook for use whilst lazing about the house. I have a plan to get FM running on it, but i'm unsure of what spec to go for.

I'm looking at about a 2ghz processor, and 2GB RAM, which i suspect, even with Slow RAM speed, should be enough (i'll probably stick XP on it but might stick with Vista). The only thing i worry about is the Integrated graphics. I know that most of them will share with the RAM UP TO 348mb or something like that. I was wondering, on an integrated graphics chip, will this run FM?

If it was an independant graphics card i'd know off the bat, but because it's integrated i have no idea what it'll be able to run.

Any feedback from a well trained techie or someone from SI?

Thanks.

a netbook is a ultra portable laptop in my country. what you need to play fm 2009 from those stats is a desktop replacement or good high end notebook.

my recommend is that you have 1gb at least to dedicate to the game. game often not use more than 5-800 but is safe insurance for longer game and bigger database.

also future is issue for notebook pc. make sure your selection has ram expansion slot and sata hdd. also consider battery option if there is one offered, can save money by getting 2-3 cell battery not 6 etc.

so 2gb plenty. integrated graphics is an issue for 3d now but will be ironed out. make sure you get proper onboard chip like intel or mobile gpu like ati 3450 or nvidia equivalent.

I see dell francais is doing dual core intel notebook with 2gb etc for less than e500 right now. maybe wait a few months before buying as market is falling over itself right now. dell in big trouble as are all pc retailers and manufacturers. will be some amazing price cuts in january time! already possible to get interest free!

ps: notebook on 100% cpu get hot and constantly be blowing fan. very annoying and will shorten component life because heat dispersion poor on notebooks..

for e400 can build good spec pc and have proper cpu/graphics card very cheap. maybe worth consider if you like play games a lot.

The undersized screen resolution on most netbooks (1024x600) pose a problem for FM. There are some threads on here about using astray and whatnot to get it running, but anything below 1024x768 is technically unsupported. So, you might want to check that someone has gotten the game to run on whichever netbook it is you're looking at.

Okay thanks. So what you're saying is that kind of spec should be okay? Even with the integrated graphics?

I'm planning on buying around January anyway so prices will be down. But i'll definately look into seeing about the small resolutions.

some netbooks dont come with dvd drives so be careful if not purchase fm through steam

some netbooks dont come with dvd drives so be careful if not purchase fm through steam

also make sure if notebook do come with drive it is blue ray. this is standard now on mid range but some people try and cheat by fitting old dvdrw.

Okay thanks. So something of that Spec is okay?

It seems as though i'll be getting one with a 15.4" screen, so 1280x800.

also make sure if notebook do come with drive it is blue ray. this is standard now on mid range but some people try and cheat by fitting old dvdrw.

hey I check website and find this:

dell studio 15 e 499

T5800 dual core

3 gb ram

250gb hdd

256mb hd 3450 (mobility but still good)

so spec is better than I think for money.

wait maybe two month and get real bargain !

Where did you find that mate?

Where did you find that mate?

on dell uk website

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop_studio_15?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

£499 same in euro tho. so rip off still. but that is always way with pounds yes?

they got finance deals too but i wouldnt take finance in current economy.

edit: I speak with friend on other forum and he says the best deal is actually from littlewoods.co.uk now on toshiba laptop.

£549 inc delivery. better spec.

I will wait now until spring time for new computer parts .. seriously bad idea buying now. prices will be very low when economy collapses in few months time!

linky: http://www.littlewoods.com/rf/s.do/electricals/computers/laptops/toshiba?N=154+4294484645+4294966715+313+85+4294493732&Np=1Ν=this_product&seo=t

L350 can have big screen or gpu upgrade. better value than dell i think. better made too.

My local Staples has a Toshiba A300-10MC for just under £500, 4GB RAM, Intel T5800 Dual Core, 1.3GB integrated intel GMA 4500MHD graphics processor, 250GB hard drive.

Can't find it on Staples internet site though.

I'd like to play FM09 on a laptop, preferably with quite a few leagues running, will this laptop be plenty fast enough to do this?

Also, whats more important for FM, RAM size, Cache size or Clock speed? (I know this is a difficult question)

My local Staples has a Toshiba A300-10MC for just under £500, 4GB RAM, Intel T5800 Dual Core, 1.3GB integrated intel GMA 4500MHD graphics processor, 250GB hard drive.

Can't find it on Staples internet site though.

I'd like to play FM09 on a laptop, preferably with quite a few leagues running, will this laptop be plenty fast enough to do this?

Also, whats more important for FM, RAM size, Cache size or Clock speed? (I know this is a difficult question)

any intel core duo will be good. 2gb ram min. cache is nice but frankly amd has no competition for the higher end desktop c2d's right now. fm 09 appears to be a slug whatever you run it on, the answer until final patch seems to be run fewer leagues as playable.

Yeah I've got an old (2 years!) desktop and FM07 ran fine but FM09 is definitely having more fun than me, for every 1 minute of fun I get the computer gets 2 mins fun loading and doing stuff!

I've even tried clicking the processing in foreground button (so you can't browse while its processing) to speed things up, but to no avail. The 3D match engine hangs a couple of times a game for about 10-20 seconds at a time which is annoying. I'm only running the English Premiership as well to try speeding things up but international weekends are a chore! Don't think I've got much RAM tho.

Thanks for the advice.

I've ordered a HP Pavilion tx2130ea with good specs:

2GB DDR2 RAM

AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 Processor

12.1" 1280x800 display

NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics card

250GB Hard drive

I was going to go for something more powerful but once I saw that it could play FM I was sold and I really like the portability of it

This is the spec of the netbook i've gone for. Will it run FM09? (doesn't matter about 3d-match or anything).

Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 (1.6GHz)

2GB (1 x 1GB) DDR2 667MHz

160GB SATA HDD

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 128MB Integrated

10.2" 1024x600 Display

@ scrawney that's a notebook, not a netbook

Utterly stupid use of the phrase by companies these days - netbooks are tiny, ultra-portable laptops that have nowhere near the spec required to run FM. Glad you found one though scrawney

And Alex - if it runs xp, it will just about run it, depending on the gfx card. Expect slowness.

@ scrawney that's a notebook, not a netbook

Utterly stupid use of the phrase by companies these days - netbooks are tiny, ultra-portable laptops that have nowhere near the spec required to run FM. Glad you found one though scrawney

And Alex - if it runs xp, it will just about run it, depending on the gfx card. Expect slowness.

Are you me? Am I schyzophrenic? Is Dave in??

also make sure if notebook do come with drive it is blue ray. this is standard now on mid range but some people try and cheat by fitting old dvdrw.

Why would anyone care about having blu-ray on a mini-laptop? Or a normal laptop for that matter. Serious question, I just wouldnt have thought it worth the cost that's all (if its no cost difference get the best, sure). Apps dont need the storage space and as for films, the res of the screen would make it pointless surely?

Why would anyone care about having blu-ray on a mini-laptop? Or a normal laptop for that matter. Serious question, I just wouldnt have thought it worth the cost that's all (if its no cost difference get the best, sure). Apps dont need the storage space and as for films, the res of the screen would make it pointless surely?

Yeah but, no, but, yeah but .. Tracey Fink said Darren Carter said they woz good.

Actually I just tell people anything. Especially on laptop threads. They stopped being funny about forty nine ago. :thup:

PS: I am just kidding. Blue Ray, might be useful, might not. Probably not a good idea to recommend it as neccessary, but why settle for a DVDRW when you can get one bundled? A lot of people use notebooks as mobile movie repositories now and hook them up to media centers etc. Its just a nice feature. But you are right ..

I do expect slowness with that, but surely if i just want to run the 2d-pitch i can't see the 128mb graphics card being over-stressed, even if it is a P.O.S