Which PC? You decide

[Del Boy]

Choices are below, let me know what type of games will run on each machine and more importantly how many leagues each system would run in Football Manager 2005? Also the good and bad points of each system? Thanks in advance.

Option 1: PC
Packard Bell
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Processor
1024Mb DDR RAM
200GB hard drive
Multi format dual layer DVD ReWriter drive
Integrated 128Mb ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics
17" Flat Panel TFT monitor
PRICE=?519.74

Option 2: Laptop
Packard Bell
Intel Pentium M 715 processor
2Mb Cache, 400MHz FSB, 1.50GHz
512Mb Ram
80GB Hard drive
13" DiamondView LCD Display
DVD ReWriter Multi Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Home edition
64Mb integrated graphics
Built-in wireless 802.11b/g
PRICE=?705.36

Option 3:Laptop
Toshiba
Intel Pentium 4 358 Processor with HT Technology
1Mb cache, 3.20GHz, 533MHz FSB
512Mb RAM
60GB hard drive
17" Widescreen TFT display
DVD ReWriter SuperMulti drive
64Mb ATI Radeon Mobility 9700 graphics
Includes Lexmark Z615 colour printer and MediaSuite software
PRICE=?899.99

Option 4:PC
Advent T9504
Intel Pentium 4 P640 T9504 P4 640
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 640
3.2GHz Clock speed
800MHz FSB
2048 Mb DDR RAM
320 Gb Serial ATA Hard Disk Capacity
Multi Format Dual Layer DVDRW & DVD Drive
256 Mb nVidia 6800 GT Graphics
8in1 media card reader
Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Works v 8.0
PRICE=?1062.89

[PeteBrant]

How important is battery life for you?

Option 2 would give you the longest life away from a powerpoint, and despite being 1.5GHz, can be equated to around 3.0GHz levels of performance, due to the high L2 cache. Option 3 and 4 are gaming laptops, they will allow you to run 3D gamesat decent performance, option 1 and 2 won't.

[babs]

4 is a PC

[PeteBrant]

4 is a PC

Oops! So is 1!


First question, then, Delboy. Do you want a desktop or a laptop?

[Del Boy]

Hmmmm, im leaning towards a lappy but well you dont get much for your money do ya.

[PeteBrant]

Compared to a Desktop - No. THere ar eall sortsof compromises on laptops, simply because the thing has to cope with running off a battery, and of course not get so hot it metls tables/your legs.

It all depends on what sort of applications you are going to be running, what your needs are, and whether portablility is a requirement.


For gaming though, there isn't really a laptop out there that will live with a decent spec desktop, and the onces that come close (area 51's etc) are twice the price of a desktop equivalent.

[Del Boy]

Of the 2 laptops above how many leagues in FM2005 can i run without any issues?

If i want to play games i could just pick up a PS2.

[PeteBrant]

At a guess - 15-20, However, you only really need to run one or two leagues in FM2005 - All running other leagues does is simulate every result fully in that league - I.e. You will get a full on match played for any league you run. Not running the league means that the players etc will still be available, and you will see results for a given league game, even if its not in a selected league, you just won't able to view the matches "live".

Unless you are an absolute FM nut, and want the ability to take on a job in the Norwegian second division, or watch the top of the table clash in the Moroccan Conference, then running 1, 2 or 3 leagues is more than enough, and will result in significant performance gains.

[djjimbob]

number 1 looks good. Graphics card could do with a bump tho.

[kernow]

due to past experience I wouldn't touch a packard bell with somebody elses hands

[wod]

4 by looking at those specs, the Integrated 128Mb ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics in pc 1 is a let down for that type of spec

[tuvok3of11]

Definately number 4, either that or build your own system.

[djjimbob]

Ooops, didn't notice it was a Packard Bell. Yes, avoid. Good price though.

[eastyy]

I find with a lot of pc world/dell computers for reasonable priced computers they always cut back on the graphics cards

4 looks a great option for the price

3 is not to bad but if you dont need the printer i wonder if they could do it cheaper