Advice on a customized laptop

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>So I'm getting a HP dv6500t notebook for college. I'll be using it for school and gaming. (gaming for summertime, I don't know if I'll have time for gaming in college but I want to have gaming capabilities anyways.)</p>

<p>I have the option of these two graphic cards:
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Intel is included in the price and Nvidia would cost me $39 more. Which one should I get?</p>

<p>Should I add a built in webcam for $25 more?</p>

<p>Do I need a 12-cell Li-ion batter or is 6 cell enough? 12 cell would cost $49 more.</p>

<p>Do I only need Microsoft Works 8.0 for school purposes(I'm assuming it includes Word, Pwpnt, excel, etc.) or something more advanced?</p>

2

<p>just letting you know, especially if you are a gamer, you should dual boot with Linux and Windows....</p>

3

<p>Graphics, yes
Webcam, no
12 cell, yes</p>

<p>Microsoft Works is, I believe, wordpad, and cheap versions of office programs, so definitely no to that as well.</p>

4

<p>Yeah, I'll definitely get atleast basic MS office. Are webcams not any good on laptops?</p>

5

<p>Neither of those video cards are suited for any intense gaming; but the nVidia - of course - will be better than the integrated X3100.</p>

6

<p>I'm with MChong on the graphics card. Definitely the nvidia for gaming.
Webcam only if you plan to use it. Otherwise you could always buy one and hook it up.
I don't think you need a 12 cell battery unless you plan to be away from a power source/outlet for long periods of time. Most of the time, I just left my computer hooked up in my dorm. Sometimes took it to the library for a few hours at a time, but not enough to justify a big battery. Still, it is just $50 more. What are the estimated lengths of time the computer will run on each battery?</p>

<p>And regarding the last question, definitely get MS Office (not just basic works). The most basic edition of Office, if I remember correctly, does not have powerpoint. You should get the student/teacher edition or business edition for that.</p>

7

<p>I don't know much about that Nvidia card, but don't expect to run very high end games on it. You should still get it anyways, intel integrated graphics are terrible, the most high end games i have that work are Warcraft 3 and CS 1.6</p>

<p>Get the 12 cell, the price is not THAT much more and it should double your battery life. </p>

<p>Works is terrible, it doesn't even come with Word. Don't shell several hundred dollars for MS Office, either find a pirated copy or buy a cheaper one if your school offers discounts. If you can't, download Open Office <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.openoffice.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

8

<p>Get the 12 cell if you plan on taking it to class. Don't get works, you can probably get much cheaper software through your school anyway, or use openoffice (the guy above gave a link.) Get the card if thats the best you can get in there and afford, its much better than integrated.</p>