Graphics cards.Follow

I want a new laptop. Apparently mine won't play Civ V, and I'm bummed about that. So which graphics card is better:

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 1GB vs 512MB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 240M

I might be in over my head.

Also, I'm looking at an Alienware, though it is a bit out of my price range and it will take a little convincing to get my husband to agree. Do people really hate Alienware that bad? Because it looks freaking sweet.

Man, this month is going to be awesome. Civ V (if I can play it), Halo Reach (more for my husband than me), Dexter... I know more exciting things are happening this month, but I can't remember.

The one I'm looking at is $1,500 with Intel core i7 and the Nvidia card. It's got 3GB of RAM, 250 GB hard drive, and a 15.6 inch display. Is that overpriced?

Is there other important stuff I should include...?

Edited, Sep 6th 2010 5:22pm by Belkira

Not only are they insanely overpriced. The components used are crap compaired to many of the other brands. Don't forget that Alienware is Dell and you have their legendary crapy customer service and support.

****.

But is that a good graphics card?



Everything I own is Dell, and I have never had an issue.

Didn't see the mention of laptop.

Edited, Sep 6th 2010 5:44pm by Allegory

Yeah, I don't know a ton about computers and what is worth what, which is why I'm here asking. I don't understand how never having a problem with Dell means I'm an idiot.

Yeah, i've used them before, and got a pretty good price as well. I did have an issue with a doa video card, but it was replaced quickly enough, with no hassle. I'd definitely recommend them if you don't want to build one yourself.

It's the only place I can find where I can really customize what I want. Where do people usually buy computers and laptops?

I considered building one myself, but from what I understand with a laptop, that's usually way more expensive.

I'm not really sure what you're looking to customize, but I know Dell makes it really easy to pick a system. They just aren't going to be worth the money you put into them.
Like, ever.

I don't know much about laptops either. It just pays to look around a little for lower prices on comparable items.

Like this Asus laptop, with better.. pretty much everything (except for the screen size), is about $100 cheaper (In Canadian dollars).

Edited, Sep 6th 2010 4:57pm by Kirby

Thank you for quoting this, they do have laptops there.

Here's what I built for $950 (shipping included):



* CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-520M Processor 2.40 GHz 3M Intel Smart Cache PGA988
* HDD: 500GB 5400RPM SATA300 Hard Drive [+12]
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-1333 SODIMM Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
* MOTHERBOARD: Intel® PM55 Chipset Mainboard
* SOUND: Built-in 3D Premium Surround Sound
* VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 1GB GDDR3 VRAM PCIe Video

Yeah the hubby laughed at me too! I now have a PC instead of laptop...

I am actually looking for something that would run that, but not because I plan to play it. Mostly because I figure that's a good test of how good the machine is.

My machine is awesome and the hubby has not figured out a quick load...