Netbook for light gaming?

[Pulsar_t]

I have looked into the ASUS EeePC S101 and it's quite snazzy but the asking price is a bit steep at $600-700. It also has integrated graphics so Dreamcast emulation is out of the question. I read somewhere about a netbook with a dual GPU configuration but can't find the link in my browser history. Is there anything practical you can recommend?

[Niode]

Right. You're not going to be doing anything graphically intense on a netbook. They don't have powerful GPU's for one simple reason. Battery life. Having a high powered GPU is going to drain the life of a UMPC's battery in no time.

IF you are paying through the nose for a netbook with a GPU in it you're going to be ripped off. If you want to game on the move you're better off getting a decently spec'd 15" laptop. You'll get much more bang for your buck in the 15" laptop segment and you will be much more satisfied with the performance.

Simply put, netbooks are designed for light internet browsing and light office use in an ultra portable form factor. They're just simply not designed for any heavy graphics processing.

My Acer Aspire one running linux can just about run a PSX emulator. Don't give it anything complex and it'll be fine. It can do RE1 or RE2 but it can't do MGS or GT. I don't know whether that's an issue with the emulator or hardware limitation but it just gives you an idea of what you're going to be dealing with if you decide to get a netbook for 3D gaming.

[Pulsar_t]

I do get what you're saying but 15/17 inch laptops are simply too heavy for me to lug around. Btw I found a couple of useful links
http://www.netbooktech.com/tag/geforce-9400/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/155566/n ... _atom.html

The ASUS N10J-A1 has a dual GPU config but the 9300GS isn't that great. I guess waiting wouldn't hurt since Nvidia and ATI will squeeze in considerably more power into ultra-portable chipsets.

[DuManchu]

If you don't need a Netbook I agree with Niode's post.

You can get yourself a nice dual core laptop with dedicated graphics for $450-$500, maybe cheaper.

I know I just got my wife a nice 17" HP with an X2 AMD Turion for $410 total off eBay. Doesn't have dedicated graphics, but I would think if you got a 15" you could spend the same and get dedicated.

EDIT: Too heavy? Really? I could see a 17" being a PITA, but not a 15" or 14". Either way, your choice, but you're not going to get very good gaming performance out of a compact notebook (relatively).

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Its a bit larger than you want (14.1") but I would highly suggest a Lenovo T61 w/ a nVidia NVS 140m. Its more than enough to do light to moderate gaming, gets a good battery life, and very durable. When playing the World in Conflict demo w/ a battery that holds 80 percent of its charge w/ lowest settings, power saver, and frame limiter at 20fps I got 2 hours of gaming off this T61.

[Niode]

One good thing to note. The battery life stated on manufacturers websites or spec sheets is generally done with light work such as browsing the internet and editing office documents. It won't factor in heavy loads from gaming or 3D graphics. So take battery life with a pinch of salt. As soon as you start gaming on any laptop you're gonna want to plug it in after an hour or so.

[fast]

Most pc games made before 2002 run fine on a netbook. The problem you are going to run into is less gpu oriented, more display. The EEE (of which I am a big fan) has an 800x480 resolution monitor. Meaning, yes you can do 640x480 and be ok, but then it is hard to tell what is going on. There are work arounds, and some games allow the resolution, but it is rough. Guys go so far as to make dummy vga plugs to allow the screen to fake out. Read the forums at EEE user and msiwind.net for more opinions on this. But here are their lists:
http://wiki.msiwind.net/index.php/Windows_Games
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=27918

From my experience with a 900hd, all the old standbys play fine – Halflife, UT99, TA, ‘crafts, etc, and 3d emulation works ok – Mariokart 64 and OOT (there are sound glitches though). I can suggest low speced games (since that is an article Ive been trying to figure out how I want to handle for the past two years) if you so wish. But come on, we all know that all you need are SCUMM games and Serria adventure titles...

[Dakinggamer87]

Right. You're not going to be doing anything graphically intense on a netbook. They don't have powerful GPU's for one simple reason. Battery life. Having a high powered GPU is going to drain the life of a UMPC's battery in no time.

IF you are paying through the nose for a netbook with a GPU in it you're going to be ripped off. If you want to game on the move you're better off getting a decently spec'd 15" laptop. You'll get much more bang for your buck in the 15" laptop segment and you will be much more satisfied with the performance.

Simply put, netbooks are designed for light internet browsing and light office use in an ultra portable form factor. They're just simply not designed for any heavy graphics processing.

My Acer Aspire one running linux can just about run a PSX emulator. Don't give it anything complex and it'll be fine. It can do RE1 or RE2 but it can't do MGS or GT. I don't know whether that's an issue with the emulator or hardware limitation but it just gives you an idea of what you're going to be dealing with if you decide to get a netbook for 3D gaming.

Niode hit the nail on the hammer.. best route is to look for a good notebook since netbooks aren't designed for intensive performance..

[Pulsar_t]

Thanks for all the replies. In truth I haven't factored in the netbooks' funky resolutions so I'm going to wait until manufacturers sort those out. Is the Phenom II X4 810 worth $175 I'm thinking of getting a new PC for gaming. As for portabiIlity I already have a 15.4" Dell Vostro but it's quite a drag to lug around

[Niode]

Get the Q6600 it's got more headroom for overclocking.