Hello,Has anybody got the above-mentioned Notebook PC? If so, how is it with FS09?Thanks!

I need to upgrade my laptop shortly. A little while back I asked in a thread such as this about the new Dell XPS Gen 2 but now luck. If anyone is running a high end laptop for gaming of any type - I am looking at everything - if you would post your review here it would be greatly appreciated.re the zd8000 - here in Canada the only versions of it look pretty good til you get to the hard drive. It's only offered with a 4200 rpm HD here. Last year the HD on my Toshiba 5100 failed (a 4200 rpm drive) and I replaced it with a 5400 rpm drive. The difference in performance was really surprising. It gave it a new lease on life. Enough so I was able to run this machine another year. If posible find something with a 7200 rpm drive and at least a gig of DDR2 ram.Before somebody suggests shelving the laptop for a desktop I travel half the year for work and a laptop works. When at home I plug it into 17" lcd by LG. I find this is a pretty good way to go for me. I would suggest when buying a laptop buy one with the most horsepower that you can fit in the budget as for the most part they are imposible/very difficult$$$$$ to upgrade. Going this way allowed me to get 3+ years out of this machine. Just my .02.Dave

I don't have the zd8000 although I played around with one a few days ago and its seems fast. Ofcourse I couldn't test fs9 on it.Here's the downside with getting that notebook in canada. First, you cannot customise it (in the US, you can fully customise it).As mentioned, the 4200rpm drive is the only option.Also, you can already get the 6xx series P4 CPU in it in the US (double the Cache and 64bit support), whereas here its the 5xx series only. But here's the kicker, I configured it on hp.com with the 640 CPU and a 5400rpm drive and it came to $500CAD cheaper than the Zd8000 on hp.ca.:-hmmm And that was after taking the exchange rate into accout. Thats a huge price discrepancy I think.Having said all that, I wonder how good the X600 card is for FS9. When comparing the specs on that card, it resembles a PCI-X version of the 9700 Pro. Which would make it an 'ok' card, but certainly not spectacular. I wonder why they're not offering, as an option at least, the X800 mobility. At least 5 known notebook makers are offering the 800 now.I'll just have to wait and see.

I am leaning towards the Dell XPS 2nd gen - 2.0 sonoma, 1 gig ddr2 ram, nvidia 6800 ultra, 7200 rpm 60 gig HD. Price is under $3000 cdn.I looked into the customization of the hp8000 in the USA and priced it too and came to the same conclusions you have. Not sure what to look at for other options thogh I am looking at the Toshiba M40 1.8. prices are coming down already on it. If it were under $2000 maybe it might be worth considering but still everything I've read so far on the XPS seems to indicate it's the way to go. Tom's hardware site's preview of it was positive.

I was looking at the XPS2 as well. I'm a little hesitant on that one too. Here's why.The screen has an amazing resolution (WUXGA) but makes the fonts really small and I wonder what kind of FPS you can get at that native resolution even with the 6800Ultra.Second, there's a rumour going around, and I'm not saying that I totally buy it, but its rumoured that Dell overclocked and tweaked test units that it gave to reviewers like Tom's Hardware to get favourable results. Production units are slower. But this could be just a wild rumour. (This from the Dell user forum from ten days ago or so)My main concern is that XP64 is really close and the beta showed very promising results. The Pentium M on the XPS2 is not 64 bit compatible. Its a little concerning that you spend so much on a notebook that potentially won't handle the soon to be released Windows OS.Food for thought. I think I will wait till XP64 comes out or news of FS10. I'll be able to make a more informed decision then.By the way, how did you get a quote for an XPS2 for under 3000CAD? Everytime I price it, its way over 3k.

Hi Rob, Sorry to take so long to respond.You have some really good thoughts re the 64 processor. I hadn't considered that. Seems like HP is dumping the less desirable components in Canada at higher prices as perhaps they do not have the competition (in their minds) here that they may in the USA.The Dell quote included: 2.0 processor, 1 gig ram, 60 gig 7200 rpm hd, full wireless/bluetooth and the basic optical drive with no dvd burner. I plan to get a USB one. Without the extended warrenty at the time the quote was issuid it was just under $3000cdn. I hadn't heard about the overclocking. Dell's prices seem to be climbing more each week if you follow their site.I'm in no hurry to upgrade. When the right machine comes along I'll get it but I do like your idea of waiting for XP64. My current machine - toshiba 5100 has a beautiful screen that'll run 1200 x 1600 just fine but it gets a little small. I use 1200 x 1000 or what ever the exact numbers are. Let me know if you decide on a new machine or come across some interesting info.

I've been doing a lot of research lately on the potential for a notebook computer to run FS2004. Whilst I am yet to find an explicit performance assessment of FS2004 on a notebook, what I have read so far leads me to conclude the following:1. Notebooks containing mobile versions of mainstream desktop processors (eg. P4M or A64M) run games just as well as their desktop counterparts.2. Slightly lower performance from mobile versions of GPUs vs their desktop counterparts, but not enough to be really noticable.3. Here's the clincher - the Pentium M (Dothan or Sonoma) seems to be a SPEED DEMON when in comes to games, especially CPU intensive ones like FS2004. Once you hit about 2GHz with these processors, they easily give P4 and A64 systems a run for their gaming money, even the latest EE and FX versions of these CPUs!Case in point, I did once put my entire FS directory, complex add-ons and all, on a 1.8Ghz Centrino notebook with crappy integrated intel shared-memory video I was setting up for my parents, just to see how FS would fare. With all sliders right, it was pulling 20 FPS in the same complex scenario that my rig (specs below) churns out 26 FPS! Not too shabby at all.Gary

Thanks for the info Gary.I keep hearing mixed thoughts about the Pentium M versus desktop versions in gaming. I'm glad to hear an actual experience like yours. I got a feeling we're getting close to a release of info on FS10 and that is giving me pause for upgrading. I'd like to know what the changes are in terms of graphics engine. Hopefully the wait won't be very long.And thanks for the info Dave on the XPS2 quote. Yes, it seems that the XPS2 is quite overpriced right now in Canada and it does seem to be creeping up in price looking over the last month or so.Regards,

Look for a Pentium-M vs A64 showdown here soon when my newly ordered Dell 9300 notebook arrives. My 9300 will be stocked with a 2GHz sonoma CPU (533MHz), 1G DDR2, 256M 6800 Go graphics, 100G HDD, and 17" WXGA display (1440x800) and a few other goodies. I'll run a mirror copy of my current FS config and compare different complex scenarios.Gary

I'm looking forward to that Gary. That 9300 sure looks like a nice notebook. I'll be very interested to see how it performs, as I'm sure others are too.Cheers,

I have this lap-top and it runs FS2004 very, very well!I highly recommend an IBM ThinkPad 'T' series!The spec's-------------------Centrino 1.5 GHz 32 meg Radeon 7500 chipset for graphics40 Gig 7,200 RPM hardrive14.1 inch TFT displayCD/CDRWThe usual connections, including USB 2.0 (two of them).The IBM T40 with the above config gives me when locked at 30 FPS, just that...30 FPS at default airports and around 10-17 FPS at Sim F airports such as Toronto's Pearson.You can't go wrong with an IBM ThinkPad 'T' series! The ATI Radeon Mobility 7500 graphic's just shines running FS2004, and AS2004.5 (latest version). The T40 comes in at only 4.5 pounds!!! Closed, it is 1 inch high. Great mobility. Check out an IBM T40/41 on the Web for full specs.Mitch R.

Thanks Mitch,Wow, if you can get performance like that from a 7500 and a 1.5GHz PM, then one can only imagine what a GeForce 6800 (256Mb) and a 2GHz PM will do.Just curious, what resolution do you have running and what AA and AF settings if any.Thanks,

Hello Rob!I'm running native 1024x768 and have the ATI Radeon Mobility 7500 chip running at its full 16 AA, and 3 AF.You should see the clouds!Also, I have everything max'ed in FS2004 except the weather which I have set at MEDIUM LOW. Even then, I get great cloudscape using AS204.5 (186)For sound, I use top-line BOSE noise-cancelling headphones, but can get by when mobile (waiting for a flight at the airport) with the two stereo speakers resident on the T40 A USB mouse and joystick completes the deal.I am totally pleased with my IBM T40. Also, forgot to mention in the original post. I am using XP Pro.Cheers!Mitch R.

Hey Mitch,16AA? You're not kidding? I didn't think that card can handle that. That

Like you, I was quite surprised with the performance of the ATI Mobility 7500 chip. To tell you the total truth---the chip gives such good graphic performance---that it almost rivals my desktop!!!Yes, sometimes I do get that stutter, but it is the hard drive kicking in, and I even get that on my XPS monster.I don't want to sound like a commercial for IBM, but at 4.5 pounds, and the way IBM is famous for quality---I don't think you would go wrong with any top end 'T' series ThinkPad.My graphics chip is only 32 meg, but boy can it handle heavy, involved cloud formations like a champ!Commercial over...back to the regular program, LOL!Cheers!Mitch