Help me choose from these laptops

[EssenDoubleOP]

I'm a casual gamer, mostly just play sports simulation games and an occasional RTS game. I was hoping with my next laptop to be able to play Oblivion and Fallout 3. I also want a wireless-compatible laptop, and maybe around 200 GB. I found 4 strong options. Which do you think I should go with?

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS4530-5627 NoteBook AMD Mobile Athlon 64 X2 QL-60(1.90GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 2GB Memory 160GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G - Laptops / Notebooks
HP Notebook 15.4" LCD, AMD Athlon X2 QL-60 Dual-Core, 2GB RAM, 120GB Hard Drive
Best BlackFriday Deal: HP 15.4 Laptop: Dual Core T3200, 2GB, 160GB, Vista Premium
Best BlackFriday Deal: Toshiba 15.4" Laptop: Dual Core, 3GB, 160GB

 

[rohan23]

Do you absolutely need a laptop? Fallout 3 isn't too difficult to run. But, it could be a challenge on most laptops. Do you do anything else except play games? What exactly is your budget? I'll look around on other sites.

 

[EssenDoubleOP]

Do you absolutely need a laptop? Fallout 3 isn't too difficult to run. But, it could be a challenge on most laptops. Do you do anything else except play games? What exactly is your budget? I'll look around on other sites.

Well, I don't NEED one, but if I'm going to be buying a new computer, it ought to be a laptop. I'm a student and it makes more sense than to buy a new desktop. That being said, I run a few statistical programs, like SPSS, that could use a fair amount of computer power. I don't do any video editing or graphics design. I would like to spend between $400-500, I'm hoping to take advantage of Black Friday and get one now. Primarily, I'll use the computer for internet and word processing purposes, but I could get a laptop for a couple hundred bucks to do that. I'd rather spend a little bit more and be able to play games like Fallout 3, Spore, and some Command & Conquer games too.

 

[rohan23]

Those games require a bit of power. I'm not sure how many you'll find for $500, that will fulfill your requirements. I say, save up a few hundred dollars more. This would give you O.K. results, I guess. You will have to play on lower settings for most games.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115493

 

[EssenDoubleOP]

Those games require a bit of power. I'm not sure how many you'll find for $500, that will fulfill your requirements. I say, save up a few hundred dollars more. This would give you O.K. results, I guess. You will have to play on lower settings for most games.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115493

So all of the original options aren't any good for gaming? I won't use the laptop primarily for gaming, but I want to at least be able to run some games. All of the options seem to have solid dual-core processors and RAM is easy to upgrade. Is it the video cards that are holding them back?

 

[rohan23]

They would be fine to run your programs. Yes, the graphic cards are holding them back. This will do you nice. It's more expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220303

 

[EssenDoubleOP]

They would be fine to run your programs. Yes, the graphic cards are holding them back. This will do you nice. It's more expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220303

Hmmm...That's almost twice what I was hoping to pay for a new laptop. It's hard to justify paying that much for one or two games that I'd play. What if I were to get one of the original options and just buy a top-of-the line video card separately?