My old Dell Inspiron 6000d no longer met my needs. The 7 pound beast was useful both as a desktop replacement and as a blunt force weapon. But I no longer needed a desktop replacement - I have a wonderful self-built desktop system in the home office.

No, what I needed was a laptop that was mobile. I decided that my “requirements” list was as follows:

• 12-13″ form factor
• < 5 lbs
• < 1.5″ thick (these last 3 can essentially be covered by “thin & light” notebook category)
• 3.5+ hours battery life (4+ highly desirable)
• Video capable of running Compiz (Linux) / Aero (Vista) well
• Stock RAM and HDD configurations completely irrelevant, would be upgrading on my own
• Glossy screen (necessary for outdoor use, matte screens diffuse light and become nearly unviewable in even fairly mild levels of ambient sunlight - and forget about direct sunlight)
• Built-in webcam (family has become geographically dispersed, and will be using video conferencing very soon)
• 802.11n adapter

I thought I had found a winner in the Toshiba U405. It had the form factor that I desired, the glossy screen, the webcam, and the 802.11n adapter. All of my local stores, however, were sold out. Finally, I found one at a nearby city… but it turns out to have been the U405<b>D</b>, a nearly-identical machine except with the new AMD “Puma” platform in place of the Intel-based solution. I figured this was OK, as the new Turion X2 CPU was rated at 31 W (4 W fewer than the Core 2 Duo of the U405), and is supposed to handle processor sleep states automatically, without requiring anything from the OS (which would make things easier in Linux).

Unfortunately, I took it home, and found the battery life to tail off at 2.5 - 3 hours, whether in Linux or Vista. Such a disappointment! The machine was ideal in virtually every other regard. I <i>could</i> have ordered a 9-cell battery to replace the stock 6-cell battery, but I decided that that still wasn’t enough.

In the end, I returned the U405D. Then, I stumbled upon a deal on BestBuy.com: a MacBook (Santa Rosa) for $899. At 2.0 GHz, it was only slightly slower than the current models, and while the stock HDD and RAM configuration was pitiful, that played right into my hands, since I was upgrading those things anyway.

I bought the MacBook, reviving long-forgotten dreams of a triple-boot notebook. I found, however, that the triple-boot dream would be easier imagined than implemented…

After many delays, I finally got a new laptop. Regular updates to resume soon.

On my desktop’s Firefox installation (3.0 RC 2), the Google Analytics ads often don’t show up. Is this happening to anyone else using either of the FF3 release candidates?

I fixed a couple of CSS issues that were mangling the layout in IE7. If anyone is seeing any layout issues on any browsers/platforms, let me know.

Oh… oh man. I wish this was “The $800 PC”.

CPU price drops across the board have made some nice upgrades oh so tantalizingly within reach. However, GPUs continue to inch down, making an NVIDIA 8800 GT also within reach.

Like Sophie’s Choice, I can only choose one. Better CPU, or better video card?

“Don’t make me choose. I can’t choose!”

The Guts
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E2220 ($90)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L ($90)
RAM: 2GB Wintec AMPX DDR2 800 5-5-5-15 ($40)
Video Card: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB ($170 before $10 rebate)
Sound: [onboard sound]
“Guts” Total: $390 (before rebates)

That CPU name is not a misprint - the E2220 is a new processor. It’s similar to the E2200 but is clocked at 2.4 GHz instead of the E2200’s 2.2 GHz. Obviously, Sophie I chose the video card, but we still get a 9% CPU clock speed increase from last month April.

The Gigabyte P35 motherboard returns in a slightly different model. This one has an “E” in the model name, which denotes Gigabyte’s new “dynamic energy saver” design. In addition to that, this updated model brings DDR2 1200 RAM support to the table. It comes in at the same price that the old model was retailing for, so it’s a welcome replacement. Overclockers, however, will want to disable the energy saver feature in the BIOS in order to have full voltage control.

Finally, I’ve managed to sneak an 8800 GT into the $750 PC. My first draft of this article had the XFX card in the build for $180, and I was very happy to finally have an XFX card in one of these builds. Then EVGA’s card had to undercut it to $170 plus throw in an additional $10 mail-in rebate on top of that. The XFX card, however, comes with a free copy of Company of Heroes, which is worth the extra $10 (and I believe CoH is one of those games where you can add the key to Steam and not need the disc anymore - someone correct me if I’m wrong).

I’m sticking with the Wintec RAM - none of the other RAM at the same price managed the same 5-5-5-15 CAS timings.

Alternatives

Sophie could have chosen her other child, and gone with the E4600 or even the sweet new E7200, a nice 2.53 GHz Wolfdale (Penryn) chip with 3MB of L2 cache for only $135. If this was an $800 PC, I’d be able to pair the E7200 with the 8800 GT and be a very happy little boy.

If not for the continued drops in 8800 GT prices, the $140 XFX 9600 GT would be extremely tempting. Radeon 3870s unfortunately don’t quite match the 9600 GT’s prices, although the two are extremely competitive in performance with no clear winner. The 3870s are cheap enough now, though, that the die-hard AMD/ATI fan would not be making a poor price/performance purchase by grabbing one. On the 8800 GT front, the $180 XFX with Company of Heroes is a great deal, and they also now have an 8800 GT with a giant Zalman fan on it for $170. If you’re willing to go with an off-brand, ECS’s 512MB 8800 GT is currently selling on NewEgg for a mere $155. Yikes!

There’s still no sub-$100 motherboard worth looking at besides the newly-updated Gigabyte, as far as I can see. Boards with NVIDIA’s 700 series chipsets are all well over $100, and no other great low-cost P35 contender has stepped up - certainly not with the same level of feature set, at least.

The Trimmings
Case: Thermaltake WingRS VG1000BNS ATX ($40)
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme 500W ($50)
Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.10 250GB SATA 16MB cache ($60)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IDE 20X DVD±R ($23)
Monitor: Acer X193W+BD Black 19″ 5ms Widescreen LCD ($180)
“Trimmings” Total: $353

GRAND TOTAL: $743

The Thermaltake WingRS is a very standard, no-frills black ATX case. It’s not going to get you inside the Victoria’s Secrets of any hot PC rig groupies, but it will look just fine on your plain ol’ IKEA desk. It’s got a nice tool-less design and the ever-helpful left side intake vent with extendable (and removable) duct.

The Cooler Master power supply is a decent unit from a reputable vendor, though some users have complained that it is louder than average, though still reliable.

Progress often claims victims, and the nice upgrade to a 500GB hard drive that we enjoyed last time around had to be rolled back in order to help fund the GPU and CPU upgrades. 250GB is still nothing to sneeze at, and if you need more that that… download less porn, ya perv. (Or just slap another drive in later.)

Our old buddy LITE-ON returns to us this month, and he even comes in $2 lighter.

We get a nice little upgrade at monitor, with a new model from Acer. This one boasts a 1680×1050 native resolution and a nice 2000:1 contrast ratio. Although the contrast ratio is one of those fudged “adaptive” ratios, users have been extremely happy with the results. Getting the 1680×1050 resolution at this price is especially pleasing to some.

Alternatives

Too many to deal with. I think I’ll wave “goodbye” to this little roadblock in the article, and stick with just listing alternatives to the “guts” (unless there’s something in particular that I really want to highlight).

That’s it for this month. $500 PC build very soon, I promise! (That’s right readers, keep accepting my new empty promises and come back like beaten spouses that never learn…)

A lot of PC hardware & software vendors have been pondering ways to make PC gaming more accessible to the non-enthusiast. One of the most famous was Windows Vista’s “Windows Experience Index”, a numerical rating that indicated the relative level of performance that the rated machine was capable of delivering (a number which could be compared against a piece of software’s requirements to determine if the PC was up to snuff).

Vista’s failure to gain widespread adoption has prevented the WEI from taking off, leaving other vendors looking to take the next crack at the problem. Enter AMD.

A couple of weeks ago, AMD rolled out their “AMD GAME!” initiative. What is “AMD GAME!”? Good question.

AMD GAME! is a number of things. For starters, it is a web portal that features community forums, drivers and tools, and information on AMD-approved products and PC rig specs.

It’s also a product branding system, in which hardware (from individual parts like video cards all the way to complete pre-built systems) are branded with a certification. The two current certification levels are “AMD GAME!” and “AMD GAME! Ultra”.

The idea is that they will revise their certifications on a 6-month cycle. Gamers who want to ensure that they are getting a PC that’s capable of playing the games they want can buy a pre-built system with an “AMD GAME!” certification, or they can consult the “tested configurations” on the AMD GAME! portal page and assemble a parts list for a PC to build themselves.

So, what are the current specifications?

AMD GAME! (minimum requirements)

• AMD Athlon X2 5600+ CPU
• AMD Radeon HD 3650 graphics card
• AMD 770 chipset-powered motherboard
• 2GB DDR2 RAM

AMD GAME! Ultra (minimum requirements)

• AMD Phenom X4 9650 quad-core CPU
• AMD Radeon HD 3850 graphics card
• AMD 770 chipset-powered motherboard
• 2GB DDR2 RAM

Right away, something jumps out at me. The mimimum CPU requirements far outpace their respective GPU (video card) requirements. An Ultra system requires a quad-core Phenom but only a relatively puny Radeon HD 3850? The lower end system needs a 2.9 GHz dual core CPU at minimum, but only an extremely modest Radeon HD 3650 GPU? In both cases, the CPU requirements are far out of whack with the GPU requirements. Either one is way too high, or the other is way too low. Luckily, a quick glance at some OEMs indicates that they are hitting a bit higher marks than the video card bare minimums with their certified builds.

The certification system has already gained the support of a large number of OEM PC builders. Despite its questionable consistency with the minimum requirements, I feel comfortable saying that the complete PC gaming newbie will be able to at least get themselves in the right ballpark with a glance at the system certifications. And, if nothing else, AMD getting out in front will hopefully spur movement from other hardware manufacturers to address their product presentation, and help give non-techies some tools to make semi-informed purchasing decisions.

Maybe if I pretend like nothing happened, no one will notice that we skipped May.

June 3 - Ninja Gaiden II (360): The first “modern” Ninja Gaiden was great. The question is, to play this sequel now, or wait for its inevitable string of remakes?

June 3 - LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (360, PS3, PC): The LEGO games step out of the Star Wars universe.

June 9 - Don King Presents: Prizefighter (360): With the close of EA Chicago delaying Fight Night’s inevitable return, Take Two gets to take a shot at the vacant championship belt.

June 12 - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3): Sony breathes a sigh of relief, as one of the feathers in its exclusivity cap finally comes into play.

June 16 - The Political Machine (PC): Brilliant political board game-style PC strategy game. Near the top of my list this month.

June 16 - Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode One (PC): A new point-and-click episodic adventure title from the makers of the Sam & Max seasons.

June 17 - Spore Creature Creator (PC): If you just can’t wait until Spore, or if you only wanted Spore to make funky creatures, this is for you.

June 17 - Secret Agent Clank (PSP): Ratchet’s sidekick gets his own PSP 3D platformer.

June 22 - Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS): Guitar Hero addicts will be able to get their fix on the road.

June 23 - Commander in Chief (PC): Did you play Third World War for the Sega CD? Then this is probably right up your alley.

June 23 - Battlefield: Bad Company (360, PS3): One would not be out of line to suggest that this is the first real console Battlefield game. Can it finally deliver the quality of Battlefield’s PC online play to the next-gen consoles?

June 23 - Top Spin 3 (360): For fans of tennis who hate watching Virtua Tennis characters retardedly dive at practically every shot.

June 24 - Alone in the Dark (360, PC): Eden Studios tries to reboot the original survival horror franchise, and may just succeed.

June 24 - Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS): The sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance gets the award for most cumbersome game title of the month.

June 29 - Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (360, PS3): The eggs that the goose has been laying lately are looking less golden..