i would recommend you to use Intel processor...TK chip is slower as compare to TL, but generate less heat and energy saving.
as for graphic, go for dedicate graphic, Nvidia geforce is not really a good one,
at least a 8400Gs/8600GT, but @ your budget 3K, 8400GS is what you can get.
acer generally cheaper, get yourself at least a 4920G model...
as for dell, go for 1420/1520 with 8400GS...

DDR3 running @ a higher speed as compare to DDR2,
but the other factors which affects the graphic performance is the graphic chipsets it's using and the totaly pipelines available in the chipsets.
1. the Bits it's running (128/256)
2. total Pipelines
3 core and ram speed.

these 3 components determine the performance of a 3D graphic card.
Both 8600 and 8400 uses 128bit chipsets. only 6800, 7800, 8800 above uses 256Bit graphic engine.
total pipelines depends on the pixel shaders and vertex shaders, last time they only use pipeline, now they divided into 2 components.
8600 running on 32, and 8400 running on 16.
another words, in the same settings, 8600 performance is actually doubles 8400.
then we look @ the core and mem speed.
8600 (475/700 in DDR3, 475/500 in DDR2) while 8400 (400/600)

now i'l show you the rough idea how we actually calculate the 3D performance based on these 3 markers, it's not very accurate, but it's one of the standard way to calculate the perfomance in overclocking in relative to another 3D card of the same model.

8600 (128 bits) 8400 ( 128 Bits) par
8600 ( 32 pipelines) 8400 (16 pipelines)- 8600 will double performance is vertex and pixel processing
8600 DDR2 ( 475/500) 8400GS DDR3 ( 400/600) means 8600 is about 18% faster in core speed performance, and 20% lost in terms of memory speed. overrall- i'll say both the chipset's core and mem speed par..

however since 8600 is 2 times faster in pixels and vertex processing as compare to 8400...

the conclusion is that, whatever 3D GRAPHIC which 8400GS is processing, 8600GT will double it's performance.

now we look back to 8600GT and 8600GS
8600GS DDR3( 600-650/700), 16 pipelines, 128bits.
8600GT DDR3 (450-475/700), 32 pipelines, 128bits.

by right 8600GT doubles the performance in pixel processing.
but 8600GS has a hgher corespeed about 26%-30% faster. Core speeds plays a more important role in determine the 3D processing speed as compare to memory speeds and total pipelines. there are other causes which affects the total performance such as bios configurations, types of memory it's using, the default core and mem speed set by manufacturers.
theoritically, 8600GT should be about 60% faster than GS, but due to the reasons i mentioned, you wont actually get those figures mentioned in theory calculations...

next we'll go over to 8600GT (475/700) and 8700GT (625/800)
both are 128 Bits, 32 pipelines, running on G84M chipset
in terms of core speed, 8700GT is 31% faster and 11% faster in memory clock speed.
what you'll expect is about 40% performance extra compare 8700GT to 8600GT
look at the 3Dmark06
8700GT- 4500-4700
8600GT- 3200-3400 (default)



NOT APPLICABle in ATI cards because the New cards using different system

This post has been edited by klifex: Jun 12 2008, 10:47 PM

if you're looking for a 17 inch crazy laptop with quadro NVS320 ( more powerful than 8700GT), then you can pm me, i can give u a price within your budget.



This post has been edited by klifex: Jun 23 2008, 11:42 PM

you might need to wait for a few months before that comes out...
it may sounds "wow"...
but after i tested it in US AMD conference...nothing special...

u can customize a dell 1420 with that specs below 3k..

This post has been edited by klifex: Jun 27 2008, 01:29 PM

seriously, dun put too much expectation on 8400gs or ATI 2300, that's just an entry card. you might be able to play with 800x600 @ low settings.

this technology is too expensive for our consumer, only target those extreme gamers.
however there are some lower end enternal PCIE i saw in taiwan IT forum, in comparison with price and graphic performance, i'll still opt for internal dedicated graphic because it is still more powerful.
i cannot reveal you the tech/brand name, but i can tell you for lower end external card cost around 150USD, which the performance is slightly above 8400 and HD2400,
if you're looking for SLI(8800GTX x2 and above), that single graphic box cost you >1000USD (about RM3300)

the good thing is that the laptop without dedicated graphic card weight 10-15% lighter ( 14.1 inch=2.3 ---> 2kg, 15.4 inch=2.9kg----> 2.5kg)
and the next generation laptop become slimmer because of the different cooling system design( previosly shared among GPU and CPU) , now they only need one simple HSF to cool off the CPU), as well as the power consumption greatly decreased due to seperated GPU.

cons? of course you will need to bring another external graphic box with you if you want to enjoy some mobility gaming because the internal graphic is sucks... hahaha...
and price...seperated graphic and laptop will greatly increase the laptop price...(especially those mid class laptop with class 3-4 laptop)
however, consumer now can choose between pure mobility, (without gaming) and pure performance for power users.

HD 3650 was design to fight against 8600GT.
performance are considerably 5-10% better than 8600GT, but it also depends what memory it is using because some manufacturer cut the cost by using DDR2, instead of GDDR3.
studio laptops are expensive, only available in 15 and 17 inch size. the design for me is like a hybrid of inspiron+xps...haha...well, i already seen it last 2 months...
the only difference now is that they are using back Ati platform to target the ATI users.
ATI platform has been known to be more power conservative and stable as compare to nvidia platform.

if i were to buy a new laptop @ 4k price, i wont go for studio, i'll rather wait for the class 1 and 2 nvidia 9000 series to be release in local market.

this is a very tight budget...quite hard to get...unless it's a second hand...

suggest you not to get compaq...
although you'll be fascinated by the term Nvidia graphic 7000m, but that's totally a rubbish in 3D game play.
well, with a lower 1.83 C2D and 8400gs, you might be able to get one Dell inspiron 1420 by adding 200 bucks to your budget.

or if you seriously dun mind about laptop quality, you can grab one 4920g at around 2999 retail with 2400xt or less (probably shop give around100-150 bucks discount compare to retail price)

inspiron and vostro shares the same motherboard, (for 14xx,15xx, 17xx)
studio's motherboard's design is different from inspiron.
the same goes to XPS