If you have your own OS then this one isnt bad and will run L4D http://www.xoticpc.com/force-khlb2-built-compal-khlb2-p-2635.html?wconfigure=yes

just upgrade the ram to 4g and the processor to the T8100 and you should be fine.

floridaskater05

My own OS as in something other than Windows 7?

How about the Dell Studio 15 with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400? Could that run L4D on low settings? The Studio 15 got a pretty good review @ cnet, plus there's tons of options. Its only $699.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157046

What about that?

ChubbyGuy40

Wow, that seems like a stellar deal. Does it seem correct that my 9800M GS w/ 512 would be ranked higher than this ATI w/ 1GB on that list the previous poster put up? Just a better unit or something?

Man, that does seem like a great deal!

Hows this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152126&cm_re=laptop_9600m-_-34-152-126-_-Product

It should be able to play L4D medium-high settings.

04dcarraher

hmm, doesn't look too shabby. A bit pricey, but newegg has deals every now and then, right? My laptop has the GeForce 9800M GS w/ 512 MB and I'm pretty sure I'm easily running L4D on all high settings. No chugging ever.

How much less powerful is the 9600M GT in this laptop? The GTs are higher end than the GS's, correct?

How about the laptops with the Intel 4500MHD. Could that run it on low? Most laptops in the price range seem to have that chip.

Are ther any brands to stay away from? Here's what I've personally used so far (laptops and desktops):

ASUS (current): Great computer so far, probably the only one I've been REALLY happy with. ASUS tech support and website couldn't be worse though.

Toshiba: Had a tablet from school. Pretty bare bones, nothing special. Seemed to crash fairly frequently. Wasn't particularly GREAT at anything. Very cheap feeling.

Gateway: First tablet from school. This was my second favorite computer I've had, although towards the end of the 2 year lease from school it was starting to bog down. Performed well, and fell generally nice.

Dell: We had a Dell desktop at home, and it sucked, I work on a Dell desktop at work and its kinda sucks, my coworker uses a high-end Dell laptop at work, and he's not blown away, especially considering the price! But the laptops are pretty.

HP: Loaded with tons of bloatware, but its been quite a few years since I've used one though, was never particularily impressed.

Acer: My mom has an ACER desktop at her house and I'm not blown away by, although it is a bare bones kind of deal. Never given her any troubles though.

How are brands like MSi, Sony, Lenovo, Acer, and HP with laptops in this price range?

I'm looking for a laptop for my girlfriend. The main things she does is internet browsing, and playing around with her pictures (nothing huge, just normal digital camera images). We also bought 2 copies of Left 4 Dead but the game smokes her current laptop, which is a Toshiba tablet she received from school. Do any of the built in graphics chips like the 4500MHD I believe have the power to run L4D smoothly even on 640x480 with the detail cranked down? Or do we have to find something with a dedicated graphics card?

Also, for her uses, should I be more concerned about mHz, or RAM? I know she also tends to have about 3-4 applications running most of the time.

Oh, and she's looking for something in the 14-15" range.

Any advice, or brand recommendations you could give me would be appreciated.

I personally have the ASUS G50Vt-X5 and I love it, but ASUS doesn't make anything in the price range we're looking for, which is around $400-$750 I would think.

I kind of want to buy a game from Steam but I don't see anywhere that it states it supports Windows 7. I'm sure it does, but has anyone tried it? Also, can I play games that I download offline with Steam?

Hmm, that is strange, try different backgrounds?Ghost_loy

Yeah, Windows, and custom Wallpapers are the same. And it goes away when I click show desktop.

And to the guy who mentioned graphics cards, I wouldn't think so because I have an ASUS G50Vt-X5 with a GeForce 9800m GS.