Need some help with a new Laptop

[jronald]

So Uby (my 12 year old son) wants to continue playing Minecraft. The Z60m is complaining about the graphics card.
Minecraft requires:

Minimum Requirements:
CPU: Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz
RAM: 2GB
GPU (Integrated): Intel HD Graphics or AMD (formerly ATI) Radeon HD Graphics with OpenGL 2.1
GPU (Discrete): Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT or AMD Radeon HD 2400 with OpenGL 3.1
HDD: At least 200MB for Game Core and Other Files
Java 6 Release 45
Recommended Requirements:
CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon II (K10) 2.8 GHz
RAM: 4GB
GPU: GeForce 2xx Series or AMD Radeon HD 5xxx Series (Excluding Integrated Chipsets) with OpenGL 3.3
HDD: 1GB
Latest release of Java 7 from java.com

What should I be looking for in a Thinkpad?
Keep in mind Uby has been known to destroy his fair share of laptops, accidentally, but toast none the less.

Thanks
Ron

[Cigarguy]

I'd look at a T400/500 with 3650 GPU which is in the midrange of the min and max requirement. They can also be had for relatively cheap (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/IBM-THINKPAD-T50 ... 19e9981585).

You could always newer from there but it will cost more.

[Medessec]

I would side with Cigarguy on the T500 with ATI graphics. However- an NVIDIA-chipped T61 will also play Minecraft very nicely, but then you'll have to worry about the NVIDIA chip issue. Make sure the T61 has a date stamp after 08/08 on the bottom, otherwise, walk away. If you don't want to deal with the hunting and trial and error, just get a T500 or W500. Both the T61 and T400/T500 are good value for how well they do.

AVOID Intel-graphics Thinkpads, even newer ones, at all costs. Minecraft loathes Intel Integrated, even the newer Intel HD on the Core i-series.

Make sure whatever Thinkpad you get has 4GB of RAM or more. You can also simply upgrade a T61, T500 or W500 to 4GB if it doesn't come with it. Minecraft abuses the RAM quite a bit... so Thinkpads with 3GB RAM or less will have lagging troubles with Minecraft while it garbage-collects(it piles data into the RAM, and when it runs out, it has to clean it up, running the CPU pretty ragged. This happens more often if you have less RAM).

Good luck!

[Saucey]

W500 would be a spoil but it works well, I had given my little brother one to play League of Legends with and I think it plays nicely, he doesn't, but its far better than torturing my X61T.

About that game though, it wasn't programmed the best. Even though it has its pixelated/boxy look, even nice videocards, the game still studders at times.
Not the GPU's fault but rather the guy using Java to program the game.

Medessec gots the right ideas.
The T400 w/ integrated gfx I had for a bit was sluggish while gaming, almost as bad as the X61, but it didn't run as hot.

[Medessec]

I had given my little brother one to play League of Legends with and I think it plays nicely

From what I've seen- League will run on anything with discrete graphics just fine-as long as it runs Windows Vista/7. A W500 is definitely overkill for LoL, but that's still definitely a plus that you got it for him- in case he someday decides to play a proper video game

About that game though, it wasn't programmed the best.

Heh... Saying Minecraft was poorly programmed is an understatement... I'm not knocking-it is a fantastic idea and great game for anyone who has a creative mind. But it just had to be programmed by a bunch of lazy Swedish guys, in Java. The worst language for a game of that sort. A game like that, if programmed properly, could work well on hardware from 1997... my British friend made a very rudimentary Voxel engine for his University assignment, and it only needs a trickle of CPU power. It doesn't even use the GPU at all as it is... I was able to get it to work on my Thinkpad 770.

In my experience with running Minecraft on different Thinkpads:
-Any Integrated Graphics Thinkpad up to T61 will report an error with the driver and will not start Minecraft at all.
-Thinkpad T43 with ATI graphics will run MC, but won't run smoothly, even with everything turned to low, and all effects turned off. It will be playable, but only just.
-Thinkpad T60 with ATI graphics will run MC smooth with most effects turned off. Annoying lag spikes will occur frequently unless you have at least 2GB of RAM installed. Using the newer Core 2 Duos(T7200, T7400) over the older Core Duos(T2300, T2400, T2500) will also really help your framerate, and allow MC to run a bit cleaner.
-Thinkpad T61 with NVIDIA graphics will usually run MC smoothly with Smooth Lighting turned on, but all other effects and options set to "Fast" or Normal, and not "Fancy". Penryn CPUs will again help framerate and allow you to run higher draw distances(Far).
-Thinkpad T400/T500/W500 with ATI graphics will usually run MC very nicely.

All these computers, when running Minecraft, may get hot on their underside(especially the T500/W500 on high settings).

[Cigarguy]

Medessec - Arn't you a student? Which means you should be busy doing school work not playing computer games. You know way to much about Minecraft to be good for your GPA. (Coming from a guy who was a master of slacking off during my Computer Science days).

[Medessec]

Heh hah. Yes... you caught me. Priorities are everything. But there's less college to look after, the more G.E. you get out of the way.

Games are fun though...

[pointyhat]

I've got a T400 with switchable Intel/ATI graphics. In ATI mode that does a wonderful job of Minecraft with quite high settings.