It sounds alright, mostly, but a few things have me worried

[laharlsblade]

Ok, I did make a thread just yesterday, but it's sunk a little ways and this is a completely different, unrelated question so I thought I'd make a new topic. Anyway, I'm thinking of purchasing the [url=http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=High+performance&series_name=dv6z_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/High_performance/dv6z_series]HP Pavilion dv6z series[/url], as the specs seem to meet my needs. However, which of the three video card options would I need to run the orange box and garrysmod well? Like, 50+ FPS for the most part on high settings? The three choices are:
-ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4250 Graphics with 128MB Display Cache Memory
-512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5470 switchable graphics
-1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics
Please keep in mind that I may be the most ignorant person on these boards when it comes to hardware, almost all know comes from my chats with one friend and lurking these boards for about 2 days, so if the answer is painfully obvious, don't bite my head off. Also, if anyone bothers to take a look at the rest of the specs and something (Be it RAM or the processor or w/e) probably can't meet my needs, please say something. Oh, and the reviews say that the placement of some keys on the left side of the keyboard (where they aren't naturally) and the lack of physical buttons on the keypad makes it hard to use; would either of these things matter to me if I plan to use this main for gaming and word documents/powerpoints, and have a wireless mouse that uses a USB port? Thanks in advance.

Oh yes, and I forgot to mention, I'm using the default everything except for possibly the video card, so if anyone checks out the specs and sees the [i]defaults[/i] probably wont work, could you please say which alternative would? Thanks again, and sorry for forgetting this.

[Computermaster]

If you can afford it, the choice is obvious.

The 5650.

What are the other specs you're planning on ordering it with?

[laharlsblade]

I edited the OP; read that little extra paragraph. Sorry about that. And I know the obvious choice is the most expensive one if I can afford it, but my parents are paying for most of it as a reward for good grades, and also because I need my own computer for school, and I wouldn't feel right making them pay more than they have to. So, which one world work while costing the least?

[Computermaster]

Well, I have a 3650 in my laptop, and it runs TF2 and Garry's Mod just fine (I can usually push 40 or so FPS on high).

I recommend at least getting that 5470 though, mainly because of the memory difference. (My card has 512MB).

If you don't want to strap them too hard, I recommend also upping the CPU to the choice labeled:

[B]AMD Phenom(TM) II Dual-Core Mobile Processor N620 (2.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)

[/B]So that'll be (with the 5470) $125 extra.

[laharlsblade]

alright, thanks, I guess that's probably what I'll go for. I sure hope it can handle Portal 2 well. :fappery:

Aw crap, one last question, what does the "switchable" on the video cards mean?

[Computermaster]

If I'm right, that means it's probably like mine, where it has a "low power" mode, used when you're on battery power/not gaming.

Or there's a discrete basic graphics chip that the computer uses until a game is run, at which time the ATI card takes over.

[laharlsblade]

Oh, cool, I was worried I'd actually have to manually switch something if I wanted to use the better graphics card. Thanks again.