Spec Check For New Laptop

I'm a bit of an amateur at this technical stuff so I would appreicate any help/advice I recieve. Thanks in advance.

I'm getting a new laptop (taking recommendations, but nothing too expensive though please) and is looking at the Compaq CQ60-420SA Laptop (branch of HP?)

I'm comparing this with the SE FFXI system requirements and recommendations

The Compaq has an AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core Processor and a NVIDIA GEFORCE 8200M graphics card. (More advice on the graphics card please, I've had trouble with them in the past so I would appreicate any information on the best performance in FFXI with which etcetc)
SE recommends a Intel® Pentium®III 800Mhz or faster processor (or recommends Intel® Pentium®4 processor, and has a list of confirmed graphics card from NVIDIA and AMD(ATI), but the list doesn't include the 8200M card the compaq has.
I'm wondering if FFXI would run on the Compaq, run semi-smoothly, and if the Compaq is a decent choice overall.

I'm getting this new laptop because my old one's graphics card died. There were lines and color after the login screen etc, as well as having a problem with the nvlddmkm.sys error a month ago. Any advice as to how to remedy this? or would the best option be to get a new laptop as my warranty is already over? I'm sending it to the HP repair shop regardless, would I need to replace the entire motherboard(?)?

if ur sending it to the hp repair shop, id personally invest in a desktop. but thats me. i use a laptop as well but as u should know u cannot upgrade it. once u get it thats it. at least with a desktop u can always upgrade it to fit the new standards.

as for ur error problem, check this page out it might help you some.
http://www.driverheaven.net/vista-nvidia-display-drivers/152790-how-solve-nvlddmkm-sys.html

As far as that laptop is concerned it should run XI fine, as my laptop from '05 runs it pretty well and has a graphics card that ranks a bit lower than the 8200M.

Benchmark list here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

8200m ranks 137 on most recent benchmark, and my current ranks 157. XI is generally said to be more CPU-reliant as opposed to needing a strong graphics card, and although a value-buy compared to modern systems, the dual-core on that laptop seems capable. Can't find much else on the laptop as far as details go, the hard drive seems to be 5400RPM, which isn't great, but still passable. In general with computers, you get what you pay for, unless you deal hunt, of course!

Personally I'd be a little hesitant to buy a new Vista laptop with Windows 7 right around the corner, but that may or may not be a selling point to you. 7 should, ideally, be a bit lighter on resources for a laptop, though, so that's food for thought.

Don't do it. Get a Toshiba if you want a good, reliable laptop.

See if there's updated drivers for your vidcard. If you still have your jacked up screen then invest in a new laptop. I'd stay away from Compaq and HP, but that's a personal preference.

Yeah, HP fails for computers. Make your own desktop and buy Toshiba for laptops.

I thought Toshiba laptops were garbage? Oh well, I'm a desktop person.

Huge fail if you get a partitioned HDD just to put a backup factory disk img on it. That drive goes then everything is gone and that laptop is toasted until you get a new one preloaded through a friend's computer. You don't get recovery cd's anymore.

i had an HP.. and then i killed it. It just kept restarting itself when playing the game, or just surfing the web. Then i bought and Acer brand desktop; I upgraded it a bit, and i haven't had any problems with it (i'm not a laptop guy for games. I have to upgrade again though. After having it for 3 years it will require some upgrades to run new stuff.

As far as ffxi goes, a PS2 can run it and pretty much any laptop should be able to run the game. Just make sure it has a graphics card and a fast enough cpu along 1Gig or more in ram.

Concerning brands, do not buy compaq or hp. Dell, Toshiba, Asus and Acer are ok.

Some laptops come with a program that allows you to create a recovery DVD or CDs. This is a one time use only though, if you lose them then you better hope you have some good luck with it.

I would probably wait a bit though, a couple more months and it will be black Friday, so you might be able to get a good deal on a laptop.

If an entire brand-name fails, you may want to give some valid reasons for doing so. lol A "this one time" story doesn't really merit a total condemnation.

Thanks for the advice.

But reasons for not getting Compaq or HP? I also heard Toshiba is not very good, Sony is expensive, Acer is decent... Dell is supposed to be really heavy and hot, but really sturdy? Samsung's really fragile? I don't know..