Well, I'm sure you people here are rather tired of questions like these, but while I'm slightly technology inclined I'm no where near intelligent enough to know as much as I need to. And asking my father for advice (him being a computer programmer) generally is a bad idea because after about 5 minutes he's off-subject and confusing the heck out of me.

Anyway. I recently bought the Spore Creature Creator...which my "wonderful" Toshiba Laptop fails at running. I've been meaning to get a new laptop for awhile anyway, but that kinda gave me the extra kick, since I'd really like to play that game (and mess with the Creature Creator before-hand, but as it goes, the game will be out before I can get a new computer/upgrade this one).

Here's this: http://pastebin.com/f64a7fc8f which I believe you all like to have. I'm pretty sure the Spore-failure part is the graphics card, seeing as the one I've got isn't listed on the "low" specs that Spore requires. Simple question: is it possible to change/upgrade that at all? Or is that an "lol buy a new computer" thing? (Pretty sure it's the second, figured I'd ask anyhow.)

And since the answer is most likely: buy a new laptop (and a laptop it has to be, no space for a desktop unfortunately), would any of you have suggestions for one? I've been looking at Alienware, Asus, Sager, Lenovo...can't really decide. I'd like to be able to play most games with no issue. This laptop I currently have does alright with WoW and GW on low graphics, but the FPS is rather gross, lower-end games like DOMO and MapleStory are alright, but a lot going on causes lag, etc. So basically I guess I'm wanting a computer that'll handle most of what I throw at it. (I also do some 3D rendering, every so often, if that makes any difference.) Edited: Forgot to mention budget range. Eh, I'd rather not spend a whole lot, but I'm aware most gaming laptops are going to cost a pretty penny. So just throw whatever at me, and I'll sort through according to what fits my budget at the time. I'll most likely not be spending over $3500 though.

Uh, sorry for rambling and being long-winded and all. Hope I wasn't too confusing, and thank you for any help or suggestions y'all can give.

That RAM is *really* killing performance. I have 1 GB on my laptop but have crappy integrated graphics, and I can barely run creature creator even on low resolutions. If you want to save some cash, you could check craigslist.com. I've often seen some great deals on there. If you want to buy a new top-of-the-line gaming laptop, I'd check out Falcon Northwest (a little pricey), Alienware, or Voodoo. Most gaming rig sites including these let you configure your own machine, so you can change options to suit your budget. Before you make a decision, though, do your homework: find reviews, user opinions, ask on hardware forums, etc. Maybe even wait a while until you buy. I honestly haven't been keeping up on on this stuff for a long time; I'm basing my suggestions on outdated hardware and gaming magizines. Good luck, and welcome to Datarealms.

Laptops can get extremely powerful these days for very good prices and can really compete against desktop PCs. The only downside with laptops is there incredibly difficult or impossible to upgrade. Small things like the RAM can be upgraded easily however judging by your laptop just upgrading the RAM isnt going to get you the performance boost you need.

any of the brands that you named should be fine however Alienware are slightly more expensive than what your getting, but i heard the build quality is very good and your getting excellent customer service. Asus is also a quality brand.

Absolutely any laptop costing around $3500 is bound to be kickass, you can buy decent laptops these days for $800

things to look out for should be; something with +2GB of Memory, a Duel Core , and +256MB of Dedicated video memory

other things include, Windows Vista, +120GB of Hard drive space, Wireless Internet adapter, +2.0GHz Processor speed, Widescreen, ect. but these all depend on your own preferences.

i hope this helps

And incase your computer is made for vista and you don't want vista, you can get a Windows XP Downgrader CD which makes your vista into XP.

Vista requires lots and lots of memory, as if it was a fat memory eating thing.
Much more than XP.

Thanks for the advice, and the welcome. I was figuring I'd be better off just getting a new laptop. I toyed with the idea of just getting more RAM, but if that's not really going to help much there's not really any point in wasting the money on it. I'm fairly certain this laptop's on its last leg anyway, I've used it pretty hard over the past three years.

Just another quick question, and mostly because I'm not accustomed to games specifically listing which graphics cards will work, and I'd hate to get a new laptop and have it not play Spore either just because of the card. I noticed that some laptops are using nVidia's new cards, the 9M series. I'd think that since it's a newer card, it'd still work fine with Spore, but since it's not listed, I don't really know what to think, since I don't really know how that stuff works. (Not to mention it'd rather suck having to use old/out-dated graphics cards just to play the game if it's not going to be compatible with future cards.)

Don't listen to Roy, he's a ♥♥♥♥ moron no matter what he says. Is portability really important to you? Like, necessary? If you don't need it, then build your own desktop. For around $800 you can build a computer that can do very well on a lot of stuff, as long as you aren't playing Crysis. Remember that since it's difficult to upgrade a laptop, you're ♥♥♥♥ when it goes obsolete. Desktops you can keep on using some of the components as you upgrade; laptops, you really can't.

It's not so much an issue of portability, but rather space. I would love to have the space for a desktop, but I do not, by any means, and when I move I probably still won't. I was actually thinking about customizing one of these HP notebooks.

...What.

My Vista computer runs 5+ times faster than my XP computer.

Difference in hardware works wonders. Vista is going to be slower than XP. This is a technological fact.
@OP. No. You are not upgrading the laptop. Laptops are ♥♥♥♥ engineered, and have the parts tailored to that specific model usually. They are not desktops and are not BUILT to be upgraded. There is no way you DON'T have room for a desktop. If you don't, how do you walk around? You can build a top of the line machine for a thousand bucks that'll run anything you throw at it. Oh yeah, and the thing about asking your dad for help. There's an old saying among computer technicians. "If you see a programmer with a screwdriver, immediately follow him."

Lol ... well we did kinda break it while trying to fix it, but that was basically both our faults. It still works, I just have to use a USB keyboard now.

And it IS possible to not have room, as much as I hate to say it. In my room there is no room for a desk at all, we already HAVE a desktop, which resides in the desk. And the rest of the areas in the house have enough furniture in them to make no room for an additional desk for another desktop, or have boxes piled high due to my brother and I both being in the process of changing from not living at home, to living at home, to not living at home again. So while it might seem unbelievable that I truly don't have the room for a desktop, it is.

So while I understand it would make more sense (and be cheaper) to go the desktop route, there's not much sense in arguing the point because I'm going to end up with a laptop anyway. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, just attempting to steer the advice in the right direction.

Since when do you need a desk for a desktop?
P.S. my desk I just got rid of was 2 feet deep, 2.5 wide, and around 4 tall.