Thinking about getting a fragbox...

Megabot · Post by **Megabot** » 2008-07-16 05:09pm

I've thought about getting a gaming laptop for some time now, until I heard of the Falcon Fragbox. Does anyone who has one think it is a worthwhile purchase? I don't need the portability and lightweightedness of a laptop, just something that can be transported easily and can play the latest games. I've heard that they are cheaper and more easily upgradeable than gaming laptops, and was thinking about getting a preconfigured one. As someone who doesn't know a whole lot about assembling computers, are the specs on one of those things impressive for the price compared to an equally powerful laptop?

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2008-07-16 08:49pm

You're definitely going to get better performance with a "fragbox" than from a price-equivalent laptop, and the "fragbox" would also be upgradeable; the laptop, not so much.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-07-16 09:44pm

Your distaste of the term is hilarious and well-warranted.

Megabot · Post by **Megabot** » 2008-07-16 09:59pm

Should I be calling it something else? Isn't fragbox its official name? I think it's funny.

Anyway, I take it the specs on the preconfigured models are about as good and up-to-date as a portable machine can get? As in, can play the latest with few problems?

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-07-16 09:59pm

Gaming Laptops are just too expensive to really justify their existence, much less the fact that they will face serious cooling issues which will no doubt shorten their lifetime.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2008-07-16 10:10pm

Megabot wrote:Should I be calling it something else? Isn't fragbox its official name? I think it's funny.

Anyway, I take it the specs on the preconfigured models are about as good and up-to-date as a portable machine can get? As in, can play the latest with few problems?

I'm not slamming on you, it's reasonable to refer to a product by its official name... I just find the official name preposterous.

The preconfigured models actually have the same performance components (CPU, vid card) as you'd find in most any high-end tower; the main difference is that the motherboard conforms to a smaller form factor standard, and the case is small, that's it.

The components themselves are pretty high-end; in my opinion they're the best you could get without overpaying for bragging rights, although the price difference between their two preconfigured models seems too large to me.

One thing you might want to look into beforehand is how noisy those are; the case fans might run fast and small, and therefore loud. That depends on your tolerance for such things though.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-07-16 10:18pm

Megabot wrote:Should I be calling it something else? Isn't fragbox its official name? I think it's funny.

Anyway, I take it the specs on the preconfigured models are about as good and up-to-date as a portable machine can get? As in, can play the latest with few problems?

I'm with U235; they're a good idea but the name is hilariously stupid.

RThurmont · Post by **RThurmont** » 2008-07-20 01:21am

Those laptops though are probably just rebranded Asus boxes... Very few small OEMs can afford to make their own laptops... Its quite a bit easier to create semi-custom desktops (you take a standard case and mod it - this is what Voodoo PC used to do, buy stock cases and treat the metal on them, adding custom bezels to make them look all funky).

You want a good laptop, do yourself a favor and get a ThinkPad. It's the only real option in mobile computing IMO.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2008-07-20 02:41am

RThurmont wrote:Those laptops though are probably just rebranded Asus boxes... Very few small OEMs can afford to make their own laptops... Its quite a bit easier to create semi-custom desktops (you take a standard case and mod it - this is what Voodoo PC used to do, buy stock cases and treat the metal on them, adding custom bezels to make them look all funky).

You want a good laptop, do yourself a favor and get a ThinkPad. It's the only real option in mobile computing IMO.

Uh...fragbox is an SFF, not a laptop.

I'd reccomend you look around at other SFF PC vendors, but the rigs you linked to, suprisingly enough, are not ludicrously overpriced.

Netko · Post by **Netko** » 2008-07-20 04:23am

And Thinkpads, while great business/web/mail/productivity laptops, are shit laptops for gaming, which is what the OP wants - you have to go to the top of the line models to even get anything beyond integrated graphics, and, as far as I know, there aren't any Thinkpads that offer better then midrange graphics.

Not that gaming laptops make sense in general. I'd also go with the overall recommendation here and get some kind of desktop (including this SFF box).

Dominus Atheos · Post by **Dominus Atheos** » 2008-07-20 09:08pm

Okay, while I understand that we all loved Darwinia, do they really have to have the soundtrack from that game playing all over their website?