ATI Radeon HD 4250 meet needs for son's laptop?

[JamesJSC]

First, thanks for taking the time to read and respond. I would appreciate confirmation that the system I'm looking at will satisfy the requirements... especially the Athlon processor and the video card.
Thanks in advance!

I'm on a budget to purchase a laptop for my son. He only does what I consider "light" gaming (e.g. The Sims and the new Lego Universe games... he doesn't do "shoot-em up" games).

Laptop under consideration:
I'm looking at Gateway NV73A04U which lists the ATI Radeon HD 4250 as dedicated graphics with up to 256MB video memory.
The system features AMD Athlon II P320 2.1GHz, 4GB DDR3, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, 17.3" Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Sims Game Requirements:
I looked on the site for Sims 3 requirements, but I didn't see anything for Windows 7, so perhaps the game is not yet compatible.

Lego Universe Game Requirements:
Recommended:
• Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit), with the latest Service Packs
• Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 3200+
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB RAM with Windows Vista and Windows 7)
• 10 GB free HD space
• NVIDIA® GeForce 6800 or ATI Radeon X800 or better – 256 MB VRAM or more
• DirectSound compatible sound card
• DVD-ROM Drive
• Broadband Internet connection required

Minimum:
• Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit), with the latest Service Packs
• Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz / AMD Athlon XP 3000+
• 512 MB RAM (1 GB RAM with Windows Vista and Windows 7)
• 5 GB free HD space
• NVIDIA® GeForce FX 5700 series / ATI Radeon 9600 series / Intel Integrated GMA 950 or equivalent –128 MB VRAM and latest video drivers
• PC audio solution containing Dolby® Digital Live required for Dolby® Digital audio
• DVD-ROM Drive
• Broadband Internet connection required

Thanks again!
James

 

[Artas1984]

The laptop is far ahead of minimum requirements, but not above the recommended, so it should handle those games perfectly.

Speaking of lego memories, i remember when i got my first lego box from USA in the early 1990 when parents came back and that was a huge thing to have, because other kids were playing with just "soviet" toys, which were some 20 year fashion (you get the point). I would want my kid to play real lego, not PC... That is something one must feel.

 

[JamesJSC]

Thanks for the reply. I worry about buying a laptop for this purpose and then within a year the specs not being able to keep pace with the game. I've tried and tried to get him to go with a desktop (which he has had before), but he really wants a laptop this time and I can understand that.

As far as the Legos, trust me, my son has tons of the actual Lego bricks. There are 4 of those under-the-bed storage bins filled, 4 shelves in his closet covered with various themed Legos, Lego trains and tracks running all across the room with Lego City sets setup along the tracks, stand-up storage bins filled, blah blah blah. Over the last few years I know between his grandparents and me, we've spent probably over $2k on the darn things.

I was just as crazy about Legos when I was growing up, and he inherited my collection. Some days I have to get in there on the floor and teach that boy a thing or two in order to keep my Grand Lego Master title. LOL Thankfully, he has two younger siblings who love the toys too, so they'll be next in line. We'll get our money worth out of them.