SFJaykey

If anybody else wants one here's the link to the deal I used. There are a number of Dell coupons up at Techbargains right now; this one seemed like the best: http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/270880 I upgraded the processor for high clock speed, which I'm told is good for CM. Also note, the backlit keyboard and bluetooth, among other things, are options you need to look for and add.

Well I finally pulled the trigger. Delivery in 2 business days. I was shopping for a 15" laptop but couldn't pass on this deal on a 17" at Dell, which I found by combing the Deals and Coupons at Techbargains.com: Dell XPS 17 1080p LED display Intel i7, upgraded to 2.7/3.4 8mb RAM Nvidia GT555m with 3MB video RAM 1 TB & 500 GB dual HDDs. Advanced-N Wireless with Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard all for $1069 with free shipping - though I paid an extra $15 for 2-day shipping. For that price I can deal with lugging the big 17" around. Thanks for the replies - here and in my previous threads. I'm looking forward to meeting you all on the battlefield! MattT

Thanks for the comments! The GTX260M is actually a very good card, more powerful than the ones I've been looking at. 260 might sound like a low number but the GTX are different animals from the GT. And I've been told that the older Core 2 Duos are actually faster in single threaded mode (ie, the way CM runs), than some of the newer 4 and 6 core CPUs. Still, I think I'm zeroing in on a system - now I just have to find the right price. I am way overanalyzing this, I know. It's what I do. You should see how I agonize over setting a Covered Arc.

Thanks for the reply. My personal situation really calls for a laptop. Gaming time is split between home and downtime at work, and even at work I can be sent around to different locations so a portable machine is necessary. I know it's a compromise performance-wise, and have considered the true "gaming" laptops like Alienware despite the cost vs. a comparable desktop. But from what I read, something like Alienware is really overkill for CMBN, or the RTS-type games I tend to enjoy. I would like to try some of the newer iterations of old games like Age of Empires, Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate, which I haven't played in years. But even there, reading the specs it sounds like an i7/GT540 or even GT525 system would have no trouble with the latest versions of these. It seems like it's the shooters that demand the cutting edge power - and I haven't been into those since I wore out the original Doom. Am I wrong? As for other uses - I do a very little image editing with Paintshop Pro but except for that and gaming, I could get by with a netbook or a tablet.

Help! I am not very technical, and driving myself nuts trying to make sure my next laptop will be able to play CMBN (and future hoped-for installments of CMx2). I read the processor clock speed is more important than graphics card power, and am tempted by a Dell XPS with i7-2620M that's rated at 2.7, or 3.4 with "turbo." I can get either a Nvidia GT525M or GT540M with that machine.....would such a rig be adequate to play good-sized (maybe not supergiant) maps, with a little room to grow for future developments of the game> Would the upgrade from the GT525M to the GT540 be worth $100? And would I be ok with an i7-2630QM, clocked at 2.0/2.9, that would save me $95? I just spoke with a salesman who seems to know more than the average clerk, who recommended the AMD A8 for value. He says it has much better integrated graphics performance than the Intel onboard graphics, comparable to an Intel system with a lower end discrete video card. The clock speed on the CPU is only 1.5/2.4, but the price is tempting, around $500. Has anybody tried CMBN on an AMD A8? Finally, there's a neat machine currently on sale, the Asus G53SW-a1. It packs a graphic wallop for $899, with Nvidia GTX460m, 8gb ram, and a sexy gaming-style case. But the CPU is only the i7-2630QM at 2.0/2.9, and what little I've learned tells me this machine is tuned more for the 3D first person shooter type games than CM and I'd be better of spending on a better CPU. Halp! I haven't had a PC that will play CM in almost 3 years, and want to get back in the game! Matt

Thanks! Found it under the nVidia tab right where you suggested. 3 options are available for display of lower resolutions: "Display adapter scaling" [stretched to fill screen] "Centered output" [stretched to screen aspect ratio but centered, with border all around] "Fixed aspect ratio scaling" [bingo! with that setting CMAK fills the screen top to bottom with black side borders and no distortion.] Thanks for the pointer - My ACs have round wheels again!

I just got a new widescreen laptop myself...how do you configure it to run CM with the black bars? Mine stretches CM to fill the full screen, no matter what resolution I set it at. This is in WinXP home with Nvidia 6800 and latrest drivers. Thanks much,

Has anyone developed a balanced armor rule for QB purchases in CMAK, something like Redwolf's Rules for CMBB?

I've never played Citadel, but it sounds like a good-sized scenario with a lot to learn for beginners. If you are still interested in CMBB after that daunting initial exposure, be advised that if you buy the game there is a tutorial scenario with walk-through provided in the manual. If you buy the strategy guide, it includes a walk-through of another good little scenario. There are more such aids available online, and, as you have seen, on the forum just by asking. It's a great game; go for it!

There's also an Opponent Finder forum right here at BF.C. Just go to the Forums menu and scroll down a bit.

That might be a neat mod: a tree mod that had tree canopies with foliage thin enough to see thorugh. Maybe with thin tree trunks, or maybe just the canopy "floating in air." You could leave tree effects set to full or extreme all the time, for visual appeal, but still be able to see the action whether viewing from high angles or ground level.

Generally when I have HT-mounted infantry I use it late in the game, after enemy AT assets have been flushed out by other scouts and eliminated. I often use smoke to screen their approach. The sudden arrival of a fresh platoon or two of infantry, supported by the HT MGs, can turn the tide in the final turns, or make a late rush at a secondary objective.

Maybe some of the British radio spotters who are slow and can't embark just have really big radios? Have you seen what some of the early war sets looked like? IIRC some spotters carried their big radio in a carrier or truck that remained out of LOS while the spotters went forward, dragging wire to the radio. Maybe that's what these spotters are modelling?

My preference would be for moderate to large scenarios depicting CM-sized engagements around Cassino at 1:1 scale. I would love to see a big operation on a giant, accurate map at 1:1 or close to it, but wouldn't charge anyone with the task of producing it, and frankly not sure I would get around to compeleting it myself....

Are daisy-chain mines placed in open or brushy terrain harder to spot than those placed on a road? Seems like it should be the case....is it modelled?