Last year I purchased a notebook from Newegg, a ZT Systems that included a NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT, 512MB VRAM. There were two issues with it that left me very disappointed;
The
first issue was that the HDMI out did not carry audio. I undertand
that some newer laptops do this, but there seems to be no way of
determining which ones do until you are in possession of it. (I tried the COAX out, but the ZT software was too buggy to switch the headphone jack to coax)
The
second, more troubling, issues was video driver support. I have had intermittent crashes related to the video driver. When I went to
NVIDIA to get the driver updated the update software refused to run on
my laptop. It referred me to the manufacturer - but ZT Systems has
NEVER updated any of their drivers!!!! (so I also am hozed with the coax issue)
I understand that this is
quite common as manufacturers don't want to continue paying licensing
fees to NVIDIA for updated drivers.
Now I have a buggy computer and nothing I can do about it. There are online resources that 'claim' to update drivers - but I understand that most of them are scams. BS, or substandard.
I
want to buy a new laptop (desktop alternative). Windows 7 looks
appealing. I will use it for web surfing, connecting to my widescreen
TV to stream Netflix movies, and some casual gaming (C+C, Starcraft 2 if it is ever released, DDO, etc.)
I would like to buy again from Newegg, but I don't want to end up hozed with an unsupported, un-updateable piece of poo-doo. I am hopeful someone here as a suggestion that would alleviate these concerns - otherwise I'm stuck going to the local Best Buy - where at least I can test it before I buy, and returning it is easier if (when) I need.
Please offer any advice you may be able to share.
Thanks