I play EQ on a laptop myself, but only cause I have no other choice. My desktop is being rebuilt at the moment, I just need the money to finish it. The laptop I play on has 64 MB shared video memory and 512 MB ram and a 2.4Ghz P4 processor. I would highly recommend NOT getting shared video on a laptop you intend on using for EQ. On mine, the video usage by EQ is too much to process without a separate VPU, thus causing the machine to work very hard. This causes more heat so the fan is constantly running very hard while I am playing EQ, and I can't even set it on my lap cause it gets so hot. Heat, in turn, causes wear on the internal parts on the unit which will sooner or later cause the laptop's lifespan to be shortened.
My next laptop purchase wwill definetely be an alienware machine. Processor and video cards can easily be upgraded on them which is a definete plus. And after reading articles, they have developed a new motherboard for laptops that can support 2 video cards! So, hopefully by the time I am in the market for a new laptop, these alienware machines will be in my price range.
Overall, EQ is not meant for laptops in my opinion, unless you get one that's top of the line. But if you absolutely want a laptop, make sure it has a separate VPU and no shared video memory, and get as much memory for it as you can possibly afford. And lastly, look at the L2 cache. The size of that will definetely increase the processing power of the machine. The alienware machines have an extreme processor option (and VERY extreme in price!) that has a 2.5MB L2 cache (WOW!) but 512k seems to be the norm. Hope this helps a little bit. Tried to apply my tech knowledge with my own laptop experiences.
Pondac
P.S.
GET A NAMED BRAND!!! I can't stress this enough. I got mine from
http://www.netlux.com and I have regreted going with a no name company machine for all 2 years I have owned it! Even though the price was reasonable, their tech support reflects it. Just my words that I hope people listen to.