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[HELP ON] Buying a new "gaming" laptop
Sogui
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm in college, my laptop is crap, as any self-respecting college student I appreciate the finer things in life, namely gaming. But with my laughable excuse for a laptop, and a recent surge in $$$ from relatives and a nice $1000 check from UT for unused cash from my grants for the fall semester, I'm definitely in the market for a new laptop that can handle games.
So I'm looking for a gaming laptop, but the price range would be the most bang-for-the-buck in the $1000-1500 price range, ideally a LOWER price for something that can handle higher-end gaming. Games that I enjoy run along the lines of WoW, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Total War Series and occasionally some Half-Life 2. I'm also interested in the idea of grabbing Oblivion before I head back assuming that Burning Crusade doesn't devour my schedule.
I came across a nice Dell refurbishing site, and I lost it, and I found one again that appears to be similar, except with less search options and overall crappy quality (their "best" one right now has 512mb of RAM).
So what I'm looking for, if "gaming" laptop isn't detailed enough is:
-1gb of RAM
-Good Video Card, I have no idea of how Laptop Video Cards run compared to desktop ones, let alone what a "good" laptop video card is.
-Processor Speed... well, this is embarassing, but can you estimate a dual-core processor speed simply by adding the amount of the individual processors? aka a dual-core pentium 1.6ghz processor = what you'd expect from a 3.2ghz processor? I'm just winging it here and would love a better explanation of how dual (and the soon to come quad-core) core processors stack up against the single-core processors that I've been accustomed to.
-Biggest Screen Possible, widescreen is nice, but not nescessary.
-Weight isn't a concern for a manly man such as myself.
Forgive any technical faux pas, I am quite a noob when it comes to computer hardware, even more so when it comes to deciding on a laptop, thanks in advance for any and all advice in this difficult decision.
So I'm looking for a gaming laptop, but the price range would be the most bang-for-the-buck in the $1000-1500 price range, ideally a LOWER price for something that can handle higher-end gaming. Games that I enjoy run along the lines of WoW, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Total War Series and occasionally some Half-Life 2. I'm also interested in the idea of grabbing Oblivion before I head back assuming that Burning Crusade doesn't devour my schedule.
I came across a nice Dell refurbishing site, and I lost it, and I found one again that appears to be similar, except with less search options and overall crappy quality (their "best" one right now has 512mb of RAM).
So what I'm looking for, if "gaming" laptop isn't detailed enough is:
-1gb of RAM
-Good Video Card, I have no idea of how Laptop Video Cards run compared to desktop ones, let alone what a "good" laptop video card is.
-Processor Speed... well, this is embarassing, but can you estimate a dual-core processor speed simply by adding the amount of the individual processors? aka a dual-core pentium 1.6ghz processor = what you'd expect from a 3.2ghz processor? I'm just winging it here and would love a better explanation of how dual (and the soon to come quad-core) core processors stack up against the single-core processors that I've been accustomed to.
-Biggest Screen Possible, widescreen is nice, but not nescessary.
-Weight isn't a concern for a manly man such as myself.
Forgive any technical faux pas, I am quite a noob when it comes to computer hardware, even more so when it comes to deciding on a laptop, thanks in advance for any and all advice in this difficult decision.
Sogui on
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As to answer a question, dual core isn't a simple matter of adding the processor speeds. If you're running applications that'll only take advantage of one core (most games) then it'll only perform as well as a single core processor. Dual core's current advantages are mainly multimedia apps (vid encoding etc) although next year we'll be seeing more games taking advantage of multiple cores but even then it'll probably be a case of better AI or Physics
edit:
Sorry I guess I ought to add a qualifier to that. a $1500 laptop really won't get you very far. Especially on the gaming front. I'm sure you could buy one that'll play HL2/WoW easily. But for recent games such as Oblivion and the more intensive games coming out next year UT2007 etc it'll be low end. A year later it'll be an expensive paper weight since you sacrificed such things as battery life and portability to game on the thing.
You won't be able to play BF2 or HL2 w/ "High" graphics settings, and the price range is much steeper for similar hardware that you would get in a desktop.
At the same time, if you're willing to spend 1500 you can get a laptop that can run BF2/HL2/WoW at a decent 20 FPS if you're willing to accept that "Very High" texture quality will never be yours. The awesomeness of being able to transport a laptop that can play WoW or BF2 with a 17" screen is completely misunderstood by most PC enthusiasts.
Personally if you want help I'd recommend looking at PC Worlds rankings of "power" laptops. http://www.pcworld.com/ic/laptops/
P.S. Make sure you set your resolution for your laptop and all games at the native resolution for your screen, I cringe when I see all my college friends with jagged edges on icons on their desktop.
However if you need a quick laptop game piece then go to dell.
http://powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=378
He mentioned that there's a big difference in portability between 14" and bigger laptops.
From the specs the 7600 Go seems to be somewhere between the 7300GT and 7600GS so I would guess performance a bit better than a 9800Pro? I think people played HL2 with those...
Anyway, I think you could get it for ~$1500 with the faster CPU and both of the wireless interfaces (the 7200rpm drives are supposedly noticeably faster and if you get 1GB in one stick you can upgrade it yourself to 2GB saving ~$25).
Don't worry about the CPUs, most of the time they aren't that important for games.
I think a 1,8GHz C2D would be roughly equivalent to a 4,2GHz P4?
At least the 4200+ Athlons are somewhat comparable to the 1,83GHz E6300 and their ratings were supposed to compare them to P4s...
For comparison, for <$850 you could get a desktop with a video card (X1900XT) that would be leagues better than that laptop card (it's about 120% faster than a 7600GT which is about two times as fast as the 7600GS, and the Go is slower than the GS...) though admittedly, a $150 LCD display will probably be a not-so-good 19" or only-acceptable 17".
I also don't know how good a $500 laptop would be for work...
At night, the ice weasels come."
But they are $2K even without counting in the seatbelts.
Also: only 1GB of RAM.
At night, the ice weasels come."
Plus, in three years, you won't be able to upgrade them at all, and your laptop will be about as powerful as then-current ultraportable models, only it will weigh fifty pounds and the battery life will be even shorter than it was when you bought it.
A desktop, three years down the line, when it's starting to struggle, you buy a new graphics card and suddenly new games work great again.
This is coming from the owner of a now three-year-old "gaming" laptop. Trust me, it's never a good idea.
By the way, anyone want to buy a three-year-old gaming laptop off of me? It can handle UT2004 on "Very High", and even play HL2 on high settings.
Raptr profile
Isn't recommending a Mac a bit perverse in a gaming thread?
Um.
Macs use Intel chips now.
Welcome to last year.
If you're going to do bootcamp and run Windows XP for games anyway, why not save $1000 and get a PC laptop with better hardware.
Or save $1500-$2000 and get a desktop for gaming.
Like we've been saying this whole thread.
What I'm getting at here is that a Macbook Pro is just as stupid a purchase as any other gaming laptop.
What I'm getting at is that it's an even more stupid purchase.
IN ANY EVENT: Would it be possible to get a regular laptop with a good battery life, portability, and the capability to run WoW? All it'd really need would be a gig of ram, I guess, at a GeForce 5900 or something, but I don't know what factors into battery drain on laptops.
Yeah, I gotta agree. If one of your main interests is gaming, and you want a laptop, why bother getting a Mac and then use it like a PC via bootcamp. Seems a hell of a lot simpler to just buy a PC laptop. Nothing the OP says seems to indicate that he has any particular need for a Mac.
However, given that the OP already has a laptop which is probably suitable for his work/school needs, I'd recommend he just spend his cash on a gaming PC. More bang for his buck performance wise.
Edit: This might be useful for people trying to evaluate latop graphics cards:
Mobile Graphics Cards Info Page
Because the best ones are like, $1500, but skin graft surgery on your lap to replace sizzled and scorched flesh is another $4000.
Seriously, the first reply hit it on the head.
$1000 desktop for gaming, and a $500 cheap laptop for laptop stuff. Or keep your old one.
Gaming laptops are just not something I would consider worth it.
Blah blahblah do not get a gaeimiong labtalp!!!0oionez
Go for that one right there. Good enough to run oblivion on med/high at 40 fps. Decently compact and sturdy enough to be portable. Also, the card doesn't really produce much heat or draw much power when not playing 3D games, and you can expect a realistic 3 hours of general usage out of it. It's a good ODM, as they supply parts for Dell, Toshiba, and HP. I almost bought it, but decided on getting an $830 Dell that can also play most games on medium settings.
http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb&~ck=bt
Ihave a laptop with a Geforce Go4 440 64MB, and while I didn't play Gothic 3, the Supreme Commander beta or other known system-killers on it, I think it's fine for Dawn of War or even Half Life 2 at lower graphics settings. I can use it in my family room, at my parents' house, in hotels, etc., and I think that's pretty neat. The battery life issue doesn't bother me, because I never use it on the bus, plane or what have you; it's always plugged in. Am I doing it wrong, or is this not what people mean by a gaming laptop?
On a side note (or, er, on topic, actually), I have to tentatively recommend against buying HP/Compaqs, because I'm having quality issues with my battery/AC adapter, and I'm finding that customer support is somewhat crap, at least once you're out of warranty.
So even older games run only at lower settings, you can't really play new ones, and you claim this is a gaming laptop?
It's more of a laptop that can play 3D games on at all.
Although not as portable as a laptop you could build a full-featured Small Form Factor PC which would also be fairly portable (Shuttle has some bags for their PCs and LCDs). Packing it up would take a bit more time but it would be much more powerful and/or cheaper.
I wonder if there is a market for a case that desktop components would fit into but would also allow attaching an LCD/keyboard/mouse for quick packing into a uniform and compact package...
At night, the ice weasels come."
its just a stupid stupid thing
tons of heat, massive weight and size (for a good sized screen) - carting around extras like a mouse and headphones, and the power supply (because your battery life will be shit)
i mean... isnt a laptop supposed to be a small compact and easy to transport computer?
a Dell XPS laptop, for example is NOT very portable or economical
so then why get a laptop at all?
you want to game well, get a desktop, you need a portable computer, get a laptop. dont try to get the best of both and end up super shitty at either
Slight rephrase.
I want a laptop to do video editing on. I have done this at work with macs, and it's not that bad (although you need an output monitor to get a proper idea of what the display will look like).
Alternatively, I'd like a laptop with tablet features.
Are those affordable yet?
Since it's such a bulky machine, you're likely going to be doing most of your gaming at home. Since you're going to be doing most of your gaming at home, you may as well get the desktop and not worry about being disappointed with your purchase a year down the line when it starts to show its age.
Now, I like my laptop. 650 dollars, its not a gaming laptop, but I can play HL2 on it, etc. I bought it so I could have the specs to play just about anything out at the time I got it, though it really was for college.
Could I have gotten something cheaper, and retained pretty much all the non-gaming functions? Sure, but its great to have a laptop. I can play starcraft while laying in bed. I can play Vampire the Masquerade at college(and teachers don't give a shit, as long as you keep to yourself, and don't make a disruption).
I like being able to listen to music, without having to spend another 150 dollars for an Ipod with less hard drive space. My battery life isn't great, about an hour doing heavy lifting, about two just chilling. Its not that heavy, though I forget the exact weight, its not bad.
A gaming laptop, there's no problems with, as long as its not a desktop replacement, or you don't care enough about gaming to need a super nice desktop. I couldn't play Call of duty 2 on this laptop, but so what? Thats when I go to the desktop. Being able to go over to a friends house and play co-op games that aren't brand new is better than playing on a desktop, over voip, with a slightly newer game. To me, anyways.
So how about you guys stop telling him he shouldn't do something, and instead, give him some advice, so he gets the most out of his money at least?
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
If my desktop dies, I doubt I'm going to replace it. I don't know about the OP, but a small form factor PC is the totally wrong choice for me. Playing the latest cutting edge FPS isn't my life's goal (well, maybe Bioshock, but I reckon I'll end up getting a 360 for that...), and the idea of packing up a desktop and a freaking monitor for a business trip just so I play something more graphically intensive than Diablo while I'm out.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/
Visit the top forum entitled "What notebook should I buy?", read the sticky FAQ, copy/paste your answers to the FAQ questions, and get some solid advice.
I spent several weeks pouring over this site and asking questions before buying my "gaming" laptop (Sager 5760).
People there know what they're talking about, and will give you a lot of options with facts to back up the suggestions.
Plus, there are tons and tons of reviews to see how end users liked their purchases - and what the pros and cons were after a few weeks of use.