Considering a Laptop...Halp!

Princepeach

Ok so I'm considering getting a Laptop soon. The problem I'm having is that--at least when look at pre-built machines--the battery life is abysmal or the price is astronomical.

As far as specs go, I'm looking to get something that is powerful enough to play pretty much anything from GoG.com (I don't care much for the modern PC gaming scene, but legacy titles are ace!) and that's it. The problem I'm having is battery life. I want at least 8 hours, but it seems like 3 is the standard for some ridiculous reason. I mean, if I wanted to spend 1k (I don't) I could get 8 or more, but if all I need is a battery it seems wasteful.

My price range is up to 5-600 dollars. Cheap I know, but if all I'm looking for is something to net around on while playing planescape torment and not having to recharge every five seconds, I don't think that limit is unreasonable. Should I just build my own?

ben0207

Build your own laptop? Unless your name is Steve Jobs...

stfuad

Do bare bones laptops still exist? Newegg shows something, but it's just a net-book w/o an OS.

TychoCelchuuu

$500-600 + 8 hour battery + runs everything on GoG.com = impossible. Pick any two of those criteria. In fact, for running some of GoG.com's more graphically advanced stuff, like I-War 2, Freespace 2, or Neverwinter Nights, you might have to up the price you're willing to pay unless you find a good deal on a used laptop or something.

Princepeach

Well, I might be somewhat ignorant of GoG.com then. I was under the impression that it was mostly truly ancient stuff that would run on pretty much any off-the-shelf computer you could buy today. A little research shows that the games you mentioned are pretty old too, are you saying that a modern--if cheap--laptop wouldn't be able to handle them?

And where exactly is the cost coming from? Are high capacity batteries really that expensive, or is the low-end graphics card that would put it over the cost threshold?

I would go the netbook route, but having used them pretty extensively I've realized that I just cannot stand the tininess of the screen and keyboard.

Ben0207: that's not really out of the question but I wouldn't have any idea where to even start.. Care to offer any guidance?

TychoCelchuuu

GoG.com has all sorts of games, not just ancient stuff, and some of them require 3d acceleration, which if you have some integrated Intel piece of crap won't work out super well even if it's an integrated Intel piece of crap you bought yesterday. Modern mid-range laptops and everything on up will likely handle everything GoG.com throws at them but if you're going the cheap route I'm not sure, especially for newer stuff like Neverwinter Nights.

The cost is coming from your desire for performance and battery power, together, because the chief way to get longer battery life is to cut the performance by using weaker parts.

ben0207

Princepeach wrote: »

Well, I might be somewhat ignorant of GoG.com then. I was under the impression that it was mostly truly ancient stuff that would run on pretty much any off-the-shelf computer you could buy today. A little research shows that the games you mentioned are pretty old too, are you saying that a modern--if cheap--laptop wouldn't be able to handle them?

And where exactly is the cost coming from? Are high capacity batteries really that expensive, or is the low-end graphics card that would put it over the cost threshold?

I would go the netbook route, but having used them pretty extensively I've realized that I just cannot stand the tininess of the screen and keyboard.

Ben0207: that's not really out of the question but I wouldn't have any idea where to even start.. Care to offer any guidance?

I actually meant that it's not really possible to build your own laptop / have one built to you demands, but a Mac might not be a bad choice. My 13" MBP gets about 6 hours of general use, so maybe a refurb?

Improvolone

They make netbooks with keyboards at something like 90% standard size. Its not that huge of a leap.

Roland_tHTG

This page should interest you.

Note that TychoCelchuuu is certainly correct about integrated graphics so keep that in mind and also try to not be bitter about having to carry a spare battery if you insist on mobile gaming.

Kipling

You will never be able to get 8 hr while playing games or doing anything near 100% load. Most 8 hr claims are based on a much lighter workloads.

That said, the TimelineX series by Acer may work. It is focused on getting decent battery life. Other than a Mac, they seem to be the only ones trying. PCMag review of one with decent ATI graphics.

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Ayulin

electricitylikesme wrote: »

Does anyone still make laptops where you can swap out the optical drive for a secondary battery pack?

I remember back in the day my Gateway could go 6 hours easy when you did that.

Fujitsu has a few tablet PCs that have secondary battery bays, although IIRC they still only get about 6 hours with the two batteries.

To the OP: I think the Asus UL-series has pretty long battery life, although I'm not sure on the exact specs or price of those. Last I checked they were pretty similar to the TimelineX, though.

Silent Tristero

I'd recommend something along the lines of a netbook/notebook hybrid with an Nvidia ION GPU - like the Asus 1215N.

Battery life is closer to anything frrom 4-6 hrs, depending on usage, but the screen is a good size and it's capable of running the GoG catalogue, I'd wager. I'll run some tests on mine later with the likes of NWN.

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Serpent

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

$500-600 + 8 hour battery + runs everything on GoG.com = impossible. Pick any two of those criteria. In fact, for running some of GoG.com's more graphically advanced stuff, like I-War 2, Freespace 2, or Neverwinter Nights, you might have to up the price you're willing to pay unless you find a good deal on a used laptop or something.

I picked up an acer 3820tg for $700 CAD which has an 8 hour battery and would easily run neverwinter nights.

Jishian

I have an Acer Aspire One netbook, with a memory upgrade to 4 gigs and an external dvd burner drive it cost me under $300, gets 7 hours battery life and works great for my school commute. I haven't played anything more intense than Heroes of Might and Magic 2 or Planescape/Baldur's Gate though, so it really depends how much you want to game on it.

For your price range, you might want to look into a previous gen macbook. Either look for the 13 inch aluminum macbooks (before they went pro) or the non-unibody white macbook with the 9400m. Mine got 5-6 hours battery life (more like 2.5 now that the battery is getting old) and plays everything up to TF2/L4D2 even with the stock 2gigs.

floobie

I'll always say this about laptops:

1) Mobility, battery life, build quality.
2) Power
3) Low price

Pick two. I wouldn't buy something really cheap, unless it's a netbook. The initial purchase price might be low, but you'll probably have to replace it sooner, either because it's underpowered or because it's built like crap.

That said, you don't need that much power to do what you want. If you can find a Macbook with 9400m graphics in your price range, I'd go for it. The 9400m is surprisingly powerful for what it is. It can handle most Valve games pretty comfortably, if not maxed out, SC2 on lower settings, and probably the games you're after completely maxed out. And they can still pull off about 5 hours of battery life. 8-10 hours if you find a newer one with 320m graphics.

Princepeach

Thanks for all the recs guys. The ASUS 1215N is really tempting me, despite my aversion to netbooks. the price is hard to resist.

Also, those Acer TimelineX models seem worthy of consideration. I'll probably be making the purchase in the beginning of february. Appreciate the help.