Gaming Laptops

[Kwijiboe]

Figured I'd ask you tech gurus what are some good gaming laptops.. All I see is that one laptop is more expensive than the other but I want to know which is the best for my purposes.

I want to play games like TF2, L4D2 and maybe other releases that hit 360 like Mass Effect 2 or Bioshock 2. I want them to run at top performance, and may try other games that are higher demanding as well.

Thanks in advance, duders.

[Sonomaa]

if you want a gaming laptop you have to get a gaming laptop, period.
if you can link some of the ones you were looking at and your budget, it would help
if you want a laptop that plays games well but doesnt break your bank, then something like a dell vostro would be optimal

[Kwijiboe]

Budget is around the 1k mark. Stuff like Alienware I've heard is a waste of money (the $3000+ options)...especially for the games I want to play on it.

I don't want to get suckered into buying useless features, and don't know which retail stores have good selections. I'm skeptical about ordering a laptop online that I can't go to a store and touch.. unless it comes with a good recommendation from BG.

I'll start looking at laptops, but googling 'gaming laptops' brings up an odd selection of laptops.. and searching electronic retailers sends me straight to 3000$+ alienware. Thanks again.. lookign at dell vostro, I'd like to see it in action though.

[jinkazama]

I have an G71 GTX from asus and i love it, was around 1100 when i got it and I love it, can play anything on High settings

[shidobu]

I have an alienware. I lowballed the shit outa it.
Alienware M17x
Vista Ultimate (didnt care to wait for 7)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8600 @ 2.40GHz
4gigs of ram
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 512MB (ordering another one soon to crossfire it up)
HDD- 250GB

after shipping/taxes. was 1,978 bucks. Laptop itself was like 1790. I think.

Mass Effect 2, Street Fighter 4, Bioshock2 Can play flawlessly @ 1400x900 and does fine @ higher resolutions.

MW2 Had some hicups when buncha shit was happening on the screen. But 95% of the time ran smooth. Runs modern games just fine. I love my Alienware, i do not regret spending the cash for it. I use it at work and at home.

[SnickySnacks]

I've been looking for a gaming/work(cough) laptop for a while now. I really wanted a G72Gx-RBBX09 as that seemed to fit what I wanted, but it seems like they had them available for like...2 weeks on BestBuy.com and now I can't find any mention of them. Looking at the newer laptops it looks like I'd need to get an i7 processor to be anywhere comparable and those are like 50% more at the very least.

Why is it so hard to find a laptop with a big screen, quad core, and decent video card that's also less than $1500?

A better question is, why hasn't my company given me a new laptop in the last 6 years?

Also, how come I can't get no Tang 'round here?



Oh and to not get totally off topic...
One of my friends (in Australia) got one of those M17x laptops. I think he's gone through 3 motherboards on it, plus the thing buzzes constantly which their tech support claimed was "normal". I think he's sending it back for a refund so he can buy a computer which doesn't sound like a beehive or whatever. Anecdotal to be sure, but I can't say I've ever really felt like paying the premium for one of those laptops...

[Neb]

Check this out around your price range with huge price/preformance

ASUS N61JQ-X1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 16" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 - Retail


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220696

[Kwijiboe]

Retail store selection sucks. No gaming laptops. Just overpriced "media centers"

[Kwijiboe]

Thanks for suggestions. May have to order that Asus.

[Krandor]

The graphic card in that Asus isn't all that strong. My main laptop has a GTX 8800 (Dell XPS m1730, also own an Alienware M11x which I got yesterday), which is quite a bit more powerful then the Radeon 5730 and I can't run alot of recent games with settings maxed out (though my laptops native res is 1920x1200, the Asus is only 720p, which is pisspoor resolution for a 16" screen).

If you're really concerned about running higher demand games at high settings, it's gonna cost probably at least 2k dollars.

The main thing I would suggest before you take the plunge on any gaming laptop, is look around and see how it manages heat. I've always lugged around a cooling pad with every laptop I've owned, because depending on the kind of wattage the components need, those sons of bitches can get HOT (Game depending my graphics card on the Dell will get up to around 85 degrees Celsius, which is with the cooling pad usually cutting the temps down around 10 degrees). It isn't helped by the fact that you live in Arizona, because living in warmer climates can play a big part in what kind of load you can throw on your computer before heat starts becoming a factor.

You also need to be careful with the new i7 laptops for the same reason, I know a guy who owns a laptop repair center near where I live in San Diego, and he tells me that people are bringing in those computers quite a bit, because alot of manufacturers haven't really ironed out how to properly cool them yet. You might be able to get around it with undervolting, but neither of my laptops have quad cores (both dual cores) so I can't speak from experience.

[TacoTaru]

Not available anymore on Newegg, but this is what I have and I lub it very much.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-577-_-Product