Gaming laptop

[TheIcyKissOfDeath]

I'm looking fairly soon to buy a laptop. I need it for college... so all the basic things a school would want a laptop to be able to run. But I also want it to run games well...or as well as it could on a budget. I need something around 600-700$. Any suggestions?

[NiGHTS]

As for getting the best bang for your buck, read my responses to JSkill in this thread:
http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41087&highlight=Laptop I still highly recommend HP. While that thread is a bit old and newer offerings exist with Core Duos, Core 2 Duos, and X2 Turons...you'll get the basic idea and what to think about when purchasing one. You don't want to buy a 20'' widescreen only to realize that it won't fit on the small desk you're sitting at in the majority of your classes.

While I may get stoned for this, you might also want to check out Apple's line of Macbooks and iBooks. Many colleges are tied in to a discount system with Apple (albeit puny discounts, but still) that make the option that much more appealing. Less of a fuss with oncampus wireless networking is always a plus as well. Leave it to Apple to get it right the first time.

As for getting the gaming out of a laptop for ~$800, don't expect much. The x300 chipset in my v2000 Presario can run AoEIII and Rise of Nations. I'm sure it would be able to play games like HL2 and Doom 3 if I really wanted to, but I've never had the desire to try. Check out www.notebookforums.com and www.notebookreview.com and read up on what they suggest for your budget. I spent hours doing research there and it really paid off.

Budget gaming laptops would best be found at www.pctorque.com. Don't let the "generic" looking name fool you, much of the enthusiast offerings from Alienware and Falcon Northwest use those same exact laptops, just without the markup and brand name.

[Sledgehammer70]

lol.. no throwing stones.. I just like to point out performance wise you can get the same performing Laptop from and PC company for about $1000 less than apple even with the discounts :)

The problem you are going to have is most if not any laptop in that price range will only provide semi ample gaming performance. most onboard graphics can't handle newer games all that well... but depending on what type of games you hoping to run some companies offer a descent setup.

I would suggest low balling the HD and Ram to save cash so you can afford to buy the better GPU and CPU :) as Hard Drives and Ram can always be upgraded later.

[muddocktor]

I agree with Sledge, even though his spelling really sucks.:tongue2:

For a laptop that games decently, you will need one with a discrete graphics subsystem and not integrated graphics. And to get that, you will most probably end up paying over $1000 for a basic system. You can go cheap on the hard drive and ram to start, then upgrade to more ram and a faster, bigger hard drive later.

[Sledgehammer70]

HP Pavallion line is the only ones I can find that offer Nvidia and ATI discrete graphics for around $699.00 most of the other companies top just above that in the $750+ range. I should note it is the oly systems I can find offering the new series of CPU's

[aluke]

Laptops aren't made to play games...

[tmh88]

aluke, 1 word and 3 letters - Dell XPS

Its a ripoff but is intended for gaming.

[Sledgehammer70]

There are many Laptops that are made for gaming, the key thing to say is there isn't a cheap gaming laptop..... Alienware, Dell XPS, Gateway, Acer, Sager, HP, IBM, etc etc.. all make higher end notebooks that can game very well, but like I said it will cost you 1/2 an arm to get a laptop that can perform as well as a desktop.

[Enverex]

Laptops aren't made to play games...

My Sager 5660 also had a long run, able to play pretty much every game I threw at it for many years (tis a bit dated now though). They also wouldn't put high end mobile cards in laptops if they weren't for gaming.

[tmh88]

My laptop games really well. I have a dell e1705 with a t2500 core duo, 1.25 gigs of ram, and an nvidia 7900GS. Handles games better than my desktop.

[Sledgehammer70]

my HP Dv8000t runs games great as seen at SM Lan 2006 :) It sports a Core Duo T2600 with 2 Gigs ram and an Nvidia 7400 Go series Card. But tak ein mine it is triple the cost of your price point.

[TheIcyKissOfDeath]

Pctech has some decent laptops. Only problem is, they cost a freaking ton.

How do you tell if its discrete or integrated graphics? None of them mention discrete for the cards...are standard cards like nvidia and such all discrete?

haha. i'm a noob.

[Sledgehammer70]

If it say Intel anything it is onboard, if it says ATI express it is onbaord... if it says Nvidia 6100 or 6150 it is onboard / Integrated graphics.

Some companies integrate better GPU's onto their Motherboards, such as Dell, HP, Acer etc... and they also offer discrete setups as well. If you give us a link to what your looking at we can tell you what the laptop has.

[TheIcyKissOfDeath]

so 'onboard' and 'integrated' mean the same thing as far as laptops go? or should i look for the word 'discrete'?

[Enverex]

Basically look for "GeForce 7600/7700/7800/7900 Go" as the graphics card.

[Sledgehammer70]

Basically look for "GeForce 7600/7700/7800/7900 Go" as the graphics card.
7400 also is a good gamer :)

[jared]

Personally, I don't think you are going to find a laptop (any brand) that will really good with gaming for under $1200. Sure some of them can play some of the games out there on medium settings, but 6-8 months down the road don't count on being able to play games that come out.

You really need to decide what is more important, mobility or gaming? You can have either one for about $800-$1000 but not both.

If you do decide to go with a notebook, I would recommend a Dell or a Mac from recent personal expereince. If you want the best bang for you buck, look into a Dell. Sure there are some horror stories about Dell laptops out there, but you got to remember that Dell dominates notebook market so it is only expected to hear about the problems. If are considering a Dell, start watching this site: http://www.xpbargains.com/dell_coupons/ . They have some pretty badass deals on notebooks.

If you want to go for quality, I would recommend a MacBook. I paid $1050 (with my student discount) for mine. I am no mac fan boy, if anything I am the opposite, but honestly the MacBook is one of the best damn pieces of equipment I have owned.

good luck in your quest! let us know if you have any other q's

cheers :bigggrin:

[Gadgetman53]

I'm on a Lenovo N100 3000. Great for BF2 at high settings. It has a 100GB HD, 1.8GHz Intel Core Duo processor 1.5GB of RAM, and a DVD writer. I love it.


http://www.insight.com/site/product/detail/index.cfm?item_number=06892BU&searchLink=y&search_params=C%3DC%252DAB%26CN%3DNotebooks%26M%3D43701%26OS%3DY%26K%3Dn100%26KT%3DT%26SB%3Dbest%26PS%3D10%26P%3D1%26%26p%5Fsess%3D&NugsTracking=Results_Full_Specs

[Enverex]

I'm on a Lenovo N100 3000. Great for BF2 at high settings. It has a 100GB HD, 1.8GHz Intel Core Duo processor 1.5GB of RAM, and a DVD writer. I love it.


http://www.insight.com/site/product/detail/index.cfm?item_number=06892BU&searchLink=y&search_params=C%3DC%252DAB%26CN%3DNotebooks%26M%3D43701%26OS%3DY%26K%3Dn100%26KT%3DT%26SB%3Dbest%26PS%3D10%26P%3D1%26%26p%5Fsess%3D&NugsTracking=Results_Full_Specs

Erm...

Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA 950

I'm supprised BF2 even starts. You are refering to 'Battlefield 2' by Electronic Arts... right?

[Armo]

http://www.slickdeals.net/ + Ebay 30%off cupon for Dell = Dell E1505 intel Core Duo 1.6, 80gig drive, gig of DDR2, 7300 Go, plays everything well, just not all settings high for ~ $800

could'nt be beat!

remember slick deals is your friend

[Thrax]

You're not going to find a better deal on a laptop that can play games. I promise you. Good find, Armo.

[Gadgetman53]

Yes I am. Mine doesn't have that graphics card. It's an Nvidia GeForce Go 7300 with 512MB of RAM(128MB with 256MB aperture)

[Cyclonite]

Yes I am. Mine doesn't have that graphics card. It's an Nvidia GeForce Go 7300 with 512MB of RAM(128MB with 256MB aperture)

Then you linked the wrong laptop. ;)

[Gadgetman53]

There are a few different ones. I thought that was it. I didn't look too closely. The only problem I have with BF2 is that my keyboard isn't like on my gaming rig. So it's harder to play, but it can run it!

[Enverex]

That's irrelivant, the one you linked is NOT suitable for gaming.

OT - Armo: You may want to change your sigs. The middle was was a bit eww but the third one now probably crosses the "family" ratings limit too... heh.

[MAGIC]

yah armo has a great deal, but as far as price wise acer and sager put together some really nice rigs with nice screens for cheaper than your gunna find a xps or high end hp for.