Bottom of the barrel gaming laptop?
Hero
formerly known as XGPHero Icrontian
hey guys, im currently in the market for a bottom of the barrel laptop to play WoW (and possibly some other games) on. i currently have a basic word processing only HP Pavillion 2000 w/ 1.3 GHz AMD E300 processor and i installed 6 GB additional RAM on top of the factory 2 GB. im looking for a second laptop so if there are customer service issues im not concerned with that as i will always have a backup laptop.
I found this, and for $240 im thinking it might be worth taking a chance on. anybody have any experience with the ASUS X551MA? Other suggestions would be appreciated as well. thanks.
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I hate to break this to you, but "bottom of the barrel" gaming PCs really start at about $800 for a notebook. Anything below that won't give you much better than what you have now.
You could get by on $500 if you went the PC route, though.
i was afraid of that...i guess im still holding out hope that ill get lucky with something on mega sale or that by sacrificing things like customer service, and brand recognition, ill be able to get something with decent processing power for relatively cheap. i have also realized that i dont fully understand what the benchmark is for CPUs. i thought it was GHz, but i havent seen anything over 3.1 GHz, even on some of the $1500-$2000 range. whats that all about?
Most processors are multi-core. So the speed is down, but you have multiple cores to handle the load. Its not quite multiplicative, but its pretty close.
If you have 4 cores at 3.0 GHz, its almost like you have 12 GHz (provided your program is optimized for it.)
I don't know how WoW handles multiple cores.
k, thats a good question...thrax? do you know if wow is optimized for multiple cores?
CPUs have three things that matter:
Raw clockspeed:
The number of opportunities per second to calculate information. Example: 3.1 GHz = 3.1 billion chances per second.
CPU cores:
Adds parallel capacity. Example: two CPU cores at 3.1GHz offers 6.2 billion chances. Desktop CPU cores go up to 8 cores.
Architecture:
Chevy's V8 engines are different from Hyundai's V8 engines. They both burn petrol, they're both V8, but they're clearly built differently. CPUs aren't dissimilar: desktop/laptop CPUs burn the same fuel (code), but they can be very different in how that work is done.
Different architectures can make much better use of those opportunities to calculate information than other architectures. They can do much more work per opportunity. They're more efficient. But as most people don't understand the innards of an engine, so too is a CPU's architecture the indecipherable wildcard for most.
Some architectures deliberate sacrifice performance to achieve lower power consumption. This is like an engine built for fuel efficiency, rather than raw speed.
stupid hyprids...lol. correct me if im wrong but the e300s dedicated silicon for multimedia (while good for that design use) is probably detrimental to gaming purposes? and so by that logic a processor with equivalent clockspeed and cores would perhaps be better for gaming? though it may suffer in the video playback department.
My cursory internet search said that WoW does do some multithreading, though it doesn't do it well. WoW is also very heavily CPU based (compared to modern games that allow video cards to do much of the processing) as it is a very old game.
All CPUs with an onboard graphics chip now feature multimedia silicon to offload the burdensome task of playing high-definition video. This wasn't always the case. HD video is very challenging for a PC to play back, so special architecture was developed specifically for that purpose. It's a very small piece of the overall CPU, so it's easy to include.
Not all CPUs have an onboard graphics chip, and in those cases you would have a PC with an independent graphics card. The graphics cards today also have these multimedia features.
The E300 CPU was designed as a fuel efficient vehicle. Light power consumption and "good enough" performance to get you through everyday tasks, but it won't win a drag race.
If you want to get into gaming, the "Next-Gen Crusher" is a great place to start. Build it yourself, but < $450 and would be faster than laptops 2-3x the price.
this is all very helpful...the better i understand what im looking for, the more money i feel comfortable spending on a computer. that being said, in a year ill be able to afford to buy a really great laptop. for now i need just enough to handle those 20+ raids in wow. im looking at AMD Phenom™ X3 8750 as recommended by battle.net. do you know of any laptops that use this, or is it only for desktops? and dont worry about "shishing", i ask about amd because i know you are knowledgeable on the subject.
The X3 is a good chip, but it is for desktop PCs.
For notebooks, you'll want to look at the AMD A10, or the Intel Core i3 or Core i5.
What really matters is the graphics, though. For AMD, you'll want to look for at least an AMD Radeon R9 M270X. Bigger numbers = faster (e.g. M280X is faster).
hope im not being too obstinate.
Do you have space at home for a desktop PC? Do you have a monitor that you can connect to that PC?
I may have some parts that would make a decent gaming PC, but if you don't have space or a monitor, we are dead in the water.
I am talking Icrontic communism here, btw.
Also, do you know how to assemble a PC?
used to...i have space, and possibly an old dell flat panel monitor
Ok, I will see what I have.
wow, im blown away by you guys constantly. such generosity is rare in this world. thank you.
i could also possibly use my tv...is it feasible to have HDMI ports on desktop PCs?
Well, yes. The ports are on some video cards-- BUT, the TV might not give you a full picture and might cut off edges left and right. Worth a try, no promises, is my take on the MAYBE use TV issue.
I know I don't have a PSU or case, so you should probably keep an eye out.
Seasonic s12 520 or 600 (maybe it's 620) runs 55 to 65 on Newegg. Plenty for what you are doing. I have used 3 in the last year and they are great, 80+ bronze PSU's.
Also recommend the NZXT source 210 or 210 elite case, if you like black. Usually 45 to 55 at Newegg.
I think I have everything else you need, but I will need to go through my stuff.
Intel core i5 (1155 socket)
Msi p67 mobo
8GB of gskill memory
Radeon 5830 video card.
simply incredible...ill go find a shell and PSU now! and all of this stuff is compatible with each other??
and HDD...any requirements there?
What I listed for case and PSU will fit what I listed for parts, yes.
The only thing I am unsure about is memory at this point. Will have to wait until I get home.
In fact I will be out of town over weekend, so don't get too ahead, maybe put stuff in cart until I can confirm.
any suggestions on wireless modems compatible with those components? ill need to buy one, as i dont have hard lines in my building. (im not stealing wifi, i just live in a detached trailer from the main house where my boss lives, and where the router is)
You need a PCI-e WiFi card is all, not a router or modem.
yeah thats what i was asking. just didnt know the right terms to use. thanks
are they pretty much universal?
UM, ask your boss how old his router is, and if it is within the last 8 years or so that he got it, probably a B, G or B, G, N type card will work. You might (maybe) need a booster antenna for the card. We will deal with that part later, because those CAN sometimes be specific to card connection. Avoid the ones that Newegg sells that plug into the network port (hard-wire type), as some of those are junk and I had to return three brands to Newegg for not working for a 30 foot bridge into my router and not having a connector for a booster antenna. Good luck with the wireless connect. N type is fastest, but not all routers support that so you want the older B and G types too, that is why I said B, G also.
its actually a pretty new router(maybe a year old) and extremely close to where the computer will be. what i'm more concerned with is the pins physically pairing with the slot properly...