I know you are out there...

[arguskos]

...laptop guys! So, I'm in the market for a decent gaming laptop between around $700-900 USD, but I'm not really up to speed on my gaming laptop specs.

So, you laptop/notebook/whatever people of the playground! Help a brother out here? :smallcool:

[Dallas-Dakota]

Well for 700-900 USD, I imagine you can get a spiffy i6 duo-core, maybe quad-core. Should be more then enough for your gaming needs for a good while.

My i3 duo-core handles all the gaming and graphic designing I do with it just fine.:smallsmile:

[Ignition]

What kinda games are you expecting to play on a laptop? 'Cause to be honest, nine hundred's not going to get you that much mobile gaming power, unless you either want to carry around fifty-pound lead brick with a pull-start, or be playing games from the 1990s/early 2000s.

It's not just the processor, it's the cooling and the graphics that are your real concerns. Also, upgradability.

[Syka]

I don't game, but the Asus UL50VT I have (Core 2 Duo, ULV) is supposed to be surprisingly good for gaming.

I've heard good things about Asus in general for gaming stuff. I got a 5 pound laptop with a 15.6" wide screen, CD/DVD drive, dedicated video memory, and a full key pad; it's pretty impressive. I don't think this model is sold at big box stores anymore (old processor and all that), but I'd recommend Asus.

[arguskos]

What kinda games are you expecting to play on a laptop? 'Cause to be honest, nine hundred's not going to get you that much mobile gaming power, unless you either want to carry around fifty-pound lead brick with a pull-start, or be playing games from the 1990s/early 2000s.

It's not just the processor, it's the cooling and the graphics that are your real concerns. Also, upgradability.
Really, the only games I care about are either ancient (BG2, Planescape: Torment, Unreal Tournament 2004), very reasonable graphically (WC3, Sins of a Solar Empire), or Starcraft 2, which my current laptop (2007 MacBook Pro) can run (or could, until Patch 1.1 :smallmad:).

And do note, that this new laptop really won't be needed for a lot else besides gaming. I've found a few that can definitely do it (the Alienware M11x is top of that list currently), but I wanted to see if there are better options.

Upgradability isn't a concern for me, since there is nothing even on the far gaming radar I care about. Cooling is also not a huge issue (have some chill pads, can handle a little heat). Graphics and processor are my only real concerns, along with HD space and RAM.

EDIT: Syka, that's another name that came up in my research. Good to hear a decent testimony for it.

[Syka]

This (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174;+Core%26%23153;+i3+Processor+/+14%22+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Black/9964891.p?id=1218206200334&skuId=9964891) looks like the new brother of my laptop, actually. Probably why they don't have mine anymore. It's got twice as much VRAM, but it's a bit smaller and battery life is less.

How's it look? If you like Mac's, I've had my Mac-using friends comment on how the set up actually looks and feels a lot like a Mac's. Obviously not the OS, but the physical keyboard and laptop.

[Mando Knight]

*Shrug* You could just go to a laptop-manufacturing company with an online build-your-computer thing, then optimize (that is, min-max) your laptop based on your wants and needs as according to your point-buy budget.

Three and a half-ish years ago, I got a 17" laptop with decent computational power (including a 128 or 256 MB memory graphics card, IIRC) for its time for only $1300... you should be able to do better with less now (thanks to the double-every-18-months axiom). The only thing I really sacrificed on it was HD space (only 80 GB), but HD space is cheap enough now that you can get 250+ easy for the onboard HD, then expand with 500 GB or 1 TB external drive(s) as needed. I needed to upgrade the RAM, of course, but then even 2 GB RAM was fairly expensive. Now, 4 GB is standard issue... and is the maximum if you feel like sticking with a 32-bit processor (don't. Go with 64-bit). Of course, any x86 programs will still operate under the 4GB RAM cap, so you should be fine with that much.

[arguskos]

This (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174;+Core%26%23153;+i3+Processor+/+14%22+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Black/9964891.p?id=1218206200334&skuId=9964891) looks like the new brother of my laptop, actually. Probably why they don't have mine anymore. It's got twice as much VRAM, but it's a bit smaller and battery life is less.

How's it look? If you like Mac's, I've had my Mac-using friends comment on how the set up actually looks and feels a lot like a Mac's. Obviously not the OS, but the physical keyboard and laptop.
Hmm. Interesting. Thanks for the heads-up. I don't care too much for the visual appearance though.


*Shrug* You could just go to a laptop-manufacturing company with an online build-your-computer thing, then optimize (that is, min-max) your laptop based on your wants and needs as according to your point-buy budget.

Three and a half-ish years ago, I got a 17" laptop with decent computational power (including a 128 or 256 MB memory graphics card, IIRC) for its time for only $1300... you should be able to do better with less now (thanks to the double-every-18-months axiom). The only thing I really sacrificed on it was HD space (only 80 GB), but HD space is cheap enough now that you can get 250+ easy for the onboard HD, then expand with 500 GB or 1 TB external drive(s) as needed.
Yeah, I *could* do that... if I knew what I was doing! I know how to read reviews, that I'm great at. I just don't have the tech knowledge to make something for my needs is all, and I don't really have cash to burn on this.

[Gullara]

You can get an Alien Ware laptop for $100 more.

[Erloas]

Syka's link won't load for me to comment on that option...

But if you already have a laptop, and are interesting in getting this for gaming... why not get a desktop instead? For $900 you can probably build a desktop that will game better then any laptops on the market regardless of price. Even if you drop the budget to $600-700 and use the rest for a monitor, keyboard, etc. you can still get a very solid gaming desktop.

For a laptop, I would recommend looking around and seeing what looks good to you and posting links here for us to compare. I can quickly compare specs and prices, but I've given up spending a lot of time actively researching computers for other people. Especially when there are hundreds of options and there is no way to guarantee you can even buy from a place I would link to. (I assume you are in the USA but not positive on that, and I don't know if you have some sort of stipulation like "I have to buy it from a local store").

Asus is a very good brand and should have decent gaming laptops in your price range, probably one of the brands I would check out, though I wouldn't rule out anything but Apple at this point. (As an aside, I would rule out Apple no matter what. I despise the company. They are also *never* a good choice when price and gaming are factors, and so far those are the only two factors you have given us.)

[Syka]

Does this (http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-ul80j-bbk5/4505-3121_7-34121944.html#reviewPage1) work? It's to the CNET review. It mentions that the CPU is a little underperforming but it did better than expected with games.

It's the Asus UL80J, if that link doesn't work either.

[SDF]

You can get an Alien Ware laptop for $100 more.

You can, but I wouldn't recommend a minimum spec gaming laptop to anyone. It would be a couple hundred more to get it up to what you could get from one of the standard companies, and a couple hundred more to push it beyond what you can order from most companies.

[arguskos]

But if you already have a laptop, and are interesting in getting this for gaming... why not get a desktop instead? For $900 you can probably build a desktop that will game better then any laptops on the market regardless of price. Even if you drop the budget to $600-700 and use the rest for a monitor, keyboard, etc. you can still get a very solid gaming desktop.
If you can actually produce a working good gaming desktop with peripherals for $700 I will sing your praises until the end of forever.

On that note, my budget was actually lowered (this is to be a gift from a family member) to a hard cap of $700 (less is more in this circumstance, and lower prices are more likely to gain approval), everything included. Laptops are right out at that price, obviously. I took a look, but I really am so bad at piecing together desktops I can't make something happen at $700 for a desktop. I would need the entire tower, the software (I do have Windows XP... if that matters), and a monitor. I have a keyboard and mouse that would function (probably). Any advice? Sites of use? Anything?

Concerning location: Ohio, USA. Concerning place of purchase: doesn't matter, but should be non-scumbags and with shipping shouldn't be over $700.

[Syka]

If you are a student, take advantage of the Ultimate Steal from Microsoft. I think it's about $80 for Office Professional Academic (basically, one of the highest tiers), and $65 for Windows 7 Pro. If nothing else, Windows 7 beats XP in my opinion (and I liked XP).

Other than that...I have no idea. I still recommend Asus, maybe one of their desktops?

[arguskos]

If you are a student, take advantage of the Ultimate Steal from Microsoft. I think it's about $80 for Office Professional Academic (basically, one of the highest tiers), and $65 for Windows 7 Pro. If nothing else, Windows 7 beats XP in my opinion (and I liked XP).

Other than that...I have no idea. I still recommend Asus, maybe one of their desktops?
I'll look at Asus. Maybe something is in the right range.

As for the Microsoft deal, I'm ineligible, actually. My school doesn't qualify for that deal, strange as that is. A friend mentioned it to me awhile back, so I checked with the school itself and was told that CSCC doesn't qualify for some arcane reason. :smallsigh:

[Erloas]

Other than that...I have no idea. I still recommend Asus, maybe one of their desktops?
I don't think they make desktops, maybe a few all-in-one systems, but they are essentially just laptops that don't fold up. They do however make motherboards and video cards, and I would recommend them.


If you can actually produce a working good gaming desktop with peripherals for $700 I will sing your praises until the end of forever.
With peripherals for $700 is a bit hard. If you consider a decent monitor is about $150 that leaves a minimum for the computer, though you could find something that fits.

Here is a sample system for $400 (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-build-a-pc-overclock,2739.html), not counting an operating system, so about $500 with a new copy of Windows. If you could put maybe $50 more to it, the video card especially, you could see a lot better gaming performance. I would probably change a few things around anyway, but it is at least a good starting point to give you some idea.

Alternatively if you were going to have another $120-150ish coming your way in the near future you could build the system with an integrated video card now, and be able to afford a bit bigger HD, more RAM, maybe a little better case and/or power supply. Get the system running, and then when you get a bit more money get a better video card for it. With just integrated graphics you won't get a whole lot of gamin performance, but it will get you a working computer now that will give you good gaming performance once you do get that video card for it. The only real advantage of doing it this way is that it lets you defer the cost of the video card for a little while, which may or may not be of any use to you depending on your situation.

[arguskos]

With peripherals for $700 is a bit hard. If you consider a decent monitor is about $150 that leaves a minimum for the computer, though you could find something that fits.

Here is a sample system for $400 (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-build-a-pc-overclock,2739.html), not counting an operating system, so about $500 with a new copy of Windows. If you could put maybe $50 more to it, the video card especially, you could see a lot better gaming performance. I would probably change a few things around anyway, but it is at least a good starting point to give you some idea.
What would you change? I miiiiight be able to scrounge up a monitor from somewhere, meaning the budget is higher for the PC itself.


Alternatively if you were going to have another $120-150ish coming your way in the near future you could build the system with an integrated video card now, and be able to afford a bit bigger HD, more RAM, maybe a little better case and/or power supply. Get the system running, and then when you get a bit more money get a better video card for it. With just integrated graphics you won't get a whole lot of gamin performance, but it will get you a working computer now that will give you good gaming performance once you do get that video card for it. The only real advantage of doing it this way is that it lets you defer the cost of the video card for a little while, which may or may not be of any use to you depending on your situation.
Sadly, I won't have any money for the foreseeable future. Thank you though. Good thought.

[Erloas]

What would you change? I miiiiight be able to scrounge up a monitor from somewhere, meaning the budget is higher for the PC itself.

Well the first two priorities would be switching to 4GB of RAM instead of 2 and switching the video card to something like the 5750.
Then I would look at the HD, 250GB is fairly small, and upgrading to a 500GB is probably not more then $5-10, maybe not even that much. (chances are they picked that particular model for their build because they had one laying around rather then it necessarily being the best choice, since the HD will have a very minor impact on the benchmarks).
Mostly just based on personal preference, but I would probably change the motherboard to the equivalent Asus or Gigabyte board, that might run a little bit more, but it might very well be the same cost.
I would also check around on processors a bit more, there are a lot of them in that price range that would be interchangeable, such as one of the Phenom X3s that would probably be within $10-15.

Of course you could possible save a few $ here and there by switching things around too.

I mostly go with newegg for computer components, but there are other decent sites too. Newegg has by far the best search options of any electronics site I've seen though.

[Syka]

I'd go check with Microsoft yourself. All I had to do was put in a .edu address, and even then- they are allowing some non-.edu. Schools are notorious for messing things like this up, lol.

Erloas, I just looked and Best Buy has some Asus desktops. I don't know how good they are spec wise, but apparently it does exists (which I'm glad to hear since I'll probably stick with Asus until I have enough disposable income for a Mac).