Gamer-approved laptop recommendation thread

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added_time said:
Ok! So I finally have the money to buy a new laptop! I am primarily concerned with producing music on it so it has to be high powered. I won't be playing games on it at all but I know the people that post on here are geniuses!
I already have a good external sound card so that is taken care of... I only mentioned that I won't be playing games on it because I would rather have a better processor and/or RAM than a better video card.

Basically, I want to spend around $1000 but would go up to $1200 if the computer was too good to pass up.
Also of importance to me is that it is a durable brand of computers since I will be using it to play live music in relatively hot places like bars and clubs.

Any awesome recommendations for me? I live in Canada but my wife's family lives in the US so I am there often so I could buy it in either country.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
I would consider this. You get a powerful quad core, plus a very decent GPU if you ever change your mind about gaming.
border said:
I would like to get a laptop that will allow my girlfriend to play World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic with me. I really don't know anything about good mobility graphics chips -- what sort of specs should I look for?
Click to expand...

What's the budget?
 
I would like to spend $600 or less, and get something with a relatively decent graphics solution. Like I said though, it's only for WoW and Star Wars: The Old Republic.....so it doesn't have to be blazin' crazy good graphics.

Here's a list of Black Friday laptops, if anyone sees anything eye-catching:

http://bfads.net/Category/Laptops

The Dell Inspiron 15R sounds good, but I can't tell if the model being sold would have the dedicated graphics chipset.
 
border said:
I would like to spend $600 or less, and get something with a relatively decent graphics solution. Like I said though, it's only for WoW and Star Wars: The Old Republic.....so it doesn't have to be blazin' crazy good graphics.

Here's a list of Black Friday laptops, if anyone sees anything eye-catching:

http://bfads.net/Category/Laptops

The Dell Inspiron 15R sounds good, but I can't tell if the model being sold would have the dedicated graphics chipset.
Click to expand...

The one from Staples? If you look at the specs, it says...

http://www.staples.com/Dell-Inspiro...422268&CID=AFF%3A2187655%3A2187655%3A10422268

Video Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000

Which is...

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us...nology/hd-graphics/hd-graphics-developer.html

So that's an integrated graphics solution.
 
border said:
I would like to spend $600 or less, and get something with a relatively decent graphics solution. Like I said though, it's only for WoW and Star Wars: The Old Republic.....so it doesn't have to be blazin' crazy good graphics.

Here's a list of Black Friday laptops, if anyone sees anything eye-catching:

http://bfads.net/Category/Laptops

The Dell Inspiron 15R sounds good, but I can't tell if the model being sold would have the dedicated graphics chipset.
Click to expand...

I skimmed through the list, and nothing comes close to this Acer Aspire.
 
Aselith said:
Whoa, yeah, that's a nice price. Is that going on sale somewhere on Black Friday or were you just recommending it as an alternative to doing a BF deal?

It's got what seems like kind of a weird display resolution is the only odd part: 1366 x 768
Click to expand...

Alternative, because everything on the BF list has integrated graphics.

1366(or 1368)x 768 is the new norm these days.
 
K.Jack said:
I would consider this. You get a powerful quad core, plus a very decent GPU if you ever change your mind about gaming.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! That is already a much better deal than anything I've found on my own. I like that the hard drive is 7200rpm too.. Do you think 4 gigs is enough RAM for long term use? That is my one and only concern about it. Can this laptop have more RAM added later? I can't find anything about that on the site.
 
added_time said:
Thanks so much! That is already a much better deal than anything I've found on my own. I like that the hard drive is 7200rpm too.. Do you think 4 gigs is enough RAM for long term use? That is my one and only concern about it.
Click to expand...

Laptop RAM is upgradable as far as I'm aware so that shouldn't be an issue however 4GB should be good for a good while longer.
 
I just noticed the sound card I wanted to buy is firewire... that sucks... no laptops seem to offer that.. maybe I'll have to consider a different sound card then.
 
Alright　guys　I'm　a　little　confused.
Right now my budge is anywhere from $600-$1000. The less I could spend the better.

I don't plan to play graphic heavy games, such as Crysis(or other FPS) or Skyrim.
I do want to play Diablo 3 and some adventure/strategy games (turned based).
I may want to play Two Worlds, and Risen. I can hold out on the newer games till I build my PC.

I am interested in emulation though, which seems to require very fast processor speeds.
Gamecube and Saturn emulation, and if possible PS2.

I was told to look for a I7 with a decent graphics card.
Are all I7 quad core? Is quad core necessary? Would it be better to get a faster dual core?

Thanks for any input.
 
So, are this good specs for a decent gaming laptop?

  • Intel Core i7-2630QM, second generation, 2.00 GHz up to 2.90 Ghz with Turbo Boost
  • SDRAM DDR3 6 GB (2 DIMM) (16 GB max)
  • Radeon HD 6770M with 1024 MB GDDR5 and 4096 MB of total graphic/video memory
  • HDD: 750 GB (5400 RPM)

I have to decide tonight if I will buy it or not, cause there were only 3 left at the store.
PD: I am in México, so I can't buy machines from Amazon or Newegg... it's either that one (the price is not so bad) or just keep waiting for a better equipment [sorry Steam backlog :(]
 
Alright Gaf, I need your help. I'm looking for a new laptop and I figured Black Friday would yield the best bang for my buck. I'm hoping to a get a machine that can run Diablo III decently, and not get me swearing at the screen, and I'm praying that doesn't run me more than $500. An i5 Or better with 4 GB Ram would be incredible, and I am willing to push my budget a little if I'm getting an incredible deal on the laptop.

Here's a current list of the Black Friday Laptop deals, and I honestly have no idea if there's one out there a great steal. Anyone want to lend me a hand?

http://bfads.net/Category/Laptops/Expensive

Thanks a lot for any help in advance.

EDIT: Wow, I somehow missed K.Jack's post about the Acer addressing this very list before. Thanks for the input, and I'm definitely considering pulling the trigger on it!
 
Sagitario said:
So, are this good specs for a decent gaming laptop?

  • Intel Core i7-2630QM, second generation, 2.00 GHz up to 2.90 Ghz with Turbo Boost
  • SDRAM DDR3 6 GB (2 DIMM) (16 GB max)
  • Radeon HD 6770M with 1024 MB GDDR5 and 4096 MB of total graphic/video memory
  • HDD: 750 GB (5400 RPM)

I have to decide tonight if I will buy it or not, cause there were only 3 left at the store.
PD: I am in México, so I can't buy machines from Amazon or Newegg... it's either that one (the price is not so bad) or just keep waiting for a better equipment [sorry Steam backlog :(]
Click to expand...

6770m is a bit weak, it can play most games on medium on 1080 i think. the HDD can be upgraded after market.
 
A bit weak? :(
Forgot to mention, the resolution is 1366x768... I am guessing that would help, right?

It's the best option I have right now [for the range price].
 
The 6770M is as fast as a desktop 9800 GT. That's still decent enough for an 1366x768 screen resolution. I'd take it.

added_time said:
I'm looking into it now.. hopefully I'll find something like that.

Do you know if the RAM upgradable on that laptop you recommended for me? If it is then I think I'll buy it right away.
Click to expand...

Every traditionally built notebook has upgradeable RAM slots these days .

bigmit3737 said:
Alright　guys　I'm　a　little　confused.
Right now my budge is anywhere from $600-$1000. The less I could spend the better.

I don't plan to play graphic heavy games, such as Crysis(or other FPS) or Skyrim.
I do want to play Diablo 3 and some adventure/strategy games (turned based).
I may want to play Two Worlds, and Risen. I can hold out on the newer games till I build my PC.

I am interested in emulation though, which seems to require very fast processor speeds.
Gamecube and Saturn emulation, and if possible PS2.

I was told to look for a I7 with a decent graphics card.
Are all I7 quad core? Is quad core necessary? Would it be better to get a faster dual core?

Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...

An i5 + GT 540M will probably be sufficient for you, if you're building a gaming PC later.
 
I was hoping you guys could offer some advice for my needs:

Right now I have a PC running 4GB of RAM, an i5 (1st gen), and a gtx 570. I'd like to know what I should be looking for to get a laptop with similar power/performance.

Basically, I'd like to have a laptop so I can hook it up to several TVs (32" and 52") in the house when necessary and would like it to have a nice 1080p display when using it on its own.

As far as gaming goes, I'll be playing Skyrim, SWTOR, BF3, and possibly FFXIV 2.0 on it. I was considering the HP Pavillion dv6t with a Radeon 6770M due to the $500 coupon code. But, if there are any other suggestions within a $1000 budget, I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks!
 
mcdomination said:
I was hoping you guys could offer some advice for my needs:

Right now I have a PC running 4GB of RAM, an i5 (1st gen), and a gtx 570. I'd like to know what I should be looking for to get a laptop with similar power/performance.

Basically, I'd like to have a laptop so I can hook it up to several TVs (32" and 52") in the house when necessary and would like it to have a nice 1080p display when using it on its own.

As far as gaming goes, I'll be playing Skyrim, SWTOR, BF3, and possibly FFXIV 2.0 on it. I was considering the HP Pavillion dv6t with a Radeon 6770M due to the $500 coupon code. But, if there are any other suggestions within a $1000 budget, I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks!
Click to expand...

To even be in the same galaxy, you'd need to go after a machine with a 6990M (desktop 6870), or GTX 580M (desktop GTX 560 Ti). That would leave you with Sager (Clevo) or Alienware.

For instance, a Sager NP8170 is going to run you about $1,500 with the 6990M and $1,800 with a 580M.

The 6770M is a 9800 GT, in terms of absolute performance.

With a strict budget of ~$1k, the GTX 460M equipped Asus G53 is a much more attractive option, as the 460M is about 35% faster than the 6770M at 1080p.
 
K.Jack said:
The 6770M is as fast as a desktop 9800 GT. That's still decent enough for an 1366x768 screen resolution. I'd take it.



Every traditionally built notebook has upgradeable RAM slots these days .



An i5 + GT 540M will probably be sufficient for you, if you're building a gaming PC later.
Click to expand...


Thanks K.Jack. Yes, I will eventually build a gaming PC,once I stop traveling.
Actually I would like to bump it up to an i7, because I read it's much better for emulation. So best laptop for under a $1000?
 
Okay here's a tricky one. My son likes RTS games, but he's really only ever played the ones on X360, like Halo Wars, Supreme Commander 2 and Battle for Middle Earth II.

I know PC is where it's at for RTS, so I'd like to add a serviceable laptop to his Christmas list with maybe a game or two. But I'm talking $250 tops because of the other stuff on his list. It wouldn't need to play all the most recent RTSs but maybe stuff from a couple years ago.

Any recommendations for laptops and RTSs that could be played on it?
 
K.Jack, thank you for the reply! After some thought, I may just want a laptop that is capable of playing SWTOR on high settings instead.

My original plan was to sell my PC (i5/gtx570) and use that money towards a laptop. But, I'm pretty sure I'll miss having all of the power a PC can provide.

That being said, what cpu/gpu setup on a laptop do you think would run SWTOR at high settings?

Thanks again!
 
Laptop Gaf,

I decided that I want a gaming laptop, and I want to get it today, in 2 hours. This si the one I am leaning heavily toawrds....http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7+Processor+/+17.3%26%2334%3B+Display+/+8GB+Memory+-+Black/3411058.p?id=1218399201395&skuId=3411058

Before I make the investment I wanted to get the OK from you guys. I've read lots of reviews and it seems like a good pirce for a powerful machine. It seems like it will run everything I want. Anyone have any experience with this model? Am I good to go??
 
bigmit3737 said:
Thanks K.Jack. Yes, I will eventually build a gaming PC,once I stop traveling.

Actually I would like to bump it up to an i7, because I read it's much better for emulation. So best laptop for under a $1000?
Click to expand...

Spending $1k, you might as well bump that up another $100, to acquire an Asus G53 or Sager NP8130.

twinturbo2 said:
I'm thinking about this MSI notebook. Good idea?

http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=340
Click to expand...

I like it a hell of a more at $1450 than I do at $2k. Spending $2k I'd buy an

AngmarsKing701 said:
Okay here's a tricky one. My son likes RTS games, but he's really only ever played the ones on X360, like Halo Wars, Supreme Commander 2 and Battle for Middle Earth II.

I know PC is where it's at for RTS, so I'd like to add a serviceable laptop to his Christmas list with maybe a game or two. But I'm talking $250 tops because of the other stuff on his list. It wouldn't need to play all the most recent RTSs but maybe stuff from a couple years ago.

Any recommendations for laptops and RTSs that could be played on it?
Click to expand...

$250 is not enough for me. I mean, unless we're talking about really old RTS here. Could you clarify for me?-

mcdomination said:
K.Jack, thank you for the reply! After some thought, I may just want a laptop that is capable of playing SWTOR on high settings instead.

My original plan was to sell my PC (i5/gtx570) and use that money towards a laptop. But, I'm pretty sure I'll miss having all of the power a PC can provide.

That being said, what cpu/gpu setup on a laptop do you think would run SWTOR at high settings?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

And i7 2630QM + GTX 560M is pretty much as low as I'd like to go.

AliceInJam said:
Laptop Gaf,

I decided that I want a gaming laptop, and I want to get it today, in 2 hours. This si the one I am leaning heavily toawrds....http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7+Processor+/+17.3%26%2334%3B+Display+/+8GB+Memory+-+Black/3411058.p?id=1218399201395&skuId=3411058

Before I make the investment I wanted to get the OK from you guys. I've read lots of reviews and it seems like a good pirce for a powerful machine. It seems like it will run everything I want. Anyone have any experience with this model? Am I good to go??
Click to expand...

I'm late, but that's a good deal at $1200.
 
Is this laptop good enough for world of warcraft and cs:source @ native res? The price seems adequate but I am worried about performance, I can settle for medium settings.

Asus A53U
 
Thanks for the help K.Jack. I actually did grab the laptop after work. Been messing around with it for a few hours. Got steam, dowloaded a few games, of course Crysis. Everything is running very well on high and above, I am completely satisfied!
 
K.Jack said:
$250 is not enough for me. I mean, unless we're talking about really old RTS here. Could you clarify for me?-
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of some of these:
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War
Star Wars: Empire at War
Company of Heroes

I'd probably dig up the first Starcraft as well, though I doubt I could get a laptop that could play Starcraft II for $250-$300.

I think the three I listed above are all 5 years old or older...
 
AngmarsKing701 said:
I'm thinking of some of these:
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War
Star Wars: Empire at War
Company of Heroes

I'd probably dig up the first Starcraft as well, though I doubt I could get a laptop that could play Starcraft II for $250-$300.

I think the three I listed above are all 5 years old or older...
Click to expand...

Alright, well I originally played Dawn Of War and all of its expansions on a GMA 950, so any of today's integrated GPUs will be 3x the speed of that chip.

Something like this notebook could run it easily, even with the weakish CPU. Some examples of what it can run.

bigmit3737 said:
The fastest i5 is 2430 no?

"An i5 + GT 540M" -Can this be acquired with a $600-$800 budget?
Click to expand...

Less than six.
 
K.Jack said:
Alright, well I originally played Dawn Of War and all of its expansions on a GMA 950, so any of today's integrated GPUs will be 3x the speed of that chip.

Something like this notebook could run it easily, even with the weakish CPU. Some examples of what it can run.



Less than six.
Click to expand...

Just to give a heads up, anyone who was on the fence for the this awesome laptop, Newegg is now also giving a $25 promotional gift card with any purchase til the New Year. You could even use that towards purchasing 8gb ram, making the laptop go from 4GB Ram to 8GB for under $25! GSkill 8GB DDR3 1600 Laptop Ram
 
So I have an asus g73xs and is great and all, but is it normal to need to have the charger plugged in, even when overclocked, to not get drops in framerate? It surprised me that it did that, while the thing is not exactly portable at 17'', I really would have wanted to play a demanding name anywhere, like if I go camping or something like that.
 
mantidor said:
So I have an asus g73xs and is great and all, but is it normal to need to have the charger plugged in, even when overclocked, to not get drops in framerate? It surprised me that it did that, while the thing is not exactly portable at 17'', I really would have wanted to play a demanding name anywhere, like if I go camping or something like that.
Click to expand...

You just have to do the 'under load' math.

Overclocked 5870M (or GTX 460M?) = ~80W
Clarksfield or (Sandy Bridge?) CPU = ~50W

Notebook mobos and batteries simply aren't able to provide juice for that kind of equipment. The system downclocks to protect itself.

I do know of ways to force the GPU to run full throttle (ATI Tray Tools), but understand that your battery life will be a matter of minutes.
 
I have a sad story laptop gaf :(

My precious, my best friend has died :( I had her for 2.5 years, she could run starcaft 2 on low easily, and medium settings if need be.

but she's gone now, completly gone. I can't save her :(

I'm completly out of my depth when it comes to computers, but I just wanted to get afeel from this community what the go is, I've spotted this http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html little question and answer thing, from the PC thread.

if I fill that out :( will people be able to help me?
 
Sagitario said:
A bit weak? :(
Forgot to mention, the resolution is 1366x768... I am guessing that would help, right?

It's the best option I have right now [for the range price].
Click to expand...
Judging from the specs, is that a HP notebook? I have one with the same stuff on board, but with a i5 instead of i7, and I have been able to play Diablo III beta without problems on med-high settings and I even ran the Battlefield 3 beta. Wasn't that bad. There are also no problems with Skyrim, but if you plan to play a lot, buy a cooling pad.
 
looks like Nvidia and AMD are getting ready for their next gen mobile cards

the gtx 680m seems to blow everything out of the water in terms of 3dmark scores

i101810_gtx600m1.JPG


AMD 7000M series
http://www.techpowerup.com/155590/Radeon-HD-7000M-Mobile-GPUs-Slated-For-December-Launch-Tabled.html
 
K.Jack said:
You just have to do the 'under load' math.

Overclocked 5870M (or GTX 460M?) = ~80W
Clarksfield or (Sandy Bridge?) CPU = ~50W

Notebook mobos and batteries simply aren't able to provide juice for that kind of equipment. The system downclocks to protect itself.

I do know of ways to force the GPU to run full throttle (ATI Tray Tools), but understand that your battery life will be a matter of minutes.
Click to expand...


Yeah I have the 460m, and you are right it does make sense, some games do run fine without overclocking so its not a huge deal.
 
So based on the Black Friday deals, I think I'll wait to see what the Cyber Monday deals look like. Might be able to get a $250 laptop that plays some even more recent RTSs. Would love to be able to pick up Starcraft 2. If anyone sees anything that is stronger then the Toshiba, PM me please. Thanks!!!
 
I'm looking for a black friday laptop to pick up to replace my old Dell. I don't neccessarily need something that can run Skyrim or Battlefield, I'm more concerned about it being lightning fast in web browsing, programming, word processing, videos, etc.

I don't know a lot about laptops, but these two at Best Buy look pretty good. Can anyone tell me why one is like 200 dollars cheaper than the other, and are these decent laptops for fast normal stuff and maybe some WoW, Warcraft 3, Counter Strike Source, Half Life 2 type gaming?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pa..." Display / 4GB Memory - Steel Gray&cp=1&lp=1

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pa...cessor / 17.3" Display - Steel Gray&cp=1&lp=1

I want to spend around 600 dollars, and want a fast computer that can maybe game a little bit, but not crazy amount, but basically just a solid, fast, strong, good computer.

Any advice?
 
So i was going to buy a new videocard this weekend for my "gaming" desktop if I could find a cheapish one for black friday but then I came across this. http://www.redflagdeals.com/in/guel...m-8gb-ram-gtx-560m-blu-ray-1080p-lcd-899-hot/

I am in Canada and this laptop looks insane. All of its stats are better than my desktop and i use a controller pretty much so I am not to worried about the awkwardness of playing on a laptop for gaming. Just wondering if anyone can see anything wrong with this build and also if it is possible to hook it up to my monitor to play it on a bigger screen.
 
arts&crafts said:
So i was going to buy a new videocard this weekend for my "gaming" desktop if I could find a cheapish one for black friday but then I came across this. http://www.redflagdeals.com/in/guel...m-8gb-ram-gtx-560m-blu-ray-1080p-lcd-899-hot/

I am in Canada and this laptop looks insane. All of its stats are better than my desktop and i use a controller pretty much so I am not to worried about the awkwardness of playing on a laptop for gaming. Just wondering if anyone can see anything wrong with this build and also if it is possible to hook it up to my monitor to play it on a bigger screen.
Click to expand...

what the hell, that's a pretty insane deal, that thing should cost around 1.5k USD if i recall. and yes it has HDMI out. maybe it's a refurbed unit.

for comparison.
http://www.gentechpc.com/system_dept.asp?dept_id=SD-002
 
FaidSint said:
I'm looking for a black friday laptop to pick up to replace my old Dell. I don't neccessarily need something that can run Skyrim or Battlefield, I'm more concerned about it being lightning fast in web browsing, programming, word processing, videos, etc.

I don't know a lot about laptops, but these two at Best Buy look pretty good. Can anyone tell me why one is like 200 dollars cheaper than the other, and are these decent laptops for fast normal stuff and maybe some WoW, Warcraft 3, Counter Strike Source, Half Life 2 type gaming?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pa..." Display / 4GB Memory - Steel Gray&cp=1&lp=1

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pa...cessor / 17.3" Display - Steel Gray&cp=1&lp=1

I want to spend around 600 dollars, and want a fast computer that can maybe game a little bit, but not crazy amount, but basically just a solid, fast, strong, good computer.

Any advice?
Click to expand...
I don't know why, but the cheaper machine has 3x the graphics power. I'd take that one.

arts&crafts said:
So i was going to buy a new videocard this weekend for my "gaming" desktop if I could find a cheapish one for black friday but then I came across this. http://www.redflagdeals.com/in/guel...m-8gb-ram-gtx-560m-blu-ray-1080p-lcd-899-hot/

I am in Canada and this laptop looks insane. All of its stats are better than my desktop and i use a controller pretty much so I am not to worried about the awkwardness of playing on a laptop for gaming. Just wondering if anyone can see anything wrong with this build and also if it is possible to hook it up to my monitor to play it on a bigger screen.
Click to expand...

What GPU is in your desktop? The GTX 560M is only around the speed of a GTS 450.

That aside, 899.97 for a G53 is a crazy deal. I checked it out, and that's not a refurb, plus comes with 1yr warranty + 1yr accidental.

If it has what you want, snap it up quickly!
 
K.Jack said:
I don't know why, but the cheaper machine has 3x the graphics power. I'd take that one.



What GPU is in your desktop? The GTX 560M is only around the speed of a GTS 450.

That aside, 899.97 for a G53 is a crazy deal. I checked it out, and that's not a refurb, plus comes with 1yr warranty + 1yr accidental.

If it has what you want, snap it up quickly!
Click to expand...

My desktop is a 5770 I think i got it 2 christmases ago. Can still run skyrim on "High", but its showing its age.
I need a new laptop and could use a new video card. If the video card is worse than my current I may be better off just getting a desktop video card and a cheaper laptop.
 
Any idea how this machine would run WoW and The Old Republic? It's looking pretty snazzy as a $400 purchase:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/17218899

AMD Dual-Core E-450 processor
1.65GHz, 1MB L2 Cache

4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)

AMD Radeon HD 6320 Discrete-Class Graphics with up to 1973MB total graphics memory
 
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