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[K.Jack]

Gotcha, like I said, I don't know jack shit about this kinda stuff! All I want to do is play PS2 games and browse the internet all day if needed.

So is the A-series processor in that Best Buy ASUS also too weak for me?

Well, hmm, I'm mainly basing my views from the perspective that PCSX2 recommends a 3.0Ghz Intel dual core. Those AMD CPUs have more cores, but they're slower than the Core i3.

On the other hand, the 6650M is about 2x the speed of the 520M. My own principle is to always take the fastest GPU possible.

It's a decision.

Hey Jack, thanks for the response.
I checked out the link you gave me. Yeah, i really don't want to order from Kobalt now.
I compared both specs/price of the laptops i'm looking to buy and the kobalt comes out a little cheaper with a better cpu and double the ram(4-8).
cpu: Alienware= i7 2630QM 2.0ghz 6MB
G970X 17.3= i7 950 quad core with HT 3.06ghz 8MB

gpu: Alienware= 6990 crossfire
G970X= 485sli(much cheaper then 580sli)

There's also a UK based company called.... uh PC Specialists? They seem to have a good base of happy customers. I'll need to confirm the name.

also, the 2630QM is about the speed of the i7-930, so it's no slouch.

The 6990Ms are cheaper, and they're about 15% faster than the 485Ms.

 

[Shannara4]

Originally Posted by Shannara4:
I am going to buy a laptop very soon. I'm not really a PC gamer, but I would like to buy a laptop capable of playing a few games. I imagine Source games like Portal 2 would run on nearly any new computer. How much would a new laptop cost that would run the first Witcher? And would it cost more to run Skyrim? I don't care about Max settings or anything. As long as it would be playable. I don't have much of a budget right now. I am just hoping to get a laptop that can play some of the games I would be interested in.

Originally Posted by K.Jack:
Just tell me what your max budget, and I'll get you the best thing available.

I was looking at around $500 but might be willing to go up to $800. Would a $500 laptop be able to run any of these? How about an $800 one?

 

[RelentlessRolento]

Is this the best under $500 laptop I could get?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ASUS+-+...13837&skuId=2881042&st=ASUS K53E-B1&cp=1&lp=1

Thx for the input K.Jack but this computer seems more like price + the power I need in the range of what I'm looking for.

Is there anything significantly better for $50-$100 more though?

 

[RelentlessRolento]

Is this a better one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...511-Index-_-LaptopsNotebooks-_-34230079-L022D

 

[Monroeski]

Looks like the screen on my Dell Studio 17 is all jacked. Are the XPS 17s decent at gaming? The Alienwares are a bit too expensive for me, since I already have a powerful desktop for real gaming.

Is it even possible to get screens replaced? Maybe I won't need to buy just yet and could wait for a good deal to come along. Kind of annoys me that I can't find any good solid colors for the XPS 17, I love my old dark purple Studio 17.

::edit::
Wait, maybe I have a 15. Can't remember right now.

 

[Azure J]

Kinda pondering something over here for reference's sake. I'd like to be able to do some heavy Dolphin usage on my next laptop and yet I keep hearing that the 2630QM is quite a beast mode processor (even if it clocks up to only 2.9.GHz). Is it worth it to go the extra step up (which usually slaps a $150 - 250 extra onto the orders) or is there something about the base processor I'm overlooking? (Be warned, I'm a total newbie with overclocking if that's what's being hinted at here.)

 

[twinturbo2]

http://www.razerzone.com/blade
http://kotaku.com/5834737/razer-debuts-the-worlds-first-gaming-laptop

I like the touchpad, but I need some more info on if it has a Blu-ray drive or not.

 

[Jomjom]

http://www.razerzone.com/blade
http://kotaku.com/5834737/razer-debuts-the-worlds-first-gaming-laptop

I like the touchpad, but I need some more info on if it has a Blu-ray drive or not.

Just telling you the GPU they are putting in there is horribly weak. I know because I have the same thing in my XPS 17. Even if you attribute great value to the touchpad, let's say even $500, this laptop shouldn't be going for anything over $1,500.

 

[twinturbo2]

Just telling you the GPU they are putting in there is horribly weak. I know because I have the same thing in my XPS 17. Even if you attribute great value to the touchpad, let's say even $500, this laptop shouldn't be going for anything over $1,500.

Ouch. I hope that there's an option to get something more powerful, otherwise I should look elsewhere.

I really like that touchpad, though.

 

[RelentlessRolento]

so asking again, is the link I oosted near the top a good one for the game development and decent gaming I'm looking to have??

 

[twinturbo2]

Okay, this MSI notebook for 2 grand has pretty much everything I want. Blu-ray burner, 16GB of ram, 1.5 TB of hard drive space... if the processor and graphics card are any good, I'll put this on my want list.

http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=326

 

[iamshadowlark]

Okay, this MSI notebook for 2 grand has pretty much everything I want. Blu-ray burner, 16GB of ram, 1.5 TB of hard drive space... if the processor and graphics card are any good, I'll put this on my want list.

http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=326

Why in the hell do you want 16GBs of ram in a notebook?

 

[twinturbo2]

Why in the hell do you want 16GBs of ram in a notebook?

Don't see why not.

 

[Mafro]

Just telling you the GPU they are putting in there is horribly weak. I know because I have the same thing in my XPS 17. Even if you attribute great value to the touchpad, let's say even $500, this laptop shouldn't be going for anything over $1,500.

I've got an XPS 17 and I wouldn't call the 555m "horribly weak" at all.

 

[grendelrt]

I've got an XPS 17 and I wouldn't call the 555m "horribly weak" at all.

In general it isnt a bad GPU, but for $2700 hes right its horribly weak.

 

[Mafro]

In general it isnt a bad GPU, but for $2700 hes right its horribly weak.

Oh yeah that Razer laptop's price is hilarious. Paid less than half that for my XPS with better specs.

 

[grendelrt]

Oh yeah that Razer laptop's price is hilarious. Paid less than half that for my XPS with better specs.

Same, I got an Alienware m15x last year with a 5850M for 1400 and Alienware is usually overpriced (I used stacking coupons lol)

 

[K.Jack]

What? The XPS 17's GPU isn't horrible. The GT 555M is the speed of a 9800 GT. Equal to the 6770M. About 50% faster than the GT 540M.

It's not for gaming at 1080P, but it'll run games quite well at lower resolutions.

Also, spending $2k and getting anything less than the 6990M or GTX 580M is questionable.

 

[RelentlessRolento]

still looking for answers to my prev posts -_-

 

[CommieCaptorS]

So I'm starting university in the next 2 weeks and I've saved up £750 or so (~$1150)to spend on hopefully a reasonably futureproof laptop (my course lasts 4 years)

Asides from the average menial student requirements I'd like to have a laptop able to competently keep up with releases over this 4 year period. Anything able to run Dolphin within that price range would be a bonus too.

I'm completely new to laptops so any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[The Teachinator]

Looking to spend about $1200 on a laptop as a game on the go machine.

I'm interested in playing civ 5, tor, Starcraft 2, tf2.

I'd like good build quality. I currently own an i5 mbp but I want to use it exclusively for work.

I'd also prefer to purchase from newegg.

 

[K.Jack]

still looking for answers to my prev posts -_-

Post # 2648 is fine, if what you do doesn't value processor speed. Post #2655 is trash, for developing and gaming.

So I'm starting university in the next 2 weeks and I've saved up or so (~$1150)to spend on hopefully a reasonably futureproof laptop (my course lasts 4 years)

Asides from the average menial student requirements I'd like to have a laptop able to competently keep up with releases over this 4 year period. Anything able to run Dolphin within that price range would be a bonus too.

I'm completely new to laptops so any advice is greatly appreciated

Is that £750 including VAC?

Looking to spend about $1200 on a laptop as a game on the go machine.

I'm interested in playing civ 5, tor, Starcraft 2, tf2.

I'd like good build quality. I currently own an i5 mbp but I want to use it exclusively for work.

I'd also prefer to purchase from newegg.

Definitely this.

 

[jfkgoblue]

Looking to spend about $1200 on a laptop as a game on the go machine.

I'm interested in playing civ 5, tor, Starcraft 2, tf2.

I'd like good build quality. I currently own an i5 mbp but I want to use it exclusively for work.

I'd also prefer to purchase from newegg.

I bought the ASUS G73SW for $900 at Best Buy the other day, I7 processor, nVidia Geforce GTX 460, easily plays SC2 maxed out... this model is typically $1400 or so, but it was on clearence

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ASUS+-+...218290438380&skuId=1774899&st=g73sw&cp=1&lp=1

 

[The Teachinator]

Post # 2648 is fine, if what you do doesn't value processor speed. Post #2655 is trash, for developing and gaming.


Is that £750 including VAC?


Definitely this.

Looks good how does the gtx460m compare to the gtx560m.

I see a g53 that comes with that card?

 

[whitehawk]

So I'm starting university in the next 2 weeks and I've saved up £750 or so (~$1150)to spend on hopefully a reasonably futureproof laptop (my course lasts 4 years)

Asides from the average menial student requirements I'd like to have a laptop able to competently keep up with releases over this 4 year period. Anything able to run Dolphin within that price range would be a bonus too.

I'm completely new to laptops so any advice is greatly appreciated

I'm in the same position. About to start university, looking to buy a $1000 or less laptop that can run games quite well, and can keep up for a while. Dophin I want too.

 

[RelentlessRolento]

Post # 2648 is fine, if what you do doesn't value processor speed. Post #2655 is trash, for developing and gaming.

Thx, I'll keep looking. And yeah, my laptops heat up usually like crazy due to the amount of processing work and multitasking I do with development and whatnot.

 

[Kyzer]

What's the best gaming laptop I can buy for 1100 these days? Sorry I havent been able to keep up with the tech as much as I would like to. Thanks GAF.

 

[J2 Cool]

So this is gamer approved, but my friend trusted me with finding him a laptop under $400, and has no need for games. (Just Office and web browing..) Any good recommendations recently around that range? Almost in "can't go wrong" territory.

The Asus AMD A-Series at $450 looks pretty good. Probably only need a couple cheaper options and let him choose between them.

EDIT: Fark! Fail on my part if there is an off-topic laptop-age thread, but I didn't see any. Still, gaming forum is pushing it haha. Didn't notice that.

 

[whitehawk]

Is this a good laptop for the price?

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=72578c9dc20dc6d28be225337776a0dfen02

 

[heyf00L]

My budget is $700. This is the best I've found so far:
Acer Aspire AS7750G @ Newegg

Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30GHz
4GB DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6650M 1GB

It says up to 3 hours battery life. Is that pretty typical these days? I'd hope for 5 at least.

In terms of needs, this laptop will be used as a school laptop for computer science, so CPU is more important than GPU. I would like it to be able to handle some games too.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Is this a good laptop for the price?

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=72578c9dc20dc6d28be225337776a0dfen02

The one I just asked about looks to be generally as good or better than the one you posted and is $300 less. Maybe you only want 15" for size and the one you posted has BlueRay and 1 USB 3.0. Other than that, I'd say no.

 

[heyf00L]

wrong thread

 

[whitehawk]

My budget is $700. This is the best I've found so far:
Acer Aspire AS7750G @ Newegg

Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30GHz
4GB DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6650M 1GB

It says up to 3 hours battery life. Is that pretty typical these days? I'd hope for 5 at least.

In terms of needs, this laptop will be used as a school laptop for computer science, so CPU is more important than GPU. I would like it to be able to handle some games too.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.



The one I just asked about looks to be generally as good or better than the one you posted and is $300 less. Maybe you only want 15" for size and the one you posted has BlueRay and 1 USB 3.0. Other than that, I'd say no.

Yeah 17" is a little too big. 15" is what I want. A USB 3.0 is great too for future compatibility. And the blu-ray drive is just a fun extra.

Mine says 4 hours of battery though, and yours is 3. Also I'm going to be doing a lot of audio editing/mixing/creating/recording music. And some video editing. Do I need a good GPU or CPU for that?

 

[heyf00L]

Yeah 17" is a little too big. 15" is what I want. A USB 3.0 is great too for future compatibility. And the blu-ray drive is just a fun extra.

Mine says 4 hours of battery though, and yours is 3. Also I'm going to be doing a lot of audio editing/mixing/creating/recording music. And some video editing. Do I need a good GPU or CPU for that?

CPU mostly. That one is dual core with 4 logical cores. You could look around for a real quad core. But maybe hyperthreading is fine for video rendering.

 

[Azure J]

Kinda pondering something over here for reference's sake. I'd like to be able to do some heavy Dolphin usage on my next laptop and figure that I'd want to get at least the 2720QM, yet I keep hearing that the 2630QM is quite a beast mode processor (even if it clocks up to only 2.9.GHz). Is it worth it to go the extra step up (which usually slaps a $150 - 250 extra onto the orders) or is there something about the base processor I'm overlooking? (Be warned, I'm a total newbie with overclocking if that's what's being hinted at here.)

Anyone? Also trying to cash in on that free Xbox for college students before time's up.

 

[K.Jack]

$1200 budget = Sager NP8130

$1,000 or so budget = Asus G53.

$750 budget = Asus A53 or MSI FX620. Look at the MSI X460, if you need a 14" gaming machine.

$700 budget = Toshiba Satellite or MSI FX603.

@ Azure - the 2720QM is not worth it, unless you need virtualization

 

[Jomjom]

I've got an XPS 17 and I wouldn't call the 555m "horribly weak" at all.

I have the XPS 17 3D as well. While I like the 555M well enough, playing Witcher 2 has definitely given me the itch to build a desktop PC. But yeah I did primarily mean that it was horribly weak considering the Razor is almost $3K and on top of that, Razor always poses themselves as this "hardcore" gamer brand. I would call the 555M definitely better than the average discrete mobile GPU, but it's far from a hardcore gamer GPU.

There's no excuse for Razor to not at least include some kind of card in the GTX line, not the GT line that the 555M is in. I wish my XPS 17 had a GTX option when I bought it, I would have paid more for it.

 

[Azure J]

@ Azure - the 2720QM is not worth it, unless you need virtualization

Kickass. Thanks.

 

[heyf00L]

MSI FX620

Thanks for the links. This one looked promising, but the Feedback talks about lots of blue screens.

 

[The Teachinator]

Well I decided to pick up one of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230102

I'm kind of excited about the 3D features. Not sure how they'll hold up. But this seems like a good laptop from what I could gather researching all the independent components.

 

[K.Jack]

Spending ~$1.9k, you should consider the 3D Sager NP8170, which you can equip with a GTX 485M for about the same price as the G74.

The 485M is about 75% faster than the 560M, thus is much more suited to game at 1080p + 3D.

 

[Chris R]

Sager has the 485 and the 6990 for the same price... Any real difference framerate wise or does it just come down to if you bleed red or if you bleed green?

Because I was looking at a 8150 (matte screen, 16gb ram, ect) and it was around that 1.9k price.

 

[K.Jack]

Sager has the 485 and the 6990 for the same price... Any real difference framerate wise or does it just come down to if you bleed red or if you bleed green?

Because I was looking at a 8150 (matte screen, 16gb ram, ect) and it was around that 1.9k price.

The 6990M is about 15% faster than the 485M, and is equal to 5% faster than the overpriced GTX 580M.

Unless you really like Nvidia, the 6990M wins on all fronts.

 

[Quixzlizx]

I finally manned up and ordered the Asus G53 from Newegg. I figured there's nothing else in the $900-1200 price range that matches it for value.

 

[The Teachinator]

Decided to back off the $1900 laptop going to look at my options again.

 

[heyf00L]

http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/de...bcat0502000&ev=prodView#product-overview-open
I like this one. It has a slower processor (although it's a true quadcore and can beat the dualcore i5s on some threaded apps) but more ram, better gpu, bluray, 2x USB 3, and 5 hour battery. Best deal for $700 methinks.

non-mobile link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP-Pavi...ategoryId=pcmcat247400050000&id=1218348120631

 

[K.Jack]

http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/de...bcat0502000&ev=prodView#product-overview-open
I like this one. It has a slower processor (although it's a true quadcore and can beat the dualcore i5s on some threaded apps) but more ram, better gpu, bluray, 2x USB 3, and 5 hour battery. Best deal for $700 methinks.

I have to agree.

But the A8 won't beat a Sandy bridge i5, because of Turbo Boost 2.0, though we can pretty safely compare it to an entry level i3.

 

[Monroeski]

I'm also thinking about getting one of the ASUS G53s from Newegg (likely this or this), but does anybody know if they're upgradable with a blu-ray drive down the road?

Any suggestions on something similar that comes with BD drive out of the box?

On a phone so my search capabilities are a bit limited.

 

[K.Jack]

I'm also thinking about getting one of the ASUS G53s from Newegg (likely this or this), but does anybody know if they're upgradable with a blu-ray drive down the road?

Any suggestions on something similar that comes with BD drive out of the box?

On a phone so my search capabilities are a bit limited.

You should go for the NP8130, which you can configure with a BD drive for an extra $80.

 

[risk]

My BF and I are looking at laptops on Amazon and noticed that the free 360 deal was still going on. These are the two laptops that it came down to.

Lenovo Y570

Aspire TimelineX 3830TG

I guess the main differences would be the screen size and the GPU. I was wondering if the Timeline X would be okay for me? I play a lot of pick up and go type of games like Luminix and Plants vs Zombies, but I also play Fallout 3 and LOTRO from time to time, plus my BF just bought me Borderlands on Steam. I'm coming from a XPS 1530 and it was pretty big and hefty so I guess I'm also taking that into consideration. I'm leaning towards the Timeline X (more so for the weight), but I also want the best bang for buck so I'm hesitating a bit.

edit: I could also go for the x120/121 netbook, if I were to get the Y570.

 

[Warm Machine]

How is MSi as a brand? I was looking at getting a GE620DX.