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The 2012-2013 Gaming Laptop Thread | Read OP before asking questions!

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C

calza

Member
wetflame said:
So I'm ready to pull the trigger on an Enigma IV from PC Specialist with the i7 Quad-Core (2.40 GHz), are these new Haswell chips going to make it worth me waiting or are they aimed at a little pricier of a market? I'm not really planning on spending any more than £650.
Click to expand...

I would wait for the newer version, you should at the very least see an improvement in battery life.
 
W

wetflame

Pizza Dog
So these Haswell chips are an update to the CPUs that are currently available, and not a new tier or something like that? I'm not really familiar with what it all means.
 
D

Danj

Member
wetflame said:
So these Haswell chips are an update to the CPUs that are currently available, and not a new tier or something like that? I'm not really familiar with what it all means.
Click to expand...

They're new chips, not an updated version of the old chips. Their official name is 4th Generation Core i3/i5/i7. Though I think only the i5 and i7 models are out at the moment.
 
W

wetflame

Pizza Dog
Ah right, so the laptop I'm looking at has a 3rd gen quad core i7-3630QM, if I wait then there could be a 4th gen i7 at a comparable price with the benefits or the new chip (battery life etc)?

Apologies if these are stupid questions. Haven't really been involved in PC gaming more powerful than TF2 and am looking to pick something up that'll let me be more involved over the next few years, or at least run current stuff really well.
 
D

Danj

Member
wetflame said:
So I'm ready to pull the trigger on an Enigma IV from PC Specialist with the i7 Quad-Core (2.40 GHz), are these new Haswell chips going to make it worth me waiting or are they aimed at a little pricier of a market? I'm not really planning on spending any more than £650.
Click to expand...

Well, you said PC Specialist - they already have their 4th Generation laptops up... but it doesn't look like they have one in your price bracket unfortunately.
 
P

PhiloAmericana

Banned
I'm looking for a laptop for around $800 for when I go back to school in August. Are the Haswell-based laptops going to be available in this price range, or should I be looking for 3rd generation?
 
W

wetflame

Pizza Dog
Danj said:
Well, you said PC Specialist - they already have their 4th Generation laptops up... but it doesn't look like they have one in your price bracket unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Yeah this is kind of what I'm asking, is there likely to be something in that price bracket or should I just go with what I have? I don't particularly need something cutting edge.
 
P

PhiloAmericana

Banned
fluffydelusions said:
You could easily find one in that range... Really depends what you want inside though
Click to expand...

You're very right. I should have spelled that out. I suppose the biggest factor is going to be battery life, but I'd like to do some light gaming, like WoW. Not much, but I'd like it to be able to play games on medium settings.

I'd assume Haswell is the best bet for this, but I don't know if the 3rd generation laptops will come down enough in price for them to be more bang for the buck.
 
V

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
Should I wait for next week stuff? Its hard waiting when laptopless. Still the budget its $2500 including guarantee.
 
S

Shake Appeal

Member
I'm looking to spend less than $2,000 on a gaming laptop once I move to the US next month.

Size isn't an issue. In fact, I'd prefer a big screen because my fiancée and I have a tiny television and have little space and no interest in getting a bigger one. So the laptop could well be what we end up watching movies and TV shows on. I could live without a Blu-Ray drive, though (ahem).

No other particular requirements about weight or battery life. The only reason I'm not buying a desktop is I need a little flexibility about being able to bring my PC places occasionally, and we really don't have the space to allow for a desktop machine (which would first of all require us finding room for a desk...).

So yeah, pretty big budget, would love to play the latest games, would favour a good screen.
 
B

Bucca

Fools are always so certain of themselves, but wiser men so full of doubts.
What do you guys recommend using for cleaning a glossy LCD screen?

I've just used soft tissue damped in water in the past, but I'm pretty sure that can't be good for it. :lol
 
T

thefil

Member
Looking for a recommendation for my girlfriend. We live in Canada.

  • Budget is around $1000 CAD.
  • Reliability is a big priority as she's coming off a Macbook Pro that just died for the third time in two years.
  • 15" screen is ideal. 13" is too small.
  • She really likes open world games like Saints Row, GTA, and will want to play upcoming things like Watch Dogs.
  • She is basically FPS-blind (20+ is AOK), but she is used to running games on an external display (1080-1200p)
  • battery life is not a big issue
  • ideally a relatively big upgrade over previous machine

For reference, the now-dead Macbook pro was:
  • AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
  • 2.2GHz quad-core i7
  • 4GB of memory

Any help appreciated, I know nothing about gaming laptops. Also please let me know if the price is unrealistic, I was hoping we'd be okay by avoiding Mac tax. Also I'm eligible for any student discounts that might be offered.

*edit* I'm seeing the Y400/Y500 deal is available in Canada too. Are Lenovo's reliable?
*edit* should we be waiting for next week?
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
NOTICE: All notebook requests will be revisited after Computex has ended, maybe plus a week.

Bucca said:
What do you guys recommend using for cleaning a glossy LCD screen?

I've just used soft tissue damped in water in the past, but I'm pretty sure that can't be good for it. :lol
Click to expand...

Anything soft is fine, just don't use chemicals beyond eye glass cleaner.

fluffydelusions said:
This seems like a good value?
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8230-clevo-p151sm1-p-5840.html
Click to expand...

Yeah it does, if you don't mind the lack of backlit keyboard.

fluffydelusions said:
How does sli 750s compare to say 765,770? this just popped up on Newegg. Lenovo y510p
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312792&Tpk=Lenovo y510p&IsVirtualParent=1
Click to expand...

Definitely faster than the 765M, but the 770M is pretty strong.

d[-_-]b;60814709 said:
http://outlet.lenovo.com/SEUILibrar...workflow:item.detail?GroupID=445&Code=9541XF1

Thinking about pulling the trigger :(.
Click to expand...

There's no GPUs coming out in the ~$600 range that will touch the GT 650M GDDR5, and no laptops in that price raange have that level of GPU plus an i7 quad core. That's a deal you should take, if it comes with a decent warranty.
 
F

fluffydelusions

Member
I'm not concerned about the backlit keyboard but the laptop is new with no reviews so maybe I will just wait and see. Also a big Asus fan. My last 3 laptops have been by them and no problems at all. I hope the 750 hits amazon soon
 
D

d[-_-]b

Banned
K.Jack said:
There's no GPUs coming out in the ~$600 range that will touch the GT 650M GDDR5, and no laptops in that price raange have that level of GPU plus an i7 quad core. That's a deal you should take, if it comes with a decent warranty.
Click to expand...

Thanks, only thing left is Y400 is $70 cheaper (same specs) is it worth for the 1.6" screen size increase? Just took a look at my brother in-law's Samsung R480 which is 14" doesn't seem too bad.

Edit: Bit the bullet and got the Y500, thanks again K.Jack.
 
W

wetflame

Pizza Dog
d[-_-]b;60866169 said:
Edit: Bit the bullet and got the Y500, thanks again K.Jack.
Click to expand...

That Y500 is pretty much exactly what I'm thinking of getting specs-wise but about £200 cheaper than the one I was looking at. Annoying that the offer isn't available in the UK.

I'm thinking I might drop my CPU down from the i7-3630 quad core to the i5-3230 dual core. It'll save me £65 or so which will drop my total down to around £575, which is much easier to swallow than £640+. I think not having a laptop, and never having been current with PC gaming previously, is making me over-reach when it comes to deciding what to go for. I've been checking a few games against the CPU based on this site and it seems like everything current (Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Arkham Origins) will run well on the i5 too, and I should probably try to keep my total spend a little lower. The only thing holding me back is wondering whether I'm going to be shooting myself in the foot when it comes to playing games that get released in the next year or so.
 
D

d[-_-]b

Banned
Munin said:
No, looks as awful as always
Click to expand...

Agreed ugly as hell, why is lady gaga on all the photos...

wetflame said:
That Y500 is pretty much exactly what I'm thinking of getting specs-wise but about £200 cheaper than the one I was looking at. Annoying that the offer isn't available in the UK.

I'm thinking I might drop my CPU down from the i7-3630 quad core to the i5-3230 dual core. It'll save me £65 or so which will drop my total down to around £575, which is much easier to swallow than £640+. I think not having a laptop, and never having been current with PC gaming previously, is making me over-reach when it comes to deciding what to go for. I've been checking a few games against the CPU based on this site and it seems like everything current (Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Arkham Origins) will run well on the i5 too, and I should probably try to keep my total spend a little lower. The only thing holding me back is wondering whether I'm going to be shooting myself in the foot when it comes to playing games that get released in the next year or so.
Click to expand...

You got me thinking whats the battery life on that going to be like :(. I have a two hour commute home, and i7 + 650m, isn't looking too good, how's the battery market for lenovo?
 
B

Blablurn

Member
consider me surprised. in the past certain games had problems to detect the second graphics card in ur laptop. just like binary domain for example. just checked again: and now it detects the geforce 650m. game looks great
 
poppabk

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
So with the consoles going with close to off the shelf AMD parts, are AMD HSA based laptops going to be a good idea in the near future?
 
stn

stn

Member
I need some help, folks.

In February I bought Street Fighter x Tekken for my laptop. It ran at max settings, 78FPS. A few months later I ran it, noticed slow down but didn't investigate. That was in April. Today I fired it up and ran a benchmark, the slow down is still there. It now runs at 55FPS.

What has changed since then? I got an official 360 pad. Could the program for that be slowing it down? Might it be something else?

I don't know much about computers. Please ask me any questions you think may help me solve this - even the obvious, stupid ones. Thank you!
 
F

fluffydelusions

Member
stn said:
I need some help, folks.

In February I bought Street Fighter x Tekken for my laptop. It ran at max settings, 78FPS. A few months later I ran it, noticed slow down but didn't investigate. That was in April. Today I fired it up and ran a benchmark, the slow down is still there. It now runs at 55FPS.

What has changed since then? I got an official 360 pad. Could the program for that be slowing it down? Might it be something else?

I don't know much about computers. Please ask me any questions you think may help me solve this - even the obvious, stupid ones. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Did you upgrade drivers since then?
 
stn

stn

Member
I don't think so? What about DL'ing different versions of Direct X? Might that do anything? Is there a chance my video card has fried without me realizing it? Thanks for the help so far. Forgot to mention:

8GB RAM
2.3GHz
GeForce 630M 1GB
Win 7

That's my laptop.
 
F

fluffydelusions

Member
stn said:
I don't think so? What about DL'ing different versions of Direct X? Might that do anything? Is there a chance my video card has fried without me realizing it? Thanks for the help so far. Forgot to mention:

8GB RAM
2.3GHz
GeForce 630M 1GB
Win 7

That's my laptop.
Click to expand...
Try installing latest nvidia drivers and see if that helps. Nvidia card isn't fried
 
stn

stn

Member
I don't think its driver-related? I rarely bother with those updates. Let's say I updated and I just don't remember. What do I do? I have a GeForce 630M 1GB.

Thanks!
 
H

heyDian

Neo Member
thefil said:
Looking for a recommendation for my girlfriend. We live in Canada.

  • Budget is around $1000 CAD.
  • Reliability is a big priority as she's coming off a Macbook Pro that just died for the third time in two years.
  • 15" screen is ideal. 13" is too small.
  • She really likes open world games like Saints Row, GTA, and will want to play upcoming things like Watch Dogs.
  • She is basically FPS-blind (20+ is AOK), but she is used to running games on an external display (1080-1200p)
  • battery life is not a big issue
  • ideally a relatively big upgrade over previous machine

For reference, the now-dead Macbook pro was:
  • AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
  • 2.2GHz quad-core i7
  • 4GB of memory

Any help appreciated, I know nothing about gaming laptops. Also please let me know if the price is unrealistic, I was hoping we'd be okay by avoiding Mac tax. Also I'm eligible for any student discounts that might be offered.

*edit* I'm seeing the Y400/Y500 deal is available in Canada too. Are Lenovo's reliable?
*edit* should we be waiting for next week?
Click to expand...

I just bought an Alienware M14x R2, converting myself from MacBook. Like your girlfriend, I don't play FPS. I can play Tomb Raider, GTA 4, Age of Empires II HD, Skyrim smoothly.

Did she bootcamp the MBP to play games? If not, I need to share this: The hardest thing converting myself from MacBook to Alienware was the OS. It took 1 month to get myself used to Windows 8.
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
fluffydelusions said:
K.Jack going to make a new thread 2013-2014 laptops since Haswell and all?
Click to expand...

No, I made this thread with Haswell in mind. The next thread will come in the release period of Nvidia's Maxell.

I'll just be doing massive edits to the OP, over the next few weeks.
 
W

wetflame

Pizza Dog
So after a great deal of back and forth and internal debate I finally pulled the trigger on the laptop I'd been talking about earlier, the Enigma IV.

Added the 1080p screen, the i5-3230M, 1x8GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive, removed Windows, otherwise everything else is as standard. Found a £15 off code online so the whole thing came to £591. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone here for the help and recommendations.
 
H

h0pper

only Fernando's ripe melons are good enough for me
thinking of going for the Lenovo Y410p. However, I don't see the updated cards in these yet. Have they been released yet? It is still coming with the GT750M. Is it worth waiting? I primarily play DOTA and CS:GO but would like to be able to play some BF4 if possible. Any thoughts?

Also, question about the resolution. Native on this is 1366x768. Is that just due to the laptop display? This has nothing to do with the card, correct? I have a very nice monitor that I will probably hook up to this laptop if I do decide to go for it. Thanks!
 
F

fluffydelusions

Member
h0pper said:
thinking of going for the Lenovo Y410p. However, I don't see the updated cards in these yet. Have they been released yet? It is still coming with the GT750M. Is it worth waiting? I primarily play DOTA and CS:GO but would like to be able to play some BF4 if possible. Any thoughts?

Also, question about the resolution. Native on this is 1366x768. Is that just due to the laptop display? This has nothing to do with the card, correct? I have a very nice monitor that I will probably hook up to this laptop if I do decide to go for it. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Do you mean the 510p?
 
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