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

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Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
Did you just have to turn down PalmCheck?

How much did the DE2 cost, versus the barebones model you were configuring?


Don't Starve doesn't look intensive.



The one I configured was 2858 and it had crappier hard drive space and Haswell was slightly better up to 3.6 oc while mine its 3.4ghz with oc. I was also getting a cooler for it which also added 60 bucks. Mine was 2732 on newegg including the shipping. I turned down PalmCheck to the minimum and it runs flawlessly. I got not a single complain as now right now. Also newegg as usual doing fast delivery.
 

Juravsky

Member
Finally I got the laptop on Saturday. I've been playing Dark Souls at 1920x1080 and it's going very smooth (40-60fps). I turn on the fan when I play and so far I haven't experienced any heating problems. I'm very happy with the purchase. Thanks K.Jack!
 
Bought a Y500 and 128GB mSSD, should arrive tomorrow hopefully.

I want to stick a fresh install of Windows 8 on the mSSD and run it from there, anyone have any tips on how to do that? I don't think the laptop comes with the Windows 8 DVD.

At the moment I'm thinking I can use a different PC and download the ISO from Microsoft using the license that comes with the laptop, then boot and install off a USB key, that should work, right?
 
I was browsing new laptops.
Which would be the best for gaming?

Acer v5 15.6"
- $449.50/699.99
- Windows 8
- Pentium Core i3
- 4-6GB of Ram
- NVIDIA GeForce GT

Toshiba L75D-A7383 17.3"
- $429.99/549.99
- Windows 8
- AMD A4
- 6GB of Ram
- AMD Radeon HD 8330

HD Pavilion 17"
- $499.99/639.99
- Windows 8
- Intel Core i3
- 6GB of Ram
- Intel HD Graphics 4000

Dell Inspiron 14R 14"
- $699.99/799
- Windows 8
- Intel Core i5
- 6GB of Ram
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470

Samsung ATIV Windows 8 Tablet 11.6"
- $649.99
- Windows 8
- Intel Atom
- PowerVR SGX 545

Toshiba Satellite C855-S5350 15.6"
- $429.99/$479.90
- Windows 8
- Intel Pentium
- 6GB of Ram
- Intel HD Graphics 3000

Toshiba Satellite C55 15.6"
- $499
- Intel Core i3
- Windows 8
- 6GB of Ram
- Intel HD Graphics (multiple GPU)
-----
(Cause others are asking why a laptop over a desktop)
I need portability. I commute between college and home, different buildings on campus, the bus, going on vacation

And I'm not looking for a dedicated gaming laptop. Just looking for something I can do school work, surf the web, watch Netflix, but this time I actually care about PC gaming.

As long as I can run games like The Forest or Miasmata on medium or just low settings, I'd be happy
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Bought a Y500 and 128GB mSSD, should arrive tomorrow hopefully.

I want to stick a fresh install of Windows 8 on the mSSD and run it from there, anyone have any tips on how to do that? I don't think the laptop comes with the Windows 8 DVD.

At the moment I'm thinking I can use a different PC and download the ISO from Microsoft using the license that comes with the laptop, then boot and install off a USB key, that should work, right?

Yeah all you need is an ISO, and your key is already embedded in the BIOS.

I was browsing new laptops.
Which would be the best for gaming?

All garbage for gaming, plus your links are broken. In what country are you and what's your budget?
 
My y410p will be here tomorrow. Will have a full video and impressions when it comes (this is the $849 slickdeals version)

Edit: If this laptop doesn't fit the bill, the Asus GE40 is the bext stop. About $400 more but seems to be a lot more under the hood (and some heat issues).
 

asdad123

Member
Cross posting for the regular PC thread.

I figure this would be the place to ask.

I got my laptop and the msata ssd/quad core. Made sure the laptop worked before attempting to install and everything seemed good.

Took about 45 minutes to install everything, but when I turned on the computer it asked for a HDD password or master password. I had no idea what that meant. I tried the password I made for login, but it didn't work. So then I took the msata ssd out, and the computer booted up fine.

I checked the bios, and there's no passwords set up. I contacted the seller of the SSD and they said that they didn't put a password on it, but I'm figuring there has to be one on it since once I took it out, everything was fine. Any ideas? I'm going to try putting the SSD in again this afternoon, but if the same thing pops up, I'm going to have to ask the seller for a refund.

The laptop is an Asus G46VW and it is a Mushkin Atlas 240gb msata SSD.
 

coughlanio

Member
Quick and (not so) simple question:

AMD A10-5750M & 8970M or Intel i7-4700MQ & 765M.

Can get either for about the same price. Both would be gaming at 1080p.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
So I'm buying a Samsung Series 7 Chronos soon and was wondering how I go about transferring my games from my old Toshiba Satellite to it.

Quick and (not so) simple question:

AMD A10-5750M & 8970M or Intel i7-4700MQ & 765M.

Can get either for about the same price. Both would be gaming at 1080p.

I think the one with the 8970M would be better?
 
So I'm in the market for a new laptop soon, here are my specs:

Country where it will be purchased: the US of A

Maximum budget: up to $1300

Max size: 17" screen

Planned usage: heavy gaming that is at least viable with high settings for 2 years -- I suppose I am aiming for 1080p resolution but I wouldn't mind a 1600x900 screen for increased performance if there is a good option out there

I'm not very concerned with battery life, but I do want to plug it into my 720p TV for gaming (HDMI connection). Anything good out there right now?
 

FlyFaster

Member
Was directed here from the thread I created by DTKT:

I have a "I need a laptop" post to make.

Here is a copy paste from my thread.

Well, my gf does (although I'll probably use it as well ;)

She is using an 8 year old dell which is a POS and falling apart. I've heard good things about Lenovo but it seems only their highest end models are any good from doing research online.

What she is looking for/will be using it for

- Surfing the net - important that this is fast, pages load quickly, ect.
- Office and other software loads fast and runs well
- itunes
- good quality streaming video from youtube/Netflix
- cd/dvd burner
- decent battery life


She does not plan to game on this laptop at all, so that's not a concern. She is just sick of waiting 20+ seconds for pages to load online and/or waiting for the computer to think while she is trying to open programs like Word.


Finally, her price range is

$500 - $800


any help is appreciated. We already bought one really cheap (~$300) computer and returned it, so now we are willing to spend more money to get something that works. Thank you in advance guys.



Country where it will be purchased. USA
Maximum budget. ~$800
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight). doesn't matter 14inches or so and somewhat light an small, she wants to take it to college classes with her.

Planned usage (what kind of games or specific games it must run, if heavily gaming at all). I covered most of this in the quote above.

Whatever else you find relevant, misc. things such as desired battery life, screen resolution, fan noise, etc.


-------> other then overall/general reliability she wants a decent battery life. The option to remove/change batteries would be nice as well.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Quick and (not so) simple question:

AMD A10-5750M & 8970M or Intel i7-4700MQ & 765M.

Can get either for about the same price. Both would be gaming at 1080p.

Well, there's a few objective truths here: the 8970M is way faster than the 765M, but more importantly, it's saddled with the A10 APU which is an absolute piece of crap. You know what, just take in this review of the A10-5750M's gaming performance vs Intel, and know that the 8970M and 7970M are the exact same cards, literally identical hardware. Spoiler: the 8970M is wasted on the A10. It'll perform around the 765M's or level worse in any game which needs CPU, so I'd take the Intel i7 and GTX 765M and not have to deal with massive inconsistency.

So I'm in the market for a new laptop soon, here are my specs:

Country where it will be purchased: the US of A

Maximum budget: up to $1300

Max size: 17" screen

Planned usage: heavy gaming that is at least viable with high settings for 2 years -- I suppose I am aiming for 1080p resolution but I wouldn't mind a 1600x900 screen for increased performance if there is a good option out there

I'm not very concerned with battery life, but I do want to plug it into my 720p TV for gaming (HDMI connection). Anything good out there right now?
The best for $1,300 is the Sager NP8230.

Was directed here from the thread I created by DTKT:

I have a "I need a laptop" post to make.

Here is a copy paste from my thread.

Country where it will be purchased. USA
Maximum budget. ~$800
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight). doesn't matter 14inches or so and somewhat light an small, she wants to take it to college classes with her.

Planned usage (what kind of games or specific games it must run, if heavily gaming at all). I covered most of this in the quote above.

Whatever else you find relevant, misc. things such as desired battery life, screen resolution, fan noise, etc.


-------> other then overall/general reliability she wants a decent battery life. The option to remove/change batteries would be nice as well.

My recommendation posted in that thread (since I was about to help people in here anyway), which I still feel good about making:
K.Jack said:
Sony VAIO Fit E is my vote. She might like one with a little bit more style.

edit: and unlike the other crap in this price range, it has a nice 1080p display

I like Sony.
 
My wife's laptop is on its deathbed. It takes 15-20 tries to get the screen to display, the power cable is only sometimes recognized by the machine, and it freezes randomly. She doesn't do anything complicated, but we do like to stream Netflix on it and such. I wish all of the computers out there didn't have Windows 8 on them...

Country where it will be purchased: USA
Maximum budget: $400 (closer to $300 is better)
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight). 17"
Planned usage: Streaming 1080p videos.
Misc: 300GB HDD, good Wifi, HDMI output.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
My wife's laptop is on its deathbed. It takes 15-20 tries to get the screen to display, the power cable is only sometimes recognized by the machine, and it freezes randomly. She doesn't do anything complicated, but we do like to stream Netflix on it and such. I wish all of the computers out there didn't have Windows 8 on them...

Country where it will be purchased: USA
Maximum budget: $400 (closer to $300 is better)
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight). 17"
Planned usage: Streaming 1080p videos.
Misc: 300GB HDD, good Wifi, HDMI output.

You should take this Acer. It's the most well reviewed laptop in the budget range and it's one of the few with an HDMI-Out.
 

Frolow

Banned
Country where it will be purchased: USA
Maximum budget: $250 ($200 would be preferable)
Max size: Doesn't matter.
Planned usage: School work, video chatting, live streams, running middle-range games, mainly TF2, at low to average settings.
Misc: Windows 7 if possible. Willing to buy a refurbished model.
 
Really digging the Lenovo y410p. Fucking awesome keyboard.

No real issues with the trackpad, in the limited use. Downloading Sleeping Dogs now to test the 750m.
 
Initial impressions of the Lenovo Ideapad y410p performance:

FUCKING SHREDS through adobe premiere video exporting/encoding. Holy shit, literally twice as fast as my 15" retina MBP. While at the same time I could still watch a video on giantbomb and browse the web. Super impressed

Pros:

Gaming: Ran at 30ish at HIGH settings on Bioshock Infinite. Looked really great on the 900p screen.

Keyboard: Did a bunch of typing on the keyboard too. Feels great.

Speakers: Rock solid JBLs, sound really nice, very loud.

Fan/Heat. With the fan at full it was no louder than my rMBP when on heavy volume. When running on battery and sitting on lap for regular tasks the bottom is cool.

Trackpad: I was expecting the worst, but it works pretty good. Not nearly as nice as a macbook trackpad, but the multitouch gestures and button presses work as they should. Just not as smooth.

Cons:

Bezel on the screen is HUGE.

Battery life is OK, getting about 3:30 on half brightness and wifi browsing. Not too bad, this is mostly a portable desktop. Going to pick up an iPad for long trips/video playback/browsing/typing.

Case is plastic, not a big deal, but it is going to be more fragile than the rMBP.

Overall: I think this is a steal at $849. Lookig forward to messing with it a bit more tomorrow.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Country where it will be purchased: USA
Maximum budget: $250 ($200 would be preferable)
Max size: Doesn't matter.
Planned usage: School work, video chatting, live streams, running middle-range games, mainly TF2, at low to average settings.
Misc: Windows 7 if possible. Willing to buy a refurbished model.

Your budget is too low for any laptop, really.

Is a separate mSATA SSD drive for the OS a must-have? It's a $160 option that I could spend elsewhere if not.
Well, do you want multiple drives? It's completely down to your desire.

Initial impressions of the Lenovo Ideapad y410p performance:

FUCKING SHREDS through adobe premiere video exporting/encoding. Holy shit, literally twice as fast as my 15" retina MBP. While at the same time I could still watch a video on giantbomb and browse the web. Super impressed

Pros:

Gaming: Ran at 30ish at HIGH settings on Bioshock Infinite. Looked really great on the 900p screen.

Keyboard: Did a bunch of typing on the keyboard too. Feels great.

Speakers: Rock solid JBLs, sound really nice, very loud.

Fan/Heat. With the fan at full it was no louder than my rMBP when on heavy volume. When running on battery and sitting on lap for regular tasks the bottom is cool.

Trackpad: I was expecting the worst, but it works pretty good. Not nearly as nice as a macbook trackpad, but the multitouch gestures and button presses work as they should. Just not as smooth.

Cons:

Bezel on the screen is HUGE.

Battery life is OK, getting about 3:30 on half brightness and wifi browsing. Not too bad, this is mostly a portable desktop. Going to pick up an iPad for long trips/video playback/browsing/typing.

Case is plastic, not a big deal, but it is going to be more fragile than the rMBP.

Overall: I think this is a steal at $849. Lookig forward to messing with it a bit more tomorrow.
Sounds great. I'm glad it's pleasing you.
 
(Yes, I know my specs suck.)

Can someone check that the integrated graphics in my Asus X401A1 is Intel HD Graphics 2000? Or that it's a different kind?

I checked the dxdiag page on my laptop and it only says Intel HD Graphics, no number. I've been scouring the web and can't find any good info about what exact graphics I have. The driver date is 3/8/2013 if that helps

If you need the info to search, my specs are Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, DirectX 11, Pentium B970 2.3 GHz, 4096MB Ram
 

Munin

Member
K.Jack, what's your take on the AUO / ChiMei screen debate? I've asked Schenker if they were willing to offer an upgrade on the ChiMei in the P370SM and they said that technically yes, but they think the upgrade isn't worth it. Apparently the enhanced colors of the AUO aren't really usable in games because the color profile can only be output to the Intel HD graphics or something? And otherwise the difference is supposed to be negligible in terms of contrast / brightness.

But on the other hand I saw some threads on Notebookreview gushing about the AUO. So now I don't know. :(
 
A slightly different kind of question. A cousin in china emailed me, asking to pick up something for his laptop and I'm having a hard time figuring out what he's looking for. Direct quote from the email:

Or other choice, I want it has a chamber for laptop, 20" or 19", has four 360 degree wheels.


Don't really use laptop accessories, so I have zero clue what this could be referencing to.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
So I just bought a Samsung Series 7 Chronos, and I have a problem. Aside from the slow internet, games and programs only seem to recognize the intel 4000 GPU, while ignoring the AMD Radeon 8870. What's the problem?
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Eh, I could swing $250-$300 I suppose, but that's pushing it for me.

Take a trip to Best Buy or Walmart, and see what you like.

(Yes, I know my specs suck.)

Can someone check that the integrated graphics in my Asus X401A1 is Intel HD Graphics 2000? Or that it's a different kind?

I checked the dxdiag page on my laptop and it only says Intel HD Graphics, no number. I've been scouring the web and can't find any good info about what exact graphics I have. The driver date is 3/8/2013 if that helps

If you need the info to search, my specs are Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, DirectX 11, Pentium B970 2.3 GHz, 4096MB Ram

Yes, the B970 is equipped with the HD 2000.

K.Jack, what's your take on the AUO / ChiMei screen debate? I've asked Schenker if they were willing to offer an upgrade on the ChiMei in the P370SM and they said that technically yes, but they think the upgrade isn't worth it. Apparently the enhanced colors of the AUO aren't really usable in games because the color profile can only be output to the Intel HD graphics or something? And otherwise the difference is supposed to be negligible in terms of contrast / brightness.

But on the other hand I saw some threads on Notebookreview gushing about the AUO. So now I don't know. :(

You mean the 90% gamut glossy? I have it in my notebook. Technically and objectively, it's the best non-IPS 17.3" screen available right now.

What the Schenker rep likely means is that most programs don't take advantage of the amount of colors put out by an ultra-wide gamut display. But better displays are about more than colors; the AUO screens also have better viewing angles, color accuracy, vibrance, etc. With that said, whether they're worth the extra money is really subjective.

I'll be going after the 72% gamut matte AUO in my next laptop. As much as I love the wide gamut glossy screen, I'm tired of reflections.

A slightly different kind of question. A cousin in china emailed me, asking to pick up something for his laptop and I'm having a hard time figuring out what he's looking for. Direct quote from the email:

Don't really use laptop accessories, so I have zero clue what this could be referencing to.
Sounds like he's talking about a carrying case with wheels?

So I just bought a Samsung Series 7 Chronos, and I have a problem. Aside from the slow internet, games and programs only seem to recognize the intel 4000 GPU, while ignoring the AMD Radeon 8870. What's the problem?
You should be able to change what games use in the AMD Catalyst center. And if you're unplugged it'll only use the HD 4000.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
You should be able to change what games use in the AMD Catalyst center. And if you're unplugged it'll only use the HD 4000.

I'm plugged, but the only GPU it shows is the Intel HD 4000. Tried updating but it says the driver is up to date, and when I go AMDs site I get this message from the downloader:

"ATI Catalyst mobility cannot be downloaded due to incompatible hardware/software on your computer."

Edit: If it helps, the device manager lists it as "AMD Radeon HD 8800M Series" instead of its exact name the AMD Radeon HD 8870M.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Are there any laptops with Haswell processors for ~$600-$700 yet?

Basically just looking for the best laptop with a 4th gen intel chip inside. No other requirements, but I'd prefer it to be thin with a decent resolution. Optical drive not required.

Edit: I'm really thinking the Lenovo y410p looks good. Thoughts?
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
I'm plugged, but the only GPU it shows is the Intel HD 4000. Tried updating but it says the driver is up to date, and when I go AMDs site I get this message from the downloader:

"ATI Catalyst mobility cannot be downloaded due to incompatible hardware/software on your computer."

Edit: If it helps, the device manager lists it as "AMD Radeon HD 8800M Series" instead of its exact name the AMD Radeon HD 8870M.

Okay, if you right click on your desktop, there should be some sort of switchable graphics option. Setting applications to High Performance there should cause them to use the 8870M.

Also make sure Silent Mode isn't on, which is toggled with Fn + F11.
Are there any laptops with Haswell processors for ~$600-$700 yet?

Basically just looking for the best laptop with a 4th gen intel chip inside. No other requirements, but I'd prefer it to be thin with a decent resolution. Optical drive not required.

Edit: I'm really thinking the Lenovo y410p looks good. Thoughts?
Intel hasn't released the dual core Hawell yet.
 
I have a pretty decent desktop gaming PC but I want a laptop to play Guild Wars 2 in the living room and when I go to friends houses and stuff.

Any recommendations? my budget is around 4-6 hundred.

thanks GAF just pricing stuff right now.
 
There's a weird gap of nothingness between $500 and $700. You either take this at $549.99 or this at $699.99.

I'm also looking for a nice gaming laptop to play dota 2 for around that price range, I see that in amazon there are some i7 processor laptops for cheap. I've been checking around and there are a lot of reviews for the laptops on there. You think you could take a look and see whats good? I will go with the 699.99 one if I can't find anything better. Appreciate your expertise in this subject. Also hows this, you posted it was for 800 but I think they dropped it to 700

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314017
 
Country of purchase: USA
Price range: <= $600
Max screen size: 15.6" (I'd like to be able to bring it to classes)
Gaming: Unlikely to be *too* much gaming. In general, I'd probably just use OnLive... maybe some other games here and there. I may use it to make some vids, though.

Currently looking at:
Acer Aspire V5-171-6471 (Also, if this one's good but you know of a place to buy it cheaper...)

I had been looking at the Vaio Fit 14E, but bad reviews of the Fit 14 turned me off to that one.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Okay, if you right click on your desktop, there should be some sort of switchable graphics option. Setting applications to High Performance there should cause them to use the 8870M.

Also make sure Silent Mode isn't on, which is toggled with Fn + F11.

Did all that. Well, except the silent mode thing. I presses FN+F11, but nothing happens on screen to tell me if it's on or off. How can I tell?
Sorry for being such a bother.
 

kurbaan

Banned
Need some advice. Anyone here have that new Razor Blade 14? If so how is the trackpad and keyboard for general use not gaming?

I am looking to get a new laptop and was initially looking at getting the Sony Vaio PRO or Leneovo Carbon but then I saw this and it seems to be pretty thin but also has great specs for games. I currently have a Macbook pro and dont really play any PC games and its not a priority for me but I am thinking since this thing is around the same price as some of the new higher end ultrabooks might as well get one that I can game on occasionally.

But my main concern is how the Keyboard / Trackpad / Screen are compared to the other laptops since those I have actually been able to use at the stores but I am not sure where I can go hands on on the Razor Blade. Any thoughts?
 
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