Mid-range Gaming Laptop - What hardware?

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Mid-range Gaming Laptop - What hardware?

ipsi

55 posts

Master Geek

#20271 18-Mar-2008 21:41

I'm looking at getting a gaming laptop at some point this year (which isn't exactly helpful), so what sort of hardware should I be looking for? I don't want to spend more than about $3000 (maybe a bit more if it's really worth it). I'm also not looking to play all the latest games on the highest resolutions. Half-Life 2, Oblivion, Morrowind, etc, are all games that I really just can't play on my laptop now (A Toshiba A10), but that I would like to be able to. Basically, if it can run Neverwinter Nights 2 or Half-Life 2 or whatever at a decent (but not max) resolution at a decent speed, then that's perfect. :).

In terms of hardare, I'm expecting Wireless, Dual-Core, 2-4 GB of RAM, maybe Bluetooth, but that's all I'm really sure of... In terms of Graphics, what should I be looking for? Dedicated, and *NOT* Integrated obviously. Also, Hard-Drive(s)? What's the best I can likely expect right now in a sub $3000 laptop? I'd also prefer XP, though I guess I may just have to take the (financial) pain and buy with Vista, and then replace it with XP. In terms of drivers, would there be much trouble with that? Am I likely to be able to get a CD with all the drivers on it?

I'm currently running a Toshiba A10 with Ubuntu 7.10 installed, just to give you some idea of how far I'm going to be going in terms of performance. :D. Though I do have 512MB of RAM and a 80GB HD (I recall being charged for the HD but not the RAM. Which I thought was very odd at the time).

Thanks all.

(Also, this site is a little too wide for Firefox. Is this a known problem?)

- ipsi

dman

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

#117560 19-Mar-2008 16:54

I agree with the firefox thing, was thinking though it might just be me.... as I have to scroll just a tiny tiny bit to read the last few words on each posts. Is such a small movement but absolutely required which makes it very very annoying

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

dman

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

#117563 19-Mar-2008 17:02

check out this website:
http://www.laptopforgaming.com/

oh and realise if you get a gaming laptop you will have to compromise on size and battery life, probably both

read this:

http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/07/17/gaming-laptops-are-a-complete-joke

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

manhinli

2483 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#117564 19-Mar-2008 17:06

The discussions about Geekzone's page width could be moved to the Geekzone thread, but yes, it's around 1100px? within Firefox, and so will go over when viewed in a common 1024x768 resolution.

Thank goodness for widescreen monitors.

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ipsi

55 posts

Master Geek

#117565 19-Mar-2008 17:20

The article was vaguely interesting, but I gotta say, I don't think it applies much to me. I would like a desktop, but will they let you have a desktop as carry-on luggage on a plane? I think not :(. As such, given that I intend to head to China for about 6 months at the end of the year, I need a laptop. A desktop just isn't suitable, especially given the time (8 weeks there, 8 weeks back), and the NZ$350+ in shipping each way.

So yeah. Thanks for the first link though :). I never expected a laptop to perform as well as a desktop, and I'm not as hard-core a gamer as the person who wrote the link in the second article seems to be. But thanks :).

dman

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

#117594 19-Mar-2008 18:40

if you explained your requirements and uses etc we would could help better :)

such as the moving to china, if size is all that matters for fitting on the airplace then get a uATX form factor desktop and a small LCD monitor, similar size to those big gaming laptops. but you get these bonus points: cheaper by a lot, vastly more upgrade options in the future, and will be a lot cheaper to repair when it gets damaged. Oh, and it will be simply be better too.

also what do you mean by "not a hardcore gamer"?! people's meanings by that can vary a lot

do you just play HL2 a little bit now or then, or do you sometimes play the original half life?! if you fit in to the later then most modern laptops will do just fine

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

ipsi

55 posts

Master Geek

#117598 19-Mar-2008 18:54

My requirements aren't very specific. I'm just trying to get an idea of what's available in the price range. Mobility isn't a huge issue. Pointing out that I'll be going to China was more to emphasise that a desktop won't be suitable than anything else.

By 'not a hardcore gamer', I mean that, while I like to play games, I don't tend to play competitively, and being able to play the newest games at the best settings isn't too important. It's nice, but not essential. Half-Life 2 is something I'm keen to play a fair bit of. If a laptop could showcase The Lost Coast, then yay. If not, it's no big deal.

It'll probably be used mostly as a desktop replacement that's relatively portable, rather than being used constantly on the go, so weight and size aren't huge issues.

Battery life is a nice thought, but I've used my current laptop so rarely as an actual laptop that I won't miss it.

Is there anything else that would help?

dman

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

#117607 19-Mar-2008 19:50

if you want a desktop replacement and you rarely ever use it as an actual laptop (hence battery life not mattering) then why not just get a desktop?!

you could just buy a computer while over in china, they make computers there too ;)

or do what I suggested of a uATX formfactor desktop, if you all you simply want is the ability to chuck it on to an airplane to take it to china and back

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

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ipsi

55 posts

Master Geek

#117612 19-Mar-2008 19:57

I can't really afford to buy a desktop and ship it to China. If I wasn't expecting to be going over there with some frequency, it wouldn't matter so much. :). It's more the 8 weeks there and the 8 weeks back that really hurts, less so the money.

I honestly hadn't thought about a uATX desktop, which is probably because I've never heard of it before. :) My only real concern is actually taking it on the plane with me (No way would I trust it to the baggage handlers. Maybe logical, maybe not, but I honestly wouldn't). Last time I checked, you were allowed a laptop plus a bag of up to 7kg. I'm not sure how happy they'd be with me taking even a uATX case onboard.

I'll have a look into it either way though.

Thanks,

- ipsi

dman

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

#117634 19-Mar-2008 20:47

tell them it is a fancy special shaped laptop ;)

especially if you put it inside a large laptop back I suspect it will pass through fine

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

timbosan

2159 posts

Uber Geek

#117645 19-Mar-2008 21:32

Well, since no-one else actually answered your question, I thought I would! Have you looked at the Dell XPS Line? They are available in 3 screen sizes, 13", 15" and 17" and feature either onboard video, or for what you want, dedicated graphics chips such as the 8600M. Price wise, the 15" with Core2Duo 2.5Ghz, 4GB RAM, 257MB 8600M dedicated graphics, 15" screen (obviously!) and 320GB HD goes for $2599, which fits nicely in your price guide.

The 13" model has gotten rave reviews, and at least one member on geekzone has one.

I have seen the 17" models and whilst impressive they are also very large and heavy. Not so good for travelling.

Oh, and Dell offer world-wide warrenties on their XPS line I think, something liek 3 years, but you would have to confirm that.

Hope this all helps!

timbosan

2159 posts

Uber Geek

#117648 19-Mar-2008 21:39

If you want to step up from there, checkout www.alienware.co.nz, they do very gaming centric machines which cost a bit more, but give far better performance. $5000 will give you a 2.4Ghz Core2Duo with 2GB RAM and a 8800M GTX video card, which is VERY grunty for a laptop and will play all the games you have listed plus most of the newly released ones. Even Crysis should be playable on it.

ipsi

55 posts

Master Geek

#117807 20-Mar-2008 18:19

The Dell's look good. They seem better than the ones Toshiba have listed on their website.

I would go for the M1530 normal, not the Product Red one, as that has basically the same specs but a lower price. Any idea how open they are to removing as much stuff as possible from the system before shipping it? I know what I want on there, and it's not Norton/Mcaffe, and it's not Microsoft Works, etc.

An alternative is the Inspiron 1720, which looks basically the same, except with a larger screen and two 250GB drives. Ignoring weight and bulk and such, would that seem to be better than the other one? And if not, why not?

Alternatively, I could, I suppose, just buy something cheaper to replace my aging Toshiba, and wait until I get back to buy a gaming Desktop, which could be a better idea. But I don't think I'm that patient :D.

Also: Alienware is cool, but way too far out of my price range. For that extra $2000, I don't think I'm getting quite enough for it to be worth a Plane Ticket to China :).

Simonm

181 posts

Master Geek

#118620 25-Mar-2008 20:13

I have been on the hunt for a laptop myself, I play the odd game, mostly RTS but most are old school (AoE series etc) and am wanting to get back into Half life etc. I narrowed my choice down to two HP business class notebooks, the 8510P and 8710P.

The 8510P is a 15" with a ATI 2600HD, where as the 8710P is a 17" with a 256mb Quadro card. Im leaning towards the 17", just waiting to find out about 45nm etas.