Looking for a decent laptop

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ItsSoulsplit

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#185202 13-Nov-2015 15:50

Hey guys!

Im looking for a decent laptop that can run games like DayZ, H1Z1, Black Ops 3 on at least medium settings and have pretty good fps. I don't really mind what the weight of it is but just that it meets those standards.

My budget is $1000 NZD but can go to $1200 if needs be. Im looking to be able to buy it from New Zealand and not have it shipped from another country.

Thanks in advance!

Hammerer

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#1427674 13-Nov-2015 16:57

What screen resolution are you thinking of: 1366x768, 1600x900, 1920x1080?

ItsSoulsplit

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Wannabe Geek

#1427681 13-Nov-2015 17:05

1366x768 would be great :)

Hammerer

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#1427772 13-Nov-2015 21:29

Just wanted to make sure that you weren't expecting more than medium resolution which just won't happen for your money. 1366x768 gives you a chance getting a laptop for that price, but not much.

I went to notebookcheck.net to look at laptop GPU performance
Restrict to "2015 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3"
You can also restrict by checking "Show only GPUs with known benchmark results" and/or "Still available (not archived)" to get a shorter list.

Black Ops 3 for the laptop at 1,366x768 with at least 25ps uses cards at least as good as the following:
GeForce GT 750M
GeForce GTX 470M

Of course, you'll need a lot better GPU to get a good frame rate.

I then searched on Pricespy.co.nz for laptops with GPUs that might be sufficient in your price range
The GeForce 840M came up every time but it probably won't make the grade.

I then went to game-debate.com to check out each configuration. The 840M GPU or 4GB RAM are not considered to be options for Black Ops 3 which normally needs more than 3.5GB just for itself.

FYI, you have to create a free account at game-debate.com to change the screen resolution to anything other than FullHD.

ItsSoulsplit

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Wannabe Geek

#1427777 13-Nov-2015 21:53

Thanks for checking that out for me!

I was just looking around and would something like this run it well?

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NBKASU501094B&name=ASUS-K501LX-Gaming-Notebook-15.6-FHD-Intel-i7-5500

Hammerer

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#1427791 13-Nov-2015 23:46

Wareshouse Stationery have what may be a better value HP Envy on sale with what looks like the same CPU, GPU, RAM and resolution for $1,499.

Game-debate.com says the GTX 950M GPU with 4GB VRAM is 21% less than the recommended requirement at 1366x768 but the screen on the Asus K501LX is FullHD. The CPU is 20% less than recommended but there is more latitude with CPUs.
Notebookcheck.net says the GTX 850M gets 50fps for Black Ops 3 at 1366x768 so the 950M should get at least that because it is faster and performs better in head to head tests.
Of course these are only guidelines indicating possible bottlenecks and it could work better or worse. You could check some other sites to see what they say.

ItsSoulsplit

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Wannabe Geek

#1427873 14-Nov-2015 08:47

Cheers man your'e a big help! I'll keep my eye on the HP Envy and also look at those websites :)

timmmay

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#1427874 14-Nov-2015 08:59

Probably much easier to achieve with a desktop, and a second hand desktop would be even cheaper. My 4 year old i7 2600K CPU isn't all that much slower than the latest i7's, and with a new video card it would probably play everything fine. But if you really, really need portability or compact size that doesn't help you.

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ItsSoulsplit

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Wannabe Geek

#1427876 14-Nov-2015 09:09

Yeah i need to be able to have it portable and bring it places easily :)

Hammerer

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#1427915 14-Nov-2015 10:25

You can get more computer for your dollar by buying nearly-new second-hand or on clearance.

I use two ballpark figures as thresholds for gaming: $2,000 for a laptop to play the latest games smoothly; $1,000 to play three or four year old games. For example, a GeForce GT 7XXM-range GPU laptop can run the three year old game Black Ops 2 at medium and maybe high on 1,366x768 and can be bought new for $1,000 or less.

At the end of a year of constant gaming with a laptop you can save 200-400 dollars a year in power costs by using a laptop instead of a desktop. So a 25-40% saving on a desktop can be wiped out in two years. This is not as relevant if your parents or someone else pay the bills. But if you pay the power then it makes a substantial difference.

Lias

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#1427934 14-Nov-2015 11:25

I hate to rain on your parade, but you are simply not going to get a new laptop at that price that is going to play those games well.

You MIGHT be able to find something that is barely playable, but that's all it will be.

You really either need to settle for a desktop or expand your budget.

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jonb

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#1430748 18-Nov-2015 22:37

This is not particularly portable but is a good deal: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=77&topicid=185269

Lias

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#1430761 18-Nov-2015 23:04

Best thing he's going to get for the budget I suspect.

lNomNoml

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#1430773 18-Nov-2015 23:36

I would recommend you either save up longer to get a decent gaming laptop or just consider building a small portable gaming PC.

Otherwise I dare not recommend less:
http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NBKHNB15081NL&name=HP-15-AB081TX-15.6-Intel-i7-5500U-8GB-1TB-GT940M-2 (purely for the GPU as HP IMO is the worst brand you can choose)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUNtVqzqBY4