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Gaming Laptops - Totally Lost

M

Maxis3

n00b
Joined
May 26, 2005
Messages
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I just recently relocated from Detroit to Orlando for work and tend to travel to the point where I wouldn't get much use out of a good desktop anymore, so I started looking at laptops as a solution. Yeah, I really have no idea what I should be looking for and at having never owned a laptop before. I do know that I want to be able to play the newer games that have come out, and that I don't need to spend $5k on the latest and greatest :D

So, what would be my best solution around the $2k range, give or take a few hundred? I would prefer something in a 15" monitor to make it easier to lug around but don't necessarily have to limit myself to that. I believe through work I receive a small discount on Dell products, but not enough of one to steer me away from other products. HDMI outs would be nice for when I'm at home and want to hook it up to the big screen. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
 
For $2000 (and if I was living in the USA) I would go for the 15.4" model by Sager/Clevo, perhaps bought from xoticpc that will be released on the 11th or something. You can still order it now though. NP8660 is the model. Get a over 200GB 7200 drive, an at least 2.4 dual core cpu, 4GB of RAM and the 9800M GT and you are set. Mind you, it all depends on what type of games you play so that if you want to keep playing new games at highest settings, you won't be able to do so for more than a year pearhaps.

If you are willing to spend 500-800 more and don't have a problem getting a larger notebook, then the 17" NP9262 with a quad core cpu (depending on your money, at least the Q6600@2.4), and SLI 9800M GT, 4GB of RAM etc. The 9800M GT is the same as a 8800M GTX, while there are rumours that the 9800M GTX which hasn't been released yet and cost some serious more money, is just a small fraction faster and not worth the money. Some either claim that it is just a 8800M GTX with 1GB of memory, but lets wait and see.

If you decide to go for the second option, then it would be better to wait till after the 10th, since there is a strong rumour there will be price cuts on quad core cpus and you might manage to get a faster CPU for the same money.
 
As far as games go, I am a bit of an FPS junkie I guess. I play TF2, UT3, and still some CS 1.6 :D Recently I picked up AoC to give that a try and that seems to be a pretty solid drain on a system as well. I'm not looking for max settings, just something that will get me by with out a hassle for the next year or two... maybe a third if I'm lucky.

Either way I'll hold off a little longer to see what direction prices take. Anything else I should be looking into?
 
Lol.... yeah, a good mouse. I've been using nothing but a Logitech MX310 ever since they have come out. Not the greatest, but I've gotten so used to them I do see myself switching over to anything else any time soon.
 
Look into the Gateway FX series. Good bang for the buck. It is supposedly going to be refreshed soon with Intel T8xxx, 9800M GTS and WUXGA display for around $1500 at Best Buy. That is probably the best you can get at 17 in without spending too much.

Not sure about 15 however, unless you plan on carrying it around alot (then a 15 doesnt make too much sense either), 17 isnt too bad.
 
It will follow me to work the 15 days out of a month that I go into the office so it will move around quite a bit I guess, but also has to follow me around when I get shipped around. I'm looking for a good gaming rig, but need the portability that you don't get with a desktop. I just figured that if I have to lug something around, the 15" would still be easier than a 17" or bigger lol.
 
I'd personally get a ASUS M50Vm series. It just came out. I own the M50Vm-A1 and it's great. I can play TF2 at 60 FPS on my lap and the heat doesn't get uncomfortable at all. It has a 9600M GS which is fine for playing modern games at medium settings. Also with the 9-cell on power saving I get 4+ hours of battery life. You're not going to find that kind of battery life on any of the Sager models although their laptops are a lot more powerful. You can find them both on xoticpc but I purchased mine on newegg

The build quality is solid. I owned a HP laptop before and it creaked everytime I picked it up. I can't feel any bending plastic when I pick mine up.
 
I was in somewhat of the same position you are in right now. I was away from home for 2+ weeks at a time for nearly 4 months in the past year and looking to be away quite a bit more in the year to come due to work.

I didn't want to carry around a huge 17" gaming notebook and didn't want to shell out $3500 on an Alienware m15x. I was really excited about the Sager NP8660 until they dropped the ATi Mobility HD3870 but that's just me.

It is still a viable 15" gaming machine that is based on the Centrino 2 chipset.

Other than that you could wait to see what Apple's refresh of the Macbook Pros brings to the table. They seem to work pretty well with gaming with Boot Camp and right around your budget.

I decided to skimp out a bit since I mostly play older games. It came to size for my decision and 15.4" still seemed to large for me. Asus does make some 14.1" with dedicated mid-range cards starting at $1000.

It really depends on how large of a notebook you want to lug around with you while you're away.

I ended up picking up a refurbished Dell D630 for about $575 shipped. Only thing that worries me is the graphics card is based off G84M but I suppose it's okay since it comes with a standard 3-year warranty. It should run some older games like Starcraft, Dawn of War and some others pretty well. I figured even if I put about $250 more in by upgrading to 4GB of RAM and a larger 7200RPM hard drive I'll still be sitting on a nice notebook even for "work" related tasks. I'll probably look into buying a Macbook Pro sometime in the next 1-2 years.
 
Unless you have specific program that demands it or needs it to have higher performance, you are not going to see almost any performance difference in games with 4GB over 2GB of RAM, 64bit OS or not.
 
BlueMak said:
For $2000 (and if I was living in the USA) I would go for the 15.4" model by Sager/Clevo, perhaps bought from xoticpc that will be released on the 11th or something. You can still order it now though. NP8660 is the model. Get a over 200GB 7200 drive, an at least 2.4 dual core cpu, 4GB of RAM and the 9800M GT and you are set. Mind you, it all depends on what type of games you play so that if you want to keep playing new games at highest settings, you won't be able to do so for more than a year pearhaps.
Click to expand...

I second this - and powernotebooks carries them already. Killer build quality and the best gaming 15.4" laptop out there, by far.

I'd love to get one but my job provides me a Dell laptop, so I can't justify it.
 
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