Laptops

[Sombolia]

So, my mom finally caved and decided to get me a laptop for my birthday.

Thing is, I have noooo idea where to start in finding a good one. :confused:

I'm not really looking for anything too specific; the one big thing I want out of a laptop is the ability to run games, since my desktop pretty much can't. :woeisme: I've missed out on so many good games over the years, haha... xD

So what do you think, guys? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :browlift:

[Simba '04]

if you want a gaming machine, stay away from laptops unless you plan on spending MINIMUM of $2,000 USD. Even then you will not be able to run games anywhere near what a desktop can. HP, Acer, and even Toshiba make good cheap notebooks. Or you could try Dell's website and use the search feature to look up refurbished laptops and get some really crazy discounts :gasp:

edit: also I'm sure you will hear bad things about Dells but they actually make tough laptops, I have had mine for two months now and I haven't killed it yet...been trying to since I have a 3 years warranty on it that covers EVERYTHING :cheese: I've even tried seeing if I could kill the HDD while I was on the bus going through Atlanta and I could hear the HDD head's crashing but the thing kept going, it has given me a completely new perspective of Dell's products :gasp:

[Stormfury]

If you want gaming power, Alienware is where it's at; however those machines will burn a huge hole in anyone's pocket.

Second to that, a high-end / mid-range HP or Dell would suffice, think it over a bit though; there are many - to very good few...

[Kiva]

I agree with Simba '04. If you really want to get into gaming, desktops are the way to go. True, you can find a laptop that will play games and many of the newer ones relatively well, but it will cost you a lot more than what you'd pay for a desktop that has the same capabilities. When you buy a laptop you are paying for the portability. It is much harder to build a powerful laptop and keep the portability than to build a desktop in which you don't have to worry about portability.

So, if you simply want to play games, I would look into upgrading your current desktop computer. It will probably cost a lot less than buying a laptop, and if your mother is willing to spend enough for a gaming laptop, then you can build one seriously awesome desktop with the same amount of money..hehe. If you need any help or anything, let me know. I have a little experience with the computers and I'd be glad to help.

[Juniper]

I would recommend a Lenovo if you're looking for a great, reliable computer. Now, Lenovo (~IBM) makes business computers; they aren't flashy and you can't choose your own colors of the laptop and all that. They have a great quality-control record, and when they do have a problem, they get it fixed quickly and painlessly. I've dealt with their customer support, probably the easiest experience that I've had with a customer support.The T-series comes with a magnesium carriage and hdd-stop protection in case of falls; I've beaten the living hell out of mine and it still works perfectly. Plus, they don't put crapware (free trials, AOL, and all that BS) on their computers when they ship out, at least not in the T61p that I have, which is very much appreciated. Lenovo costs a bit more per-specs than some of the other companies, but you get what you pay for in quality control and reliability.

If you can't afford a Lenovo, I've found Dell to be great as well. They're computers are very reasonably priced, and I can't imagine their support being worse than any other mainstream company. There's always some deal that you can get from the Dell kiosks too, which is pretty cool.

Whichever computer you get, there's a few things to keep in mind for gaming. Processor is very important, but so are your RAM and video card. That extra $600 for a .3ghz increase in processing power is never worth it unless you just want to burn that money anyway. Also, don't let anyone con you into getting more than 3 gigs of RAM if you're installing a 32bit version of Vista or XP, 32bit will not support 4 gigs of RAM or more and those extra C-notes spent are quite useless. Finally, a lot of companies are starting to offer an "upgrade" to nVidia Quadro video cards for a bit more money. The quadros are not what you want for gaming; the NVS series is complete crap for anything outside business presenations, and the FX series are extremely expensive tools used in the 3D industry. (The price difference between a quadro and it's sister chipset in the geforce lineup can be several hundred to several thoudand dollars). The FX are good at what they do, which is stability, but unless you plan on getting into 3D illustration or animation, you want the GeForce series for gaming.

[Kovster]

$2,000 ? lo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220192

Almost less then $1,000!, and it'll play many games at that LCD's native resolution.
I have a dell w/ a 15.4" that runs at 1680x1050 res, and I have the 8600m GT 256 mb, Cod4, WoW, Crysis, all run well to prefect on it. Timeshift, FS2004. Tellin ya'll, a laptop that'll play games well doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, but it will cost more then the Sunday paper deal ones for $500.

Look, even one with 3gb ram, and a 512mb 8600gt for less then $2000!!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115458

[Simba '04]

but can you play crysis on max graphics :evilgrin:

[Kovster]

I don't even own crysis, I have the demo I can run it at medium settings on my laptop and high on my desktop.

the game sucks in high and it sucks in medium settings, graphics don't makes game.

[Simba '04]

haha, but graphics are a major part for most gamers nowadays ;)

which is why I can't wait for GT5 :cheese:, that game is going to be amazing!

[Sombolia]

Yeah, I was thinking a gaming laptop was a little much too hope for... oh well, I'll live :P

Oh well, anyone got any other suggestions? I guess I'm gonna go with a Dell. What do you think as far as specs, etc?