Gaming laptop recommendations

[Tanooki]

I'm not sure most probably have seen it but I've been selling some higher dollar nice gaming items in my sales thread here so I can afford to get a new laptop. For once I don't want to exactly settle for something that's high on parts, minus the integrated intel HD video, I want a dedicated video card in one. The system I'm on now lacks that, it's i5 and HD 3000 visuals. It's solid, for anything but gaming, so I want to pass it onto my wife for photo editing as she is a photographer as the PC she's using is dying.

I've got around 900 now in the paypal bank, looking to if the dude isn't a flake to sell the sharp NES TV this coming weekend that'll take me over the 1500 mark.

Is there any particular good/bad brands to avoid. How about chipsets, preferred video cards and memory amounts (or at least base vs upgrade space?)

I've been happy with asus laptops so far, but I'm not stuck on them by any means, and the Dell PC has lasted us 7 years without a fail too but I can't speak to their portables.

Yes I know I could get a desktop, but I really don't want nor have the space for one at all. I'm not a die hard PC gamer and never will be again, but I want to have plenty of room in case something does pop up I want to play. Somehow this (turbo'd)3.0ghz(2.3 base) i5 can low-med handle stuff like Civ5 and Starcraft 2, yet it can't handle any COD game since World at War due to the crap hardware T&L and a few other shortcomings.

[Cronozilla]

I just want to throw out that even building a very specialized Mini-ITX PC would be cheaper than getting a gaming laptop with better specs. And the form factor on that is the size of a console or small VCR.

Laptops just have a lot of problems, mostly heat and undercut hardware. Even if it has a chip or chipset that's from some family of components, it will be a stripped down version running at some fraction of the speed. (Some cases include risers for the PCI-E slot so you can put in a full-size GPU)

If you're really set on a laptop, that's fine. I'd suggest looking into ASUS (Which it would seem you're already aware of). I wouldn't suggest Dell or Lenovo unless you're going very high end, basically enterprise level. But keep in mind there are other options out there that retain a small form factor that will yield better components with more reliability, at a $1500 price point that's well within Mini-ITX range gaming rig (You could even have the added benefit of it being an HTPC).

[laurenhiya21]

I can't really recommend any brands... but I can tell you that I haven't really liked VAIO.

The one VAIO I had was expensive ($1000 -$1200 I think), very loud, and couldn't play games very well. Overheated on nearly any newer game. I've used it for about 2 years and for the last 6 months-ish the hard drive kinda messed up (made even more noise). It hasn't completely died yet, but I haven't used it in a while either. I wouldn't be able to tell you specs though (don't have it on me). Mind that they don't carry the model I had anymore, but doubt the newer ones would be much better for games (plus they're still kinda expensive).

My current laptop is a Dell, but I can't really say much about it since it's still pretty new. Only problem I've had with it so far is the screen flickering weird when I wake it up from sleep mode. I have heard from a lot of my friends though that Dell laptops aren't very good.

[Tanooki]

I've discovered that on the portable front since writing that it appears nvidia has the better chips in multiple site benchmarks over amd radeon, and Dell uses AMD in their alienware stuff so that's out. ASUS I'm aware of as what I'm on now is one (i5 2410-M, 6GB RAM, intel hd 3000 uses up to 1.6G of ram for video) and it's solid for anything but 3D gaming on about a 1/3 of the things I've thrown at it. Before them I had a MSI computer that was a bit weaker but still nice for what it did and never gave me any crap ever.

I've noticed people offering up the opinion that Xavix and Sager Notebooks, US companies, basically build them as you want them with the best/right parts, and they have superior cooling methods inside too. Since you're not paying for the Dell, HP, etc name, you seem to get a little more part boost in quality for the same price as the big box makers. $1500 seems sensible but pushing into the 1700 range or so (under 2K) gets some nice options even through newegg too.


I'm set on the laptop for the mobility of it, but also because I'm severely limited on space where I am, I have no added room for another actual PC box with a monitor, keyboard and all that dangling around, nor have I anymore plugs in my area where this sits. I work from home and my big glass square table is gobbled up by 2 LCDs, computer itself, then a printer, my cable company router/wifi/phone box and the phone. As is I have to run another extension cord off another jack just for a lamp my working wifi router as the cable one is broken crap, and for my phone/tablet usb ac plug. I can't run more over here without risking a problem.

[marurun]

AMD mobile chipsets are no slouch, especially for the money, and are pretty widely used in laptops. As long as the specs meet your potential gaming needs, don't turn up your nose at them.

In truth, I've had good luck with Dells, and worked in two shops that used them and repaired them in-house. These days most laptops are commodity items, anyway, even when you step up to higher priced items.

I suggest going to a public library, finding the Consumer Reports magazines, and looking at their brand ratings, as those should reflect how often stuff needs repaired. And that will really be the major factor. In fact, if you can afford it, it might be worth paying for a 3-year warranty, especially important for higher-priced items. The big drawback there is that laptop batteries are considered consumable and are only ever covered for a year, and are horribly expensive to replace no matter how soon or how late they die.

[Tanooki]

Mmm good point. I'm aware of the battery issue. I tend to put them to little use and keep it away and on AC power as there's no point in running them dead for no good use. The do it yourself duo of companies come with a 2yr parts/labor on them standard which I thought was a nice plus. Personally in all fairness I prefer radeon chips over nvidia, but I just was going by what a few tech/benchmark sites had to say and show for comparisons. I have nothing against Dell either, as I said, that inspiron desktop has lasted 7 years so far suffering the fate of a vista install at birth. All I've had to do on that one over time was go to a 2GB video card up from a 256MB XT HD card which made a huge difference. The only hardware companies that haven't burned me desktop or laptop so far have been dell, asus and msi, though the asus I have now is a replacement as the first lasted about a month due to some parts issue I can't remember and due to some lame win7 issue I can't allow it to sleep or it'll flip out so I disabled that entirely.

[J T]

I love my Lenovo laptop. You can see the graphics quality by looking at my screenshots thread (linked in my sig). I have the Y570 ideapad, but it's a few years old now. It is the best laptop I have had to date.

If you can hold out until Black Friday/Cyber Monday, there are often some amazing deals around that time. That's when I bought mine.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Here are my suggestions from units I have used. Luckily there's a handy dandy Linus Tech Tips video for each of them.

The Lenovo Y series is my go to recommendation for those on a budget under $1000. My Y400p was a great machine while I had it, with dual 650ms. It's one of the few laptop computers I actually regret selling, even if the trackpad and keyboard were a bit shite. According to Linus Tech Tips, as far as the new ones, just avoid the ultra high DPI models.



If you have 2 grand to spend I immediately recommend the Razer Blade 14 if portability and build quality are big factors for you. The power of a proper gaming notebook in the form of a cool black anodized MacBook Pro. Excellent piece of hardware. If I had the money for a new laptop I'd be very tempted to go right back to Windows again because of how excellent that laptop is. Actually jealous of the coworker that rolls with one.



Edit: As far as video cards aim for an 850m if you want some battery life and decent performance. From there, an 870m will likely be your best bet as a compromise. AMD isn't very competitive in the mobile segment right now so just generally avoid them. No sense in having an 880m unless you decide what you really want is a 17" desktop replacement that's tied to a power cable and is quite heavy.

On the CPU side, an i7 Quad would be preferable but not necessary. Hard to go wrong with an i7-4700MQ or something along those lines.

[Tanooki]

My current is a 15.?" LED wide screen laptop on this, it's the ASUS K53E-XR3
http://www.shopping.com/asus-asus-x-ser ... e-xr3/info

Couldn't find a better listing

I'm not looking for 17", just another 15". Also the TIP for Black Friday and stuff, that is entirely on my mind as I'm not going to rush it. This is still all based around a retired marine out in evansville in (2hr west of here) wanting to buy my nes sharp tv. If he buys it this weekend that puts another $650 in my pocket. Even then that still puts me closer to around 1500 than 2000 and that is a lot with laptops.

[CRTGAMER]

I can't really recommend any brands... but I can tell you that I haven't really liked VAIO.

The one VAIO I had was expensive ($1000 -$1200 I think), very loud, and couldn't play games very well. Overheated on nearly any newer game. I've used it for about 2 years and for the last 6 months-ish the hard drive kinda messed up (made even more noise). It hasn't completely died yet, but I haven't used it in a while either. I wouldn't be able to tell you specs though (don't have it on me). Mind that they don't carry the model I had anymore, but doubt the newer ones would be much better for games (plus they're still kinda expensive).

Agree, don't go after a big name if you want the most bang for the buck.

There was a defect in the fan of the older Laptop Vaios. Sony sent a repair tech right to my house to change out the battery to a newer model. Not sure if the warranty is expired, still might be worth looking into for free in home repair.

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 01#p537101