Buying Good Gaming Laptop

atat23

I'm paranoid about buying a laptop, my original plan was to build a desktop but I wanted to be mobile due to how much I travel. The Paranoia comes from how limited you are when trying to upgrade these things i.e. if I buy the wrong one I'm stuck with it for the next few years.

The important info:
Budget: whatever fits my requirements, I'm comfortable with €1500 but still flexible. Alienware is a rip off!

Mobility: This is more or less a desktop replacement but I will take it with me when I travel, not to use on the go, just to use when I reach my final destination. So battery isn't really an issue either.

Intended use: Gaming. It will probably replace my desktop now (which can barely play Portal) but I want to be able to play Mass Effect 2 and a few other games in the near future at least. Being able to play ME2 on higher settings would be nice but I don't know how realistic that is, in saying that I'm not a graphics whore, as long as it's smooth I'm alright with that.


Let the suggestions flow!

Voodu Child

Consider the Clevo W860CU with ATI Mobility 5870. Link

leninbenjamin

http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/ have been recommended on these boards a few times for people like yourself.

edit: nm, Voodu has it.

atat23

Voodu Child wrote: »

Consider the Clevo W860CU with ATI Mobility 5870. Link

damn that was quick and that looks awesome!

CrinkElite

Make sure you go with an ATI GPU. Nvidia can't be trusted with laptops anymore.

atat23

yeah I was just going to go for all the defaults, I was thinking about going for 1.7GHz processor with the 8mb cache since I usually have a lot of crap running at the same time but I probably barely notice anyway

romperstomper

asus g73 is €1100 if you can get it from the states

Voodu Child

atat23 wrote: »

yeah I was just going to go for all the defaults, I was thinking about going for 1.7GHz processor with the 8mb cache since I usually have a lot of crap running at the same time but I probably barely notice anyway

Base CPU is an i7 quadcore so I wouldn't worry too much about not having enough CPU power. It'll overclock itself depending on how many cores are being used so it should give great performance no matter how multi-threaded the app or game.

You certainly don't need to spend €1500 odd on a laptop to get something powerful. I mean, you can get a Dell Studio with an i5 CPU and ATI 5650 for I think €700 or €800 depending on vouchers and special offers. Thats not a 'gaming laptop' but you'd certainly play games on it if you wanted, at lower settings.

Also keep an eye out for the MSI GX740 (not yet on sale). Should offer i7 CPU (or maybe i5) and the same ATI 5870 for maybe a few hundred less than the Clevo/Kobalt. And Medion (as sold in Aldi or Lidl, can't remember which :pac:) are going to be doing their own version of the GX740, rebranded as the Medion Akoya X7811, probably for a few hundred less again. That'll be amazing value if it pans out - i7 and 5870 for like €1000 even maybe.

atat23

Voodu Child wrote: »

You certainly don't need to spend €1500 odd on a laptop to get something powerful. I mean, you can get a Dell Studio with an i5 CPU and ATI 5650 for I think €700 or €800 depending on vouchers and special offers. Thats not a 'gaming laptop' but you'd certainly play games on it if you wanted, at lower settings.

No that kobalt is definately the kind of thing I'm looking for, I just have to resist when I get to the customise page, not to just go all out and set everything to max. I tell myself I don't need the faster processor or 6GB or RAM but I can't help myself

Voodu Child wrote: »

Also keep an eye out for the MSI GX740 (not yet on sale).

This was recommended over at the PA forum a few weeks ago, I saw a few places mention March but nothing definitive, I don't know how accurate the release dates on these things are though so I don't mind buying something now if I'll have to wait another month for the GX740, then again if the date is accurate and it's out next week it would obviously be worth waiting that little bit longer for.
Although what would the supply be like, is it likely you'd be able to pick one up without pre-ordering?

Overheal

Good CPU and GPU: just about everything else is upgradeable. Keep that in mind.

TheRiddler

I'm looking for a gaming laptop too. The new Acer Ethos series look pretty good but no word on pricing or release dates. Asus g73 looks great but hard to find. Does anyone have any experience with the site xoticpc.com? They look pretty good but I'm not sure what kind of service they would have.