Advice on a gaming laptop.

MadYaker

So I'm looking to buy a new gaming laptop. Ill also be using for college but just for essays and stuff like that I don't need to run CAD or anything.

Budget: max 700e, cheaper if possible.

Intended use as I said above is gaming. I would like to be able to run all new games on high, I'm thinking battlefield 3, mass effect 3, max payne 3 etc etc. I mostly play rpgs and fps.

Mobility is not that important. I don't travel much and if i do I probably won't be bringing this with me.

Warranties are not important to me.

I would like it to come with windows 7 home premium 64bit.

I would like one with a big hard drive, at least 500gb.

I don't give a f*ck what colour it is, if it looks cool or has shiny lights on the back or any of that crap. In fact, the more understated the better, less likely to get robbed.

I was thinking something along the lines of THIS

Thanks in advance for you're advice and if you need any more details just ask

Jarren

Brand: ACER
Colour: BLACK
Screen Size (inch): 15.6
Memory (RAM): 4 GB
Storage (hard drive): 500GB
Processor Name: Intel ULV
Processor Model: i5-2467M
Operating System: tbc
Dedicated Graphics: Nvidia GeForce640M
Shared Graphics:
Discrete-Class Graphics:
Optical Drive Type: Plays & records DVD & CD
Bluetooth:
HDMI Port:
Battery Life: tbc

Excellent reviews bar the screen


http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/acer-aspire-timeline-u-m3-581tg-review-50007336/

MadYaker

Yeah I know I've read the reviews and I am slightly apprehensive about the average screen quality but this laptop is at the upper end of my budget. Will it really make a big difference? Some of the reviews have even suggested that having a laptop with such a powerful processor and gfx card is pointless if the screen isn't good enough to keep up.

conorhickey

If you dont mind a small screen size or the lack of optical drive the alienware m11x-r3 would be great here are the stats

English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Intel® Core™ i3-2357M Processor (1.3GHz, 3MB Cache)
1GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
750GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive

I have the stock r1 verison and it plays pretty much every thing perfectly and the r3 is much improved on it. The battery life is also quite impressive on it

It costs 625.60 at those stats.

MadYaker

Just realised I have a 44inch HD TV in my house. I assume using a hdmi cable I could my herpaderp my laptop to this and use it as a screen?

Its still coming up at 799e for me at those specs???

Jarren

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/e90438477/acer-aspire-7750g-2454g50mnkk-w7hp64.asp

Better screen/GPU if you dont mind German keyboard layout.

MadYaker

That looks nice! The screen is big too. The german keyboard layout would be ok I think, Ill change the functions of the keys in whatever games I'm playing so it feels the same as a the layout im used to.

Thanks guys and if anyone else who sees this has other suggestions lets see em!

Dannysaurus

I second Jarren's recommendation, because at that price, it's difficult to beat, though personally, I'd say save up a bit more since usually it will be a good few years till you decide to get a new one (hoping that mishaps don't happen) and if you start to dislike it, it won't be as fun anymore.

Like, having 900p resolution on a 17.3" screen is akin to having 720p on anything larger than 14". I found that after a while, in terms of screen real estate, I'm not getting the most out of it. Now this is from getting 720p on a 15" screen, where something like 1600x900 or higher would be more appropriate.

Wait a tid bit, and get the most out of what you spend, because although the Acer's prettyful, better ones are coming out this summer, like the Gigabyte U2442 (that's the one I'm waiting on, until something else catches my eye) and the release of Trinity APUs, which apparently are supposed to give mobile gaming on a budget more affordable

MadYaker

I already have plenty of money at my disposal, I just don't particularly want to spend more than 700e, thanks for the advice though Im not in a rush to buy, so I might wait around like you suggest. I haven't made any decisions yet.

Dannysaurus

Yay

Well, for 700e on a gaming laptop, that's difficult to find. Maybe you could consider shelling out a bit more, since money isn't that much of an issue, for something worth the money you spend? I'm not saying go drop like 2 grand on a laptop, just more like, if you could, push it to a grand tops. Otherwise, when it comes to laptops with good performance, you'll only be getting something sub par :<
Or, you could just get a desktop, since it's gaming you're after. For 700e you'd get better performance compared to a laptop that you'd drop over 1500e on :L

MadYaker

I could get a better desktop PC for the same money you say.... Well now thats very interesting. As you can see I know f*ck all about computers. Perhaps I shall ask in the PC Building and Upgrading forum as well... Im typing this on an old macbook pro 15 inch thats been through the wars and is on deaths door.

Jarren

Full HD screen on that Medion

www.medion.com/gb/electronics/prod/MEDION%C2%AE+AKOYA%C2%AE+P6633+15.6%22+Laptop+%28MD97958%29/30013731A1?category=notebook_12&recId=&wt_mc=gb.intern.m-shop.pro-pla.on-ma&wt_cc1=m-shop_topseller_notebook-3.667-rechts&wt_cc2=30013731A1&wt_cw=30.2.8&utm_source=Internetseite-intern&utm_medium=Kachel&utm_content=notebook_3.667-rechts&utm_campaign=Kategoriekachel-Hotspots&utm_term=30013731A1

_AVALANCHE_

Jarren wrote: »

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/e90438477/acer-aspire-7750g-2454g50mnkk-w7hp64.asp

Better screen/GPU if you dont mind German keyboard layout.

Please note that as long as it's not specified otherwise, this notebook will have German keyboard layout (QWERTZ), operating system and software. If available, an English version will be advertised separately.

No biggie, just something to be aware of. Pain in the rear if you're not and don't know how to fix.

Dannysaurus

MadYaker wrote: »

I could get a better desktop PC for the same money you say.... Well now thats very interesting. As you can see I know f*ck all about computers. Perhaps I shall ask in the PC Building and Upgrading forum as well... Im typing this on an old macbook pro 15 inch thats been through the wars and is on deaths door.

Yep, by a fairly large amount and at a much cheaper cost. I can't find any direct mobile to desktop GPU comparison, so I just compared numbers here.

Desktop GTX 580
GPU Engine Specs:
512 CUDA Cores
772 MHzGraphics Clock (MHz)
1544 MHzProcessor Clock (MHz)
49.4 Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)

Memory Specs:
2004 MHz (4008 data rate)Memory Clock
1536 Standard Memory Config
GDDR5 Memory Interface
384-bit Memory Interface Width
192.4 Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)

Laptop GTX 580m
GPU Engine Specs:
384 CUDA Cores
1240 Processor Clock (MHz)
39.7 Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)


Memory Specs:
1500 MHz Memory Clock
GDDR5 Memory Interface
256-bit Memory Interface Width
96.0 Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)


That's a fair difference in performance there, by roughly 50%? And factoring in costs, a laptop packing a GTX580M, you'd be looking at paying almost or perhaps more, than 2000e, when you can spend that amount on a desktop and get insane performance, and perhaps even go dual GTX 580's.