Xbox 360 or Gaming Laptop?

Topbike77

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ScumLord

How can you downsize to a high end laptop? They're way more expensive than a high end desktop.

Topbike77

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5uspect

The thoughts of hauling an xbox around to hook up to a TV every time doesn't sound appealing. Granted it's only a couple of cables but it's a pain, especially if you're sharing a living room.

The type of games you play will also make a difference. Are you prepared to pay for a Gold sub to play online? How do you feel about a controller instead of a mouse?

Topbike77

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Grumpypants

An Xbox is about 190 euro now, you wouldn't get a cheap netbook for that.

CORaven

It depends. Do you have a large library of PC games? How many of them could you play on the laptop?
I personally prefer the xbox, but you have to look at your situation as a whole.
Do you have net browsing access elsewhere?

5uspect

Buy two xboxes so! Or a PS3 and a 360, one is each place.

calex71

5uspect wrote: »

Buy two xboxes so! Or a PS3 and a 360, one is each place.

That's how I do it, one in my one place and one at my parents place when I'm up there

Fluffy88

Grumpypants wrote: »

An Xbox is about 190 euro now, you wouldn't get a cheap netbook for that.

Yeah in terms of price the Xbox will be a lot cheaper.
I paid €880 for a laptop with a GT 555M graphics card which isn't even considered a gaming GPU. Although games on the GT 555M look far better than on Xbox. Personally I would prefer a laptop and you would be able to find one for around €600-700 if you shop around.

You can also add in the argument that you can use a laptop for lots of other stuff like internet surfing, work, emails, blah, blah...

ShadowHearth

whats your budget OP.

high end laptop ofc will be better then xbox+shiet laptop, but high end laptops are not very good in price/performance department.

then again if you already have a huge library of games on pc, then buying xbox and buying games from the scratch sounds like a bad idea.

Varik

Have done the whole gaming laptop thing, you'll regret it.

Mark Hamill

Varik wrote: »

Have done the whole gaming laptop thing, you'll regret it.

Why? I've a gaming laptop, its great. Besides nicer graphics and the usual convenience of using a mouse and keyboard, the main reason I would suggest a laptop over a console is mods. Mods can fix bugs that developers miss, add or tweak features and provide dozen or hundreds of extra hours of gameplay with new levels.

Topbike77

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Topbike77

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Topbike77

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Corkfeen

I'm not sure if it's possible to get a half decent gaming laptop for 1000. Around the point when I bought mine I think it cost around 1500.

The main issue with gaming laptops is you're paying through the roof for something which would be alot cheaper to do with a standard pc build. The general performance in terms of playing new games also tends to drop alot faster and you don't have any option to upgrade graphics cards.

hightower1

Anyone else slightly bothered by the "I'll claim taxback from uncles business for my new gaming laptop" ? Cheers :rolleyes:, guess me adding to the coffers with my USC and paye each month really helps spoiled kids with their "needs"

Hope ya get caught.

ShadowHearth

hightower1 wrote: »

Anyone else slightly bothered by the "I'll claim taxback from uncles business for my new gaming laptop" ? Cheers :rolleyes:, guess me adding to the coffers with my USC and paye each month really helps spoiled kids with their "needs"

Hope ya get caught.

oh get over yourself...

Topbike77

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Fluffy88

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_N55SL-S2012V_1195322.html

It's not the cheapest laptop on the site but it's probably the lowest I would go in terms of performance if I was buying. Dual Core Sandy and entry level GPU which would run most games at highest settings above 30 fps. Games like Battlefield 3 or Metro 2033 might not be playable at full but most games would.

More power for more money,
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_V3-5710G_1170401.html

Neither of them are technically "Gaming" laptops but they would both be well capable!

PerrinV2

I didn't get my laptop for gaming but its specs are
Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz)
6GB ram
3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics
700HDD

I think it was 900-930 I paid

Topbike77

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Jarren

This GPU should do the trick

www.deviltech.de/deviltech.php/sid/20d0a578c712236650e0663cee3412c8/cl/details/cnid/8a142c3e4143562a5.46426637/anid/eb14f819e7ca4f941.06556015/Devil-6700/

Potential-Monke

I'll have to agree with Varik, gaming laptops are grand for a few (1 or 2) years, and then one of two things will happen:

A: You won't be able to play new games as the laptop can't take it and you won't be able to upgrade it, or:

B: The GPU will overheat and die.

Or if you're very unlucky, like me, both will happen.

Plus, a decent gaming laptop is usually heavy, bulky and noisy. If I was you I would travel back in time and keep your cpu.

Topbike77

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5uspect

If you don't mind carting an xbox around build a mATX gaming rig and cart that around between monitors. There's also the small Alienware Area 51.

hightower1

Topbike77 wrote:

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lol, complain about Ireland being depressing (due to a recession) while in the same paragraph explaining how you will then add to the problem with tax fraud is somewhat hypocritical but hey, you feel your well within your rights to break the law seeing as YOU think its small potatoes then I guess that ok then. Never mind the law, you think its ok so thats all that matters. :rolleyes:

Shocked the mods havent closed a thread which blatantly and openly discusses illegal activity by the OP which is completely against boards user policy.

Varik

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I'll have to agree with Varik, gaming laptops are grand for a few (1 or 2) years, and then one of two things will happen:

A: You won't be able to play new games as the laptop can't take it and you won't be able to upgrade it, or:

B: The GPU will overheat and die.

Or if you're very unlucky, like me, both will happen.

Plus, a decent gaming laptop is usually heavy, bulky and noisy. If I was you I would travel back in time and keep your cpu.

B may happen before A, but A will happen and when it does that Laptop will be just as loud, Hot, and Heavy as it was when it could run those games.

Topbike77 wrote:

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That would be a good reason not to spend 2k on a toy.

Kirby

The internet. You will never find a more wretched hive of know-it-all's and moralists.

Leave the guy alone. He came for some advice, not a lecture.

My advice would be to get an xbox and a small budget laptop. Best value. You get to play games and have a portable machine.

Mark Hamill

Topbike77 wrote:

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I have a MSI GX660R (Core i5 460, ATI HD5870, 6GB Ram). Got January before last. Great machine, plays everything I've thrown at it very well (Crisis on highest settings, Deus Ex HR, Stalker etc.). Has a spectacularly **** mousepad, but I stick to mouse for everything anyway, so that doesn't bother me. I'd imagine there should be a slightly newer version out now, with a more up to date processor, that might agree with your budget (mine was just over a grand at the time).

RoverZT

Varik wrote: »

That would be a good reason not to spend 2k on a toy.

Don't be a bollix.

Grow up

OP is a kid, your remember being young?

We could all be dead in a few years, no reason he can't enjoy his savings.

What you want is one of these babies OP

PC in a console case.

Alienware X51







http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=472732

Get your uncle to buy it to avoid vat and put a 130 euro 6870 type graphics card into it.

http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/alienware-x51/fs

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/11391849/art/amd/radeon-hd-6870-1-gb-gddr5.html

You should have a console style PC

With

English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)

Intel® Core™ i5-2320 Processor (3.00GHz, 6MB L3 Cache, 4C)

2GB GDDR5 ATI RADEON 6870


8GB 1333MHz (2x4GB) Dual Channel Memory

1TB Serial ATA (7,200 rpm)


For 900 euro all in.

ithinkimcute

Gaming laptop is better than spending so much money for a Xbox.

danthefan

My brother bought a gaming laptop which was horribly expensive and overheated after about 18 months. I play most of my games on PC but would never buy a laptop for gaming.

sarumite

If it has to be the choice between a gaming laptop and a console I think I would consider a gaming laptop. Its the worst option available as PC gaming goes, but it the price of gaming on the PC is so much cheaper. Just look at the current humble bundle to see what you can get for a small amount of money which isn't available on the consoles.

hightower1

RoverZT wrote: »

We could all be dead in a few years, no reason he can't enjoy his savings.

No one said he cant enjoy his savings, he can buy gaming gear all he wishes for all we care.... he could however do so without defrauding the state and the tax payers so he can buy himself a luxury item.

sarumite

hightower1 wrote: »

No one said he cant enjoy his savings, he can buy gaming gear all he wishes for all we care.... he could however do so without defrauding the state and the tax payers so he can buy himself a luxury item.

Ah, jaysus, I know a load of people who bought bikes on the Bike to work scheme and have never once cycled to work and I don't think they would say that they defrauded the state (and neither would I). If there is a tax loophole out there, blame the people who make the rules. Hate the game, not the player

Topbike77

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TerrorFirmer

Why not build an mAtx machine? Gaming laptops just aren't worth it in my opinion - at least, not if you're looking at it as a high end gaming platform. I suppose if you had the money to upgrade frequently, but as a once off expensive investment akin to what you're doing, the price: performance ratio is pretty bad. For the price of a decent gaming laptop you could build a more powerful mAtx machine and have a fair whack left over to spend on whatever, or even to put back into the machine.

I used to be a die hard PC Gamer and while I've gotten back into it a bit lately, I mostly just play the Xbox these days - depending on your genre preferences, it really isn't as much of a step down as people tend to make it out to be. Granted, in some cases, it is night and day - Battlefield 3 is a good example. The 360 version is absolutely crippled in comparison.

Not to mention you can pick up a 250GB 360 these days for about 190-200 euro though.

My advice would definitely be an mAtx build though.

TerrorFirmer

Also as to the X51, that case would require a LP card, so doesn't that rule out the 6870? I've only ever seen the somewhat lower end cards available for LP, and while they'd possibly be marginally better than a 360, it might as well be buying a laptop for the limitations its imposing on himself.

ScumLord

The gaming laptop will have a number of advantages over an xbox, and at the end of the day it can act just like an xbox, plug in some xbox controllers, plug it into your TV and it'll do the console thing just as well if not better.

I'd say the hardware that's around now will be current for a while. As long as you get a PC with better specs than the next generation of consoles you should be good till the end of that generations reign.

Varik

ScumLord wrote: »

I'd say the hardware that's around now will be current for a while. As long as you get a PC with better specs than the next generation of consoles you should be good till the end of that generations reign.

You won't be "good" for half that time.

Topbike77

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Chavways

I have a gaming laptop(which is a bit outdated at this stage) and a PS3. I'd advise you to get the XBOX and a mid-range laptop.Unless you have enough money to get a proper gaming laptop there's no point doing it half-arsed.

My laptop is only 3 years old and I've already had to spend 80 euro to upgrade the processor in order to play games. Its almost impossible to actually play games on the move with it because the battery will only last an hour. I have to have mine plugged in all the time.

My laptop cost me 650 dollars at the time.It was a very good spec but it became quickly outdated.

If all comes to all just get 2 xboxs and a netbook or you could get a good laptop and maybe try to get a docking station and make sort of a media hub.

RoverZT

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Also as to the X51, that case would require a LP card, so doesn't that rule out the 6870? I've only ever seen the somewhat lower end cards available for LP, and while they'd possibly be marginally better than a 360, it might as well be buying a laptop for the limitations its imposing on himself.

You can fit a double slot graphics card into the X51.

6870 would be grand, 7850 be the card to get though.

Or the Nvidia 660 TI when it comes out in a month or two

RoverZT

Ronan14 wrote: »

Looking at your thread kinda won me over a bit, was it hard to change out the gfx card? Ive built two computers before so I have experience but that case is small.

Case is not a problem, most cards fit.

It's selling very well in the States and most put 6870/7850 into them.

Make sure you get the one with 330 watt psu.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=d00and07&c=ie&l=en&s=bsd&cs=iebsdt1&model_id=alienware-x51

Wane

check this out

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=N55SL-S2012V

BizzyC

Chavways wrote: »

My laptop cost me 650 dollars at the time.It was a very good spec but it became quickly outdated.

It couldn't have been very good spec for that price. A very good spec gaming la[ptop will be $1500+.

I got one of these from Sager last year: http://www.gamingonlaptops.com/brands/clevo/x8100/
Never had any performance issues with it, can run almost anything on top graphics (some games have issues using crossfire).

If you're going to get a laptop, get a clevo. They give you the ability to upgrade much more easily.