Help/Support ► Gaming Laptop

[Solar]

Yes, before you storm in with unnecessary spam, I plan on hopefully either building or purchasing a gaming laptop because this PC is unofficially a shared piece of property.

Originally, I needed a simple netbook for schoolwork. However, then I started playing Minecraft. Then Vindictus, then Portal 2, which my PC can barely support. Now I plan on purchasing a plethora of PC games and like I said, this PC really isn't mine. These days, I'm always on the go, too and I really would like to able to carry my work and my games with me wherever I go. I also was planning to buy a handheld emulator for old school games, but with portability of this laptop, that wouldn't be an issue either.

Now, I was planning to go with an MX11 but apparently Alienware supposedly isn't as great as people make it out to be for its price. Idk, I'm not literate in tech but if I can build a cheaper, as strong or stronger machine then I won't turn the offer down.

Help?

 

[Luap]

Just learned this a couple weeks ago.
If you can find a local store (those run down looking ones owned by really smart people ) sometimes you will find they build and sell computers in store. They will be cheaper and powerful-er than computers such as Alienware. The store I went to only built desktops only though, but I'm sure some stores will build Laptops.

Honestly, you should just go for a Desktop for gaming, and then a Netbook (which aren't as bad as made out to be if you get the right one) for school. Most powerful laptops for gaming and such have short battery life. So, when gaming, you will most likely be plugged into a wall outlet anyways. Also, in 5 years when the "now" technology is out of date, it's much easier to upgrade w/o buying a new computer with a Desktop so you can continue playing games.

 

[Solar]

Portable Adapters.

And I'm not going to buy two separate devices

 

[Deleted member 36435]

If you want to customize one just go to like CyberPower PC. - Custom Built Gaming PC and Gaming Laptops and have a blast.

Things you want:
Strong video card
4GB of RAM
a 7200RPM+ Hard Drive
A quad core CPU with like 3.0+ ghz can't hurt - you probably can get away with a much weaker one
Very good cooling/fans

Laptops are really shitty, honestly, so be prepared to spend a lot for what you want.

 

[The Lionheart]

I bought a gaming laptop myself, because there was no way in hell I was taking a desktop to college.

But seriously man, mine overheats like nothing else. If you're gaming on anything but a hard, flat surface, your laptop will start to run hot as hell.

I bought this from Gaming Laptops - XOTIC PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks, I definitely recommend an Asus model. This thing has worked really well, and has survived a few falls as well.

But besides that, what Victor said.

edit: and yeah, Alienwares are way overpriced. You're just paying for the brand with those.

 

[Solar]

Ok everyone:

I am considering a desktop now.

:|

But I really want to go with this baby:

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-lamborghini-vx6-p-2964.html?wconfigure=yes


EDIT: is this fine?

http://www.xoticpc.com/shopping_cart_show.php?wconfigure=yes

 

[Bukkake Sensei]

My current laptop isn't even considered to be intended for gaming, and it can run Portal 2, Vindictus and Minecraft all on high settings.

It cost $1,600.

 

[Takuya]

If you want to customize one just go to like CyberPower PC. - Custom Built Gaming PC and Gaming Laptops and have a blast.

Things you want:
Strong video card
4GB of RAM
a 7200RPM+ Hard Drive
A quad core CPU with like 3.0+ ghz can't hurt - you probably can get away with a much weaker one
Very good cooling/fans

Laptops are really shitty, honestly, so be prepared to spend a lot for what you want.

Laptops are pretty shitty for their price-performance ratio compared to desktops and for keeping up with the tech, so be prepared to find yourself hunting for parts you want built into a laptop into the late hours*

They're also pretty sketchy with interior designs as far as I know, since they're so small; manufacturers have to set parts specifically so they all fit in a small space, and not all laptops are created equally so companies have stricter warranties (don't call us if you break something because you changed something), whereas desktops have a standard frame for drives, space for ports at the back and a motherboard spot... the motherboard being the thing that standardizes desktops.

Anywho, things to add to that list:

At least 600MHz clock RAM
At least 600MHz FSB for the processor to use your RAM at its full capacity /same rule with video card core clock, just make sure your cpu isn't bottlenecking the other parts or you'll be wasting money buying performance you aren't even using. This is if the cpu doesn't have Intel's QPI or AMD's Hypertransport, which take away the need for a bus as far as I know
At least 4MB cache in the processor
A quad core processor with 1.8GHz core clock. Victor's is ideal speed but right now quad-cores are performing at rates at least triple that of, say a Pentium 4 3.2GHz single-core processor, which is more than enough for gaming. You can see a Core 2 Duo T6600 at 2.2GHz 800MHz 2MB working with a low-end graphics card to play CoD: World at War at a passable (and I use this word subjectively) level here. A 1.6GHz i3 can achieve a performance at least 1.5 times better.
A 256MB video card - the size doesn't matter as much as how that memory is used and how the video card works or "thinks", if you will. The number of transistors has a big role to play in this. A 700 million transistor 8800 GT will be quicker than a 400 million count transistor 7500.
These are just minimums to save you some money or have you thinking where you can best use your money to use your computer at its capacity. One of the laptops I found for someone has these at $500.

With that in mind, here are some links that I use to find performance ratings for cpus and video cards:

PassMark Software - CPU Benchmark Charts
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmark Charts
Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart : Best Graphics Cards For The Money: April 2011 //graphics card listed by performance
http://i002.photobucket.com/albums/af150/The_FalconO6/CurrentLogicalPCBuyingGuide/Guide.png - a guide to increments in performance for all parts with according prices; updated almost daily, it's almost like magic how this one image changes with the date at the bottom even though the link stays the same. It's like the Marauders' Map.

 

[DarkBladeXIII]

Yes, before you storm in with unnecessary spam, I plan on hopefully either building or purchasing a gaming laptop because this PC is unofficially a shared piece of property.

Originally, I needed a simple netbook for schoolwork. However, then I started playing Minecraft. Then Vindictus, then Portal 2, which my PC can barely support. Now I plan on purchasing a plethora of PC games and like I said, this PC really isn't mine. These days, I'm always on the go, too and I really would like to able to carry my work and my games with me wherever I go. I also was planning to buy a handheld emulator for old school games, but with portability of this laptop, that wouldn't be an issue either.

Now, I was planning to go with an MX11 but apparently Alienware supposedly isn't as great as people make it out to be for its price. Idk, I'm not literate in tech but if I can build a cheaper, as strong or stronger machine then I won't turn the offer down.

Help?

i find it really difficult to build a gaming laptop, the first time i tried, the casing of said laptop wouldnt go back on properly due to the parts i had bought, ironically though all the parts i had bought fitted perfectly into my little Dtop, (best upgrade ever!!) a few of my friends build computers but they buy premade laptops to do whatever they do with them, my advice buy a laptop/netbook/macbook(whatever takes your fancy, and then buuild a desktop

 

[Deleted member 36435]

i find it really difficult to build a gaming laptop, the first time i tried, the casing of said laptop wouldnt go back on properly due to the parts i had bought, ironically though all the parts i had bought fitted perfectly into my little Dtop, (best upgrade ever!!) a few of my friends build computers but they buy premade laptops to do whatever they do with them, my advice buy a laptop/netbook/macbook(whatever takes your fancy, and then buuild a desktop

you tried to put desktop parts into your laptop?

 

[DarkBladeXIII]

you tried to put desktop parts into your laptop?

no its just the parts were huge and didnt fit the lap top

 

[Taylor]

no its just the parts were huge and didnt fit the lap top

...so you tried to put desktop parts into your laptop?

 

[TheMuffinMan]

no its just the parts were huge and didnt fit the lap top

>he tried to put desktop parts in a laptop

 

[DarkBladeXIII]

...so you tried to put desktop parts into your laptop?

............. alright you got me!!!! i tried putting desktop parts in a laptop even though the box said laptop parts!!! geez.......

 

[Deleted member 36435]

............. alright you got me!!!! i tried putting desktop parts in a laptop even though the box said laptop parts!!! geez.......

Why would the box be labeled "laptop parts."

 

[Wehrmacht]

............. alright you got me!!!! i tried putting desktop parts in a laptop even though the box said laptop parts!!! geez.......

considering laptops aren't meant to be customizable i have a hard time believing that.