Advice Gaming Laptop

[Scouse]

A mate's just asked about a laptop which he'll want to play games on. I'll be looking myself for him but I was wondering if anyone's got any recommendations.

I'm pretty sure he won't want to break the bank but he also won't want cheap as shit either. It's going to have to run Diablo 3 well on high settings.

Any advice?

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Yeah. Get a desktop for games.

 

[Scouse]

Yeah yeah.

Had a couple of gaming laptops in the past and they've been great. PC games don't push the hardware like they used to so the whole desktop>laptop debate is dead in the water. Yes, you can get better value for money on a desktop but it's a fucker to carry around and set up. Useablility is the name of the game nowadays.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

PC games don't push the hardware like they used to so the whole desktop>laptop debate is dead in the water.

You are mistaken.

 

[Scouse]

Don't think so. Unless you're running fucking loads of monitors at stupid resolutions.

At which point, you should get out more.

 

[Aada]

We have 2 M11x R3 in the house both are mainly used for MMO's which they have no trouble maxing out anything out right now.

Even run BF3 on this little fella at mostly high/medium settings, I wouldn't go back to a desktop ever again gaming desktops are just huge today.

If you want a gaming laptop be prepared to pay anything over £600 they aren't cheap no matter which brand you want to go with.

We have a gaming PC upstairs I could upgrade with a top of the line graphics card but why would I want to be stuffed up in a bedroom on my own hunched over the fucking thing like a tard? Nah I'll sit downstairs playing BF3 or whatever mmo im playing at the time.

 

[Keitanz]

We have 2 M11x R3 in the house both are mainly used for MMO's which they have no trouble maxing out anything out right now.

Even run BF3 on this little fella at mostly high/medium settings, I wouldn't go back to a desktop ever again gaming desktops are just huge today.

If you want a gaming laptop be prepared to pay anything over £600 they aren't cheap no matter which brand you want to go with.

We have a gaming PC upstairs I could upgrade with a top of the line graphics card but why would I want to be stuffed up in a bedroom on my own hunched over the fucking thing like a tard? Nah I'll sit downstairs playing BF3 or whatever mmo im playing at the time.

Cause sitting downstairs with a boiling laptop on your lap is so much better than being in a chair relaxed playing a game

You can get smaller PCs, but they cost £100-150 extra..

All of the gaming laptops I have seen overheat if you are on a game for more than 2/3 hours.. which is silly

If you are after a gaming laptop and you want it to last and play games like BF3/Diablo3 on high graphics then be prepared to pay £800++

Plus if you are going to be playing games you want at least an 19" screen (unless you are some kind of maniac).. that adds a bit to the price.. you could hook it up to your TV etc but then why not just buy a PC l?

 

[Scouse]

Don't be daft Keitanz. You plug it into your telly if you're sat downstairs and relax whilst playing.

Then, when you get a phone call off a mate, it takes less than a minute to be in the car with your laptop.

I've got a desktop upstairs that I play games on. If I had six hundred quid spare I certainly wouldn't be blowing it on upgrades for that thing when I could buy a gaming machine that could follow me anywhere and play any game you care to mention to a reasonable level.

To be fair, if I had six hundred quid spare I'd buy a bike rack and roof rack for the car and book a series of weekends in bnb's in wales, the lakes and skirtland for the exercise-followed-by-pub-followed-by-dirty-s3x0r action with the bird.

But a laptop after that

 

[Aada]

Cause sitting downstairs with a boiling laptop on your lap is so much better than being in a chair relaxed playing a game

You can get smaller PCs, but they cost £100-150 extra..

All of the gaming laptops I have seen overheat if you are on a game for more than 2/3 hours.. which is silly

If you are after a gaming laptop and you want it to last and play games like BF3/Diablo3 on high graphics then be prepared to pay £800++

Plus if you are going to be playing games you want at least an 19" screen (unless you are some kind of maniac).. that adds a bit to the price.. you could hook it up to your TV etc but then why not just buy a PC l?

My laptop is on from 1 hour to 12 hours a day if im on a hard ore gaming session and never had it overheat I have a laptop cooler which helps with temps and I usually sit at the table just to the side of the couch so can see and talk to the wife.

You certainly have a few misconceptions about gaming laptops.

 

[Keitanz]

I still don't get why you wouldn't get a £400 pc (which will be able to run everything on high graphics).. and a £300 laptop instead of a £1k+ laptop which is a bitch to upgrade and more likely to overheat?

If you are "usually sitting at a table" then the PC can go there, no? :S

I guess if money is no object and you can be bothered getting a new laptop every 2 years then it's ok.

 

[Keitanz]

Don't be daft Keitanz. You plug it into your telly if you're sat downstairs and relax whilst playing.

Then you have to get a seperate mouse/keyboard to plug in as well or it's really uncomfortable ... maybe not keyboard but mouse for sure... that's a lot of hassle..

 

[Scouse]

Oh noes! A separate wireless mouse and keyboard! What hassle!

I can assure you, lying on my settee, keyboard in lap, mouse hand relaxing on the coffee table that I've pulled close, is both very comfortable and relaxing.

Moving the keyboard up onto my stomach also allows my girlfriend to fellate me whilst I play without having to duck under a table, which certainly encourages the regularity of such fortuitous happenstance.

 

[Keitanz]

As someone who tried it recently, honestly you can't beat a decent desk + chair + pc combination in my opinion

Your still hunched up doing that on a sofa btw, same as being on a PC really, just more of a hassle being on the sofa.

 

[Aada]

At the end of the day it comes down to what do YOU want do you want a powerhouse of a PC that is pretty much locked into place or do you want something that is portable yet powerful enough to play the games YOU want to play.

Gaming laptops are growing fast because people want portablity these days, sitting up stairs in a room just doesn't appeal to me anymore and neither does having a huge gaming PC downstairs, but a laptop that allows me to play the games i want anywhere in the house? YES please.

The M11X for example was literally an overnight success for Alienware and sells by the truck load simply because of it's size and power that the little guy can pump out.

The only downside to laptops as far as i'm concerned is that upgrading the graphics card isn't an option but that i can take.

 

[Punishment]

I bought a very high end laptop just over 2 years ago to game on, wish i had buildt a better gaming rig and bought a cheapass laptop with the money instead

 

[Overdriven]

Was actually in the same boat. I had a fairly good budget for a new piece of kit, and I needed something to game on. Want to know what I've noticed? Raiding whilst laying down is significantly more comfortable than being hunched forward for the same amount of time, and being able to swap rooms (oh noez! I need a cigarette, I'll take my laptop into the garden or into the kitchen!) at will is rather nice.

There is the whole, no graphic card updating, but to be fair, if you're spending the money there should be no games which should challenge most 'proper' gaming laptops (Mine decided to cry a little at BF3, but my ATI card is a generation or two out)

Personally, laptop = portability == win.

 

[Lethul]

I don't know about UK prices, but £600~ for a gaming laptop sounds _A BIT_ optimistic?

Eurocom p150HM certainly is not any £600 comp.
£600 sounds more like a good laptop rather than a gaming laptop

 

[Keitanz]

Was actually in the same boat. I had a fairly good budget for a new piece of kit, and I needed something to game on. Want to know what I've noticed? Raiding whilst laying down is significantly more comfortable than being hunched forward for the same amount of time, and being able to swap rooms (oh noez! I need a cigarette, I'll take my laptop into the garden or into the kitchen!) at will is rather nice.

There is the whole, no graphic card updating, but to be fair, if you're spending the money there should be no games which should challenge most 'proper' gaming laptops (Mine decided to cry a little at BF3, but my ATI card is a generation or two out)

Personally, laptop = portability == win.

Hunched forward? sounds like you have a kitchen table chair as your pc chair

 

[Aada]

I don't know about UK prices, but £600~ for a gaming laptop sounds _A BIT_ optimistic?

Eurocom p150HM certainly is not any £600 comp.
£600 sounds more like a good laptop rather than a gaming laptop

True i was probably being too optimistic, a good gaming laptop will cost you anything from £800-£1500

 

[Hawkwind]

I use gaming laptops as I travel so much. Current one is Asus G73SW, fantastic machine that cost me 1200 USD from a "Tigerdirect" store in Miami. Not found a game that won't run smooth as silk at full resolution on it. I usually replace these laptops every 18-24 months as they soon become outdated. I've had Dell XPS, Tosh and Alienware but have to say this is by far the best I've had and way cheaper than the equivalent new Alienware.

 

[MYstIC G]

Asus normally do solid laptops that you can game on. Avoid anything Dell because it's all overpriced for what you get in this space (though I have no issues with their business laptops).

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Dell refurbs are always a good idea. Good as new machines for a little less cash.

 

[Access Denied]

I'm firmly in the PC camp on this one. The upgradablility on laptops is almost non-existent for a start. So when the components become obsolete, which they will in a irritatingly short space of time, depending on what you get for your old one you're still looking at least £500 for a new one with great specs.

It's usually the graphics card that becomes obsolete the quickest and you can't replace those on a laptop. Whereas with a PC you can just swap the old one for a new one. The same with just about all other components. I also don't see the point, or the sanity, in paying £1500 for a really decent gaming laptop when I can build two top spec gaming rigs for the same price.

As for portability, well yes, laptops are more portable but then I'm not so hooked on games that I mind pausing the fecker while I got for a shit or a ciggy. Taking it round a mates? Yes laptops are easier but I have a car, so it makes no real difference to me. Comfort? Meh, I'm perfectly comfortable slouched in my big leather office chair with arms to rest mine on. More so, in fact that I would be sitting on the sofa with a hot laptop boiling my knackers and the man downstairs.

 

[Aada]

I'm firmly in the PC camp on this one. The upgradablility on laptops is almost non-existent for a start. So when the components become obsolete, which they will in a irritatingly short space of time, depending on what you get for your old one you're still looking at least £500 for a new one with great specs.

It's usually the graphics card that becomes obsolete the quickest and you can't replace those on a laptop. Whereas with a PC you can just swap the old one for a new one. The same with just about all other components. I also don't see the point, or the sanity, in paying £1500 for a really decent gaming laptop when I can build two top spec gaming rigs for the same price.

As for portability, well yes, laptops are more portable but then I'm not so hooked on games that I mind pausing the fecker while I got for a shit or a ciggy. Taking it round a mates? Yes laptops are easier but I have a car, so it makes no real difference to me. Comfort? Meh, I'm perfectly comfortable slouched in my big leather office chair with arms to rest mine on. More so, in fact that I would be sitting on the sofa with a hot laptop boiling my knackers and the man downstairs.

You nailed in you're own words why a laptop is perfect for someone who maybe travels around a lot or doesn't want to be stuck in a room upstairs.

Portability, cheers

 

[Overdriven]

Just to add... Thunderbolt based graphic cards will become more and more common soon

 

[Keitanz]

You nailed in you're own words why a laptop is perfect for someone who maybe travels around a lot or doesn't want to be stuck in a room upstairs.

Portability, cheers

We need a facepalm rating just for this post.