Help with laptop for games

[Marute]

Hi all,

If you want to skip the story and jump ahead to the point, go to the fat text below…

I don’t know if I’m on a mission impossible here but sometimes the world of computer hardware is a confusing place. Therefore I thought I’d ask for some assistance.

So I’m looking around for a new computer and was actually pretty settled on a desktop with a i5-2500, 4GB, GTX560 (1080US$) but now I’m confused whether I’d rather want a laptop because I’ll need a screen and a keyboard as well for the desktop, and then suddenly the price starts to run pretty high and because I fear that the above specs will actually be too much for my actual needs – perhaps… And you can hardly find a system with anything lower that’s worth it.

So here comes my (maybe) mission impossible: Looking for an affordable laptop with at least 17” screen that will run games like Dawn of War II, Diablo 3 and perhaps even Star Wars: The Old Republic and similar games at preferably very good settings at a nice frame rate. Now I suppose that shouldn’t be too hard but next question is if it could be done for around the same price range as the above describe desktop system: about 1000-1100US$ thus making it cheaper than the desktop with screen and keyboard but still adequate for my needs. I keep running in to brands like Alienware with 3500US$ for a 18” laptop or MSI with up to 2000US$+, and that is just so expensive I can hardly comprehend why.

So to sum up:
I’m looking for a minimum 17” screen laptop that will run games like Dawn of War 2, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and perhaps Star Wars: The old Republic at nice settings (higher the better) at good frame rates (higher the better) at a price of 950-1100US$. Is it possible? Recommendations? I was thinking something like an i5 processor of sorts and 4GB ram. I know very little of laptop graphics so I don’t know what to look for. Feel free to enlighten me.

Thanks!

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Marute

Hi all,

If you want to skip the story and jump ahead to the point, go to the fat text below…

I don’t know if I’m on a mission impossible here but sometimes the world of computer hardware is a confusing place. Therefore I thought I’d ask for some assistance.

So I’m looking around for a new computer and was actually pretty settled on a desktop with a i5-2500, 4GB, GTX560 (1080US$) but now I’m confused whether I’d rather want a laptop because I’ll need a screen and a keyboard as well for the desktop, and then suddenly the price starts to run pretty high and because I fear that the above specs will actually be too much for my actual needs – perhaps… And you can hardly find a system with anything lower that’s worth it.

So here comes my (maybe) mission impossible: Looking for an affordable laptop with at least 17” screen that will run games like Dawn of War II, Diablo 3 and perhaps even Star Wars: The Old Republic and similar games at preferably very good settings at a nice frame rate. Now I suppose that shouldn’t be too hard but next question is if it could be done for around the same price range as the above describe desktop system: about 1000-1100US$ thus making it cheaper than the desktop with screen and keyboard but still adequate for my needs. I keep running in to brands like Alienware with 3500US$ for a 18” laptop or MSI with up to 2000US$+, and that is just so expensive I can hardly comprehend why.

So to sum up:
I’m looking for a minimum 17” screen laptop that will run games like Dawn of War 2, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and perhaps Star Wars: The old Republic at nice settings (higher the better) at good frame rates (higher the better) at a price of 950-1100US$. Is it possible? Recommendations? I was thinking something like an i5 processor of sorts and 4GB ram. I know very little of laptop graphics so I don’t know what to look for. Feel free to enlighten me.

Thanks!

Totally possible. I've seen Acer and Asus machines that have i5 procs with 5 series nvidia cards with 17" screens.

[lcdguy]

if you want to keep the price down but get a laptop you should definitely be looking at company's like Asus, Acer, MSI, etc.

However do you really need the portability of a laptop. If not you could easly get a mid range desktop and a entry level laptop/tablet for the same amount of money. as one high end gaming laptop.

[Eldonko]

The ROG laptops are win for gaming

[neojjjk]

are you buying it from US ?
Acer Aspire AS7750G-6871 -650$+TAX here in canada .it has i5 2410 &hd 6850m gpu.

[Marute]

I won't be buying from the US as I live in Denmark, Europe. But most things you can get in the US, you can get in Danish stores as well.

I'm not sure I really need the portability but I will save money on screen and keyboard. But I don't know how good the graphics cards in laptops are compared to those in desktops so the question is if there are really any money to save when you compare performance. Are they worth any or is it really just stupid to even consider a laptop? If not, what are good laptop GPU's from both Ati and Nvidia - what to get?

And is it mandatory to get a 4 core CPU or will dual core i5 be just fine?

[enaberif]

You can't compare a desktop to a laptop for performance unless you spend some serious coin.

[JJThomp]

The fastest AMD laptop card the HD 6990m is based off of the HD 6870 for desktops and nvidia's GTX 580m is based off of a desktop GTX 560 (however the clock rates are lower so they don't quite perform up to that level).

So basically unless you spend a lot of money you aren't going to be anywhere close to desktop performance.

However to find a laptop that will play those games you probably only need a GT 555m and an i5 processor. Which can be found for ~$1000

[Marute]

Ya, I never counted on getting a laptop with desktop performance and save money in the process. The point entirely was that perhaps I could save some money by not going overkill with my buy according to my needs which are not that demanding compared to many other people. But on the other hand, the desktop will last longer in terms of performance and is easier to upgrade by far. And if I had a screen and a keyboard already, the desktop would be cheaper.

But in general, is it stupid to buy laptops other than for school and normal internet surfing? Should one focus on either Nvidia or ATI graphics and how many cores would you recommend on the processor?

Finally I'm curious as to why some brands charge so insanely much for their laptops? For instance the new Razer Blade which I read should ship at a cost of 2700US$ with a GT555m and a i7 cpu (I believe). Same goes for Alienware, Falcon Northwest and other manufacturers. Are you paying like 1000-2000+$ for the brand or what is going on here?

[JJThomp]

Originally Posted by Marute

Ya, I never counted on getting a laptop with desktop performance and save money in the process. The point entirely was that perhaps I could save some money by not going overkill with my buy according to my needs which are not that demanding compared to many other people. But on the other hand, the desktop will last longer in terms of performance and is easier to upgrade by far. And if I had a screen and a keyboard already, the desktop would be cheaper.

But in general, is it stupid to buy laptops other than for school and normal internet surfing? Should one focus on either Nvidia or ATI graphics and how many cores would you recommend on the processor?

Finally I'm curious as to why some brands charge so insanely much for their laptops? For instance the new Razer Blade which I read should ship at a cost of 2700US$ with a GT555m and a i7 cpu (I believe). Same goes for Alienware, Falcon Northwest and other manufacturers. Are you paying like 1000-2000+$ for the brand or what is going on here?

It's part brand, part software and part form factor, obviously if you have a single piece aluminium shell your laptop is going to be a bit more expensive. Or if it is only an inch thin and you can pack that much performance in there it is difficult to make a good enough cooling solution for such a thin beast.

The razer blade is super thin, has a solid aluminium chasis, has decent battery life, and has their own razer switchblade gaming pad on it. That combined with the razer brand is why you are paying $2700.

It can't be easy to fit a GT 555m in something 22mm thick (thinner than a case fan)