Menu
What's new

Gaming Laptop Suggestions

the0thMonkey

the0thMonkey

Member
Hello everybody!

I am looking to buy a new laptop and I was hoping for suggestions from some of the more hardware savvy members of this forum.

My current laptop (about 2 years old) has very poor performance in terms of gaming and I was looking for a superior substitute. The laptop doesn't need to be a beast (I'm fine with sticking to low/medium rendering settings), but it should be able to play games smoothly (SG in particular :)). I really don't know very much about computer hardware so simple terminology is appreciated. I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on it (less than $1500-2000), and it should be good value. It should also definitely not be a desktop (because I'll be using it for school as well).

I would go to the Futureshop or Best Buy websites (as I have before) but I really don't know what I'm looking for, so duping me into buying something crappy would be really easy. :(

Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance! :D
 
Tony

Tony

Insider
A couple of questions... do you need to buy it from certain online stores (Best Buy or Futureshop) or will any online store be ok? Do you have certain size/weight requirements (some people don't like lugging around a large/heavy laptop while others prefer a larger screen)? Any other features you require (webcam, Blu-ray drive, DVD burner, etc.)?
 
Brendan

Brendan

Developer
Hello!

The main thing to look out for if you plan on gaming is a half decent graphics card, as performance between similar sounding models can vary hugely. A quad core CPU is also useful. An SSD drive is really nice for booting/loading apps and just generally making your PC feel fast, but still more of a luxury as it won't affect how smooth a game runs etc and if you do want one it's usually better value to buy it separately and get it fitted, as the factory options tend to be a bit of a rip off. Beyond that I'd look for a quality screen, which is surprisingly rare, and a nice chassis never hurts! The rest will be fine.

My choice given your requirements would be the Sony Vaio S 15, specifically I'd get the "SVS151290X Performance" model on offer at $1050 direct from Sony, which has all of the above (except the SSD) - Link here

The graphics card is decent and well suited to SG, which will run great. The rest of the spec is excellent, and even includes a quality screen (based on IPS rather than the more common TN technology, which generally means it will have better viewing angles and less banding) and chassis (magnesium alloy rather than plastic, like a Mac or high end Dell / HP). Hard to beat for the money I reckon.

The only thing that might be worth changing on that factory config (other than the laptop colour, if you so desire!) is the DVD drive to a Blu-Ray for another $100 if you want one for movies or whatever.

Hope this helps :)
 
the0thMonkey

the0thMonkey

Member
@Tony
Good questions. I would prefer buying it from a store that has an actual location near me (Toronto), but I think I could manage online purchases as well. As long as the product is good, I don't really mind where I buy it. In terms of size and weight, I would prefer a larger screen and more weight (15.6" is what I currently have and it is fine). In terms of other features, a webcam would be nice (but it doesn't have to be good). Anything else is extra. I don't insist on a Blu-ray drive or a DVD burner.

@Brendan
Thanks, that was very helpful. Now I've got some key features to look for and a suggestion. Awesome! The Blu-ray drive is not necessary (I wouldn't really use it), but it's good to know that it's an option.

Again, thanks for the help! :)
 
Tony

Tony

Insider
That laptop that Brendan linked would be hard to beat as far as price goes considering all the features it has. The biggest weakness I see in that laptop is the processor. It runs at 2.2ghz and if you could afford the next step up I'd recommend doing so. You don't want to be bottlenecked by your CPU! But I can also vouch for IPS displays. The colors and contrast looks much, much better! I'm surprised they offer an IPS display at that price range.
 
Pilluminati

Pilluminati

Insider
Tony said:
That laptop that Brendan linked would be hard to beat as far as price goes considering all the features it has. The biggest weakness I see in that laptop is the processor. It runs at 2.2ghz and if you could afford the next step up I'd recommend doing so. You don't want to be bottlenecked by your CPU! But I can also vouch for IPS displays. The colors and contrast looks much, much better! I'm surprised they offer an IPS display at that price range.
Click to expand...
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9130-gaming-laptop-clevo-p151em1-p-4340.html?wconfigure=yes
670M (much much better than the 640M on the vaio)
i7-3630QM (A little bit better than the i7-3632QM)
8gb ram @1600MhZ (instead of 1333)

For 1085$
 
the0thMonkey

the0thMonkey

Member
@Tony
Thanks for the advice. Even though the laptop is customizable, I don't know if I'd be able to switch the processor, and moving up to the next level of quality in the laptop market sounds expensive. I really don't know what I'm talking about, but the i7 sounds like it will meet my needs. Glad to hear that the IPS display is worth it. It seems like a good feature to have.

@Pilluminati
Thanks for the links. I had a bit of a hard time navigating the site because I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for in terms of building my own laptop, but thanks anyways.

@MrIdontKnow
Yes, it has to be a laptop, because it is going to be my general purpose computer so I'll have to be able to bring it to class, the library, etc. Also, I see you've got a new desktop. Enjoy! :)

@Brendan
Thanks again for the suggestion. You've sold me on Vaio laptops, and I'll probably get the one you recommended. It looks great! :D
 
Pilluminati

Pilluminati

Insider
Rod_Lightning said:
I'm bookmarking this page so I can buy a desktop. Aiming to do so within 5 years :oops:
Click to expand...
I really don't recommend buying desktops from that site or any other site. You should always assemble it yourself as it'll be much cheaper. If it's a laptop though, that site is awesome.
 
Tony

Tony

Insider
After thinking about it a bit more I'd recommend getting nothing less than a GTX 660M for a GPU. The 640M in the laptop Brendan listed is more of a general purpose GPU, which would run Sui Generis fine (since Sui Generis is well optimized to run on slower hardware) but if you were to play other games then the 640M will struggle. It would cost you about another $250 for a better laptop but I think you'd be much happier overall if you invested this money. Your laptop will run games much faster and smoother and you'd have a more enjoyable gaming experience. And your laptop would have a longer lifespan (due to better chassis design/cooling and faster parts that wouldn't be obsolete quite as fast).

The site/brand that Pilluminati linked I have never heard of before. They may or may not have excellent service/products, but I can't recommend them since I have done no research on them. However, I am familiar with Asus products and I can highly recommend them. Here is a link to an awesome Asus laptop that costs a bit more than the one Brendan linked but has a lot more features and is quite a bit more powerful: LINK (this site has 13,000 positive reviews on Google shopper and offers free shipping!).

Benefits of this laptop:
  • Larger 17.3" screen
  • Gaming grade GPU (has the GTX 660M, better than the 640M - the GPU is one of THE most important parts when it comes to gaming)
  • Faster CPU (2.3 GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM processor)
  • More and faster memory (12GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - it's always better to have too much than not enough memory, especially for multitasking)
  • Webcam built in
  • Better chassis design (it has two fans built in which exhaust to the rear - keeps your laptop cool and makes the parts have a longer lifespan)
  • Better speakers (has stereo speakers with a subwoofer built in for better bass)
  • Can read/play Blu-ray discs (good for movies and also Blu-ray data discs)
  • Microphone built in
  • 1.5 TB hard drive (double the amount of storage as the Sony Vaio)
  • Illuminated keyboard (nice for gaming in the dark)
For $250 more I think you're getting quite a bit better laptop. Also, at $1,300 it still falls well under your $1,500 budget.

P.S. I looked that same Asus laptop up on the site Pilluminati linked (www.xoticpc.com) and they were charging over $100 more than the site I linked (that's including their pay with cash discount - it would have been even more without the discount). Though they do claim to price match.
 
Pilluminati

Pilluminati

Insider
Uhm, since you insist:


This is my laptop, maxing Skyrim.
It's a Clevo. The same brand that I linked. I just can't recommend it enough.
It's so slick and solid as hell. No unnecessary crap, I even removed the stickers and it looks even better lol. Although mine has a 6990M, the 670M that I linked is really good value for the money. Even the keyboard is a joy to type on, only small complaint I have is the material of the touchpad.
 
Tony

Tony

Insider
the0thMonkey

the0thMonkey

Member
Firstly, thanks to everyone. You have been very helpful. :)

I feel like some of the more recent suggestions have fallen on the beastly side of the ghetto-to-beastly laptop spectrum. I don't really need something that can run maxed Skyrim at 57 fps (even though that might be nice). Tony, the laptop you recommended to me looks like it has really great value and it would be excellent for a serious gamer. I feel like I wouldn't use many of the features you listed. Also, the 17.3" screen might not even fit in my backpack :) and its weight of almost 10 pounds seems kind of excessive. As I said, this laptop looks like it would be really great for somebody, but just maybe not me.

Once again, thank you all very much for the time you've put into this. SG forum power FTW! :)
 
the0thMonkey

the0thMonkey

Member
A couple other things I forgot to mention:

@Pilluminati
I don't think the most recent one you recommended has an OS installed, does it? If I wanted one :) I'd have to add it for $80, right? Also, do you know what kind of screen the Clevo uses? I couldn't find the information about it, but apparently IPS is preferable to TN.

@Tony
I noticed that the Asus you recommended had a 2nd generation i7 processor. What's the difference between it and the Vaio (or the Clevo)?
 
Pilluminati

Pilluminati

Insider
the0thMonkey said:
@Pilluminati
I don't think the most recent one you recommended has an OS installed, does it? If I wanted one :) I'd have to add it for $80, right? Also, do you know what kind of screen the Clevo uses? I couldn't find the information about it, but apparently IPS is preferable to TN.
Click to expand...
Doesn't come with an OS. If you don't feel comfortable getting an OS in other ways than buying I can see why it would be an issue. The standard panel is TN, you can add an IPS panel to it though for like 75$.
If you don't want a beast of a machine then:
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6165-clevo-w150er-p-4344.html?wconfigure=yes
Change the screen to the more expensive one, the CPU to i7-3630QM and pick the remove all branding option :)
= 964$
This is what it looks like:

And even if you need to buy an OS it's still 5$ cheaper for a better cpu, gpu & ram.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top

Home|Games|Media|Store|Account|Forums|Contact




© Copyright 2019 Bare Mettle Entertainment Ltd. All rights reserved.