Laptop for Gaming/School

SativaSam

SativaSam

CAGiversary!
Feedback
48 (100%)
Hey guys, I'm graduating next month and am getting a laptop for myself as I go onto college. Obviously I'll need a laptop for school but I also want to use it at home as my main computer. I currently have a desktop that is about 4 years old, it's an HP Verda AMD Quad Core w/ 6 gigs of RAM (I believe just DDR2) and I installed an Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 graphics card into it. It runs World of Warcraft on Ultra settings just fine, which is not saying much I know but that's just a benchmark. I'm going to live at home for the first 2 years of school and wanna just use the laptop as my primary computer and let my parents use the desktop.

I know that a laptop built for games is a joke, but basically what I mean is I am looking for a solid laptop that can run pretty much all games at max or ultra settings. Considering how outdated the specs are on my desktop, I shouldn't have that much of a problem finding one. I am basically looking for a laptop with a lot of RAM, solid processors, and a dedicated graphics card such as a new Nvidia GTX series or whatever they put in them now.

Not really for/against any brand, but would prefer no Alienware or Asus.

Please help me find the perfect laptop for me, and please remember that this is a big purchase for me as I'm 18 and it'll be a lot of money for someone my age w/ no job :lol: Also, please be sure to not recommend any "Gaming Laptops" I'm not wanting one like an Alienware or one that's built for gaming because those are always way overpriced and the parts in them aren't even worth that much (It's kinda like buying a Mac)

And if you know a good place to buy laptops in general, lemme know too. I would build my own but you can't....so... Oh, and one more thing :cold: Please find ones with large screens, I believe a nice sized screen is 17 inches or more? I can't remember. Never owned a laptop.

Thank you so much for any of your help.
 
I personally have this laptop, an MSI GT780. 17" non reflective HD screen, Core I7 2670QM, 12 GB of RAM, GTX 570 and THX certified sound. What's nice is that the sound on this thing is pretty stellar for a laptop, thanks to its integrated sub on the bottom of the notebook. Keep in mind, it is huge. It is basically a desktop replacement laptop and also that it uses a touchscreen at the top for ejecting the cd drive, turning on wifi/bluetooth and whatnot. But it is also very full featured and ridiculous powerful.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152304

There's also the Toshiba Qosmio X775. I've heard good things about it also, but have never used it before. Seems a good value too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214492

If you're interested in custom building a laptop, as much as you could custom build one, give Sager a look. It can get pricey, but definitely high quality too.
http://www.sagernotebook.com/
 
Thanks for those suggestions, but that's way out of my budget haha I should've stated a price range. To be honest, nothing over $700 most likely, but then again I'm not sure. 4-6 Gigs of DDR3 RAM would be nice, and then obviously some sort of high end video card like a GTX series.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Youre not going to get close to a true gaming laptop for $700.[/QUOTE]

This. And lugging around a big gaming laptop is a pain when your going around campus at college. I'd recommend with only a $700 budget to just upgrade your current desktop while buying a small 11"-14" laptop for school.
 
I think you guys misunderstood me. I don't want a "gaming laptop" I just want a laptop that can play games at a high level. I mean, World of Warcraft is obviously extremely easy to run, which is why I was wanting recommendations for a laptop that has a really nice video card in it. I mean the other day I saw some Dell XPS's on sale that were like 500 dollars and came with GTX 560s. I missed the sale, obviously, but that's just an example.
 
[quote name='SativaSam']I think you guys misunderstood me. I don't want a "gaming laptop" I just want a laptop that can play games at a high level. I mean, World of Warcraft is obviously extremely easy to run, which is why I was wanting recommendations for a laptop that has a really nice video card in it. I mean the other day I saw some Dell XPS's on sale that were like 500 dollars and came with GTX 560s. I missed the sale, obviously, but that's just an example.[/QUOTE]

You are not going to find a lap top that plays current games at high settings for $700. That is exactly what you asked for and it doesn't exist.
 
A laptop with at least a 17 inch screen that can run all game on high settings does not exist at $700. You'd be over $1000 easily.
 
Yeah, what everyone says is true. I wanted the same thing, but I had to spend roughly $1,300 on the 17in laptop I'm currently using. You are going to have to pay more to get what you want unfortunatley.

Those $700 laptops come with screens that are mostly 15.6in which will give you 1366x768 resolutions. Going into the $900 range will get you 17in laptops, but they will have 1600x900 resolutions and use the Intel gpus. I can already tell you that gaming on those Intel GPUs are not good enough. I believe they share the RAM from the main system if I'm not mistaken.

The gaming laptop I bought at the time, which was the MSI GX720. I can still run most games on high and it performs decently at everything else.
 
Well, I can live with a smaller screen. My desktop monitor is only 1440x900 anyway. I just find it hard to believe that it's that difficult to find a laptop in 2012 within that range considering I spent 500$ on this desktop plus 200$ on the graphics card that is now 3-4 years old and runs WoW at max settings perfect. Not wanting to play Crysis 3 or nothing, just WoW, maybe Diablo III, random Steam games. Nothing special.
 
But you forget you're paying a premium on those same parts for a laptop so you're gonna be adding a few hundred at least for similar performance. Desktop prices don't equate to laptop prices. You're gonna have to go a little higher if you're gonna want to do what you want to do.

Actually found this deal, and it should pretty much do what you want. It's on sale right now, I believe for a very good price.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2008030&CatId=2511
 
WoW is a 7 years old game. Diablo III isn't out but will have requirement that will be a lot higher. You really should just get the best for your budget.
 
[quote name='62t']WoW is a 7 years old game. Diablo III isn't out but will have requirement that will be a lot higher. You really should just get the best for your budget.[/QUOTE]

Blizzard usually makes games that run well on most PCs, low end to high end. You probably won't be able to play it on high settings unless you've got a beastly rig, but at medium settings, most modern laptops should run it fine. Heck, even the Intel HD 3000 should be able to run it on lower settings.
 
[quote name='rhymenoceros']But you forget you're paying a premium on those same parts for a laptop so you're gonna be adding a few hundred at least for similar performance. Desktop prices don't equate to laptop prices. You're gonna have to go a little higher if you're gonna want to do what you want to do.

Actually found this deal, and it should pretty much do what you want. It's on sale right now, I believe for a very good price.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2008030&CatId=2511[/QUOTE]

Not to mention the cost to repair a gaming laptop, say if the gpu craps out on you. Gaming laptops are overpriced and definitely not as reliable as desktops. If I were you, I would just build a gaming pc for $700. Like others said, most quality gaming laptops are going to run over $1k.
 
Well, the best you can currently get for 700$ or around is a GT 555M / Radeon 7690M with a I5 or I7 cpu. which is great, but the GT 555M is not as powerful as your GTX 260 as far as I (know)
That's it.
Anyway, they sell the Lenovo Y570 (I7-2670QM, GT 555M, 8GB DDR3 memory) for 750$ now:
link

Maybe what you need is a mini desktop
 
[quote name='Sharp Katana']Not to mention the cost to repair a gaming laptop, say if the gpu craps out on you. Gaming laptops are overpriced and definitely not as reliable as desktops. If I were you, I would just build a gaming pc for $700. Like others said, most quality gaming laptops are going to run over $1k.[/QUOTE]

This. Laptops aren't as efficient desktops are in terms of getting rid of heat. If you plan on gaming for extended periods of time, get a desktop. Like 99% of laptops have the graphics card built into the motherboard...so if one craps out you have to replace both.
 
Just to let you know every college as long as it is a public university has a loan that goes onto your federal loans that allows you to take up to $2500 for a computer. You do not have to use it for the computer but you have to say it is for that. Plus it would depend on your interest rate and if you do not care about the extra 2500 going on your loans but you have 4 years before you pay and interest is 3-7% so not a bad option if you want to buy high end.
 
Bought an Asus G74SX-A1, and it's a beast! It was 1600, but has incredible specs, and came with some nice extras like a backpack and gaming mouse.
 
[quote name='Mr Dude65']Bought an Asus G74SX-A1, and it's a beast! It was 1600, but has incredible specs, and came with some nice extras like a backpack and gaming mouse.[/QUOTE]

ASUS are beast. Did you know you could create your own ASUS laptop with their different specs?
 
[quote name='jaroth2']ASUS are beast. Did you know you could create your own ASUS laptop with their different specs?[/QUOTE]

I purchased from XoticPC, so I got a few upgrades. OP, I'd look at Xotic, if I were you. It was a great experience, and they have great products! Also, good prices, and they will pricematch just about anywhere! My laptop would probably have been around $1750-$1800 before taxes, and I got it for $1605 shipped with tax. Look into them!
 
[quote name='mrsilkunderwear']Wait for Ivy Bridge.[/QUOTE]

Actually, now that I think of it, this. What I said still stands, but I think that the new Yoga is going to be amazing! Isn't a gaming machine, but for school, it will do more than the trick!
 
Thanks a lot you guys for all of your insight. Just to be clear the reason I want a laptop is not only to bring with me to school, but the way my house is setup my mom is on the desktop a lot playing flash games or just random stuff and I'd like to have my own laptop and just let her use the desktop instead of vice versa since college is coming up. I mean I know how quickly video cards get outdated (in like 4 days) and a new line comes out. Just surprised to see that a lot of you guys are saying most laptops that have dedicated graphics cards won't have cards that are better than my GTX 260.

Again, obviously World of Warcraft at max settings isn't hard to achieve even on a laptop, I just figure it's win/win since it's a portable computer and I don't do hardcore gaming. I am more of a console gamer and will play MMOs on PC or maybe a little bit of Steam gaming (Team Fortress 2 or just random Valve stuff)
 
If your really trying to save money, Id recommend getting a laptop with a ridiculous processor and a sick graphics card since those things are the hardest to upgrade aftermarket. then get a small HDD and not that much ram since those things are easier to replace and newegg usually has that stuff on sale. Plus if you wait, intel is coming out with the new ivy bridge and microsoft is moving up to windows 8 so older inventory laptops will go on clearance prob in the fall or sooner
 
[quote name='packies']If your really trying to save money, Id recommend getting a laptop with a ridiculous processor and a sick graphics card since those things are the hardest to upgrade aftermarket. then get a small HDD and not that much ram since those things are easier to replace and newegg usually has that stuff on sale. Plus if you wait, intel is coming out with the new ivy bridge and microsoft is moving up to windows 8 so older inventory laptops will go on clearance prob in the fall or sooner[/QUOTE]

Or he could make use of those improvements.
 
Hey guys I am gonna shop for the laptop tomorrow... Anyone got any final recommendations? My key thing in the new laptop is that it needs to be better spec wise than my current desktop...

Nvidia Geforce GTX 260
6 Gigs of DDR2 RAM
AMD Phenom Quad Core (it can be a dual core laptop IDC)
 
Bump - guys I really need your help...I am terrible when it comes to shopping for stuff like this. Newegg and Microcenter don't really have what I am looking for...Best Buy has something I want but it's too expensive for the stuff you get IMO:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba...047&skuId=3529339&st=toshiba 640gb &cp=1&lp=8

I personally don't need that big of a hard drive, and I know that's what you're mostly paying for. I am having a hard time finding laptops on their site that have decent/solid graphics cards. That one has an AMAZING card, but I think it's only a single core? Even still, I think that's a little out of my price range.

As I'm looking through Best Buy's laptop selection, I am realizing how good of a job I did with my desktop...it's over 4 years old and my GTX 260 is still beating out the majority that I have seen.

I don't play anything crazy, I am just a graphics freak and would like to be able to run most games at high settings. I play:
WoW
Diablo III
League of Legends
Final Fantasy XI
L4D2
Random Steam games


So obviously nothing fancy except maybe D3, but the others are pretty old games and my PC obviously runs them at max like it's nothing.

I would really appreciate everyone's help with me trying to shop for a laptop. I am wanting it for portability obviously but to also play games in my own room as opposed to being on this desktop 24/7. Obviously having it for school is also a huge upside.
 
Meh, I'm trying to find one with less hard drive space. I really don't need that much. I have a 1TB external hard drive, a desktop and an iPhone I can store what I need on. I really wish they made low hard-drive space laptops with highend graphics cards to save me money, but I guess they don't. Plus that card isn't really high end at all. Thanks for your suggestion though.
 
From personal experience, I can recommend the Lenovo Y series. There's a pretty big sale going on right now, with 15.6" models in the $700-$1000 range. On a Performance/Cost basis, they're a really solid deal. The graphics card in there is mid-range (and the same on all of these models), so you'll be able to play most games on medium to high settings, and any game on low settings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top