Half decent gaming laptop?

[Nova.]

looking for a half decent cheap ish (up to $1k ish) laptop for gaming, nothing too hard core just want to know whats out there, know f/a about computers
any ideas??

[Gremlin]

Need to know what sort of games you'd want to play. Gaming is basically the sole reason for constantly needing to upgrade a machine to cope with new games.

Generally, if you're after gaming, a desktop would be better than a laptop as there's better cooling, more flexibility around graphics card etc. Laptops are very restrictive due to the compact chassis.

[SMOKEU]

Laptops and gaming should not go in the same sentence. While some high end laptops costing $3,000+ are quite powerful, you'll be looking at spending around double the total price for a gaming laptop compared to a desktop for similar gaming performance. While some of the newer laptops with the i7 CPUs are more than sufficient in terms of CPU power, the vast majority of laptops lack the GPU power for anything more than very basic or very old games, particularly at higher resolutions. Laptops frequently overheat as well when subjected to heavy loads for prolonged periods of time, and you really want a nice full HD screen at least 22" in size for a truly enjoyable experience.

Buy a desktop with a midrange i5, midrange GPU like a 7870 etc and you'll have a much nicer experience. Chuck in a SSD (they're cheap now) and you'll be set. A nice 24" full HD monitor is under $300 as well.

[Madmax]

i have on of these
ASUS G75VW-DS71

[BoristheBiter]

Laptops and gaming should not go in the same sentence. While some high end laptops costing $3,000+ are quite powerful, you'll be looking at spending around double the total price for a gaming laptop compared to a desktop for similar gaming performance. While some of the newer laptops with the i7 CPUs are more than sufficient in terms of CPU power, the vast majority of laptops lack the GPU power for anything more than very basic or very old games, particularly at higher resolutions. Laptops frequently overheat as well when subjected to heavy loads for prolonged periods of time, and you really want a nice full HD screen at least 22" in size for a truly enjoyable experience.

Buy a desktop with a midrange i5, midrange GPU like a 7870 etc and you'll have a much nicer experience. Chuck in a SSD (they're cheap now) and you'll be set. A nice 24" full HD monitor is under $300 as well.

It takes a lot more than just a good CPU to make a gaming computer.

Nothing wrong with my laptop as a gaming unit (but i prefer PS3) in fact my 3 year old laptop is still faster than most out now just needs a better graphics card.

for under 1k I think Nova is pissing in the wind.

[SMOKEU]

It takes a lot more than just a good CPU to make a gaming computer.


That's what I said before, that the majority of laptops lack the GPU power for anything more than light gaming at low resolutions.

[Scuba_Steve]

Get a PS3 get the Hori LCD screen best you're gonna do for a gaming laptop under 1k. Only 11.6" & it won't be portable as such i.e. it'll need power (tho so do all laptops when running games). But it'll be under 1k, it'll play games & it's in a laptop like form factor.
If you're wanting a sub 1k laptop running windows to play "modern games" your best bet would be to blow it all on instant kiwi & hope for a win

[Nova.]

nah already have a ps3, it doesnt have to be a gaming laptop just something decent

[bogan]

nah already have a ps3, it doesnt have to be a gaming laptop just something decent

Do you have 1k to spend on gaming? or 1k to spend on a laptop?

If its a gaming PC, 1k or thereabouts would get you something neat. I priced out some stuff for myself recently...

Ivy Bridge 3450 CPU for $262
Asus GeForce GTX650 Graphics for $217
Asus P8Z77-V Pro Motherboard for $305

RAM, case, PSU, hard drive for another 300 odd, plug it into your TV, or get a screen for another few hundy.

[Akzle]

spend more. buy alienware. else some of the IBM/toshibvas can be pushed quite hard.
cooling is key.

[SMOKEU]

spend more. buy alienware. else some of the IBM/toshibvas can be pushed quite hard.
cooling is key.

Alienware is ridiculously overpriced for what it is. I've seen that some Asus laptops with a decent GPU are much cheaper for the same sort of specs.

[Scuba_Steve]

A quick pricespy search says Here! (http://119.47.125.81/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=106510) It's under 1k, will play 3-4yr old games reasonably (best you can sorta expect for sub 1.5k) you may get by with a few newer games even (tho most will probably require min gfx to get decent framerate)
Other than that it's a 2.5Ghz i5 (you don't want i3 & price doesn't allow i7), 4GB RAM, 1GB ATI HD7610M GFX, 640GB HDD & 15.6" screen.

[Nova.]

or this? http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/laptops/laptops/asus/auction-520994839.htm


i could spend more then 1k on a laptop but its not important enough for me to justify the cost haha, call me a jew.

[Madmax]

Do you have 1k to spend on gaming? or 1k to spend on a laptop?

If its a gaming PC, 1k or thereabouts would get you something neat. I priced out some stuff for myself recently...

Ivy Bridge 3450 CPU for $262
Asus GeForce GTX650 Graphics for $217
Asus P8Z77-V Pro Motherboard for $305

RAM, case, PSU, hard drive for another 300 odd, plug it into your TV, or get a screen for another few hundy.

can you carrie it on a bus and still play a game

[Scuba_Steve]

or this? http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/laptops/laptops/asus/auction-520994839.htm


i could spend more then 1k on a laptop but its not important enough for me to justify the cost haha, call me a jew.

You'd be better off with the one I gave you, cheaper & better spec'd

...ya jew :msn-wink:


can you carrie it on a bus and still play a game

Yes but you'll also need a car batt or 2 & an inverter... might want a pram or old lady wheel bag to help carry it too

[bogan]

can you carrie it on a bus and still play a game

Depends if Carrie is ok with carrying 30odd kg around, and has a 230v power point for an arsehole.

[Madmax]

You'd be better off with the one I gave you, cheaper & better spec'd

...ya jew :msn-wink:



Yes but you'll also need a car batt or 2 & an inverter... might want a pram or old lady wheel bag to help carry it too

sorry dont need ether

http://rog.asus.com/notebook/17-inch/g75vw/

[SMOKEU]

Good luck gaming with that onboard graphics. The Intel HD3000 is very good as far as onboard graphics are concerned, but it's still nowhere near as good as even a low end dedicated GPU. It's your call really, but you'll be bitterly disappointed in the performance. Either be prepared to sink a minimum of $3k on a laptop, or $1.5k on a desktop, or keep saving until you can afford to do so. It might pay to watch some Youtube video recordings of games that you intend to play on the various laptops you're looking at. This should give you some idea about what each one is capable of.

[Madmax]

Good luck gaming with that onboard graphics. The Intel HD3000 is very good as far as onboard graphics are concerned, but it's still nowhere near as good as even a low end dedicated GPU. It's your call really, but you'll be bitterly disappointed in the performance. Either be prepared to sink a minimum of $3k on a laptop, or $1.5k on a desktop, or keep saving until you can afford to do so. It might pay to watch some Youtube video recordings of games that you intend to play on the various laptops you're looking at. This should give you some idea about what each one is capable of.

Are you talking about the g75vw?
Its only GPU is an Nivdia 660m kepler, no intel stuff at all

[Reido]

I have an Asus N53SV.
i7 2.2ghz quad core,
8gb ram,
750GB HDD, (gotta get me a SSD)
Nvidia GT540M 2gb graphics.
also has intel onboard graphics, it switches between the two depending on what your doing.

Cost me around $1000 NZD (Bought it when I was in ozzy in Feb, so I got the tax back =] ).

It plays games reasonably well. Good for during my breaks between classes at uni. Been playing Borderlands 2, played Mass Effect 3 pretty well, CS:Source runs good. Gaming preformance decreases significantly if its running on battery, so needs to be plugged in.

If your looking for something to do some light gaming on the go, something like this should do it. But as others have said desktop is the only way to go for real gaming. Playing on the laptop gets it quite hot.


So look for i5 / i7, 8gb ram, dedicated graphics GT540M, GT640M etc or above. Not sure what the decent ATI cards in laptop are atm..

[SMOKEU]

Are you talking about the g75vw?
Its only GPU is an Nivdia 660m kepler, no intel stuff at all

I was just looking at the link and saw HD3000, maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention.

[Nova.]

well fuck me dead ... just ran my 400$ cell phone over in a 16 tonne digger after it fell out of my pocket without me noticing.... :facepalm:

[SMOKEU]

well fuck me dead ... just ran my 400$ cell phone over in a 16 tonne digger after it fell out of my pocket without me noticing.... :facepalm:

Nothing a bit of duct tape won't fix.

[Nova.]

not this time unfortunately haha

[Suntoucher]

If gaming is your strict task, you want to go AMD Llano (or wait for Trinity) with a crappy discrete GPU, you'll pick them up for very little compared to something with an Intel chip because the CPUs produce more heat, use more power and aren't nearly as powerful.

Not all bad, though, because the IGPs on them are far greater than the Intel IGP and can hybrid crossfire (think they call it Dual Graphics now) with a low end discrete GPU to pump out some decent notebook GPU performance (nowhere near the high end mobile GPUs, but the highest in your price range), and the games will bottleneck on the GPU far before they do on the CPU.

This page is what you want to be looking at, it advises which chips have IGPs that combine with which discrete GPUs to get which relative GPU performance.
http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/dual-graphics/Pages/dual-graphics.aspx#/2

Then find the highest you can in your price range.

According to Pricespy, this looks to be your best option:
http://pricespy.co.nz/category.php?l=s97977297&cols=1584,17,4461&o=produkt_pris_inkmoms#prodlista
http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/product/XC8195/hp-pavilion-dv6-7003ax-notebook

[\m/]

well fuck me dead ... just ran my 400$ cell phone over in a 16 tonne digger after it fell out of my pocket without me noticing.... :facepalm:
This is the exact reason I don't buy high-end phones.

[Nova.]

haha yeah think i'll keep it in the right pocket or chest pocket from now on...

[Kermit250]

This site: laptopbattery.co.nz could be useful if you are shopping for a laptop on a budget.

Have a good look around, there are some good bargains to be had.

I got (for the wife) a brand new (end of last years stock but never opened) Lenovo 15 inch, 2.6 i7, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, etc for $950

Not necessarily a "gaming laptop" as such (if there is such a thing) but I'm sure you could find something you may be after.

[Sable]

Powerful laptops have such shitty battery life you may as well have a desktop and not lose on price and performance.

[Nova.]

i ended up getting a toshiba, works incredibly well.
doesn't lag for games like DayZ, Payday etc.
only wanted a laptop cause my rooms to small for a desktop, and can use it on the bed

[EJK]

or this? http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/laptops/laptops/asus/auction-520994839.htm


i could spend more then 1k on a laptop but its not important enough for me to justify the cost haha, call me a jew.

Intel Graphics?

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