Solved! Best Gaming Laptop for under $1200.

[asif20]

Hello,
i am going to buy a laptop within the month
i am currently thinking of buying this one
http/reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-bamboo-u43jc-a1/4507-3121_7-34155399.html?tag=specs
the battery life is great and i want the nvidia optimus technology
screen from 14 to 15.6 would be fine
any suggestions?

 

[asif20]

wait i change my mind, I Dont want nvidia optimus and the battery life could be 3hrs
wat i want is a gaming laptop, 14 to 15.6 inch, light and most importantly is cool at all times, preferably asus or msi or something like that
dont want hp or macbook or sony

 

[WR2]

Asus and MSI are good choices for a gaming laptop.
But a gaming laptop will NOT be cool at all times, especially not while gaming.
Sorry, but it just the 'nature of the beast within'.

Take a look at the MSI GX640-260
Core i5 450M 2.4GHz 15" 1680x1050 LCD w/ Mobility HD 5850. About $1180 with Win7.
MSI GX640 Series reviews

 

[asif20]

wow, that looks good!! any other suggestions? i mean wat are the other competitors to this one?

 

[WR2]

Look at the same XoticPC website.
The direct competitors will be the Asus and Sager notebooks.

 

[asif20]

the graphic card is a bit too high-end, i mean it runs all games at max and hence it gets hot, is there any laptop the same as the msi gx but with a slightly less powerful graphic card so that it doesnt get hot? thanks btw!!

 

[WR2]

Any chance you can wait an six to eight weeks?
The Sandy Bridge notebooks will be back on the market about that time.

You can't buy them just yet...but you can look at them:
http/www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-intel-generation-mobile-ct-95_51_301.html

Also you'll have more choices as the dual core Sandy Bridge laptops should be out about that time as well.

 

[WR2]

What games.....and at what graphics settings......are you expecting?

 

[asif20]

Nice!! couldnt be more convenient, buying it next month
so wat are the benefits of these sandy bridges?

 

[WR2]

Awesome CPUs and next gen AMD Mobility 6xxx and Nvidia mobile 5xxM GPUs.

Intel’s Sandy Bridge: Upheaval in the Mobile Landscape

NVIDIA GeForce 500M: Refreshing the 400M
http/www.anandtech.com/show/4087/nvidia-500m-refreshing-the-400m

Something with a less powerful GPU:

AVADirect's Clevo B5130M: Core i7-640M CPU, GeForce GT 425M with a 15.6" 1080p Chaser
http/www.anandtech.com/show/4027/clevo-b5130-geforce-gt-425m-1080p

 

[Fadekyn]

Coolness shouldn't matter. No laptop should be on your lap for extended periods of time. So if you plan on gaming a lot, you should not hold back. Just invest in a solid laptop cooling pad than can act as a buffer plate between your lap and the computer when you do want to actually hold it on your lap. Besides, even a mid-tier card is going to heat up quite a bit, maybe even more so since it will have to work harder to play the games.

Without that buffer you could end up like this.
http/www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6930908-warm-laptops-might-cause-toasted-skin-syndrome

Ahhhh......toasted skin syndrome, it doesn't turn the ladies off at all.

 

[asif20]

i think i will get the msi ge620
http/pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/msi-gr620-and-ge620-review-specs-release-date-and-price-for-laptop/
wat do u think?
or should i spend some extra cash and buy the gx680?
http/pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/msi-gx680-and-msi-fx420-price-specs-and-release-date-confirmed/

 

[WR2]

GE 620 & GeForce GT 500M ?? Thats not right. Can you check another source and confirm that? GT 540 I'd believe.

MSI GX680.... what video card?

 

[Fadekyn]

i think i will get the msi ge620
http/pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/msi-gr620-and-ge620-review-specs-release-date-and-price-for-laptop/
wat do u think?
or should i spend some extra cash and buy the gx680?
http/pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/msi-gx680-and-msi-fx420-price-specs-and-release-date-confirmed/

Well, on the first one you would have to wait since Sandy Bridge chipsets are broken and working sets won't be out until March. On the second one the description isn't specific about which graphics card you'll get.

If you're going to go the gaming route you need to decide what games you'll be playing and at what level you'll want the eye candy to pop.

For reference go to notebookcheck.net and search ATI 5870. This will give you an insite link for a review on that card, on the right side of the review will be 3 tiers of cards. Top, middle, bottom gaming cards lists.

You should also take into account, that since you really can't upgrade laptops, you have a much more limited lifespan with regards to the longevity of your graphic card's quality. Some game may come out down the line that you can't play at the level you want to play it at because you skimped on card quality.

 

[WindowsTeam_Kevin]

I have two suggestions for you.

The first is the iBUYPOWER Battalion Touch CZ-10 for $899. This one is pretty powerful, and should be more than what you need. Along with a 15.6" screen, it features DDR3 memory and discrete ATI Radeon® HD 4000 series graphics for low heat, high performance, and life-like visuals. Here are the specs:
Screen
15.6" WXGA (1366x768)
Processor
2.53 GHz Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Mobile P8700
RAM
4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz
Storage
500 GB HDD 5400 RPM
Operating system
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

The other is the Alienware M15x for $1199. The Intel® Core™ i7 processor features technologies that boost performance for your gaming, multimedia applications, and daily tasks at the same time. This one's a beast. I like this best, but obviously it is more expensive. Here are its specs:
Screen
15.6" (1600x900) HD
Processor
2.4 GHz Intel® Core™ I3 370M
RAM
4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz
Storage
256 GB HDD 7200 RPM
Operating system
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Optical drive
CD R/W, DVD R/W

I think these are definitely worth a look at. Let me know what you think.

Kevin
Windows Outreach Team

 

[Fadekyn]

I'm going to be a jerk here and say that for the money each of those are junk.

You can get an Acer with a 5650 card and comparable specs for under $700.

As for the Alienware an i3, only 4G RAM and only a 256GB harddrive for $1200? Really? Does Alienware even try to put in good components anymore?

He can get an HP DV6 or DV7 with Blu ray(even burner depending on coupon), 2-3 times bigger harddrive, better processor, ATI 6570 card for $900-$1100. (again depending on coupon) AND THAT'S JUST HP.


Pretty much, with the cost of RAM at it's lowest ever, the glut of LCD screens, new gpu releases and new chipsets there is no reason to settle for anything less than an i7, 500G/7200rpm, 6GB RAM to start.


Both the battalion touch and the M15 are ripoffs for what they offer. Consumers and sellers should realize that by now.


Now realistically, because manufacturers add something like a 300% premium (at the minimum) to the cost of your GPU cards most laptops with the top line card cost a ton. That's why everyone is getting stuck with ATI 5650's still and the Nvidia equivalent. Just as an example, an ATI 6870 goes for under $200 but you sure as hell can expect that if it were offered in a laptop it would cost you $500-$700 to put in. So not only do they get the margin inherently built into the $200 price they make another $300-$500 just because they can.

So like my case, I got stuck with a refurb because I wanted a top card. I gave up a Bluray player/burner, bigger harddrive, 2GB RAM, bluetooth, cheap 2nd battery just so I could have a better gaming laptop. The biggest hurt being the lack of the BluRay player, since I could have output to a TV and saved cash on a stand alone player.

In the end, the longevity of a laptop depends on the graphics card. He said he wants to game, so I'm going to push this point.

 

[asif20]

all right i am seriously confused now, i want a well-kwown gaming laptop brand
from wat i have heard alienware is pretty popular, wats the graphic card like on the alien ware m15x, my budget is 1200 so i can afford!!

 

[asif20]

wait the alienware m15x is only i3, i want i5 or i7
hey wr2, is geforce gt 500M that good? u sound surprised, should i consider this?
http/pinoytutorial.com/techtoria [...] or-laptop/
everyone check out the above link and tell me something abt the graphic card on ge620

 

[asif20]

here's another link to it, information about the graphic card would be appreciated!
http/www.productwiki.com/msi-ge620/

 

[WR2]

There is no Nvidia GT 500 on the complete list of Nvidia mobile graphics cards.
http/www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html