I'm looking to replace a Lenovo T400 that has a AMD M82XT Hybrid 256mb gpu, a Core2Duo 9400 & 8gb ram. It's definitely long in the tooth and we've had a recent spate of BSODs so the time is nigh.
My 10yo has started gaming in the past year - mostly Minecraft & Terraria but more intensive stuff is on the horizon (Left 4 Dead, the newSimCity). He doesn't complain much now but I'd like to be prepared and not have something that makes for a really miserable experience 1 year down the road if he expands his gaming.
From what I've gathered, the GPU is probably the biggest hurdle. I've looked at the big names (Dell, HP, Lenovo) and they mostly offer lower-end gpus (judging by these benchmarks) except for Dell's Alienware line where the cheapest Alienware 14 offers the GeForce GTX 765M, which seems to have more than double the performance of the other gpus offered. I'm guessing that is probably the way to go but do are other GPUs like the GeForce GT 750M doable? Or not worth it in the long run?
Also, I am assuming that lower screen resolutions can make do with a lesser gpu - is that correct?
I'd originally thought I could find something usable for under $700, thinking anything would be an upgrade over what we have, but it seems more like that at under $1500 is more realistic. Are there any particular laptop models that offer good gaming performance without breaking the bank? Thank you.
My 10yo has started gaming in the past year - mostly Minecraft & Terraria but more intensive stuff is on the horizon (Left 4 Dead, the newSimCity). He doesn't complain much now but I'd like to be prepared and not have something that makes for a really miserable experience 1 year down the road if he expands his gaming.
From what I've gathered, the GPU is probably the biggest hurdle. I've looked at the big names (Dell, HP, Lenovo) and they mostly offer lower-end gpus (judging by these benchmarks) except for Dell's Alienware line where the cheapest Alienware 14 offers the GeForce GTX 765M, which seems to have more than double the performance of the other gpus offered. I'm guessing that is probably the way to go but do are other GPUs like the GeForce GT 750M doable? Or not worth it in the long run?
Also, I am assuming that lower screen resolutions can make do with a lesser gpu - is that correct?
I'd originally thought I could find something usable for under $700, thinking anything would be an upgrade over what we have, but it seems more like that at under $1500 is more realistic. Are there any particular laptop models that offer good gaming performance without breaking the bank? Thank you.