Buying A Gaming Laptop Need Opinions Please, My Budget Is Around £600

Frijjilicious

Honorable
Aug 30, 2012
3
0
10,510
Hello people of Tom's Hardware, I am looking to buy a gaming laptop, I will be buying it.. well now :) I posted on here about building a gaming rig about a month ago, but I have been using a laptop since then and I have grown to like it's Pro's.

Any ways I want to know how this sounds, I want a gaming laptop capable of playing games on medium or max settings, games like StarCraftII Aion Tribes: Ascend, even Minectaft on max settings. If any of you have a better gaming rig build which would be worth getting with losing the pro's of a laptop then please post it I just like being able to play in bed xD

This is what I have at the moment (based on https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusIV-17/ )

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core Processor B980 (2.40GHz) 2MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor


I changed a few parts, not many. Should I upgrade anything? Should I buy/build a rig instead? should I buy a cooling stand? I have one but it is crappy. Any suggestions are welcome. Oh also if you have any suggestions for a different laptop, then please post it :) Thank you
 

ram1009

Distinguished
Jun 28, 2007
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18,960
Find something else fun to do in bed and confine your gaming to a desktop. You'll be miles ahead in the long run. Laptops are NOT portable desktops.
 

dodgyx666

Honorable
Sep 24, 2012
77
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10,590
Replace that CPU with the i5 2.5ghz (turbos to 3.0 I think), and then use discount code PCS97 for £15 off, and that's pretty much exact same specs I'm gonna buy from there, except I'm getting 15" as I feel it's a compromise between viewability and portability.
 

division_9

Distinguished
Apr 5, 2011
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18,590
Unfortunately since your from the UK laptop prices are pretty much ridiculous. Add to the fact that unless you're going to shell out $1500+ you can probably expect to be playing on reduced settings on all but the oldest games. If you lived in the US I'd instantly recommend the Lenovo Y580($849) however I can't say how much it'll cost at your local shop.


@ram1009: "confine your gaming to a desktop. You'll be miles ahead in the long run" A gaming laptop has mobility(single most valuable trait to a lot of people). If you're going to tell OP to be confined to a desk then tell him to get a console which'll last longer, cost a 1/2-1/3 of the price and have some pretty reputable exclusives.
 

Frijjilicious

Honorable
Aug 30, 2012
3
0
10,510

I can buy from any site that delivers to the UK without a huge delivery fee. yes I know I a laptop isnt a portable desktop, but thanks. Also Dodgy I did what you did and I got some more money to spend,

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3210M (2.50GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
320GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD3200BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
The discount code you gave me expired :(

Thank you for the replies though :)