Gaming Laptop On a Budget

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andrewbot5

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Jun 2, 2013
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I am looking to buy a gaming laptop and I am wondering if somebody could recommend a brand or a specific laptop to me. My budget is about $1000-$1500 and I want to be able to run Skyrim and record with fraps at the same time

Any Suggestions?
 
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A $1500 laptop will perform like a $1000 desktop. But with a desktop you get a bigger screen and much more flexibility with your system.

I gotta warn you. Once you go desktop you never go back.
 
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My budget is 1000-1200 and i would like to run skyrim/crysis while recording and also be able to edit videos. if that is even possible It would be great to know how to do so and with what parts
 
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For your budget : Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 GTX 750 2 GB Dual SLI ... You would be sacrificing for a DVD ROM but you can buy a cheap external USB one .. :)

That should give you best performance overall .. And to record games use FRAPS, also to edit you should go for Sony Vegas Pro.
 
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This is a good example of an incredible, do it yourself, system for $1100. It will play games at higher resolution and fps than any laptop.
It has a SSD for OS and all programs. Also, the components will play all games on High to Ultra on a 1080p monitor w/ 60fps.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($106.01 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($254.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1094.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-05 09:15 EDT-0400)
 
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The beauty of Sager is that they build their laptop with upgrades in mind. Also, they are the most competitive in term of price, anything you can build in a laptop will be cheaper with Sager. I recommend https://www.xoticpc.com/ one of the top Sager reseller out there. They have a HUGE diversity of configuration to play with.
 
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I am issuing a challenge to you guys, and that is to find the cheapest and most powerful gaming desktop out there (although quality before price) The winner receives millions of brownie points and my eternal thanks
 
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I posted an awesome build with everything last week. You need to clarify what you want and how much you will spend.
 
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I would like it to be able to play Crysis 3 on high graphics while also being as cheap as is possible and i would need a 1tb hard drive to record. Also needed is 16 gigs of RAM and a good video card. I will spend up to $1200 and that is with a monitor
Thanks a lot to everybody on this thread.
:)
 
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$1200. And this will play Crysis on High. Also, you get a great SSD for all programs.
Includes 1TB HDD and 16GB RAM, and a gaming monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($110.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($117.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.58 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($254.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1198.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-12 14:29 EDT-0400)
 
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Including monitor that gets a bit tricky mate.

Check this out, its stronger than the other one -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($138.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.23 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($293.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.73 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1226.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-12 14:47 EDT-0400)

------------------------

This has got the best overclocking support you can get (and it does pretty good too if things turned out to be well), a very stronger card, and a MUCH stronger CPU.

Further if you can skip the OS too, then it would get even cheaper. It is just exactly around your budget but is a sweeter deal overall.

And yeah you would be able to play Crysis 3 on high - very high settings at 50+ FPS on this build.
This is stronger and faster than envy's build for $29 more. I guess I can be sure on that.
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($110.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.21 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($254.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1015.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-12 22:31 EDT-0400)
 
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Grade: 4/10.

Do not buy a A10-5800k, it is designed for systems without a GPU and fast RAM. Really, horrible choice. If you want AMD, then fx-6300 or fx-8320; and overclock it.

PSU: $135!!! You don't need 850W for 1 670. 550W is enough.

RAM: buy it in pairs. 2x8GB, 4x4GB, not 3x...

Western Digital 1 TB HDD is cheaper and better than Hitachi.

$20 fan. Why? Get cheaper ones.
 
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5/10.

What's wrong with the builds that I and other builders suggested? You asked for advice and took none of it. And your builds are really bad. Ask others and you will hear the same.
 
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Terrible CPU ... Insanely expensive RAM ... Too costly video card ...

Are you sure about this system mate? Other's systems are much better than this one and cost nearly the same.
You can go for envy's system if you are not into overclocking and it would perform far better than any of the Richland CPUs out there.

If you want to overclock, reduce RAM to 8 GB and add i5 3570K along with Z77 motherboard. Price would be same.
Don't go for AMD CPUs mate, they are terrible.

When it comes to CPUs, go for Intel for performance. When it comes to GPUs, go for ATI for money.

In your build, change CPU to one of the good Intels, go for 8 GB RAM (2 x 4 GB) that is more than enough and if needed you can add more later, and GTX 770 or Radeon HD 7970 instead of 670. If you want more value for money, go for Powercolor Radeon HD 7950. That GPU is a beast too and can max out most of the games out there. Retails for around $300.
 
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Hey Guys I am not hating your builds i am just experimenting and I will probably use one of the builds you guys posted. But I was wondering what I could do and i realized i cant do anything build wise and i will buy one of the builds envy posted.
Thanks for the suggestions,
Andrew
 
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Andrew, we are trying to help you so that you don't make a bad decision. We've already built our desktops and we are trying to help others. I've seen many finished builds on pcpartpicker that are really awful, and I assume the builders didn't get help from people or received noob advice.

I posted some good builds. If you want to change things like the case ok. But you gotta get a i5 + H77 (can't overclock the i5) and good GPU.

Post another build here and we'll see if we can help you.
 
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