Solved! HELP; Best gaming laptop for cheap :P

[AangXD]

Hey!

I'm kind of a noob with laptops and computers, so please keep it simple :lol:

1. What is your budget?

$500 - $700

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

Size doesn't matter, but small will be preferred.

3. What screen resolution do you want?

Good.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portable.

5. How much battery life do you need?

Doesn't matter, but of course, bigger better!

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Yes!!!!

I would like to play some strong games like Total War, SOE games etc. As high setting with no lag.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)


Email / Microsoft Package ( Word - Excel - Publisher etc) / Internet.


8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?


Since it's a gaming laptop, high?


9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.


I would prefer if I buy it directly from the producer's; HP, Dell etc. From their main store, but I would prefer the trusted sites.

You can take a look at : www.souq.com (since it's local)


10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

As long as possible, 4 years AT LEAST.


11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?


DVD, CD (To install games, obviously ) Blu ray would be nice


12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.


I wouldn't mind the brand, but I would prefer the known one's/ trusted one's. Eg : HP/Dell


13. What country do you live in?


I live in the UAE. [United Arab Emirates]

Lot's of HP laptops here. Just tell me the best laptop, and I can get them, I don't care about shipping



14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Any questions please ask!



Thanks in advance!

 

[ilikemacandpc]

You cannot play games at high on a $750 USD budget. Impossible!
Your best choice would be something with an AMD a8

 

[ilikemacandpc]

http/www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-P755D-S5378-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B005KP0XIO/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1324666216&sr=1-6

Toshiba with AMD A8- 3500m
It will play games at low to medium.
Get an SSD.

 

[jaguarskx]

This Acer is not bad. It comes with a Core i5-2430m and nVidia GT 540. Long battery life too (estimated 7 - 9 hours) ; unless you are going to play games using the battery.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215183&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1v8qm4b9w6ap3

The only cons about it are:

1. 5400RPM hard drive. Well, it does help battery life, but it also means booting up is slower as well as installing programs.

2. Internal battery which you cannot replace. If the battery starts to die, you must send it back to be serviced.


Pros:

1. nVidia GT 540. Not the best, but not the worst. Considering your budget, it is the best you can afford. You should be able to play many games with medium settings.

2. Under 5lbs makes it easy to carry.

3. Battery life of 7-9 hours.


Hopefully you can find this laptop in the UAE, or find a site that ships to there like Amazon.

 

[RetiredChief]

Not sure the supply in UAE, so some general tips.
For reliability: Asus -> Toshibia-> samsung. Dell and sony mid. Acer and HP toward the bottom.
GPU. Try for the NVidia 540m. Better GPUs, but also ups the price. Nvidia has the advantage over the AMD gpu when combined with a SB CPU (ie I5-2410m) as it has better switching between IGP and GPU when switching between 2D amplications (Office/internet) and 3D (games and Movies).

While you are not in the US, when you pick a possible choice:
(1) google a review
(2) Check to see if it is listed @ newegg, if so then check user reviews.
(3) Check the GPU performance for the games you wish to play, Will post a link - just go to the bottom left (Site may take a while to load)
Link for 540m: http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html

On SSD - Do not buy with installed. Pick uip later.
On Blu-ray. Make sure the dvd drive is user replacable. DVD drives are often more failure prone than other parts. Also you can then later replace with a Blu-ray Rom/DVD writer. Cost should be around $100 USD. Have replace the DVD drive in two Tosibia Laptops for Blu-ray drives.

 

[photonboy]

1) You need to use NVidia's Optimus technology to turn off the gaming chip when not in use or else the laptop will be very, very hot and noisy (with poor battery life) even in basic usage.

2) Gaming laptops are very expensive. You need to GOOGLE for benchmarks based on the Graphics chipset that the laptop has.

3) If I build a DESKTOP gaming PC for $1000 it likely performs better than ANY laptop you can buy, regardless of whether it costs $4000 or more. There's simply not enough room inside a laptop for good gaming chips and the heatsinks/fans to keep them quiet.

4) If $700 is your upper budget, you may wish to consider a high-end AMD APU system (see benchmarks) and then choose games that run well on it.

*There are lots of games that are fun and don't need a super powerful PC. Deus Ex #1 is one example. (It's always a good idea to try DEMOS as well).


***Try looking up benchmarks (use the NVidia graphics chipset for NVida, and the APU chipset for AMD).

Some links to get you started:
http/www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6155&p=3

http/www.ncix.com/notebooks/

 

[ilikemacandpc]

That Acer Laptop is now deactivated...plus its a bad brand.
The Toshiba has the AMD APU, specifically a low end A8
The CPU performance is weak, but the GPU performance will pants anything intel has at that price point.

 

[AangXD]

Thanks for replying!

I can deal with a little more than $700. Somewhere, max $1,000. Since I'm going to buy, I might as well buy something worth it. The current one I bought is worth $1,500 and it's terrible for gaming ...

I really appreciate the answers.

 

[WR2]

You'd want something with a Sandy Bridge Core i5/i7 CPU and a graphics card like Radeon HD 6770m or Geforce GT 550m/555m.

A couple options that run right around $1000 over here.
HP DV6/DV7 with Radeon HD 6770M graphics card
Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 Core i7-2630QM & GT 555m graphics card
How much does a Dell XPS 17 with GT 555m graphics card cost in your area?

 

[RetiredChief]

@ photonboy: Quote You need to use NVidia's Optimus technology to turn off the gaming chip when not in use or else the laptop will be very, very hot and noisy (with poor battery life) even in basic usage. END Qoute
Not true with Intel SB processor. Unlike AMDs implimentation, NVidia's Optimus works well auto switching between Intel's IGP (for 2 D apps) and the 540m GPU (for 3D apps). , got when neMy system Samsung RF711-S01. I5-2410m, 540m, 8gigs ram (I dadded 4), Blu-ray Rom/DVD-RW, 2 128 gig Curcial M4s (Use the HDD that came with it as an external USB3 BU/storage drive. Bought when newegg had on sell for $750 - Not worth the list price of around $1,000. Upgrades added around $450.

Not sure if NVidia's Optimus works as well with the 550m, or 555m - But AMDs switching is very poor accrose the board. For all around usage and gaming, I'd take the lower performing 540 over a simular (sightly higher) AMD GPU. BUT That is Me.

 

[popatim]

Check to see if you can pick up a Recertified/Refurbished Asus in your area. Something like: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230174