Low/mid end gaming laptop

[mulberry05]

Let me begin by saying I have a very high-end gaming rig that was just upgraded with free parts I received from a coworker. I use this machine primarily when I am home. I travel for work and I'm gone a few months at a time so there's no point in bringing a large rig with me. I have a macbook pro for work but it doesn't run games very well.

I'm looking to run games on low-mid resolutions. I am also very busy so I'll probably use this thing a few times a week so I'm only looking to spend ~500. Anyone have any links? Also, is it worth building my own? I have no idea how to build laptops but I can put together a mean PC 😛

 

[mulberry05]

Laptops can't be built, their main components are designed for their individual cases and most of the components are soldered to the board.

It would be in your best interests to spend $650 on the ASUS R510DP with:

AMD A10-5750M
8GB RAM
750GB HDD
AMD Radeon HD 8670M Graphics
15.6" 1920x1080 Display

If you don't need the 1080p display, you can save some money to get an Acer Aspire V5-552G which is less poweful but still has dedicated graphics.

Cheaper still, you can get a Lenovo G505s which is the most powerful integrated graphics option around.

The second one isn't a bad option. 70 dollar difference (with shipping) compared to the first one. Would customizing my own laptop end up costing me more from these retailer names like ASUS, Acer, HP, etc?

 

[mulberry05]

Laptops can't be built, their main components are designed for their individual cases and most of the components are soldered to the board.

It would be in your best interests to spend $650 on the ASUS R510DP with:

AMD A10-5750M
8GB RAM
750GB HDD
AMD Radeon HD 8670M Graphics
15.6" 1920x1080 Display

If you don't need the 1080p display, you can save some money to get an Acer Aspire V5-552G which is less poweful but still has dedicated graphics.

Cheaper still, you can get a Lenovo G505s which is the most powerful integrated graphics option around.

The second one isn't a bad option. 70 dollar difference (with shipping) compared to the first one. Would customizing my own laptop end up costing me more from these retailer names like ASUS, Acer, HP, etc?

Yes, it would be more expensive to customize a laptop and it would take longer to get to you as well.

HP is also a brand that should be avoided. Their quality is generally extremely low in the consumer laptop market and they are the least consistent in quality of all manufacturers.

Understood.

How would you compare the Radeon HD 8750M with Intel HD Graphics 4400? I understand one is integrated one isn't.