New Gaming Laptop

[MontyInHD]

So my brother is looking for a laptop for casual gaming, and with a budget of £500 with small flexibility I knew it was going to be shallow.

So I've come here looking for a awesome laptop with good frames and a good resolution.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears, thanks for all help.

 

[superninja12]

https/www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-X556UB-Laptop-Display-i5-6200U/dp/B01FE6HST0/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1464562117&sr=1-1&keywords=laptop

https/www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-15-AN051NA-15-6-inch-Resolution/dp/B01B5SS85O/ref=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1464562146&sr=1-6&keywords=laptop

the 1st one is a 720p screen which will allow you to play at higher settings.
the 2nd one is a 1080p screen which allows you to play at lower settings with a nicer screen.

truthfullyy i would pick the 2nd one. both give u on low med 30 fps on triple a games.
for league csgo both give u 60fps. and for movies the 1080p screen is a +

of course up to you.

 

[superninja12]

and yes a desktop would beat them both. with the ability upgrade.

 

[_Vass]

obviously getting a desktop is your only true answer even thought you might not want to hear it. otherwise i'd look for second hand laptops because honestly with 500 youre not gonna get more than a gt 930m if youre lucky and that's just terrible for gaming.

 

[photonboy]

The 2nd laptop looks pretty nice overall.

For some games I would apply ADAPTIVE VSYNC (NVidia Control Panel-> Manage 3D settings-> add game..)

This causes VSYNC to toggle off if you drop below 60FPS which is important because otherwise you get stuttering. The tradeoff is screen tearing. For the games that I have it enabled I tweak until I get 60FPS about 90% of the time or better.

If GSYNC was available I'd recommend that but I don't know if that exists in your price range. I doubt it.

 

[photonboy]

obviously getting a desktop is your only true answer even thought you might not want to hear it. otherwise i'd look for second hand laptops because honestly with 500 youre not gonna get more than a gt 930m if youre lucky and that's just terrible for gaming.

a) did you even click on the links for the first comment? You can get a GT940M, and 1080p monitor etc.

b) second hand has its own issues too including usually NO WARRANTY

c) why even mention desktops since they specified a laptop very clearly? and don't forget you also need to include the price of the monitor, keyboard (ignore the mouse as he'd get one either way), and Windows if you build it yourself.

If anybody cares, this is pretty useful: http/uk.pcpartpicker.com/

 

[_Vass]

obviously getting a desktop is your only true answer even thought you might not want to hear it. otherwise i'd look for second hand laptops because honestly with 500 youre not gonna get more than a gt 930m if youre lucky and that's just terrible for gaming.

a) did you even click on the links for the first comment? You can get a GT940M, and 1080p monitor etc.

b) second hand has its own issues too including usually NO WARRANTY

c) why even mention desktops since they specified a laptop very clearly? and don't forget you also need to include the price of the monitor, keyboard (ignore the mouse as he'd get one either way), and Windows if you build it yourself.

If anybody cares, this is pretty useful: http/uk.pcpartpicker.com/

-no i missed the first link, sorry. the point still stands though. a gt 940m is not gonna get you very far.
-second hand laptops can still be covered by warranty but yes it's much more of a hassle and it's a lot riskier.
-you attack me on the fact that i mentioned desktop(i even acknowledged it is not what he wants) but then you proceed to link a site for desktop components... nice...

 

[photonboy]

obviously getting a desktop is your only true answer even thought you might not want to hear it. otherwise i'd look for second hand laptops because honestly with 500 youre not gonna get more than a gt 930m if youre lucky and that's just terrible for gaming.

a) did you even click on the links for the first comment? You can get a GT940M, and 1080p monitor etc.

b) second hand has its own issues too including usually NO WARRANTY

c) why even mention desktops since they specified a laptop very clearly? and don't forget you also need to include the price of the monitor, keyboard (ignore the mouse as he'd get one either way), and Windows if you build it yourself.

If anybody cares, this is pretty useful: http/uk.pcpartpicker.com/

-no i missed the first link, sorry. the point still stands though. a gt 940m is not gonna get you very far.
-second hand laptops can still be covered by warranty but yes it's much more of a hassle and it's a lot riskier.
-you attack me on the fact that i mentioned desktop(i even acknowledged it is not what he wants) but then you proceed to link a site for desktop components... nice...

1) "attack" is pretty strong. Anyway, i took your comment to read as "laptop sucks for gaming... no choice but desktop... even though you might not want to hear it"

anyway, let's just forget about that.

2) he said "casual gaming" and there are LOTS of games that run very nicely on the GT940M. Not everybody who games plays Battlefield 4 or GTA5 etc.

Torchlight 2, Diablo 3, Half Life 2, Portal... I can list probably thirty games that run great off the top of my head. I'll list some below.

3) TWEAKING tips:
So pick the games carefully, and then tweak them. (I recommend forcing on Adaptive VSYNC for some games via the NVidia Control Panel-> Manage 3D settings-> add game (launch game prior so its near top of list)-> vertical synch-> adaptive VSync-> SAVE

Then tweak the games so you play at 60FPS 90% of the time roughly. The point is that you want VSYNC for many titles due to screen tear, but dropping below 60FPS (60Hz monitor) causes STUTTERING due to frame time variance. It's generally better to have screen tear VSYNC OFF) rather than the stutter.

*VSYNC OFF is a good choice too, especially if screen tear isn't too annoying. Aiming for around 40FPS (FRAPS or Steam FPS indicator) is a good choice. The GeForce Experience utility has profiles for many games too (I believe it optimizes for 40FPS VSYNC OFF).

**1600x900 is the optimal resolution for some games. The smaller the TEXT or HUD elements the more important the higher resolution is. Some games may even run best at 1366x768 but you'll have to experiment with all the settings. The IMPORTANT thing is to decide on VSYNC ON, VSYNC OFF, or Adaptive VSYNC.

3) I linked pcpartpicker because he can look for a MOUSE there if he needs to, possibly some inexpensive desktop speakers, and also because he may have some interest in the site in general

Other:
**I'll link some games that MAY run well on your system that I have in my Steam library.

 

[photonboy]

Possible games for GT940M ("?" if not sure):

**GAME FIXES, tweaks site (very useful):
http/pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Home

XBOX 360 controller recommended for some games (fighting, racing).

First, this link is for a laptop with WAY worse specs. I just thought it was interesting:
http/gamingbolt.com/100-games-to-play-on-your-netbook-or-home-computer

My casual games:
- command and conquer 3
- red alert 3
- crysis 3 (just kidding)
- deponia (and other point and click games)
- Dirt and other racing games??
- kingdoms of amalur reckoning
- legend of grimrock 1,2
- star wars KOTOR 2 (the older game which was updated within last year)
- serious sam 2
- Torchlight 1,2
- age of empires 2,3 (older with some recent updates)
- amnesia the dark descent (?)
- bastion (add "-nofixedstep" without quotes to launch options in Steam)
- Bioshock #1 (?)
- Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (older game)
- the cave (?) (may want to try locking to 30FPS via the "HALF" method of adaptive VSYNC)
- defense grid the awakening
- demolition, inc
- Deus Ex (with Revision mod)
- Devil May Cry 4 (older game, runs surprisingly well)
- CIV 5
- Half Life 2 (plus EP1, EP2)
- Left 4 Dead (and L4D2)
- Lego series (?) some are more demanding than others such as Harry Potter 5-7
- machinarium (i change desktop resolution to 1366x768 i believe to let it fill most of screen as it will not scale)
- magicka
- mark of the ninja (?)
- mini ninjas
- Myst V
- Mount & Blade series
- neverwinter nights 2 (?)
- path of exile (?) F2P MMO
- Portal 1,2
- Psychonauts (?) controller icon fix mod
- Sam and Max (only Season 3 recommended, though there is a solution for the first two season involving an application "borderlesswindowed" that works)
- serious sam HD the second encounter
- sins of a solar empire, GAL CIV 2 (if you like those types of space games)
- Street Fighter IV (XBOX360 controller recommended)
- Super Meat Boy (controller)
- system shock 2
- terraria
- titan quest
- valkyria chronicles (?)
- vampire the masquerade bloodlines (with VTMBup94 mod)
- the walking dead series (?)
- the wolf among us (?) - based on "Fables" comics which are great.
- world in conflict - soviet assault
- world of goo
- XCOM enemy Unknown (? 30FPS via Half VSync mod may be optimal, or VSYNC OFF but haven't tested)

Summary:
Again, some may not work well or may need some tweaks such as dropping resolution, possibly even locking to 30FPS but that's my list to the best of my abilities.

Other games obviously exist too. Anyway, don't buy a game just because you may meet the minimum specification listed as sometimes that spec doesn't reflect an enjoyable experience.

Cheers.