Gaming Laptop nothing more than 1,400

H

hayguys

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Hay guys :)


I need help buying a laptop. I want a nice powerful laptop nothing over £1,400 but i can stretch a little as long as it is worth the money. Im moving out to uni and cant be arsed with my big fat monitor :p
I want to play games on it and also use it to 3D model.

Something very important to me is reliability. I dont want it to break on me or have any problems with it. I would want it to last a good thew years or even forever :p

Help me please :). What are my choices :eek:

thanks (please reply :D)
 
How about the Dell XPS 1700, or try Rock for some nice laptops.
 
Since you have the cash to splash, check out the Asus 'G' series. As above, I would also look at Rock direct laptops. Or you could configure a laptop from the Dell XPS range

But if you are not going to play the most graphically demanding games, you could save a couple hundred and get a laptop with an X1600/X1700/Go7600/Go7700. Older than the newer DX10 cards but for example they would play FEAR and Oblivion at medium-high settings (I myself have a laptop with an X1600).
 
I have a Rock. Top of the range 2.5 years ago and its still going strong. They have good aftersales support.
 
hm rock sounds good.

My friend just told me that macbook pros are good. And if I include the student discount Id get it would come to a similiar price as a similar spec rock laptop.

Whats the opinion on the Macbook pro?


thanks guys:D
 
Configure yourself an Alienware laptop?

Solid as a rock & look spot on ( Ok different but its down to what youlike)

Only worry would that the Alienware laptop might be a little to tempting to little toerag theives in Uni?
 
A Dell XPS M1710 fits the bill, although there is a new 1730 model that rumours said was due to be released yesterday that is yet to make an appearance. The 1730 looks horrendous from pre-release pics though, IMO.

Don't worry about DX10 cards, the older 7950GTX outperforms the 8600M and 8700M in current games, and from the way DX10 performance is looking anything less than an 8800 looks like it would struggle at decent resolutions.

As has been mentioned, Rockdirect are worth a look but the Asus G1 looks a little underpowered for my liking.
 
hm rock sounds good.

My friend just told me that macbook pros are good. And if I include the student discount Id get it would come to a similiar price as a similar spec rock laptop.

Whats the opinion on the Macbook pro?


thanks guys:D

if its a gaming laptop then the Mac is bad idea - ok, you could dual boot XP on it for gaming.....but then why not just buy a Windows laptop in the first place? The Macs are lovely laptops, powerful and ideal for lots of things, just not gaming ;)
 
Well the cheaper Macbook Pro has a 128mb card and you'd have to buy the more expensive Macbook Pro for the 256mb version. Whereas with a Windows machine you would get the full 256mb card for less money. But a Mac is more about the different OS and looks

It may not matter so much if the game doesn't need the extra memory, but if you play anything like the latest games there would be a difference then. Or whether you would care enough I suppose. Plus I would also google about running the games you want to play and how the Mac handles them emulation wise
Don't worry about DX10 cards, the older 7950GTX outperforms the 8600M and 8700M in current games, and from the way DX10 performance is looking anything less than an 8800 looks like it would struggle at decent resolutions.
You're comparing a 17" GPU to a 15.4" GPU. 17" laptops have the most powerful cards because only they have the space for the cooling needs of those GPUs. But there is a reason 17" laptops are called desktop replacements. 14-15.4" laptops have less powerful GPUs but can still offer pretty good gaming in a more portable form.

Again its preferences. If you don't mind having your laptop desk bound and not wanting to carry it a lot by all means configure a 17" powerhouse laptop
 
You're comparing a 17" GPU to a 15.4" GPU. 17" laptops have the most powerful cards because only they have the space for the cooling needs of those GPUs. But there is a reason 17" laptops are called desktop replacements. 14-15.4" laptops have less powerful GPUs but can still offer pretty good gaming in a more portable form.

I'm comparing laptops within a similar price range. There are 17" laptops with 8600 and 8700 GPU's so mentioning them is fair comment. :)

The 15.4" screen "gaming" laptops are maybe a kilo lighter than some 17" models, so I don't view one as being deskbound while the other is portable. Maybe that's just me though. I have yet to see a laptop with a 14" screen that could reasonably be described as a gaming laptop. Personally I don't view the graphics capabilities of the current 15.4" screen "gaming" laptops to be good enough to be classed as such.
 
Fair enough if you're comparing price bands, just wanted to put the info out there :)

Its not just weight, its also girth. You'd need a larger backpack for a start if you have a 17" :p Me personally, I am glad I saw a 17" in person (only good thing the high street is for now!). Would have killed me on the underground
 
I'm after exactly the same thing, but I also want HDMI output. So far the only lappy that fits the bill is the new Toshiba X200. Sports an 8700 with 512Mb graphics card and has HDMI as standard. Trouble being I can't seem to find it on sale yet in the UK.

Regards

Mark
 
A bigger laptop saves trips to the gym, maybe that could be a marketing campaign, :D

How about Toshiba Direct for the X200 ? :)

Can't see HDMI mentioned though, and it's 'only' 1680x1050 on this model.

1 x DC-in
1 x line-in
1 x external monitor
1 x RJ-11
1 x RJ-45
1 x TV-out (s-video)
1 x i.LINK® (IEEE 1394)
1 x external microphone
1 x headphone (stereo)
1 x 6-in-1 Bridge Media slot (supports SD™ Card, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick Pro™, MultiMedia Card™, xD-Picture Card™, SD™ IO)
1 x integrated 1.3 Megapixel Video Camera
6 (Left 2, Right 4) x USB 2.0
 
The Toshiba X200 is the UK/EU equivalent of the X205.

I know this because I've been eagerly awaiting for the X200 to become available and was in fact that laptop I was going to recommend
 
The specs don't seem to be exactly the same though. I've read of the X200 onlly having 256 Mb of graphics memory and no HDMI port. And also the screen resolution seems to vary depending on which wed site you go to. 'Course all this could be just lack of accuracy by the web sites as they haven't got a real machine in front of them to describe yet.

Then again, it could always be the old problem in the UK of we get less for more. :(

Regards

Mark
 
Hi guys,

I am also looking to buy a gaming laptop but am maybe willing to spend a little more than the OP...say upto £1800. GPU is my biggest issue - can I ask if people generally agree with this rating for performance (best first):

1) Nvidia GeForce Go7950GTX
2) Nvidia GeForce Go7900GTX
3) Nvidia GeForce 8700M-GT

I found this here and it looks quite useful. I am keen to get the best GPU I can buy as my laptop will need to endure for several years - accordingly I would be slightly concerned about getting a 7 series card as they are only Direct X 9.0c compliant - Direct X 10 is, of course, with us and being used. What are people's feelings on this? I appreciate 9.0c compatibility will be around for many years but how will this effect some of the core games I want to feed this system on...Gears Of War, Two Worlds, Mass Effect (assuming it gets a PC release ;) ) etc.

Furthermore who builds systems around the 7950GTX? I had a look at Rock PCs and they seem to offer the 8 series on their best models. I am looking for a model that does not exceed 1050 resolution.

CPU and much of the rest I am happy with although having looked around HDD capacity strikes me as quite limited on many of these laptops (normally around 160GB?).

If anyone can help with my above points it would be appreciate :smashin:
 
I always understood it as maxed out DX9 gaming with the little extra DX10 reflections and lighting effects turned off

I supposed what you need is a DX9 vs DX10 bioshock comparison for example

I think if you want a 7950 only rock, alienware or dell (xps?) would do it. Can't think of many more custom laptop builders
 
Looking at getting a Rock laptop - specs as follows:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4GHz Dual Core processor
NVIDIA GeForce 7950 Go GTX 512MB
WSXGA+ X-Glass rock logo
2GB DDR2 667MHz RAM (1 Module)
160GB 7200rpm S-ATA
8x +/- Dual Layer DVD Writer
Internal Digital DVB-T/Analogue Hybrid - non MCE
Standard UK qwerty Keyboard
Windows Vista Home Premium

...I have a few questions though. Does it have a 56k modem? The ports are listed as follows:

4x USB 2.0 ports / Mini IEEE1394a port / 1x DVI port / Audio jacks (Microphone, Line in, headphone, S/PDIF out) / 1x S-Video output / 1x Serial (COM) / IrDA Port / 1x RJ-11 Modem / 1x RJ-45 10M/100M/1000M Fast Ethernet / 1x Express Card Slot / 1x Aerial in (for use with optional TV tuner)/ Kensington lock / Finger-print reader

...there are a few things in there that could be a dialup modem but I'm not entirely sure!?! What is an 'RJ-11' modem?

Aside from all that what do people think specs wise? Will it handle Gears Of War and Two Worlds well?
 
Disregard above...I made a few more enquiries and it does indeed have a 56k modem - therefore have ordered :thumbsup:

A little concerned about the decision of going Direct X 9 and not going for the 10 compatible 8700GT but it shouldn't be too much of an issue - this is only to allow me to play games I otherwise wouldn't have time to play on my main desktop (8800Ultra) system.
 
An RJ-11 is a type of port. It's most commonly used for telephone connection so in this case it would be for a standard 56k modem. You'd use a cable that had an RJ-11 plug on one end and a BT phone jack plug on the other. It looks like an RJ-45 plug/socket which is used for ethernet network connections but is a little smaller, usually made of transparent plastic.

As analogue modems are dying out it'll probably be soft modem where a lot of the work formally done by electronics is now done in software. Consequently it's a lot cheaper to supply in a PC but not so fast.

Generally Rock lappys are of a high standard and this one's no exception. The NVIDIA GeForce 7950 Go GTX 512MB GPU is the fastest mobile GPU you can get. The newer 8600 and 8700 cards are not as fast but they are DX10 compatible, whereas the 7950 is only DX9 compatible. Which isn't as bad as it sounds as there are no DX10 only games available. It's likely to remain that way for a good while yet. I'd say you're likely to be wanting to change laptops again before it becomes an issue and by then who knows what graphics cards will be available for laptops?

Having said all that, I myself want a DX10 compatible card so I'm not even following my own advice.

Regards

Mark
 
An RJ-11 is a type of port. It's most commonly used for telephone connection so in this case it would be for a standard 56k modem. You'd use a cable that had an RJ-11 plug on one end and a BT phone jack plug on the other. It looks like an RJ-45 plug/socket which is used for ethernet network connections but is a little smaller, usually made of transparent plastic.
Cheers Mark - I thought it was probably something like that :smashin:

I'm surprised Nvidia haven't released a 7950GTX beating mobile Direct X 10 GPU - the 8 series are exceptional performers and, although they run very hot during DX10 games do really do the business. Having thought about it overnight though I am happy Direct X 9 has ample life left in it yet though.
 
Well it usually takes them several months for them (ATI and Nvdia) to follow on from desktop to then work out the sacrifices that have to be made for a notebook

Oh and Rasczak, I wouldn't use that beast as a laptop. Not if you want children anyway :rotfl: :D
 
Looking at getting a Rock laptop - specs as follows:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4GHz Dual Core processor
NVIDIA GeForce 7950 Go GTX 512MB
WSXGA+ X-Glass rock logo
2GB DDR2 667MHz RAM (1 Module)
160GB 7200rpm S-ATA
8x +/- Dual Layer DVD Writer
Internal Digital DVB-T/Analogue Hybrid - non MCE
Standard UK qwerty Keyboard
Windows Vista Home Premium


Aside from all that what do people think specs wise? Will it handle Gears Of War and Two Worlds well?


It's a similar spec to my XPS M1710, although I have a T7600 and Bluray drive. Not sure how it'll handle the 2 games you mention but Bioshock runs nicely.
 

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