I've heard or read about some bad things about gaming laptops, but in your opinion, what's so bad about gaming laptops?
Power consumption? Battery life? Anything else?
Power consumption? Battery life? Anything else?
Gaming Laptops: What's so bad about them?
- Thread starter Altercator
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Power consumption is a problem, as powerful hardware is going to go through the watts pretty damn fast.
I suppose there's also the limited utility. Most people who play games that require a 'roided-out laptop can wait until they get home to a dedicated machine that costs a lot less, as it lacks the small but powerful hardware a laptop would be built on. If you spec out the same computer first as a laptop then a PC, the price difference will be somewhat extreme.
I suppose there's also the limited utility. Most people who play games that require a 'roided-out laptop can wait until they get home to a dedicated machine that costs a lot less, as it lacks the small but powerful hardware a laptop would be built on. If you spec out the same computer first as a laptop then a PC, the price difference will be somewhat extreme.
The problem with gaming laptops are:
1)They are vastly more expensive then a non gaming laptop by several thousand
2)They are much larger then normal laptops to have more room heatsinks and batteries making them less portable
3)They are slower then desktop versions of the same hardware (by that I meen mobile versions of the same chipsets)
4)They often have weak or outdated video chipsets that they try to pawn off as great for gaming (like the nvidia 8400)
So you end up with a laptop that costs 3k but is too heavy to move around a lot that costs 3x as much then a desktop with the same hardware as well as it being slower then the desktop.
So its just cheaper and easier just to get a buget laptop for under 500 and just turn the video settings in your games down to low
1)They are vastly more expensive then a non gaming laptop by several thousand
2)They are much larger then normal laptops to have more room heatsinks and batteries making them less portable
3)They are slower then desktop versions of the same hardware (by that I meen mobile versions of the same chipsets)
4)They often have weak or outdated video chipsets that they try to pawn off as great for gaming (like the nvidia 8400)
So you end up with a laptop that costs 3k but is too heavy to move around a lot that costs 3x as much then a desktop with the same hardware as well as it being slower then the desktop.
So its just cheaper and easier just to get a buget laptop for under 500 and just turn the video settings in your games down to low
Cost like everyone else has said. However, I have a decent laptop (2 gigs of ram, 2.2 Intel Core 2 Duo, Nvidia 8800) which only put me back $800 thanks to student discounts, which runs better than my home computer (mainly because it's really my parents' computer and they won't let me upgrade it). However, if I hadn't needed a laptop for doing school work (I like the outdoors, OK?) I would've built something a little heftier and had some of that money left over.
I'm using my laptop to write this post. But it's a "working" computer, not for games. Although, If you're intending for lightweight games (EG Grim Fandango, KotOR), then by all means, get one.
Although you need munnies to do such a thing...
Although you need munnies to do such a thing...
heat being the major problem in my eyes plus its not really practical unless ur gonna play things like C&C on the move.
and everything else said here is also valid
and everything else said here is also valid
That said, I quite like having a laptop that is more than capable of handling graphics properly. It means it can kick the ass of Vista whenever it wants to do something big stupid and pretty, and it means I can play Half life, portal or TF2 whenever I want.
That said, my desktop rig at home is far superior and if I really wanted to do some serious gaming, I would use that.
That said, my desktop rig at home is far superior and if I really wanted to do some serious gaming, I would use that.
My friend (Which coincidentaly happens to be a moron) paid 16000 nok for a multicon PC(which is 3200$). My stationary PC can run much more then his and costed 1000$.
Laptops are good for timeless games such as Starcraft and Red Alert, but not for newer games like Crysis and Assassin's Creed.
Laptops are good for timeless games such as Starcraft and Red Alert, but not for newer games like Crysis and Assassin's Creed.
I just bought myself a new laptop. It cost me £280 (about $500US). It would have cost me at least £80 more than that if I'd got it new, but I was looking for ultrabudget and so got a refurbished one.
The laptop has a low-end Intel dual-core processor, low-end graphics card (but with 128MB dedicated memory), a tiny hard drive (but I don't need more than 80GB anyway), a measly 1GB RAM, a 15in screen, and Vista Home Premium. The first thing I intend to do with it is wipe the hard disk of Vista and crapware (whether or not you consider Vista itself to be crapware is a matter of opinion!) and install my old copy of XP instead.
Plainly this laptop isn't going to be running "Oblivion" or "Bioshock", even at the lowest settings, but that's what I've got my new £700 gaming PC for (got it at Christmas). What it will do, though, is run various emulators and pretty much any game up to and including the level of "System Shock 2". It'll also act as a word processor, media player, and also a programming machine (that's always been a hobby of mine). Which is pretty much all I need it for. Why have I bought it? Because right now due to ill health I'm pretty much bedbound and living with my parents for the first time in many, many years! They have an ancient XP PC that's ok for accessing the Internet and playing Spider Solitaire (I can win pretty much one in five four-suit games right now, which shows just how badly I need a change of scene!) but can't do much else. As a techie and casual/retro gamer, I'm bored to tears.
As I said, this laptop wouldn't be any good for anybody wanting to play the latest games. However there IS a moral to this story, and it's this: if you're looking for a decent gaming laptop but don't want to pay the high prices that so many people have pointed out, it's worth looking through the "refurbished" section of your national PC retailer. If I'd got the laptop I have new, it would have cost me at least £360 and possibly £400 or more. You can make much bigger savings on more top-of-the-range models if you know where to look.
"Refurbished" generally means that someone's bought the laptop before, it's hard drive has failed or something and so they've sent it back and been given a new replacement. The actual laptop will have had the fault rectified and checked, but the retailer now can't sell it as "new", hence the cut-price refurbished laptop market. Worth checking out if you're looking for top-spec laptops at medium-spec prices!
The laptop has a low-end Intel dual-core processor, low-end graphics card (but with 128MB dedicated memory), a tiny hard drive (but I don't need more than 80GB anyway), a measly 1GB RAM, a 15in screen, and Vista Home Premium. The first thing I intend to do with it is wipe the hard disk of Vista and crapware (whether or not you consider Vista itself to be crapware is a matter of opinion!) and install my old copy of XP instead.
Plainly this laptop isn't going to be running "Oblivion" or "Bioshock", even at the lowest settings, but that's what I've got my new £700 gaming PC for (got it at Christmas). What it will do, though, is run various emulators and pretty much any game up to and including the level of "System Shock 2". It'll also act as a word processor, media player, and also a programming machine (that's always been a hobby of mine). Which is pretty much all I need it for. Why have I bought it? Because right now due to ill health I'm pretty much bedbound and living with my parents for the first time in many, many years! They have an ancient XP PC that's ok for accessing the Internet and playing Spider Solitaire (I can win pretty much one in five four-suit games right now, which shows just how badly I need a change of scene!) but can't do much else. As a techie and casual/retro gamer, I'm bored to tears.
As I said, this laptop wouldn't be any good for anybody wanting to play the latest games. However there IS a moral to this story, and it's this: if you're looking for a decent gaming laptop but don't want to pay the high prices that so many people have pointed out, it's worth looking through the "refurbished" section of your national PC retailer. If I'd got the laptop I have new, it would have cost me at least £360 and possibly £400 or more. You can make much bigger savings on more top-of-the-range models if you know where to look.
"Refurbished" generally means that someone's bought the laptop before, it's hard drive has failed or something and so they've sent it back and been given a new replacement. The actual laptop will have had the fault rectified and checked, but the retailer now can't sell it as "new", hence the cut-price refurbished laptop market. Worth checking out if you're looking for top-spec laptops at medium-spec prices!
I like laptops. I've always had them. Most of the time my laptop sits on my desk with wires sprouting from every port but I like the feeling I can pick it up and go if necessary. The trouble with them is usually the graphics card and pixel shading. I have one of the worst graphics cards in terms of support: ATI Mobility Radeon X1400- nobody makes updates for it, not ATI nor Toshiba. But I can run games well, and by games I mean Fallout 3, Crysis, Assassins Creed, CoD 4, FarCry 2 on medium or low settings.
The graphics card is the killer really. Processors are good, if you choose right RAM isn't a problem. Overheating is an issue but manageable... laptops have a future
The graphics card is the killer really. Processors are good, if you choose right RAM isn't a problem. Overheating is an issue but manageable... laptops have a future
My gaming laptop is also my primary PC. It's a Dell Studio XPS 1640, and it can run Oblivion, Bioshock, and Left 4 Dead (have to turn the resolution down, but that's it) pretty well at highest settings.
It's got a 2.67 GHz Intel Centrino Core Duo processor, 6 GB of RAM, a 64-bit display, and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 Graphics Card. It's got a 2-hour battery life, and it doesn't heat up to an unmanageable degree.
All in all, I haven't had any problems with my gaming laptop besides not being able to run many recent games, which I'm cool with. That's what my 360's for.
It's got a 2.67 GHz Intel Centrino Core Duo processor, 6 GB of RAM, a 64-bit display, and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 Graphics Card. It's got a 2-hour battery life, and it doesn't heat up to an unmanageable degree.
All in all, I haven't had any problems with my gaming laptop besides not being able to run many recent games, which I'm cool with. That's what my 360's for.
...I was going to answer, but I didn't realize there were different laptops actually dedicated to gaming. I was gonna say "storage space."
my problem is not being able to play balck and white 2. because it says i need a scroll wheel. when iit knows perfectly well i could just use the keyboard ¬¬
EDIT: also you have to really make sure its good. mine said it was a gaming laptop. but Champions online and the 1GB of RAM say differently
EDIT: also you have to really make sure its good. mine said it was a gaming laptop. but Champions online and the 1GB of RAM say differently
The majority of this is just blatantly untrue. I bought my laptop, new, for 900 bucks from Best Buy and it runs Crysis on high very well and Dragon Age on the highest settings without a bump.Squarewave said:
This concept that gaming laptops cost thousands of dollars is just pure bullshit. Mine also doesn't overheat ever, possibly due to the cooling pad I bought. Very slick one. It's battery life is less than good however, but I leave it plugged in at home. Really, I've just come to love the portability of laptops.