Gaming Laptops

[Aesthetical Quietus]

If you are talking specifically about 32 bit systems(and it sounds like you are), I'm going to have to debate you on that point. While it is true that Vista will recognise 4GB of RAM, it is limited just as XP is to 3 GB, 32 bit architecture can not use the 4th and final GB of RAM. Vista's recognition of 4GB of RAM was much hyped, but it was never to be, it handles that final RAM the same way XP does, it doesn't and allows it to passively speed your system up. [Sorry if I misinterpreted you]

While it's true that 32-bit XP and 32-bit Vista are both limited in how much memory they can use, the limit is dependent on your hardware, not a fixed 3GB. As a rule of thumb, the amount of usable RAM is 4GB, minus the amount of VRAM you have, minus a small additional amount. My 32-bit Vista box with 512MB VRAM allows me to use 3.25GB. If you had a 1GB graphics card, you couldn't fully use 3GB of RAM; SLId 1GB graphics cards, you couldn't fully use 2GB.

The price of regular DDR2 memory is insignificant now, and I think there is a potential speed benefit for having symmetric memory modules (for dual channel mode)? Finally, you might switch to a 64-bit OS in the future. All things considered, I consider getting 3GB at this point in time to be nickle and diming. If a ready-made machine configuration with DDR2 has 3GB then I expect it to cut corners on other things as well and therefore not be worth buying.

That's merely the Service pack talking, it's not actually used. Well, so far as I've been told and learnt in any case. I'm not going to out and out deny the possibility, because I never designed Windows or anything like that. It might have something to do with the limit of 32 bit integers, no idea.
Anyways, you are correct, there is a boost for having symmetrical models, and it's not so much a boost as it is a major slow down without it.[As in if you only have 1/2 or 3/4 slots filled. My point wasn't so much that you should aim for a laptop or whatever with 3 GB of RAM, or anything like that, my point is that you'd be better off to go with an 64 bit OS, tha with a 32 bit if you are running 4 GB's of RAM, because the afore mentioned restrictions on 32 bit OS's and RAM.

 

[Blanks]

any computer from alienware is built for gaming

 

[Blanks]

any computer from alienware is built for gaming

Any computer from Alienware is overpriced and rubbish.

overpriced?, yes; rubbish? i wouldn't know because i never bought one

 

[fedpayne]

PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista SP1? Home Premium (64 BIT) - English
LCD 15.6in Widescreen High Definition (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife
MEMORY 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
HARD DRIVE 160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Driv
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570

Aw geez, I'm sorry y'all, but anyone who knows anything, is this good enough to play newer games such as Fallout 3, Dawn of War 2, Left 4 Dead and Episode 3 when it comes out? Is there anything I'm missing from that which would be cheaply added.

It's a Dell, and at the moment that setup will cost about £620 - essentially $1,000. Should I pull the trigger on this one? I need a laptop and want to be able to play some games.

 

[mALX]

PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista SP1? Home Premium (64 BIT) - English
LCD 15.6in Widescreen High Definition (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife
MEMORY 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
HARD DRIVE 160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Driv
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570

Aw geez, I'm sorry y'all, but anyone who knows anything, is this good enough to play newer games such as Fallout 3, Dawn of War 2, Left 4 Dead and Episode 3 when it comes out? Is there anything I'm missing from that which would be cheaply added.

It's a Dell, and at the moment that setup will cost about £620 - essentially $1,000. Should I pull the trigger on this one? I need a laptop and want to be able to play some games.

That is exactly what my problem is. I want to be able to play ALL the upcoming Fallouts and Elder Scrolls in the series. According to what I have read, Bethesda has tweaked the Gambryo once again, and that will mean I have to have something that will handle it. These are the games I play exclusively, and they are power-sucking games! (and graphics hogs!)

(Thanks for understanding!)

 

[out0v0rder]

This is good. [http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827]

Runs TF2 1920x1200 at 71 fps.

<img src="http://out0v0der.fileave.com/nicelappy/lappy4.jpg> runs Crysis 1440x900 on High with a solid 30 fps.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Alienware M-15x With 2GB of RAM, an 8600GTS, and a 2.1 GHz Intel CPU. If you get the 1440x900 screen it will work, but why a laptop? A desktop is much better for gaming. If you were playing LAN party games, I could understand, but these are single player RPG's. So why?

Alienware is cool but quite overpriced. I've always found that you can find something comparable on newegg for less than half the price. It wont look as cool as an alienware but it'll do the job.

 

[Paragon Fury]

My Dell XPS M1530 laptop can handle Fallout 3, Oblivion at full (as well as several other games), and surprisingly Farcry 2. It has:

Intel Duo Core CPU
4GB RAM
VISTA
NIVIDIA GeFORCE 8600 GTS

Fallout 3, keep at medium, or just below. Turn off anti-aliasing too. (Actually, this is true of every game you know you can't max. Hell, even the ones you can. Anti-aliasing doesn't realy improve the graphics that much, and it can decimate an otherwise perfectly fine framerate.)

Oblivion you can max, or set just below max if you want slightly better framerate.

My laptop would run you about $1600 right now, all told.


Honestly the iggest problem wth gaming laptops isn't the power - its the cooling. A lot of the power of destop computers has been shrunken down into a laptop form, just as good as its full-sized brethern. Hell, if I wanted to, I could probably play Crysis on my laptop.....but thats not something I want to put my laptop through. See, the size of the laptop means you have to sacrifice the cooling systems of larger computers, meaning that your laptop will get really, really hot, possibly damaging your compenents. If you're getting a gaming laptop, make sure to invest in a good cooling pad - it'll be worth it.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Alienware M-15x With 2GB of RAM, an 8600GTS, and a 2.1 GHz Intel CPU. If you get the 1440x900 screen it will work, but why a laptop? A desktop is much better for gaming. If you were playing LAN party games, I could understand, but these are single player RPG's. So why?

Alienware is cool but quite overpriced. I've always found that you can find something comparable on newegg for less than half the price. It wont look as cool as an alienware but it'll do the job.

But that's the point, it won't look as cool. You ARE paying for the ability to have your keyboard switch between 10 different colors. And it's awesome, but I will admit they are overpriced.

 

[Aethren]

Would this make a good gaming laptop?

Memory Size: 4GB
Memory Speed: DDR2 800
Hard Drives Included: 1x 320GB
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Class: Core 2 Duo Processor
Processor Type: Dual-Core
Processor Speed: 2.26GHz
Processor FSB: 1066MHz
Processor Cache: 3MB
GPU/VPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GS
Video Memory: 512MB GDDR3 VRAM
USB Ports: 4

$729.99

 

[Aethren]

Edited to show specs.

And yes.

 

[Iori Branford]

Here is the root of the problem.

newer games such as Fallout 3, Dawn of War 2, Left 4 Dead and Episode 3

Can a go-kart win the Indy 500? Can a 9mm pistol put down a Strider? No, with those you'll more likely be content with garage racing and headcrab plinking:

Good Old Games
http://www.gog.com/

ABA Games
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html

Abandonia Reloaded
http://www.reloaded.org/

Battle for Wesnoth
http://wesnoth.org/

Urban Terror
http://urbanterror.net/

The list goes on; just Google "freeware games". And never, ever forget about emulators and ROMs.

 

[Allstar309]

I have a Dell XPS M1530 laptop and it can play crysis on the gamer level (2nd Best) graphics with rarely any lag.
Dell seems to be pretty good when it comes to games, much better then toshiba laptops.

And also Dell laptops look COOL.

 

[mALX]

This is mine, playing Fallout 3, all ultra settings, 4X AA and 4X Anisotropic. Running Windows 7 RC 1 Ultimate 64bit, on a Toshiba X200 Laptop with 8700m video card 512 MB dedicated VRAM, 4 gigs PC 800 DDR2 RAM and an 8 gig SD Card running Readyboost (only available in Vista or Windows 7). Can get to the mid to high 20's when things get really busy, but mostly stays as seen in the slide show posted below. Get higher FPS indoors, and during the day outside.

http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z245/The_Darkness62/Fallout%203/?action=view&current=34ed4af0.pbw

Awesome!

 

[Aethren]

Go for the MacBook Pro and install Vista via Boot Camp That's what I did and everything works great d(^^ I got recent games like Pure, Wolverine, Mirror's Edge and so on, and nothing has even glitched so far

Macbook Pro? Seriously? Neither the 9600 or the 9400 is any good for games. Mac = over priced with sub par specs.

Edited to show specs.

And yes.

Yeah that is pretty good rig, especially for that price. Also depends on the games you will be running as well.

Oblivion (modded), Civ 4, TF2, Warcraft 3 (really), The Old Republic (maybe), Sims 3 (maybe)

Preferably on med. to high settings.

 

[balimuzz]

Look for an HP. You can find a good one at around $800-$1500. If you shop around a bit, and pay attention to the specs while your buying, you can probably find a decent laptop that isn't such a big strain on the wallet. Still, for gaming, you'd be better off finding a good desktop, as they're higher quality for less cash.

 

[mALX]

Look for an HP. You can find a good one at around $800-$1500. If you shop around a bit, and pay attention to the specs while your buying, you can probably find a decent laptop that isn't such a big strain on the wallet. Still, for gaming, you'd be better off finding a good desktop, as they're higher quality for less cash.

I've got an HP laptop that THEY said was a gaming laptop. The problem with HP is that they have all kinds of glitches that are exclusive to HP. For instance, you can't upgrade your graphics drivers except off their site or it doesn't work right. For instance, their tilde key does not work with Oblivion games on Vista, etc. I have both an HP laptop and desktop, and will never get another one.

 

[balimuzz]

Look for an HP. You can find a good one at around $800-$1500. If you shop around a bit, and pay attention to the specs while your buying, you can probably find a decent laptop that isn't such a big strain on the wallet. Still, for gaming, you'd be better off finding a good desktop, as they're higher quality for less cash.

I've got an HP laptop that THEY said was a gaming laptop. The problem with HP is that they have all kinds of glitches that are exclusive to HP. For instance, you can't upgrade your graphics drivers except off their site or it doesn't work right. For instance, their tilde key does not work with Oblivion games on Vista, etc. I have both an HP laptop and desktop, and will never get another one.

Exactly. In my opinion, HP has the best cost-to-quality ratio in terms of gaming laptops, but they're not perfect, and your much better off just getting a desktop. Still, if you're really invested in the idea of getting a laptop, you can't go wrong with an Alienware, except that you're going to be shelling out a lot of cash for it. You're going to have to figure out your priorities before making a purchase, because once you put the money down, that's it.

 

[balimuzz]

Still, if you're really invested in the idea of getting a laptop, you can't go wrong with an Alienware, except that you're going to be shelling out a lot of cash for it. You're going to have to figure out your priorities before making a purchase, because once you put the money down, that's it.

Yes, you bloody can go wrong with Alienware. When you're spending extra money on the name and the aesthetics, you're being a blithering idiot.

Never buy Alienware!

Have you ever owned an Alienware, or are you just going off the fact that they cost a shit-ton? They cost too much, but good gaming laptops aren't the most common thing out there, and Alienware makes solid gaming PCs at ludicrous prices. Yeah, the money's an issue, which is why I suggested getting a desktop instead, and first suggested an HP as a cheaper alternative. Alienwares are reliable, but you have to figure out if you want to spend that much on a laptop. For a desktop, Alienware can fuck off, as you can just build one on your own.

 

[mALX]

Look for an HP. You can find a good one at around $800-$1500. If you shop around a bit, and pay attention to the specs while your buying, you can probably find a decent laptop that isn't such a big strain on the wallet. Still, for gaming, you'd be better off finding a good desktop, as they're higher quality for less cash.

I've got an HP laptop that THEY said was a gaming laptop. The problem with HP is that they have all kinds of glitches that are exclusive to HP. For instance, you can't upgrade your graphics drivers except off their site or it doesn't work right. For instance, their tilde key does not work with Oblivion games on Vista, etc. I have both an HP laptop and desktop, and will never get another one.

Exactly. In my opinion, HP has the best cost-to-quality ratio in terms of gaming laptops, but they're not perfect, and your much better off just getting a desktop. Still, if you're really invested in the idea of getting a laptop, you can't go wrong with an Alienware, except that you're going to be shelling out a lot of cash for it. You're going to have to figure out your priorities before making a purchase, because once you put the money down, that's it.

I used to love Alienware, but since Dell bought them out I have seen some downhill turn on their products and business practices. Things they said would never happen in the merge have happened. I have some reservations on them now. It would be nice to find some small company that has the same vision as Alienware did originally.