Gaming Laptops

[AnAngryMoose]

So, I'm planning on getting a laptop that will be primarily used for games, but something that I'd also be using for college. I know that there are a lot of PC gamers on the Escapist so what better place to ask? Currently, I have two in mind:

Asus X5DIJ [http://www.custompc.ie/asus-x5dij-sx516v-156-t3300-2gb-500gb-windows-7-home-premium-47585-p.asp]

Or

MSI CR62-486UK [http://www.custompc.ie/msi-cr620-486uk-156-p6100-4gb-500gb-windows-7-home-premium-47594-p.asp]

I'm not too sure on which would be the better choice. If anyone has any other suggestions feel free to make them. I have a budget of ?650.

P.S: If you're here to tell me that Gaming Desktops are better then leave the thread [http://www.noobstore.com/prodimages/tshirt-m-gtfo-Green-art-280.gif]

EDIT: I'm not necessarily sticking to those two. They're just ones I saw within my price range without too much searching.

EDIT(2): I've seen people asking me why I need a gaming laptop for college. Sorry for not mentioning this earlier, but I'll be doing a computer science degree and will be choosing a Game Design stream in Year Four so I need one for Dev Kits (in my spare time) and for whatever projects involving game design may be given. I would also like to play games on it as well, not solely just Mod/Design. Apologies again.

 

[Randomologist]

Out of the two you said, I think the MSI one is better, as it has more supplied RAM and the RAM chips themselves are DDR3, which is faster than the other one's DDR2. You'll need to look at what graphics cards they use, I know the difference between integrated and shared but I'm not enough of a techie to know what embedded graphics are.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

You want a laptop with a better processor, 2GHz won't get you very far when you're gaming. Try and get a laptop with 3GHz or more if it's a single core, dual core would also be a good choice and make sure that has a good few GHz too.[footnote]Processors aren't really my thing so if I've made a mistake in this then please correct me.[/footnote]

RAM on the ASUS is too low for gaming so go for the MSI. You could always improve the RAM in the ASUS later on but unless you research how difficult it would be for that laptop then it might be a waste of time. Unless you have the know-how then it could also prove a difficult or expensive task too.

My advice?
Keep looking. You want a better processor than 2GHz when you find one with 3GHz then link it into the thread.

However, if you are adamant that it is between those two, go for the MSI.

 

[Amphoteric]

I got a £400 Acer aspire that can play DA:O so I'm fine.

For a gaming laptop GET A GOOD GRAPHICS CARD.

 

[mad825]

the MSI has the better CPU out of the two.

 

[New Troll]

The Asus has a Celeron in it, the MSI a Pentium. Pentium much, much better than Celeron concerning stability and power. Most anything else can be upgraded later if needed, but the processor is basicly what you're buying when you purchase a computer.

The MSI isn't bad, even for gaming I guess. The Asus I wouldn't buy even if all I was after was something to take notes on and browse the web.

 

[Super Toast]

To be honest, the specs on those are below average. How much do you have to spend?

 

[MercurySteam]

Heh, why not try the ASUS Republic of Gamers G73 [http://teamsao.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96:asus-rog-g73-review&catid=14:hardware--tech-news&Itemid=39].

Providing you have that much money to burn through.

 

[Angerwing]

My laptop cost me AUD$798 (computer prices are high in Australia), and I got:

AMD Quad Core 2.0ghz Processor.
4GB RAM.
500GB HDD.
ATI Radeon 5650 1GB graphics card.

I'd recommend forking out a bit more for higher quality. Those computers won't really be able to handle anything new.

 

[MercurySteam]

To be honest, the specs on those are below average.

I agree. Both have mid-range dual cores, only 2GB of RAM (the ASUS one anyway) and my 512MB 8600GT could probably beat both of the integrated graphics that they use. Neither are simply gaming Laptops.

 

[Super Toast]

To be honest, the specs on those are below average.

I agree. Both have mid-range dual cores, only 2GB of RAM and my 512MB 8600GT could probably beat both of the integrated graphics that they use. Neither are simply gaming Laptops.

My laptop has 4GB of RAM, an Intel i5 duo core 2.4GHz processor, 1366x768 resolution, 512MB of graphics and a 500GB hard-drive. Not groundbreaking, but it can run damn near everything short of Metro 2033 and Crysis on high. (Or in some cases, max)

 

[migo]

You guys must be getting screwed in Ireland. You wouldn't get much worse performance out of a Netbook.

 

[MercurySteam]

To be honest, the specs on those are below average.

I agree. Both have mid-range dual cores, only 2GB of RAM and my 512MB 8600GT could probably beat both of the integrated graphics that they use. Neither are simply gaming Laptops.

My laptop has 4GB of RAM, an Intel i5 duo core 2.4GHz processor, 1366x768 resolution, 512MB of graphics and a 500GB hard-drive. Not groundbreaking, but it can run damn near everything short of Metro 2033 and Crysis on high. (Or in some cases, max)

I build desktops, not laptops but I can see the appeal of a gaming laptop despite the price. Unfortunately graphics are becoming more and more demanding and is very important when gaming. Simply put: he'd get more bang for his buck if he built his own gaming PC. At least then he'd be able to call it a "Gamer's Rig" without sounding like a fool.

 

[johnman]

Those Laptops both have embedded GPU chips which means they are not upto much performance wise. You want one with a decicated Graphics chip if your planning on playing games on it, but aviod the Dell XPS series like the plague, they always over heat and kill themselves. If fact at where I work, we never recommend a laptop for gaming as the majority are very unreliable, and cost far more than a Pc of similar spec.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

To be honest, the specs on those are below average. How much do you have to spend?

?650. Said it in the OP.

Are there any particular models that people would recommend?

 

[AnAngryMoose]

You want a laptop with a better processor, 2GHz won't get you very far when you're gaming. Try and get a laptop with 3GHz or more if it's a single core, dual core would also be a good choice and make sure that has a good few GHz too.[footnote]Processors aren't really my thing so if I've made a mistake in this then please correct me.[/footnote]

RAM on the ASUS is too low for gaming so go for the MSI. You could always improve the RAM in the ASUS later on but unless you research how difficult it would be for that laptop then it might be a waste of time. Unless you have the know-how then it could also prove a difficult or expensive task too.

My advice?
Keep looking. You want a better processor than 2GHz when you find one with 3GHz then link it into the thread.

However, if you are adamant that it is between those two, go for the MSI.

Any particular ones that you would recommend?

 

[AnAngryMoose]

Don't shoot me for this, but I found a custom Alienware M11x that's bang on my budget. What do you guys think?

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&kc=&oc=dkcwmn1

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Any particular ones that you would recommend?

It really depends on your budget. I've heard good things about i5 processors so have a look for those. I would say you should do a bit of research on processors and find out what's important when looking for a good one. Having a shitty processor that looks good would be pretty disappointing.

I'm in a similar situation to you. I bought a laptop but also want to play PC games. What I've done is bought a small netbook to do work and browse the internet and am saving money for a desktop PC that is built with the sole purpose of gaming in mind. That might cost a good one and a half thousand in your case though.

I'd look through a bunch of different websites after doing some research on knowing what to look for and try and find a good yet cheap laptop that would suit most, if not all, current generation games.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

Any particular ones that you would recommend?

It really depends on your budget. I've heard good things about i5 processors so have a look for those. I would say you should do a bit of research on processors and find out what's important when looking for a good one. Having a shitty processor that looks good would be pretty disappointing.

I'm in a similar situation to you. I bought a laptop but also want to play PC games. What I've done is bought a small netbook to do work and browse the internet and am saving money for a desktop PC that is built with the sole purpose of gaming in mind. That might cost a good one and a half thousand in your case though.

I'd look through a bunch of different websites after doing some research on knowing what to look for and try and find a good yet cheap laptop that would suit most, if not all, current generation games.

Well I posted a link to a custom Alienwar M11x. Processor is only 1.3GHz though.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that it's a Overclockable Intel® Core?2 Duo SU7300 1.3GHz (3MB Cache)

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Well I posted a link to a custom Alienwar M11x. Processor is only 1.3GHz though.

The Core 2 duos are supposed to be pretty good but 1.3Ghz won't cut it for most games. Besides that the screen is only 11.6 (1366x768). I've got one that size and it is an awfully small screen, especially for gaming.

EDIT: Poor laptop is poor.