Poll: Gaming laptops

[JUMBO PALACE]

So I need to get a laptop for college and I've been reading a lot of reviews for the alienware m15x and the m11x. The m11x is just too small but I don't know if I want to splurge on the m15x. Maybe a higher end XPS would do the trick. I'm mostly playing WoW but I wouldn't mind getting some of the higher end PC games.

So my question to all of you is, do you have any suggestions? What kind of gaming laptops do you guys play on? Is the money you spent on your gaming laptops worth it?

 

[ethaninja]

I play a Toshiba... get this... it plays Crysis on the highest graphics. I'm pretty damn sweet ;P

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I would say, find a different manufacturer, Dell doesn't make good computers. Something like a Toshiba or a Sony would be better.

 

[lostzombies.com]

I needed to get one for editing and rendering HD files (making a film) but also like video games. After ages of looking at differnt makes (yes did the whole mac/pc thing) I went for a Dell studio 17:

Base
Intel® Core? i5-540M (2.53Ghz, 4 Thread, turbo boost up to 3.06 GHz, 3MB cache)

Memory
8192MB 1066MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x4096]

Video Card
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 5650 Graphics Card

Hard Drive
1TB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Dual Hard Drive (2x 500GB)

Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

LCD SCREEN
17.3? High Definition+ (1600x900) LED with TL

got that for £899 (about $1500?) and it will play pretty much most FPS out right now and plays warcraft/ napoleon total war like a dream, not to mention what I actually got it for (editing/rendering HD files) it does brilliantly

Never had a problem with Dell, always been great products for me, I would reccomend very much they normally have good deals running too, my laptop should have cost £1400 but because of the deal it was £899

If you are getting something just for gaming, I would go for a PC as you will be paying 1/3 extra for the tech to be squashed into a laptop..you're better off spending that 1/3 on a suped up PC or saving the money

 

[Marter]

From what I've seen, gaming laptops aren't really worth the price. If you can, build a home PC for about half the price.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

If you're going for a gaming laptop, go for an Asus or a Sager(/clevo). You can get twice the machine for half the price. Building a tower's usually a cheaper prospect, but if you need a gaming laptop, I'm still very happy with my NP8660.

 

[Gh0st1y_H]

I opened up a topic about this a while back. If you're going to get a gaming laptop, the best way to go is get something that isn't Dell. They skimp on parts they don't tell you about, and are generally considered "paying for the name." (If I had the coin, I'd still buy an Alienware over anything else simply because I've always wanted one. In terms of efficiency, it's a bad idea.

By the way, you can build your own desktop for a fraction of an Alienware. The key thing is that whatever you build will be stronger and faster than anything with the Alienware logo on it for the same price.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Do NOT buy the Dell. Dell screws you in every possible way, they do not even have stereo mix. /regrets buying an XPS

Not to mention the fact that Alienware is Dell.

 

[The Lawn]

Don't buy a dell gaming laptop.... I have one...

List of problems from normal use:
Mother board fried x4
Dead Hard Drive x15
Graphics card died x3
Dead ram x7
Dead ram slot x2
Keyboard replacements x8
Monitor Replacements x3
CD drive replacements x4
Speakers died x2
USB slots died x 9

That and you have to shell out $150 each year for a new battery because they aren't covered under warranty.
Out of the 27 months I've owned it, its spent probably about 6 traveling back and forth for repairs.
Biggest mistake I ever made.

My sister has a Toshiba and it runs great, and its more powerful than mine... and at $300 less.

 

[Scabadus]

Get a ridiculously cheap laptop. Then get a regular-sized PC for gaming.

Exactly what I was going to say. Alienware laptops are so (and I mean SO) overpriced that you could easily get a small notebook for portability/work and then build yourself a gaming rig for your room for a lesser price.

 

[crudus]

Gaming laptops are a really stupid idea. They are less versatile when it comes to upgrading them for the next generation, they overheat excessively, and if you do get a good gaming laptop that fixes all those issues you have a portable desktop at which point you should just have gotten a desktop!

 

[Horticulture]

Generally, the better a laptop is for gaming, the worse it is at being a laptop. Gaming-capable laptops tend to be huge, hot expensive and have terrible battery life. If you really want/need to play demanding games on your laptop, I've heard good things about the Acer 5740G [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220695]. Unless you really need to play on the go, however, it makes more sense to spend the same amount building a desktop for gaming and buying a cheap laptop/netbook for portable usage.

 

[Aura Guardian]

Do NOT buy the Dell. Dell screws you in every possible way, they do not even have stereo mix. /regrets buying an XPS

Not to mention the fact that Alienware is Dell.

I'm using a Dell Laptop. Are Alienware's good? Cuz if yes...I'll support Dell one more time.

 

[brucelee13245]

I have a gateway fx laptop. Its good, the new updated models are better mines bout 9 months old. I like it but it did have a motherboard failure which gateway fixed for free under warranty. after proving to them i had one which is more my fault for not registering.

 

[Destal]

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73jha1-order-p-2731.html $1600, best buy offers a cheaper version of it for 1200 though.

In order to get a laptop to come close to that you need dual video cards and around $2500+.

It's what I bought and it works amazing. They actually invented a new cooling system for this laptop where it pulls in air from the keyboard and pushes it out the back of the laptop. The laptop never gets hot no matter what I am doing on it.

Alienware's burn out in a year because they use desktop parts in laptops and a laptop can't cool the way a desktop can.

 

[Jindrak]

ASUS all the way. Bought mine over a year ago for $600 from BestBuy, still runs the newest games (runs Mass Effect 2 like a dream, for instance).

 

[Destal]

I needed to get one for editing and rendering HD files (making a film) but also like video games. After ages of looking at differnt makes (yes did the whole mac/pc thing) I went for a Dell studio 17:

Base
Intel® Core? i5-540M (2.53Ghz, 4 Thread, turbo boost up to 3.06 GHz, 3MB cache)

Memory
8192MB 1066MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x4096]

Video Card
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 5650 Graphics Card

Hard Drive
1TB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Dual Hard Drive (2x 500GB)

Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

LCD SCREEN
17.3? High Definition+ (1600x900) LED with TL

got that for £899 (about $1500?) and it will play pretty much most FPS out right now and plays warcraft/ napoleon total war like a dream, not to mention what I actually got it for (editing/rendering HD files) it does brilliantly

Never had a problem with Dell, always been great products for me, I would reccomend very much they normally have good deals running too, my laptop should have cost £1400 but because of the deal it was £899

If you are getting something just for gaming, I would go for a PC as you will be paying 1/3 extra for the tech to be squashed into a laptop..you're better off spending that 1/3 on a suped up PC or saving the money

The laptop I linked crushes that one(no offense at all, I promise). If you are correct on the 1500 conversion then the one I linked is a significantly better deal. I also use mine for programming.

As far as games I've played on it, Dragon Age, Fallout 3, Mass Effect 2, Starcraft 2 all on maxed settings with no issues at all.

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

So I need to get a laptop for college and I've been reading a lot of reviews for the alienware m15x and the m11x. The m11x is just too small but I don't know if I want to splurge on the m15x. Maybe a higher end XPS would do the trick. I'm mostly playing WoW but I wouldn't mind getting some of the higher end PC games.

So my question to all of you is, do you have any suggestions? What kind of gaming laptops do you guys play on? Is the money you spent on your gaming laptops worth it?

I have an m15x and LOOOOOVVVVEEEE it. You will not be disappointed. When all my other friends have computer problems, my system is rock solid. If you have any questions pm me.

 

[Audioave10]

The higher the graphics in a game, the more power & larger video card you will need.
With laptops, heat is always the issue. A hard gaming laptop may not last very long.

 

[Destal]

So I need to get a laptop for college and I've been reading a lot of reviews for the alienware m15x and the m11x. The m11x is just too small but I don't know if I want to splurge on the m15x. Maybe a higher end XPS would do the trick. I'm mostly playing WoW but I wouldn't mind getting some of the higher end PC games.

So my question to all of you is, do you have any suggestions? What kind of gaming laptops do you guys play on? Is the money you spent on your gaming laptops worth it?

I have an m15x and LOOOOOVVVVEEEE it. You will not be disappointed. When all my other friends have computer problems, my system is rock solid. If you have any questions pm me.

I just built one of those out and it was 2287 and has a significantly worse graphics card than the asus I linked. Plus Asus gives a 2 year warrenty and accidental damage. The M17x with the same graphics card is 2512 for the exact same specs are the Asus.

The higher the graphics in a game, the more power & larger video card you will need.
With laptops, heat is always the issue. A hard gaming laptop may not last very long.

That is why I got the one I did, they invented a new cooling system for it and it works amazingly well.