What's good computer for games?

[New Frontiersman]

Right now I'm in the process of looking for a new laptop, hopefully one that I can play games on. I figured there would be some knowledgeable people on here so it might be a good place to ask.

My current laptop does pretty much everything I need it to, it can play games on some pretty high settings, it's just that it's starting to crap out on me. There are some hardware and freezing issues and the fan is close to dying. So I really need a new one, but I don't feel like spending some $2000 on a gaming computer or spending the time it takes to assemble one. And honestly, I probably don't need the kind of power a super high end one like that would provide, I'm fine with what my mid-range laptop can do right now.

The kinds of games I tend to play are ones like Skyrim, Civilization, Dragon Age, Crusader Kings and Dwarf Fortress, if that helps.

I'd really love to hear your suggestions. Thanks you guys.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Since no one else has shed their knowledge, I'll give you my 2 cents. For a laptop that can run Skyrim(the most demanding of your list), you might be paying a good chunk of change, somewhere around $900 if you can even find a new one with discrete graphics that isn't overkill for the game and your budget. (Looking at New Egg I couldn't find a worthy laptop until they started costing $1000.) A new DIY desktop might run you about $500, though, but I guess that's not you cup of tea.

I haven't really looked at laptops that can run games decently in years. All I can recommend is to look for a new or used laptop that has a good discrete video card. You can check out www.videocardbenchmark.net to find the performance ratings of almost every modern gpu. Be careful about matching up laptop cards with desktop ones; a GTX 285 scored 1264 but a GTX285M scored 751.

Compare the scores of any laptop gpu to Skyrim's recommended(I wouldn't go with minimum requirements) 1GB of video RAM and GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon HD 4890 or higher. The GTX260 scored 1120 and Radeon scored 1510, so get a gpu that scored at least 1100 and has 1GB of RAM. Also make sure the system has at least 4GB of it's own RAM. I'm sure the CPU the laptop manufacturers pair up with any video card of those stats will be enough to handle Skyrim and Dwarf Fortress. If you can find a good deal, get a laptop that far outclasses those specs so your future proofed for a while; the only things your going to upgrade on a sub-$3000 laptop are the system RAM and hard drive.

I'd still recommend a desktop that can be easily upgraded for years, but I can understand many people don't have the space for one or need a laptop for school/work and don't want to buy two machines. Just research everything you look at. If you plan to buy used, demand system specs(maybe a screenshot of device manager with the display adapters open?), and make sure the heat sink(s) isn't plugged with dust/cat hair. Good luck.

 

[antidonkey]

I've noticed newegg's laptop choices have been terrible lately. You might want to check tiger direct. They have some Acer's at just under $900 with either Radeon 8750s or Geforce 710m's. I still have an old Acer with 5750 in it that works like a charm.....or at least good enough to keep my happy when on the road and wanting to fire up something not too graphically intensive.

 

[Bad Jim]

Does it have to be a laptop? Laptops that play games well are expensive and only worthwhile if you need portability or are really squeezed for space. You would get more for your money with a desktop. You would also have the option of adding a decent graphics card later on. You could even buy a cheap desktop and replace the graphics card day one.

 

[carnex]

You don't need 2000USD, or weeks of work. Ever for a beginner assembly is one day project, and people will give you what to buy and where to buy it. What you need to say is how much and two choices AMD or Intel and AMD or NVIDIA. Most will suggest Intel and Nvidia as tried and true parts but AMD actually has edge in mid range bang for buck with some annoyances when it comes to games and drivers compatibility.

But if you want a laptop, and gaming on budget is primary activity go with some mid range thing. Don't fall for gaming branded things, they are overexpensive and quite pointless for average joe.

 

[Artaneius]

Since no one else has shed their knowledge,

No one else bothers to shed their knowledge because hes already pretty much stated that he doesn't want to spend that much money for a computer that can run modern games well nor does he want to go the cheaper route of buying individual parts and making the PC himself. If that's the case, there's no point in bothering giving advice to someone who is obviously not interested in PC gaming if at all. All he wants is a "cheap easy ticket without any hassles" to play a couple PC games which most likely are available on consoles as well. There is no point in giving advice for someone who is both too lazy and too cheap for what needs to be done to have an enjoyable experience with PC gaming.

I'm sure this post will strike a nerve to some. But honestly if he isn't willing to either spend a decent portion of money to buy a decent computer for gaming or spend the time to build his own computer, there isn't any point in giving advice to him. He should just wait for the Steam Boxes then.

 

[Signa]

Since no one else has shed their knowledge,

No one else bothers to shed their knowledge because hes already pretty much stated that he doesn't want to spend that much money for a computer that can run modern games well nor does he want to go the cheaper route of buying individual parts and making the PC himself. If that's the case, there's no point in bothering giving advice to someone who is obviously not interested in PC gaming if at all. All he wants is a "cheap easy ticket without any hassles" to play a couple PC games which most likely are available on consoles as well. There is no point in giving advice for someone who is both too lazy and too cheap for what needs to be done to have an enjoyable experience with PC gaming.

I'm sure this post will strike a nerve to some. But honestly if he isn't willing to either spend a decent portion of money to buy a decent computer for gaming or spend the time to build his own computer, there isn't any point in giving advice to him. He should just wait for the Steam Boxes then.

That's an overly harsh assessment. I got a midrange Asus for $750 4 years ago, and it plays Borderlands 2 on low with a pretty smooth framerate. It will get him done and for under a grand if he's looking for the modern equivalent.

 

[Artaneius]

Since no one else has shed their knowledge,

No one else bothers to shed their knowledge because hes already pretty much stated that he doesn't want to spend that much money for a computer that can run modern games well nor does he want to go the cheaper route of buying individual parts and making the PC himself. If that's the case, there's no point in bothering giving advice to someone who is obviously not interested in PC gaming if at all. All he wants is a "cheap easy ticket without any hassles" to play a couple PC games which most likely are available on consoles as well. There is no point in giving advice for someone who is both too lazy and too cheap for what needs to be done to have an enjoyable experience with PC gaming.

I'm sure this post will strike a nerve to some. But honestly if he isn't willing to either spend a decent portion of money to buy a decent computer for gaming or spend the time to build his own computer, there isn't any point in giving advice to him. He should just wait for the Steam Boxes then.

That's an overly harsh assessment. I got a midrange Asus for $750 4 years ago, and it plays Borderlands 2 on low with a pretty smooth framerate. It will get him done and for under a grand if he's looking for the modern equivalent.

Borderlands 2 doesn't take near as much power as Skyrim to run despite it being newer. The only way to get Skyrim probably working on what he wants is by using the ultra low graphics mod. And if you have to make your game look that bad, you might as well as save that money for something else.

http://youtu.be/niZKDa9LhRM

 

[Elvis Starburst]

It doesn't seem like people are so happy to help this time around, for... *some* reason. I'll throw in my two cents as well.

If you want the game to run at 60FPS on Ultra, you won't get that with a laptop, period. Hell, 30FPS on High is a stretch for something like Skyrim. My friend has a relatively new laptop with a 6th gen mobile GPU and 3rd gen Intel processor. Was close to $1000, and he still struggles with a fair share of games. Keep this in mind if you do decide to get a laptop.

If the above sways you from such, get a desktop, and make it yourself. Just buy the parts, spend a day or so on the weekend (Or whenever you have a day off) and put it together. Or, like my case, get the place you got the parts from to do it for you (Assuming you can). Buying a pre-build *might* net you some decent hardware, but it'll pretty much be double the cost and you'll get a pretty lackluster GPU that won't do you any good.

I guess a big question is if you really need a laptop, or would a desktop be ok? A $600-$700 budget desktop will run games MUCH better than any laptop can, even at the $1000 mark.

 

[New Frontiersman]

Since no one else has shed their knowledge, I'll give you my 2 cents.

I'd still recommend a desktop that can be easily upgraded for years, but I can understand many people don't have the space for one or need a laptop for school/work and don't want to buy two machines. Just research everything you look at. If you plan to buy used, demand system specs(maybe a screenshot of device manager with the display adapters open?), and make sure the heat sink(s) isn't plugged with dust/cat hair. Good luck.

I've noticed newegg's laptop choices have been terrible lately. You might want to check tiger direct. They have some Acer's at just under $900 with either Radeon 8750s or Geforce 710m's. I still have an old Acer with 5750 in it that works like a charm.....or at least good enough to keep my happy when on the road and wanting to fire up something not too graphically intensive.

You don't need 2000USD, or weeks of work. Even for a beginner assembly is one day project, and people will give you what to buy and where to buy it. What you need to say is how much and two choices AMD or Intel and AMD or NVIDIA. Most will suggest Intel and Nvidia as tried and true parts but AMD actually has edge in mid range bang for buck with some annoyances when it comes to games and drivers compatibility.

But if you want a laptop, and gaming on budget is primary activity go with some mid range thing. Don't fall for gaming branded things, they are overexpensive and quite pointless for average joe.

Thanks so much guys, this is all really helpful! I've been doing some of my own research and that, plus what you've told me has given me a pretty good idea of what I want.

Really you guys, you don't know how much I appreciate your advice.

 

[Rolaoi]

A good rule of thumb is this: Familiarize yourself with what an integrated graphics card is, and don't buy any laptop that has one.

That alone will raise it out of bottom of the barrel to low average. Most laptops are going to have one, and it hits you doubly hard by making your computer suck at processing heavy games and graphics heavy games.

 

[Aramis Night]

A good rule of thumb is this: Familiarize yourself with what an integrated graphics card is, and don't buy any laptop that has one.

That alone will raise it out of bottom of the barrel to low average. Most laptops are going to have one, and it hits you doubly hard by making your computer suck at processing heavy games and graphics heavy games.

Spot on advice right here. On top of that I have been noticing a lot of laptops that offer cards that are so low end that they may as well stick with integrated graphics. Having a lot of video ram is nice, but for gaming your gpu will need to be at least midrange for good fps.

So basically a NVidia card will be labeled as a NVidia GTX XYZM(xyz being the numbers for the card and M denotes its a laptop Graphic card). X is the generation number. Current generation is 7 for NVidia. Closer to 7, the better but not imperative. Y is the determining number to let you know the grade of card. The higher the number the better(9 best). For gaming I would go with at least a 6 or a 5 if a newer generation of card. Do not ever accept a 4 or lower in the 2nd digit of the card number. Its a waste in a laptop and will only add heat and weight. You may as well stick with onboard graphics. The last digit(Z) is almost always a 0. It doesn't really denote anything, unless it is something other than a 0. If it is a numeral other than 0(usually a 5) it indicates a slight tweak over the normal version. Same with additional letters at the end of the card number(aside from the M that denotes it being a laptop card).

Radeon cards are a little different in terms of determining what a number means, but not by much. A radeon will likely be labeled as a Radeon HD XYYZM. XYYZ again being numbers and the M denoting that its a laptop graphics card. X being the first digit will again denote generation. Latest generation of HD cards is 7. Again, closer to 7 the better, but not necessary. I would also recommend at least a 5 for generation number. The YY is the 2nd and 3rd digit and these determine the performance level of the card. These are the most important numbers in determining if the card is worth using for gaming. Baseline at minimum should be a 75 for those 2 digits if you want to game. Anything less wouldn't be worth it. The last digit(Z) is again, almost always a 0.

The exception for Radeon is the newer R series cards. The title for these are typically Radeon R# XYZ. However at this point I do not believe these have laptop versions yet.

These are just my rules of thumb for determining rough value of Graphic cards. For a better reference, I would point you to http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

This website is an excellent rough reference for gpu comparison, though not perfect.

The other thing to of course keep in mind is the amount of video ram and the manufacture of the card. Some manufacturer's are better than others but it often comes down to personal preference. I personally like Asus, XFX, MSI, Sapphire and EVGA.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

snip

This is very comprehensive, thanks. I despair of how hard it is to find a good graphics card in a laptop these days...

 

[Aramis Night]

snip

This is very comprehensive, thanks. I despair of how hard it is to find a good graphics card in a laptop these days...

Yes, it is pretty hard to find a decent one for a good price these days. It seems that most retailers see a GPU as a add on feature to justify charging more for rather than an necessary component whose performance matters. It seems they bank on customers not having a clue what the GPU model numbers mean and just figure as long as they through any old card in there its worth more money. Given that even onboard graphics now have gotten better than they used to be, them adding a low grade gpu does more harm then good. Sure you get some more video ram, but given laptop screen size and resolution, it doesn't really matter so much unless the laptop itself has less than 4 gigs of ram. The negative tradeoff for a low end GPU is you have now added more weight to the laptop. It also creates more heat, which over time can lead to more wear on the laptop. And then of course the power consumption increases so you have less battery life. All of this for the sake of a card that stutters horribly when you try to game with it. It does piss me off every time i see such low end cards on laptops. I think between that and the cost for a good gaming laptop, most people prefer to just save the money and get a full desktop since you can usually configure those with whatever you need. Sadly you can't really upgrade much if anything on a laptop.

 

[New Frontiersman]

A good rule of thumb is this: Familiarize yourself with what an integrated graphics card is, and don't buy any laptop that has one.

Spot on advice right here.

Hope this helps.

It does! Thanks a lot you two, this is some really great advice! I'll be keeping that in mind as I look.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Radeon cards are a little different in terms of determining what a number means, but not by much. A radeon will likely be labeled as a Radeon HD XYYZM. XYYZ again being numbers and the M denoting that its a laptop graphics card. X being the first digit will again denote generation. Latest generation of HD cards is 7. Again, closer to 7 the better, but not necessary. I would also recommend at least a 5 for generation number. The YY is the 2nd and 3rd digit and these determine the performance level of the card. These are the most important numbers in determining if the card is worth using for gaming. Baseline at minimum should be a 75 for those 2 digits if you want to game. Anything less wouldn't be worth it. The last digit(Z) is again, almost always a 0.

Okay, so I have a question I've occassionaly seen cards with names like "AMD Radeon HD 8250" or "AMD Radeon HD 8750M" Does this mean it's of the 8th generation or a different type of card or that it's just some kind of knockoff?

 

[Aramis Night]

Radeon cards are a little different in terms of determining what a number means, but not by much. A radeon will likely be labeled as a Radeon HD XYYZM. XYYZ again being numbers and the M denoting that its a laptop graphics card. X being the first digit will again denote generation. Latest generation of HD cards is 7. Again, closer to 7 the better, but not necessary. I would also recommend at least a 5 for generation number. The YY is the 2nd and 3rd digit and these determine the performance level of the card. These are the most important numbers in determining if the card is worth using for gaming. Baseline at minimum should be a 75 for those 2 digits if you want to game. Anything less wouldn't be worth it. The last digit(Z) is again, almost always a 0.

Okay, so I have a question I've occassionaly seen cards with names like "AMD Radeon HD 8250" or "AMD Radeon HD 8750M" Does this mean it's of the 8th generation or a different type of card or that it's just some kind of knockoff?

We'll breaking down the 2 cards using my rough comparison guidelines: those would both be 8th generation cards which means they were likely released around the same time as each other. The AMD Radeon 8250 is a very low end card denoted by the 2 middle digits being 25. The AMD Radeon 8750M on the other hand is a much better card of the same generation. Performance of the card being denoted by the middle digits of the card number being 75. Also the M at the end of the card number denotes that it is a laptop card. Usually laptop cards do not perform to quite the same standards as the non-laptop version, but that is offset by the fact that unless your hooking it up to a bigger monitor, you wont see much of a performance departure and changes are made to the card for the laptop model to control for power consumption and heat since you are more limited as far as power draw and heat dissipation in a laptop but at some slight performance cost.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Radeon cards are a little different in terms of determining what a number means, but not by much. A radeon will likely be labeled as a Radeon HD XYYZM. XYYZ again being numbers and the M denoting that its a laptop graphics card. X being the first digit will again denote generation. Latest generation of HD cards is 7. Again, closer to 7 the better, but not necessary. I would also recommend at least a 5 for generation number. The YY is the 2nd and 3rd digit and these determine the performance level of the card. These are the most important numbers in determining if the card is worth using for gaming. Baseline at minimum should be a 75 for those 2 digits if you want to game. Anything less wouldn't be worth it. The last digit(Z) is again, almost always a 0.

Okay, so I have a question I've occassionaly seen cards with names like "AMD Radeon HD 8250" or "AMD Radeon HD 8750M" Does this mean it's of the 8th generation or a different type of card or that it's just some kind of knockoff?

We'll breaking down the 2 cards using my rough comparison guidelines: those would both be 8th generation cards which means they were likely released around the same time as each other. The AMD Radeon 8250 is a very low end card denoted by the 2 middle digits being 25. The AMD Radeon 8750M on the other hand is a much better card of the same generation. Performance of the card being denoted by the middle digits of the card number being 75. Also the M at the end of the card number denotes that it is a laptop card. Usually laptop cards do not perform to quite the same standards as the non-laptop version, but that is offset by the fact that unless your hooking it up to a bigger monitor, you wont see much of a performance departure and changes are made to the card for the laptop model to control for power consumption and heat since you are more limited as far as power draw and heat dissipation in a laptop but at some slight performance cost.

Alright, that makes sense. Thanks!

You're pretty smart about this!

 

[Aramis Night]

Radeon cards are a little different in terms of determining what a number means, but not by much. A radeon will likely be labeled as a Radeon HD XYYZM. XYYZ again being numbers and the M denoting that its a laptop graphics card. X being the first digit will again denote generation. Latest generation of HD cards is 7. Again, closer to 7 the better, but not necessary. I would also recommend at least a 5 for generation number. The YY is the 2nd and 3rd digit and these determine the performance level of the card. These are the most important numbers in determining if the card is worth using for gaming. Baseline at minimum should be a 75 for those 2 digits if you want to game. Anything less wouldn't be worth it. The last digit(Z) is again, almost always a 0.

Okay, so I have a question I've occassionaly seen cards with names like "AMD Radeon HD 8250" or "AMD Radeon HD 8750M" Does this mean it's of the 8th generation or a different type of card or that it's just some kind of knockoff?

We'll breaking down the 2 cards using my rough comparison guidelines: those would both be 8th generation cards which means they were likely released around the same time as each other. The AMD Radeon 8250 is a very low end card denoted by the 2 middle digits being 25. The AMD Radeon 8750M on the other hand is a much better card of the same generation. Performance of the card being denoted by the middle digits of the card number being 75. Also the M at the end of the card number denotes that it is a laptop card. Usually laptop cards do not perform to quite the same standards as the non-laptop version, but that is offset by the fact that unless your hooking it up to a bigger monitor, you wont see much of a performance departure and changes are made to the card for the laptop model to control for power consumption and heat since you are more limited as far as power draw and heat dissipation in a laptop but at some slight performance cost.

Alright, that makes sense. Thanks!

You're pretty smart about this!

Thank you, though if I'm being honest, what I explained to you is the whole extent of my knowledge on GPU's. If I was asked about architecture or anything else regarding the deeper specifications, I wouldn't have a clue. My knowledge of PC hardware is a little rough. It is just enough for me to know what is what from the perspective of a semi-informed buyer so as to not get totally ripped off. I was actually expecting people with more knowledge than me to correct me on something but I guess the fact that no one who did know better felt the need to do so means I must be onto something. I just really don't like seeing people ripped off when it comes to things that I can't really blame them for being confused by. If what I wrote here saves one person from wasting their money, then it was worth me going out on a limb as "the authority" on GPU's. I'm glad you found this useful.