Getting a Gaming Laptop

[Johnn123]

Hey im in the process of getting a gaming laptop. I'd get a pc but i need a laptop for college next year. ive been going through new egg canada and ive found these models thus far that have interested me. note that i don't play hard-core(system wise) games like crysis and such, only games like oblivion, fallout 3 and new vegas and those kinda games. Probably TESV when it comes out. anyways heres the models, what do ya'll think?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220755&cm_re=asuslaptop-_-34-220-755-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220862&cm_re=asuslaptop-_-34-220-862-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-115-894CVF&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=&VideoOnlyMark=&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&SelectedRating5=5&Keywords=#scrollFullInfo

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157358CVF

this is all ive found to date, any suggestions link me please. Under $1000 please! Thx guys!

i've found these 2, could anyone tell me about the battery life on them? i'd like at least 2 hours minus power cables

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220865

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220866

Edited November 27, 2010 by John

[donnato]

All good there John. I`m pretty much sold on Asus for many reasons. If thewe are in your price range I`d say flip a coin.

[Johnn123]

All good there John. I`m pretty much sold on Asus for many reasons. If thewe are in your price range I`d say flip a coin.

flip a coin?

[Johnn123]

i found this one as well

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=46753&vpn=UL80VT-A1&manufacture=ASUS

is it any good er?

[InsanitySorrow]

flip a coin?

Yup, but only works with two choices

[Johnn123]

oh i meant, as in i could end up with a good or bad computer, or in between which model i pick?

[vometia]

Just speculating out loud, but I'm wondering if for the same cost as a decent gaming laptop you might be able to get a good gaming desktop and a cheap laptop for basic office type stuff? I suppose it depends on whether or not you think that makes any sense; I think I just have a slight aversion to high-spec laptops as they seem a little fragile and lacking in expansion potential, though it's largely a subjective matter I think. Though it's also a matter of experience: my partner has a no-frills Lenovo (IBM R40, I think) laptop that's still going strong after six years whereas the fancier laptops that friends have owned have tended to die after just a year or two. And high-spec laptops are also tempting targets for the light-fingered types in our midst.

[Khettienna]

I tend to agree with vometia on this one. Laptops are more physically fragile, and gaming will work your hardware hard. The only reason to put down that kinda dough on one, imo, is if you need Ob to travel with you. Granted, that's a luxury I'd bet everyone here would get excited about - but I wouldn't consider it instead of a desktop, only in addition to a desktop.

That said, I am also approving of Asus.

[Johnn123]

hmm you know maybe that is the route to go. guess i could always save up after getting the laptop and building my own desktop, ive always wanted to do that. thx for the suggestions guys

and you are right khett having Ob where ever you go is a luxury!

[DaMage]

Heres some thoughts from me.

You can have a good gaming laptop....i have one...but the figures arent the same as with computers, and you will have (no matter what) use a cooling pad with a gaming laptop as they overheat.

A 1gig video card in a laptop generaly isnt as good a quality as a 1 gig video card in a desktop, but it will still play anything, you just wont achive the same graphics level on the newest games. Desktops are cheaper and can be upgraded, but I like to be mobile.

A desktop is alright, but if you (like me) are travelling around alot, or dont enjoy sitting at a desk to play games (couch for the win). Dont overlook going into a store and buying that way, you can get some great deals. Though buying online can also be cheaper....looking around always gets the best deals.

One thing, with gaming laptops you only get a battery life of about an hour, maybe 90 mins if you are only using a simple program like word, or 40mins if playing a game. The video card simply draws too much power to make any of them long life.

And if you can get a 2 year warrenty, get it. Laptops break....alot...and they are much harder to repair and get parts for, so if you can get a two year warrenty on it you'll end up- saving in the long run.

[Johnn123]

thx for the tips mage, i didnt know battery life was short on them! i think im gonna go with a lower end laptop and build myself a desktop, ive always wanted to do that, plus i need my laptop to last a good 3-4 years for college.

[DaMage]

Yeah, the moment your laptop moves into a real video card the battery life is shortened dramatically.

If you are looking for a long life battery laptop mmake sure it just ahs a intel chipset or whatever for grahpics, but most companies will offer a laptop with long battery life if oyu look around on thier pages.

[Johnn123]

i will take a look around, but i might have to get one at my local future shop, parents dont seem keen on me getting one off of the internet for whatever reason..

[DaMage]

i will take a look around, but i might have to get one at my local future shop, parents dont seem keen on me getting one off of the internet for whatever reason..

I have the same problem with mny parents

[Johnn123]

I ended up getting a sweet Asus for $800

Got these specs:

Intel i3 processor

2.4 Ghz - 3MB L3 Cache

4 GB RAM

1 GB ATI Radeon HD5470

640 GB HDD

17.3 Inch screen

Sounds good right?

[InsanitySorrow]

Wouldn't mind that laptop myself , Even if it were to just sit on display and look good

[Khettienna]

Yeah, if you get tired of that shiny thing, let me know!

[donnato]

Yupyup...sounds like you`ll be able to do basically whatever you want with that John, congrats. Also if you check it I think you`ll find that there`s an empty secondary HDD bay if you want to expand. Good job shopping that one.

[washington]

Does it have numerical keyboard? I hate laptops without it!

I saw this discussion just now and I see that there wasn't question about what are you going to study.

If you're going to study architecture for example, it's important to have good laptop. My girlfriend had her crazy moments with her old Toshiba when she waited >30 minutes for some Photoshop files to open, and renders, and other demanding stuff. She doesn't play games though - unfortunately if I may add!

Yours seem awesome to me, it would eat my PC for breakfast!

[Johnn123]

hehe i havent actually gotten a good look at yet

when i got it at the store they had a smaller version with with different hardware in it than this model did. Ill let ya know when Xmas does Washington. and thx all im surprised i got such a good deal on it!

[DaMage]

THats a pretty good laptop for that price