Laptop

[bloodymassacre]

Im looking to buy a new laptop for gaming, but i know almost nothing about computers. The laptop i was looking at is 1300$

here are the Specs:

?Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM processor
?OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
?Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M (2298MB total: 1GB GDDR5 discrete memory + up to 1274MB shared w/NVIDIA TurboCache)
?Memory: 6GB DDR3 1066MHz memory
?Storage: 64GB SSD + 500GB (7200rpm)
?Optical drive: Blu-ray Disc ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash
?Display: 18.4-inch widescreen, FHD TruBrite TFT LCD, 1920×1080, 16:9
?Audio: Built-in microphone, Microphone jack (mono), Headphone jack (stereo), S/P DIF output port (shared with headphone port), harman/kardon stereo speakers
?Wireless: Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR
?Battery: Li-Ion (8000mAh, 12-Cell)
?Expansion: ExpressCard Slot
?Media: S/P DIF output port (shared with headphone port), Memory Card Reader
?USB: eSATA/USB (2.0) combo port with Sleep and Charge, 3-USB (2.0)
?ILINK: i.LINK IEEE-1394
?HDMI: HDMI-CEC (Regza Link)
?Weight: starting 9.70 lbs
?Dimensions: 17.5 x 11.5 x 1.75-inches (approx.)

 

[Dectomax]

Well, first I'd say you'd be better off looking at a Desktop. Whatever you pay for a gaming laptop, the Desktop equivalent will be cheaper.

Though, it seems like a decent build. Better than my laptop atleast.

 

[Tesral]

>Laptop
>Gaming

While it's definitely possible, it's not recommended due to expense, temperature issues and power consumption. Your money could go a lot farther on a good desktop, especially if you can build it yourself or get someone else to build it. By choosing each part individually the overall cost is less and there's less chance of having a single certain component bottleneck your gaming power. Your choice seems solid as far as components go, but then again it should be for $1300.

 

[bloodymassacre]

well, i prefer to move around alot, therefore i need a decent laptop, i was originally looking for a laptop under 1000$ but i couldnt find any with I5 or higher they were all outdated. any thoughts?

 

[Esotera]

Damn. My PC feels very insignificant now.

That setup should be fine for most games, but desktop will really be better for gaming. It also depends what games you're intending on playing.

 

[Lillowh]

Here's what I have for $1049
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/product_detail.do?product_code=LW215UA%23ABA
Operating system
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Processor
2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor 2.00GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.90 GHz

Processor speed
2.00GHz

Memory
6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 DIMM)
Maximum supported = 16GB

Accessible memory slots
2

Display
15.6" diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)

Video graphics
Radeon HD 6770M switchable graphics with 1024MB GDDR5 and up to 3813MB total graphics memory

Audio
Beats Audio

Primary CD/DVD drive
Blu-ray Player & SuperMulti DVD Burner

Hard drive
750GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

Networking
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)

Wireless options
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n WLAN with WiDi

I/O ports
2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0
2 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0
1 HDMI
1 VGA (15-pin)
1 RJ -45 (LAN)
2 Headphone-out
1 Microphone-in

Finish
Brushed aluminum in steel gray
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated digital microphone
HP SimplePass with integrated fingerprint reader

Great Computer. Bought it for school and gaming. I'd Recommend it

 

[Lillowh]

2 ghz CPU power is a little low though. You can't play many a game with 2000 mhz, even somewhat older ones. Stalker sometimes delays a lot on minimum settings, and a game like Saints Row II has a horrible frame rate for me on a 2000 mhz machine.

What's the point of having a big RAM and grahpics card, if you lack the raw calculating power to use it?

See, that's what I was worried about too when I bought it, but the processor holds up phenomenally. Ran the BF3 Alpha trial on high at around 35-40 fps and can run Crysis on very high at around 25-30 fps (both at 1440 X 900 resolution).

Edit: Did some research on my processor and came up with this: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-2630QM-Notebook-Processor.41483.0.html

Bottom line: The performance of the Core i7-2630QM should be about 10-15% faster than a similar clocked Clarksfield Core i7 (see first tests by Anandtech). Therefore, the 2630QM should be on a level (or even faster) than a Core i7-920XM Quad-Core.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Im looking to buy a new laptop for gaming, but i know almost nothing about computers. The laptop i was looking at is 1300$

If you need a computer for mundane working (essays, homework, adult stuff etc) buy yourself a fairly cheap laptop, say $300 range, nothing fancy. It will do the job very nicely.


Now for the gaming part, you've got around $1k left to play with, that buys a hell of a lot of desktop computer. Avoid laptops for gaming, they run hot and use a lot of power, plus they run slowly.

Spend a bit of the money on a subscription to a high end PC magazine (like Custom PC, PC Format etc) and buy a how-to book on computers. It's safe to say that knowing the basics of computer maintanence is essential in the 21st century, plus you'll learn how much companies like Alienware rip you off with their 'high performance' gear.

Now, last bit, build yourself a gaming PC!

Custom PC (the UK version of it) has a home build gaming PC in it for the equivalent of $650. The spec is also fairly future proof and able to play current games at high frames rates in 1080p (as in, it's a very, very good PC with a performance equivalent to a lot of pre-built units that are more than twice the price). It's not that hard to build a PC, but it can seem that way when you don't know which wire means what.

That should leave you with a good, fast gaming PC and a few hundred bucks left for some games.

Get to it!