Good Gaming Laptop choices

[iceman1575]

I've been out of the tech scene for a while, but I'm going to be going to school again soon & I'm needing a new laptop (As we speak, my laptop is probably going to overheat after I post this, & I'm using a USB keyboard because half my keys do not work, period...) plus I want to get back into playing a few video games again. I'm wanting to get one that will be powerful enough a couple years down the road when Windows 237823974 or whatever comes out ( ). Right now, I've narrowed my best choice down to the MSI DT780DXR (probably the 447US model here).

Reasons:

Quad-Core (Overclockable?) Processor

Plenty of RAM

High-End Gaming Video Card

Hard Drive Space (I have an additional 1TB USB 3.0 hard drive if I need more...lol)

Large Bright Screen (from reviews)

Illuminated Backlit keyboard (Perfect for dark environments, DJ gigs, etc.)

Any other choices in the price range? I'm open to just about anything...Mainly going to be playing SC2, FSX, CS:S, BF3, etc, nothing too fancy...lol. Thanks in advance!

[optical]

i would look for

6+ gigs memory

quad core(not a lot of programs use all cores now but they will)

dedicated video card

I dont suggest overclocking on a laptop just because of the heat issue.

Brands i prefer are toshiba msi asus

I have had to deal with all 3 and toshiba had the best customer service than msi than asus.

[WillPwn4Food]

One thing to remember with a 17" gaming laptop is that it's going to be heavy as fuck. It's more or less a mobile desktop. Alienware has the M14x. I got myself the M11x (11")(Already have a custom rig I built in my home that's top-of-the-line). I wanted a laptop that was easy to carry around for school, but wanted one that could play any video game I threw at it. Mind you, this is the basic one with 4GB RAM, 1GB Nvidia 335m graphics, and a duo-core 1.3 ghz (Overclocked to 1.75) laptop, and it could handle SC2... Barely. On low settings it ran it at 40FPS. dropped a bit on intense spots. It cost about 900 at the time? For $1600, you could make the M14x (14")godly. It weighs less than a 17", it's amazing quality (A bit pricey I will admit, but well worth it IMO.) and will keep you more than satisfied for a while. If you don't want Alienware, ASUS tends to have heat-flow issues pretty easy. Just a forewarning.

Edit: Although if you are set on a bigger screen, they do offer the M17x (17")and M18x (18")

And... Alienware has awesome color-lit keyboards. If I'm feeling blue... I make them blue... If I'm feeling gay... I make them pink. It's kind of fun having a color-of-the-day. Haha.

Edited January 19, 2012 by WillPwn4Food

[iceman1575]

I thought about Alienware, but I've heard just as many bad things as good things. I know the 17" will be heavy, which is why I debated on the 15.3" version...Anyone else ever used MSI? I've heard they're better than most.

[99fullsizechevy]

Why does anyone need a gaming laptop? For as damn expensive they are you can build a massive gaming desktop to run on a large moniter and still buy a regular laptop along with it.. Just my 0.02¢

But if your dead set optical has good info in his post

[distinktbean]

my brother has the msi gt683r and he hasnt had any issues whatso ever with it. the only thing that was wrong is when his power cord was cut it took almost 3 weeks for him to get the new one in. other than that he games on it does school work and all that teenage computer stuff and he loves it. i think my dad paid like 1500 or 1600 for it.

[99fullsizechevy]

Dang I could build a gaming desktop for around 1k and still have a decent laptop to use lmao that's my point.. Don mean to be a duck about it, but what is the real purpose to having games on the go when most of the useful content is online for one which is hard to utilize on the go, and is it really needed to go to a friends house and play a game instead of hanging with said friend??

Sorry someone please enlighten me on this gaming laptop top thing..

Don't mean to there's dump man I apologize for that I'm just yet to find the reasoning of the choice

[distinktbean]

it was one of those im only buying you one thing. so he got him one that did it all so that he wasnt taking it apart and trying to upgrade it himself, but yeah i see your point but then again i dont game on my laptop so im in the dark with you on the gaming laptop thing.

[99fullsizechevy]

Sorry for thread dumping dude, lack of sleep has made me sorts cranky.. But the Alienware platforms are alright, the specs on them are good, as said before gaming computer will need quad core and at least 6gb of ram a huge hard drive and a very large graphics card..

But remember every 9-10 months hardware starts becoming out dated so what u get now may not be opinmal by next year.. So spend your hard earned money wisely

[Maxim]

Alienware stuff is nice and fast, just are generally overpriced. Their M11x and M14x models are reasonable though they limit you on graphics card options. Still on the high end but since being bought by Dell their build quality seems to have increased. I bought an Alienware for when I went to school. 2 years later I built my desktop for half the price and it absolutely blows it out of the water.

You can't say you're looking to play BF3 and in the same sentence say you're not looking to play anything fancy. BF3 is one of the most demanding games on the market lol!