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Affordable gaming laptop

CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
Any suggestions?
JuliusBorisovjackjack
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  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    edited December 2014
    Yup, you're probably going to need to give some more information. Like what kind of games you want to play and what resolution/graphics settings you want to run. Also your desired size/weight preferences, if applicable. Probably help to give a ballpark estimate of your price range too.
    wubblejackjack
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    If I have to spend $1500 I will... but i'd rather spend less, perhaps $1000? Games on my checklist are Wasteland 2, Divinity: OS, and of course PoE. I've read that these games don't require that much power, but I don't want to limit myself by buying a very low end laptop. If a game comes along that looks sweet that requires more power, I want to be able to play it. I'd like to play the above games with no frame rate issues, as well. Sound is important to me, too. I'd like something that sounds good, but it doesn't have to be outstanding. Size and weight, I suppose I wouldn't want something extextremely bulky. Thanks guys, any information will be helpful.
    wubbleJuliusBorisov
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    edited December 2014
    If you'd like to play for example DA:I and any new releases after that then you're going to need at least these specs on your laptop
    Minimum:

    OS
    Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit

    CPU
    AMD quad core CPU @ 2.5 GHz
    Intel quad core CPU @ 2.0 GHz

    System RAM 4 GB

    Graphics CARD
    AMD Radeon HD 4870
    NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

    Graphics Memory 512 MB

    Hard Drive 26 GB

    DirectX10


    a laptop with those specs is gonna set you back probably £700+ ($1100 USD) mainly because of the quad core cpu requirement

    if you're going for an entry level "gaming" laptop you can probably get one for £450 ($700 USD) but you'll only be able to play lower end games and it'll become outdated much faster.

    Another solution would be to go for a desktop, you'll get far more bang for your buck with a desktop with the added bonus that with most of them you can swap in better parts to upgrade your rig and keep it up to date.

    a decent gaming desktop can be grabbed for around £415 ($650 USD) excluding VAT
    http://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/range/novatechblacknta27.html
    while this isn't the best rig it will perform very well for mid range games and might even stretch to those with higher requirements.

    obviously you'll have to do a lot of research but i'm sure people will be happy to give you more advice

    (if anything i've said here is bull***t let me know and i'll change it, pc specs can get bloody confusing. Why can't they all use the same terminology?)

    personally I'd go for a desktop if you can as they are much easier to get at a decent value

    it took me far too long to look that stuff up and post it so long in fact that I didn't realise you'd posted before me, time for bed wubble
    TJ_HookerJuliusBorisov
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    edited December 2014
    I'll 2nd what @wubble said about getting a desktop, unless you actually require the portability of a laptop. That being said, I did a quick search and found this:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314701&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

    I think the specs are pretty good for the price, I'm thinking it could max out (or nearly max) out the 3 games on your list. In general, I'd guess that it could play most games at 1080p with medium settings or higher. It also got a good review on Notebookcheck.
    http://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Aspire-V15-Nitro-VN7-591G-77A9-Notebook-Review.128435.0.html

    This was just a quick search, so you'll probably want to spend time researching that laptop, or seeing what the competition is, but I think it's a good starting point.
    Post edited by TJ_Hooker on
    JuliusBorisov
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    edited December 2014
    wubble said:

    If you'd like to play for example DA:I and any new releases after that then you're going to need at least these specs on your laptop

    Minimum:

    OS
    Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit

    CPU
    AMD quad core CPU @ 2.5 GHz
    Intel quad core CPU @ 2.0 GHz

    System RAM 4 GB

    Graphics CARD
    AMD Radeon HD 4870
    NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

    Graphics Memory 512 MB

    Hard Drive 26 GB

    DirectX10


    Those specs are very much outdated. For one thing, games coming out now use DirectX 11. Which the GeForce 8800GT doesn't support. Nor is 512 very much in the way of graphics memory these days, you should have at least 1 gig. And Windows 7 or 8.1 can use up to 2 gigs of RAM all on their own, so 4 gig total isn't leaving much left over. For a 64 bit OS, 8 gigs is pretty much the minimum. And where on earth are you getting this 26 GB for hard drive space from? That's not even enough for your OS. He's going to need to do a lot better than that. Even the CPU you've listed is under powered. Today's processors are running at 3 ghz and up, as much as 4.5 ghz, and many of the games coming out now are looking for at least eight cores.

    As an example, these are the minimum, not recommended, specs for Assissins's Creed Unity:

    CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.3 GHz or AMD Phenom II x4 940 @ 3.0 GHz or AMD FX-8350 @ 4.0 GHz
    CPU Speed: Info
    RAM: 6 GB
    OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1 (64-bit operating system required)
    Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 (2 GB VRAM)
    Sound Card: Yes
    Free Disk Space: 50 GB

  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    edited December 2014
    I really can't recommend enough ASUS ROG laptops. I have one and it absolutely rocks!

    For you price, have a look at this:

    G750JM-DS71

    Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4Ghz (Turbo 3.4 GHz)
    12 GB DDR3
    1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
    17.3-inch screen, GeForce GTX 860M 2GB
    Windows 8.1

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKF2H12/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687642&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B009M2XB3U&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0BK92CADHGS21QZDFCVQ

    The only downside is a low battery life (3.5-hour) but you're acquiring a beast and should use a powercord (you're requiring a gaming laptop, not something you should carry with you).
    TJ_HookerMetalloman
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Gaming laptop is a silly concept. Get a desktop for gaming and a cheap laptop for your mobile needs.
    wubbleCrevsDaakMusigny
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    @Belanos‌ While I completely agreee that the nvidia 8800 gt is completely outdated i got those specs from the dragon age site http://www.dragonage.com/#!/en_US/news/pc-systems-requirements-revealed.
    It's a moot point anyway as most laptops that actually have a graphics card tend to have something pretty decent these days (or at least the ones i saw did though currys and pcworld were offline for site maintenance).
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122

    Gaming laptop is a silly concept. Get a desktop for gaming and a cheap laptop for your mobile needs.

    I travel a lot for work, so I want to play on the road. I just browsed the responses (will check the links later), but I appreciate all the suggestions. Thanks guys!

    JuliusBorisovTJ_Hookerwubbleelminster
  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    Not a thing. I checked. Everything is over 20$. Even the broken ones.
    wubbleCrevsDaakNimran
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455


    http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=34-152-559

    i5, GTX 860 I think minimum for a gaming system
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156



    http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=34-152-559

    i5, GTX 860 I think minimum for a gaming system

    Some of those are great bargains, I wish they were in the uk
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    bengoshi said:


    1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

    That's a really slow hard drive, it's going to mean stuttering during texture swaps on some games. You shouldn't consider anything less than a 7200 rpm, preferably 10,000. Or go SSD, though that will require more money.

  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    Belanos said:

    For a 64 bit OS, 8 gigs is pretty much the minimum. And where on earth are you getting this 26 GB for hard drive space from? That's not even enough for your OS.

    That depends in the OS you want to use. There are some implementations of GNU/Linux that weight less than a single GB. And I'm running a 64 bits OS (OSX Lion 10.7.5) on a 1.83 GHz CPU with 2GB RAM… But yeah, I don't play games with such high requirements, and I don't bother with graphics at all on games (probably why I think Dwarf Fortress on Adventurer Mode > Skyrim xD).
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    edited December 2014
    I'll agree with @bengoshi said about Asus ROG laptops. I got myself a G75VX a little over a year ago and have been really happy with it.
    Belanos said:

    bengoshi said:


    1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

    That's a really slow hard drive, it's going to mean stuttering during texture swaps on some games. You shouldn't consider anything less than a 7200 rpm, preferably 10,000. Or go SSD, though that will require more money.

    This is something you can possibly upgrade yourself though. Many laptops, particularly gaming laptops, allow you to add/swap out disk drives. I think it's cheaper to go this way. Most of the time the price difference between a model with an SSD and a model without an SSD is greater than the price of an SSD of the same size were you to purchase it yourself. It really just comes down to whether someone is comfortable migrating/re-installing their OS on the SSD.

    Gaming laptop is a silly concept. Get a desktop for gaming and a cheap laptop for your mobile needs.

    Believe it or not, there are people for whom a gaming laptop is the best option. It's not like the entire gaming laptop market is composed of people too dumb to figure out the desktop+cheap laptop solution you mention. There is the reason @CField17 mentioned. For myself, it's because I often go back to my parents place on weekends/holidays, and I don't want to be cut off from my games.
    JuliusBorisov
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @TJ_Hooker‌ I disagree, but you are of course welcome to do as you like ;)
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    @FinneousPJ ok, tell me a better solution than a gaming laptop for my situation. Or @CField17‌ 's situation for that matter.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    I'm a student as well and go back to my parents' place time to time and don't need a gaming laptop. I think the solution is to maybe not play games while there. If I wanted to play games there, I'd probably build an easily transportable desktop. This would be basically the same as a gaming laptop, which is going to stay plugged in 24/7 anyway.
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    edited December 2014
    You really can't say that a small computer is like a laptop. Even a mini-itx case is going to be bigger and heavier than the bulkiest laptop, and you're also going to have to be transporting a monitor on top of that. I typically go back to my parents place every weekend or 2, so I really don't want to be lugging all that around.

    Also, simply not playing games at my parents place is a trivial solution.

    Edit: if it makes you feel any better, I'm planning on building myself a desktop next year, after I graduate.
    wubble
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    You asked what I think is a better solution. This is what I think. I would probably leave the monitor at their place or use the telly.
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    TJ_Hooker said:

    You really can't say that a small computer is like a laptop. Even a mini-itx case is going to be bigger and heavier than the bulkiest laptop, and you're also going to have to be transporting a monitor on top of that. I typically go back to my parents place every weekend or 2, so I really don't want to be lugging all that around.

    Also, simply not playing games at my parents place is a trivial solution.

    Edit: if it makes you feel any better, I'm planning on building myself a desktop next year, after I graduate.

    I can understand in the circumstances why both @TJ_Hooker‌ and @CField17‌ would want a laptop. As I'm also a student I can tell you that you that lugging a desktop around on the train would not only be a pain in the arse but it would get broken. I don't actually have my desktop with me at uni, it's at home and when i return I can play newer games, during term time I content myself (fulfil my heart's desires) by playing old games such as the infinity engine games and fallout.
    TJ_Hooker
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    TJ_Hooker said:


    Also, simply not playing games at my parents place is a trivial solution.

    Really? Isn't the whole point of visiting your parents to spend some time with them? You're not exactly developing a quality relationship with them if you're spending your time there playing games.

  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    edited December 2014
    Belanos said:

    TJ_Hooker said:


    Also, simply not playing games at my parents place is a trivial solution.

    Really? Isn't the whole point of visiting your parents to spend some time with them? You're not exactly developing a quality relationship with them if you're spending your time there playing games.

    It's trivial in the sense that it doesn't actually answer the question at hand, namely "how am I able to play games at my parents' place?". And it's not that I go there and just play video games the whole time, I just want to have the option to game a bit if I want. Also, no, spending time with my parents is not the whole point of why I go there. Lastly, I really don't see how my relationship with my parents is any of your concern.
    CrevsDaak
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    Belanos said:

    TJ_Hooker said:


    Also, simply not playing games at my parents place is a trivial solution.

    Really? Isn't the whole point of visiting your parents to spend some time with them? You're not exactly developing a quality relationship with them if you're spending your time there playing games.

    The point of visiting your parents is to get free food and laundry, you should already have developed the quality relationship that gets you these privileges.
    TJ_HookerCrevsDaakNimranmeagloth
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    TJ_Hooker said:

    Also, no, spending time with my parents is not the whole point of why I go there.

    It should be.
    wubble said:


    The point of visiting your parents is to get free food and laundry, you should already have developed the quality relationship that gets you these privileges.

    When your parents are gone like mine are, you'll probably wish you had taken a different attitude towards them. Make the most of it while you can, they won't be around forever.

  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    Belanos said:

    TJ_Hooker said:

    Also, no, spending time with my parents is not the whole point of why I go there.

    It should be.

    Perhaps he has a girlfriend or someone else that he wants to visit when he goes home.
    Belanos said:


    wubble said:


    The point of visiting your parents is to get free food and laundry, you should already have developed the quality relationship that gets you these privileges.

    When your parents are gone like mine are, you'll probably wish you had taken a different attitude towards them. Make the most of it while you can, they won't be around forever.

    I'm actually a rather good son if I do say so myself, I help my parents quite a bit and they're very dear to me (I help my mum with any heavy lifting that needs doing and I help my dad keep fit while he recovers from a knee operation), however I also don't mind if my mum is happy to wash some laundry for me if I come home on the weekend or if my dad wants to buy me a pint or if one of them wants to cook a roast dinner for me, because this is a two way relationship and I make sure I give as much as I receive but there's nothing wrong with accepting some help from your parents who are just trying to make life a little bit easier. :)


    That being said this thread has gone way off topic and I'm sure that @CField17‌ would appreciate it if we got back on topic.

    looking at the link posted by FinneousPJ i found this
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834317542

    As far as I can See this is an excellent laptop and will more than fill your requirements AND it will stay able to run games on decent settings for a good while. Lenovo is a respected brand so there shouldn't be any reason not to trust them but i checked up on it
    http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/lenovo-y50-1207894/review
    From reading that review the laptop sounds perfect for what you want, i've taken the liberty of summing up the pros and cons and adding my thoughts to them
    Pros
    lightweight, always a bonus
    great value
    very sturdy, handy if you're on the go a lot
    great sound, has an inbuilt sub woofer which while isn't the best sound system ever it is apparently very good for when you haven't got it plugged into your 5.1 surround at home.
    comes with some handy apps and while they might not all be perfect it shouldn't take too much trouble to uninstall them if you don't want them

    cons
    battery life isn't great, but what can you expect from a gaming laptop?
    it's not the most powerful machine on the market but i suspect it is more than capable of playing anything you want for the next 5 years (sure you might have to start turning the graphics down but that's expected)
    the screen isn't the best, this one isn't great but at this value i think the rest of the laptop and it's value will make up for that.
    it's not very moddable but tbh I don't expect that you'd need to mod it anyway as it seems to have everything you're looking for.

    Of course if you're interested you'll have to do some more research and make your decision and anyone who can poke any flaws in what i've said, please do.
    just make sure that if you DO want it you get it while it's still on sale,
    sorry for the essay :)
    JuliusBorisovTJ_HookerFinneousPJ
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    /popcorn

    Right now I'd be happy with a laptop that could play the EE games, ipad is great but it can be frustrating at times.
    wubble
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @wubble That seems a great unit, however I'd like a bit more GPU and a bit less CPU for a gaming system at that price point. The i7 doesn't really matter in games, nor does 16 GB RAM. I found this, but this might be a bit too light on the CPU

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152563
    wubbleTJ_Hooker
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