Gaming Laptops - Fact or Fiction?

[Flangenimblick]

I've been interested in this concept for a while, and there seem to be two camps on this:

1) "Gaming Laptops" do not exist, they are high-end (and far more expensive) laptops that melt and die the first chance they get, and that you're better off going for a desktop PC.

2) Gaming Laptops do exist, and there are risks involved in getting them, but pick a good one and you're sorted.


Now, the reason I'm starting this thread, beyond the fact that it'll probably generate some (hopefully) interesting discussion, is that I'm interested in finding and purchasing one of these mythical beasts. So I need some advice.


I'm going to be travelling a lot next year, so I wanted to get a laptop that isn't too heavy and can play some decent games, and possibly can do some small-scale video editing.

I was looking at Alienware, but all the reviews say it's too heavy to really be called "portable" (also, it's very expensive.)

Since I'll be going overseas soon, I understand that laptops can be cheaper over there, depending on the model, so if I can find a good one, maybe I can come back with it! I think my price range is about R15000 - R17000.


So far, I've come across these reviews:

http://computers.toptenreviews.com/gaming-laptops/

http://laptoplogic.com/best-gaming-laptops/

http://computershopper.com/laptops/gaming-laptops/top-5-gaming-laptops


So, does anyone have a "gaming laptop" or something similar, or know of a good model that I can look at?

Discuss!




Update: was searching around and came across this article: http://egamer.co.za/2010/03/asus-gaming-laptops/

Then saw this on WantItAll: http://www.wantitall.co.za/PC-Hardware/Asus-G60JX-RBBX05-Intel-i5-430M-4-GB-500-GB-NVIDIA-GTS360M-Webcam-16-Inch-LED-Windows-7-Notebook-Manufacturer-Refurbishe__B003WUXMVY

Or this: http://www.wantitall.co.za/PC-Hardware/ASUS-G53JW-XA1-Republic-of-Gamers-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-Amazon-Exclusive__B00486USL8


Between these two possibly?

[Chevron]

Look at the Asus G73jh and Asus G73jw (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3998/asus-g73jw-geforce-gtx-460m). I have an Asus G73jh and it's awesome.

[Flangenimblick]

Look at the Asus G53jh and Asus G53jw (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3998/asus-g73jw-geforce-gtx-460m). I have an Asus G53jh and it's awesome.


No overheating problems? Or do you use a cooling dock?

[cov1e_stalker]

It seems the Asus G53jw is the clear winner , also judging by the size of exhaust vents at the back , it has some kick ass cooling for a laptop.
I was planning on getting an Asus G53 , but i ended up getting an Hp Envy 17 (http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/14/hp-envy-17-review/) which is damn hot since it has a metal body, as for cooling stands it seems the Coolermaster U3 (http://www.zapsonline.com/46382-coolermaster-notepal-u3-black-notebook-cooler-sicm-npu3-k.html) ( thats 3 fans ) is one of the best , also going to get one myself.
If you don't have the need for more than an hour of battery life , then Eurocom (http://evla.co.za/site/shop) laptops are a killer option , especially since they are probably the most powerful laptops available.

[Chevron]

No overheating problems? Or do you use a cooling dock?

No heating problems. The temps of the exhaust air though does depend on the power profile I'm using eg. Office or entertainment.

[.:Enigma:.]

Sorry to bring up Alienware again, but what about the M11X?

[FEN1X]

Look at the Asus G53jh and Asus G53jw (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3998/asus-g73jw-geforce-gtx-460m). I have an Asus G53jh and it's awesome.

What happened to your G73?

[Flangenimblick]

Sorry to bring up Alienware again, but what about the M11X?


Seemed like a good one, until I read this:

"no optical drive for installing games."

"did not ship with optimal graphics drivers (to play steam games properly, one had to upgrade to a different set)"


...in this review: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/alienware-m11x-core-i7/4505-3121_7-34122928.html

And here: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5548&p=2


Overall, it seems like a great laptop. But no optical drive at all seems a bit of a problem. It seems this is geared towards people and places with super-fast uncapped internet, who can download any software that they need.

I think if I did get this laptop, I would have to adjust my style of installing software. I think I'd have to buy a portable optical drive, a few large-capacity flashsticks and get a super-fast uncapped dsl connection.


It is worth considering though...it looks like a great option...hmmmm

Price is decent too, R11,636

http://www.wantitall.co.za/PC-Hardware/Alienware-AM11X-2894CSB-11-6-Inch-Laptop-Cosmic-Black__B003LPUYI4



The ASUS' seem more rounded though.


Any thoughts?

[FEN1X]

The M11x is a gaming netbook... You can't discredit it for lack of an optical drive.

[Flangenimblick]

The M11x is a gaming netbook... You can't discredit it for lack of an optical drive.


Fair enough, but they should make that clearer then in the reviews, as all the reviews place that as a con.

[McDangerous]

I've been checking out the gaming laptop scene recently as well, and I was actually really surprised at the level of performance you can get out of even a sub 10g laptop. I found a very useful site for comparing mobile graphics cards as well:

Notebookceck.net (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html)

They list a bunch of game benchmarks and reviews of almost any mobile graphics card you can think of. I wouldn't spend more than 10g on a laptop personally, since they do go out of date relatively quickly. That's just me though. I'm checking out the Toshiba L650-11f, it's got an i5-530, 4GB of DDR3-1066, a 15.6in 1366x768 screen and a mobility HD5650 1GB. It'll play Arkham Asylum at 60fps average at maximum detail and resolution, more than enough to play Dirt2, CoD MW2, and basically any game you want at medium-high settings. I don't need anything more than that, since I won't care about having top visuals the whole time as I know it's only for portability and going to LANs and whatnot. What tops it off though, is that it only costs R7400, with shipping and insurance.

[Chevron]

What happened to your G73?

Sigh. Meant to say G73. My bad.

[spjt07]

At the bottom of the below link is the MSI GX 740, price is R14100, laptop seems pretty decent and as far as I know MSI makes some pretty decent laptops.

http://www.pryorcomp.co.za/index.php?categoryid=6

[Tankiouse]

Which countries will you be travelling to? Because in the US you can get a decent m15x for under $.
Intel? Core™ i7 740QM
1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 460M
15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED
8GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 4GB DDR3)
320GB SATAII 7,200RPM
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Primary - 9-cell (85Watt) Lithium-Ion Battery
For $2,489.00
Which as of today is = R16,864.22 and thats in your price range.

[Flangenimblick]

Which countries will you be travelling to? Because in the US you can get a decent m15x for under $.
Intel? Core™ i7 740QM
1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 460M
15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED
8GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 4GB DDR3)
320GB SATAII 7,200RPM
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Primary - 9-cell (85Watt) Lithium-Ion Battery
For $2,489.00
Which as of today is = R16,864.22 and thats in your price range.


I saw the prices over there are far cheaper. Unfortunately, I'll mostly be travelling to the UK and back. Possibly to Thailand as well.

[Tankiouse]

Well I know that Thailand has good hardware deals, due to the fact that alot of factories are located there, just dont expect a warranty or anything though.

[Tankiouse]

Intel? Core™ i7 740QM (1.73 Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
1GB ATI? Radeon™ HD 5850
15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048
160GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Primary - 9-cell (85Watt) Lithium-Ion Battery
Well this build will cost you GBP1,549.00.
Which as of today is R17,020.12.

[Launchpad]

Another good laptop you can look at is a Toshiba Qosmio. I have one and I love it.

Maybe a bit big and heavy for u but a good option to look at.

Qosmio X505-Q898•Intel? Core™ i7-740QM processor
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
•18.4" widescreen
•6GB DDR3 1066MHz memory
•564GB: 64GB SSD (Serial ATA) + 500GB (7200rpm, Serial ATA)
•1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX 460M

12-Cell Li-ion Battery Pack, 1GB Ethernet, 7200 RPM Hard Drive, Advanced/Discrete Graphics, Blu-ray™, Bluetooth?, Dolby Surround Sound Audio, Eco Utility, Energy Star Compliant, EPEAT™ Gold Compliant, eSATA USB Combo Port, Face Recognition, Hard Drive Impact Sensor, harman/kardon? speakers, HDMI port, LED Backlit Keyboard, Memory Card Reader, Numeric 10-key Pad, PC Health Monitor, Quad-core Processor, Solid State Drive, TouchPad with Multi-touch, USB Sleep-and-Charge, Webcam and Mic.

[Azraphael]

Just a thought seeing as you are studying film and will be doing video editing (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html). The i7 version is R22000 locally but is about 30-40% cheaper in the UK. it is not a dedicated "gaming" laptop as such, but is the best you can get for editing. A mate of mine has one and he is able to play Starcraft 2 no worries (along with all Blizzard titles). For other titles, just install Parrallels or Boot Camp. All our research guys here are using these with no complaints.

[Flangenimblick]

THREAD RESURRECTION!


I have been given the go ahead to buy this beauty: http://www.have2have.co.za/product/ASUS-Republic-of-Gamers-G73JH-A2-17-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-Black/92837/

And the price has dropped considerably since I started this thread.

It was (and is) around R22000 on wantitall (http://www.wantitall.co.za/PC-Hardware/ASUS-Republic-of-Gamers-G73JH-A1-17-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-Black__B0039825JE#ItemDescription) but have2have are offering it for around R17000!

How can I refuse? :D


Chevron, is yours still running well?

[Cranky]

that laptop has the same specs as the MSI laptop that is about R14000? My friend has that laptop and its a pretty descent machine .. IF i were you id hold on a bit and wait for the new Alienware units to arrive in SA ,

The ALIENWARE M17X R3 (http://www.incredible.co.za/ProductDescription.aspx?SKU=77214) is already a better buy due to better specs . I can get you in touch with a friend of mine that can help you get the MSI one .. and you can have a look at his one too?

[Flangenimblick]

that laptop has the same specs as the MSI laptop that is about R14000? My friend has that laptop and its a pretty descent machine .. IF i were you id hold on a bit and wait for the new Alienware units to arrive in SA ,

The ALIENWARE M17X R3 (http://www.incredible.co.za/ProductDescription.aspx?SKU=77214) is already a better buy due to better specs . I can get you in touch with a friend of mine that can help you get the MSI one .. and you can have a look at his one too?

Thanks but part of the deal for getting this new laptop is that I have to buy it within the next 24 hours.

I'm actually going a model up for the same price: ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (http://www.have2have.co.za/product/ASUS-G73SW-A1-Republic-of-Gamers-173-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-Black/101343/).

Obviously I'd love Alienware, but for what I need and when I need it, not to mention the AMAZING warranty that comes with it, this G73SW is perfect.