Laptop that can play Civ 5 for $700-800

[Chaotic42]

My friend is looking for a laptop that can play Civilization 5 and has HDMI out for under $800. I know absolutely nothing about laptops, I still use a Pentium 3 laptop I bought used on AT years ago.

I've done a little looking around, and it seems like $800 is unreasonable for what he wants to do. Is that true, or is there something that fits the bill that I'm just not seeing?

 

[Bateluer]

What screen size is your friend looking for? There's quite a few laptops that will do the job, with various degrees of success.

 

[Chaotic42]

What screen size is your friend looking for? There's quite a few laptops that will do the job, with various degrees of success.

I'll ask him tomorrow. I'm thinking he wants to play it as smoothly as possible, and will probably sacrafice screen size for performance.

 

[Bateluer]

I'll ask him tomorrow. I'm thinking he wants to play it as smoothly as possible, and will probably sacrafice screen size for performance.

Quick scan of Newegg in the 700-800 price range with discrete graphics has models of screen size, with different resolutions. I'd just be wary of buying a 1.56in laptop with a 1366x768 resolution.

You might want to scan through the Civ5 thread in PC Games, see what people are running. Civ5 seems to like its quad cores, particularly on the large maps.

 

[Liberator21]

This should do it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-851-_-Product

It goes in and out of stock, they had it on Amazon but it was $50 more. Could be the best deal going for a budget gaming laptop. Plus it's thin and gets good battery life! What more could you want for $750?

 

[RobsTV]

This should do it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-851-_-Product

It goes in and out of stock, they had it on Amazon but it was $50 more. Could be the best deal going for a budget gaming laptop. Plus it's thin and gets good battery life! What more could you want for $750?

I just picked one up and it screams for a $750 gaming laptop.
8 hours battery life.
Around 4 lbs.

3dmark2k6 scores 10,124 when overclocked, which these 4820TG's also do great.

Has HDMI out as original poster requested, which eliminates any questions about screen resolution (you can do 1080P if you wish). (Although the built-in LCD's 1366x768 is still HiDef and perfect with small laptop screens that allows you to read text even with non-perfect eyes).

Plus, the 4820Tg does not have that nasty numberpad taking up space, which for some strange reason, many now include.

 

[dud]

OP,

I just picked up a used Dell Precision M90 with a quadro FX1500 and 17" screen for $300. Very happy with it and Civ V plays flawlessly. I always consider "best value" when buying a laptop and used machines, if taken care of are a tremendous value at the right price-point.

 

[Bateluer]

This should do it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-851-_-Product

It goes in and out of stock, they had it on Amazon but it was $50 more. Could be the best deal going for a budget gaming laptop. Plus it's thin and gets good battery life! What more could you want for $750?

Looks like a decent model. 14in and 1366x768 is alright for viewing, I have a Dell Studio 14z. Its 14in and has the same resolution, 9400 IGP though. You could try for one of the used models, but thats a preference thing. I always prefer to buy new, personally, I know the warranty is fully intact and their won't be dried giz on the keyboard.