Whats the best gaming laptop I can get for less than $1200?

[sebastienmaass]

The topic summary was just suggestions, I'll take anything less than $1200. I need a solid laptop for DVDs, internet/speadsheet, and GAMES! Yea, I know I won't be able to go "all out" but I want to know whats the best way to go...

Thanks for any replies!

 

[kiIIxthexIights]

im gonna say alienware.

 

[sebastienmaass]

any particular model or specs?

 

[Arcanedeath]

Well if you get the base model Inspiron E1705 Single Core system and add a 7800Go its 1364 deilvered check dells websites for the details and if you use some of the dell deals / cupons floating around you can knock that under 1200

 

[sebastienmaass]

How much ram would I get for that and what proc?

Should I got for a P4, mobility, core duo...?

or AMD (alienware in that case)?

 

[SparkyJJO]

if you go intel skip the P4, they run hot compared to a P-M - I've seen enough P4-based laptops with deepfried CPUs. My Inspiron 9300 (which I'm actually wanting to sell, I need the money) has a P-M 2GHz and after running all-out gaming for several hours the bottom is kinda warm to the touch but not bad (you can keep your hand on it), while a friend's HP P4 gets searing hot after only a short time under moderate load (dare you to touch it for more than a few seconds). Same with my bro's old Inspiron 8200

 

[sebastienmaass]

So a P-M runs [games] faster than a P4? Is that True?

lets say a P-M 2Ghz vs P4 3.4 Ghz?

 

[mphartzheim]

I've played games on two different laptops now, the first laptop I bought just to have a laptop and the second I bought with gaming in mind. Bottom line, I've found out, is that I wouldn't recommend any laptop for gaming.

I will tell you what I've discovered, though.

Don't bother with a high resolution (WXGA+) screen. We all know LCDs need to be run at their native resolution to look good, anything less is usually blurry/fuzzy. A high native resolution will kill you gaming performance.

Make the video card your priority. CPU and RAM aren't all that big of a deal (you'll want at least 1.8ghz and 1GB RAM), it's the video card that will bottleneck you in a laptop.

If you're planning on gaming on battery power, definently go with a Pentium M. I have a Pentium 4 in my laptop, and yes it does run hot (but that can be solved with other means). It sucks through the batteries in less than 2 hours no matter what I'm doing. It can barely make it through an average movie when watching DVDs on battery power. The Pentium M's are much more energy efficient.

If you're going to be using the AC power, well then I wouldn't worry about the processor all that much. A laptop cooling pad (LapCool2 by Vantec is the best one I found in my research) can do wonders to keep the machine at reasonable temperatures. Before I got my cooling pad the base of the computer would be burning hot after a few hours of gaming. With the cooling pad, the base never gets more than slightly warm (if I allow proper airflow to get to the fans). Word of warning with the cooling pads: make sure you get the right fan flow. If the exhaust on your laptop is out the sides or back, you want a cooling pad that blows air up onto the base (fans blow up). If the exhaust on your laptop is out the bottom, you want a cooling pad that pulls air off the base (fans blow down).

 

[PingSpike]

Honestly...Laptops are pretty poorly suited to gaming all around. IMO you'd be better off building a desktop and getting a cheapo laptop for your travel needs.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: sebastienmaass
So a P-M runs [games] faster than a P4? Is that True?

lets say a P-M 2Ghz vs P4 3.4 Ghz?

@2.4ghz, my pentium-m was faster than my P4 @3.91ghz for gaming..so yes, the pentium-m is deffinatly faster for gaming than a P4, while running much much cooler, and giving much much better battery life.