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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Systems > Prebuilt > [Solved] Gaming on a budget- Which Laptop to buy

[Solved] Gaming on a budget- Which Laptop to buy

Forum Systems : Prebuilt [Solved] Gaming on a budget- Which Laptop to buy

*Thank You for moving the post as i realized my mistake after I posted, My Apologies*

Hello and thank you for your expertise!

I am in the situation of returning a Laptop my mother bought for me because I realized it has a very low end graphics solution with not dedicated memory.

I have narrowed it down to three machines, this may be an apples to oranges type of comparison but I will do my best to lay it out in the simplest way.

First, I will use this machine for gaming and some photo shop/web design.

I am on a budget as the title says but I do have some wiggle room.

the Laptops I am looking at are....

#1
HP DV7T
Processor & Memory

Intel® Core™ i5-460M Processor (2.53GHz)
3MB L3 cache
6GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
Drives:

640GB (7,200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW double layer drive
Graphics & Video:
17.3" diagonal LED BrightView widescreen display; 1600 x 900 native resolution
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470 Graphics
Communications:
Intel Wireless-N Card
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Audio:
Beats™ Audio + HP Triple Bass Reflex Subwoofer
Keyboard:
HP color matching keyboard
Notebook keyboard with scroll bar and integrated numeric keypad
Personalization:
Integrated Webcam and fingerprint reader
Ports:
5-in-1 integrated digital media card reader
Four USB 2.0 ports (one shared with eSATA port)
HDMI
VGA
RJ-45 (LAN)
Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

#2
Toshiba Qosimo X505 -Q885
Processor & Memory:

Intel® Core™ i5-450M Processor 2.40GHz (with Turbo Boost up to 2.53GHz)
3MB L3 Cache
4GB DDR3 1066MHz (Max 8GB)
Drives:

500GB (7200 RPM) SATA hard drive
DVD-SuperMulti Drive with Labelflash (supports 11 formats)
Graphics & Video:
18.4" widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD display; 1680x945 native resolution
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M with 1GB GDDR5 discrete graphics card
Communications:

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
10/100/1000 Ethernet
Webcam
Audio:

Built-in harman/kardon stereo speakers
Dolby Home Theater
Microphone
Keyboard:

Premium US keyboard
TouchPad pointing device with multi-touch control
Touchpad Enable/Disable button
Media Control Buttons
Expandability:

ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54 slot
5-in-1 Memory Card Reader accepts Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard (shared slot)
Ports:

RGB port (monitor)
HDMI - CEC
3x USB v2.0 ports
1x eSATA/USB combo port with USB Sleep and Charge
i.LINK IEEE-1394
S/P DIF output (shared with headphone port)
Microphone Input
Heaphone Output
RJ-45 LAN port
Slot for Security Lock
Operating System:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit)

#3
Acer Aspire AS7552G-5107

Performance
Processor 2GHz AMD Phenom II Quad-Core N930
Cache L2: 2MB
System Bus 1333MHz Front Side Bus
Memory Slots: 4x SO-DIMM 204-Pin
Type: PC3-8500 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Installed: 4GB (2x2GB)
Capacity: 8GB
Graphics Card Type: Dedicated
Installed: ATI Radeon HD 5650 with 1GB DDR3 SDRAM Dedicated
Display
Type Widescreen
Size 17.3"
Backlight LED
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Native Resolution 1600 x 900
Storage
Hard Drive Bays: 1x
Installed: 500GB 5400rpm
Type: SATA
Optical Drive 8x-Speed Tray-Load SuperMulti DVD Burner

Reads
DVD: 8x
CD: 24x

Writes
DVD-R: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-R DL: 4x
DVD+R: 8x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD+R DL: 4x
DVD-RAM: 5x
CD-R: 24x
CD-RW: 16x
Input/Output Connectors
Ports 4x USB 2.0 (A)
Display Output 1x VGA
1x HDMI
Audio Integrated Stereo Speakers (Acer 3DSonic)
Integrated Microphone
1x 1/8" (3.5mm) Headphone Output
1x 1/8" (3.5mm) Microphone Input
Expansion Slots None
Flash Media Slot 1x SD
1x MMC
1x Memory Stick
1x Memory Stick PRO
1x xD-Picture Card
Communications
Network 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)
Modem None
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth Bluetooth 3.0+HS
Webcam Yes, 1.3MP
General
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

I really like the acer (I think) but when researching the AMD Phenom quad I read that it doesnt perform as good as a good dual core. Something about it is single threaded and it doesnt have a level 3 cache??

The toshiba is intriguing but I have seen more neg reviews about stability ( blue screens, overheating, etc) I do not need a 1000 dollar POS

the HP is the exact model I am returning except it has dedicated memory GPU and 6 gig ram and 640gb HDD so I know it will perform better than what I have and what i have is doing the job on min settings in game.

I am obviously looking for the best bang for the buck but i do want a computer that will last a couple of years.

Thank you for any help you can give

Message edited by CompFlee on 10-06-2010 at 10:58:34 PM

Reply to CompFlee

This topic has been moved from the section Graphics & Displays to section Systems by Mousemonkey

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http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3995/bl11.gif

Reply to Mousemonkey

This is a good tool for judging notebook graphics
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compu [...] 849.0.html

Th 5470 is pretty weak for gaming. The other two are not bad. The 360M is the stronger of the two.

Reply to dndhatcher

I also prefer the Toshiba Qosmio with 360M.
ACER is not my thing ...I won't even bother to read the ACERs specs.
HD5470 is weaker than nVidias 360M.

------------------------------ Intel Q6600 @ 3.0GHz + ASUS P5E X38 +
4GB DDR2 1000 CL5 Mushkin + Coolermaster CM690 + Corsair CMPSU-750HX + Sapphire HD6850 1024MB + Crucial m4 128GB+ Seagate 500GB 7200.11 + 1TB Hitachi 7200rpm 32MB HDS721010CLA332+ LG BR-Writer BH10LS30 + Zalman CNPS
Reply to guanyu210379

Thanks a bunch for your feedback!!!

Reply to CompFlee

More research and reviews leads me to this choice......

Let me know what you guys think

Sager

NP7130 $1,163.00 $1.163,00

Display 17.3" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card 1GB DDR3 Nvidia GeForce GT 425M GPU with Optimus Technology / Embedded Intel HD Graphics with Shared Memory up to 1.7GB
CPU Processor Intel® Core™ i5-560M Processor ( 32nm, 3MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz / 3.20GHz Turbo Mode ) [$60.00]
Thermal Compound IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU [$25.00]
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded )
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 2 X 2GB
Primary Hard Disk Drive 500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive [$20.00]
Optical Drive 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card Internal 802.11 B+G+N Wireless LAN Module
Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack (6 Cells 62.16WH)
Microsoft Office New! Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included in Price
Warranty Sager 2 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty [$69.00]
Carrying Bag Standard Carrying Bag

Started at 989 or something like that. I did upgrade a few things. Basically if it doesn't have a price by it then it came standard.

Thanks again for any help!!

Message edited by CompFlee on 10-13-2010 at 06:40:20 AM

Reply to CompFlee

I am really just asking about the sager brand and the component matching up. I have read several threads on various prebuilt machines and it never really occurred to me that certain components combos would make a better choice. I also know nothing about the Sager/clevo brand name. I have researched what other owners say about the brand but would love some outside input.

Thanks again for any and all assistance with this purchase.

Reply to CompFlee

Sager? I don't even know what that is.

I found it through xotic

here is a link for it....

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np713 [...] -2854.html

I am just trying to keep the price down around the 1000 dollar mark as best as I can.

Thanks again for any and all help.

Message edited by CompFlee on 10-13-2010 at 07:31:57 AM

Reply to CompFlee

Best answer

From what I read in the link you gave me, I see that the specs is good for the price.
17.3" is a little too big, but it is you choice.

The only thing which bother me is the hardware quality of the laptop.
For example, I have seen smoke coming from 3 of ACERs PC and 2 ACERs laptop , direct in front of my eyes.
The smoke didn't come from the battery but from either the mobo or processor.
From this literally burned, I have learned to look also for hardware quality instead of only the hardware specs.
Somehow for me, this explained the relatively cheap price of ACERs laptop.

But for this Xotic Sager thing, I have totally no experience so I won't say anything bad about it. But...are you sure about the quality of this brand?

Nope, Not at all.

But it is the best bang for the buck so far. I can find a better price but with a lesser gpu.

When searching for gaming laptops the sager brand comes up tons, along with the xotic site which sells asus, sager/clevo, msi, force etc. the only ones i had heard of was asus and msi due to motherboard purchases in the past. My only problem with Asus is that alot of reviews claim asus customer support is crap. This surprised me at first as when upgrading mobo in my desktop the asus guy I spoke to on the phone was informative, spoke english well, genuinely cared about helping me pick the correct product for what I needed.

Trust me I am confused about where to go and what to get. The toshiba I listed in the op looks good on paper but then i read several reviews about how it was not stable.

So i am just trying to get a feel for what people on this forum may suggest. I did see some posts suggesting a sager somewhere around here but did not book mark it.

Bottom line is I have about 1000 to spend (give or take 200) and am looking for a good CPU/GPU combo that will last me for 3 or 4 years and it needs to play WoW and hopefully the upcoming Starwars: the old republic. I also do some light photoshop/web design.

Thanks again for any and all expertise anyone can share.

Reply to CompFlee

I have had two laptops from Sager. They lasted a long time. I still have one of them, going on 7 years now, and it still functions. I replaced the battery maybe 3 years ago. Both of mine were business models not gamers.

Reply to dndhatcher

Yup,somehow I have to agree with the business laptop thing. The business class laptops tend to live longer than the gaming class.
My Toshiba Tecra (forgot the type number) with PII 233MMX is still kicking altough I am not using it anymore. (I still keep it with me as decoration)
My Lenovo PIII 533 is still also healthy. (I still keep it with me as decoration)
My gaming laptops from Lenovo, ASUS, Sony, Dell, and Toshiba are all either completely dead or half dead. At least none of them has ever exploded in front of my eyes. Thank goodness people wanted to buy those laptops in e-bay.
That is why I 've decided to stick gaming only for PC and go back to business laptops for mobility needs.
My Lenovo T400 T8400 is also very healthy but it is relatively new only about 2 years ago.
But, I just can not resist good specs laptops...I got myself an i7 gaming laptop from Dell during christmas sale last year, it is stil healthy but it is also new.
Let see the live of those 2 of my last laptops.

Hmm....Sager...I can not find those on my fav stores (even online) here where I live.
It seems that Sager is selling only inside US. I would wanna test that one also

Message edited by guanyu210379 on 10-14-2010 at 10:02:09 AM

Best answer selected by CompFlee.

Reply to CompFlee

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