Gaming laptop for son going to college

[nomusicman]

Approximate Purchase Date: this week


Budget Range: up to $1,000


System Usage from Most to Least Important: CPU maybe quad, 2.2 gHz or faster, ATI 5850, Nvidia 260M.

Parts Not Required: need all

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: open to suggestions

Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: by brand or type open


Overclocking: Yes / No / Maybe maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Yes / No / Maybe


Monitor Resolution: fairly high


Additional Comments: Not sure if this thread handles laptops, it's worth a try. 5-6 lbs at most.


--

 

[ScrewySqrl]

a 5-6 pound laptop would be in the range of a 15" laptop.

My experience with a 15.6" gaming laptop is that in generates TONS and TONS of heat, and I would recomment a 17" instead for better cooling, though they are heavier (8-9 pounds) and more expensive.

when do you need this laptop? Bobcat is coming in January and promises a real change in sub $500 notebook gaming performance.

 

[jasonp12]

yah for a gaming laptop 15" really sucks id recommend at least 17-19" though it will weight more the price/performance ratio will get better as will cooling

 

[nomusicman]

He weighs 110 and is 5'11'' so he doesn't want a heavy machine. He needs it now could be convinced to wait if the price break is that big.

 

[nomusicman]

would an external cooling fan help?

 

[davewolfgang]

If you can wait for Black Friday at least, you will find some great sales. Even with laptops, there are some basic minimums you should shoot for if he wants to game.

~17"+ screen would be "better" for gaming, but it can be done on a 15.4". With the mobiles video chips you listed, you will still want something at least 1400x900 if you can. Obviously the better resolution - the higher $$$$. But I can't find anything for under $1k with that kind of resolution, that's powerful enough for gaming like I think he wants to - and not having "shared" video memory.

Here's a "not bad" one, but it's 16" screen - but only 5.8 lbs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214045

 

[nomusicman]

5850 vs 5650

 

[ScrewySqrl]

ok, if you need it now, then waiting 3 months is just not an option.

Good brands to look at:

Sager
MSI
Acer
Asus
HP

 

[nomusicman]

I can wait for sure if it's worth it.

 

[Somebody_007]

http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Gamers-G51JX-X3-15-6-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00361G0ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287431772&sr=8-1

I'm just not goin to add anything else to this post because it's fairly self-explanitory ^^

 

[Somebody_007]

then there's this which is could -play most games on high settings but it's over budget.

 

[Somebody_007]

of course you could build a much better desktop for 700 and then spend the other 300 on a netbook.

 

[bmw2go11]

If you want a decent gaming laptop (13") for under $1k id probably look at the sony vaio y.

(http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666157153&categoryId=8198552921644693501)

DO NOT get the base model, customize it with a i5-430UM, 4gb of ddr3 and a ATI HD 4550.


If you don't like the 4550, and want a nvidia 330m, and don't mind the 11" screen, get the alienware m11x.

(http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dkcwnn1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=alienware-m11x-r2)

The only thing i would upgrade (to prevent passing $1k) is the small hard drive (those games need to go somewhere..) you would then have to sacrifice the ram to just 2gb for the beastly gpu.

good luck with searching for the perfect laptop

 

[bmw2go11]

I noticed the asus Somebody_007 linked after i posted..
It is a ridiculously great deal, but it's heavy and thick. That to a 110 5'11" college student lugging it to class would be a major drawback.
just my $0.02

 

[everix]

http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Gamers-G51JX-X3-15-6-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00361G0ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287431772&sr=8-1

I'm just not goin to add anything else to this post because it's fairly self-explanitory ^^

The G51 series is a great series of gaming laptops. My friend recently bought the G51Jx-X5 for $1099.99 with a $100 MIR. Might be a laptop to look into if you see any price drops on it.

Heres the amazon link just to give you an idea of the computer although it is way above your budget until it has another price dip.

http://www.amazon.com/G51JX-X5-Republic-Gamers-15-6-Inch-Gaming/dp/B003BWD0VU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287721659&sr=8-1