Cheap Gaming Notebook

Okay, first of all I'm looking for an inexpensive laptop to use for mobility, and some occasional gaming. My wife doesn't like me going upstairs to play on my desktop all the time. I figure with a notebook I can do email/news/blogging on the couch beside her. And, if I want to, I can fiddle with some games.

A few days back I went to Costco and purchased the following:

$649
Acer Aspire 6935-6194
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit
Intel Core 2 T6400
Intel 4500MHD Graphics (I know, but it's not for gaming)
1366 X 768 16" Monitor
4GB DDR3 1066Mhz RAM
320GB 5400RPM

It's a great laptop for what it is, and I really enjoy it. However, I can't even put Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars up to Medium W 1366 x 768. LOL! I know Intel's graphics suck in general, and integrated isn't any good for gaming. So I never intended this laptop as a gaming machine. However, I've found that I really wish I COULD do some kind of gaming on my laptop.

So here's another one I'm considering. Costco has a generous 90 day return policy on laptops, so I may trade-in.

$879
HP DV7-2043CL
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit
Intel Core 2 T6400
ATI 1GB Mobility 4650
Lightscribe SuperMulti 8x DVD+/-
4GB DDR2 (800)
17.3" Monitor 1600 x 900
500GB 5400RPM

Costco doesn't start selling this model at that price until May 11th. So I have a couple days. I've done some research online, looking through TigerDirect, NewEgg.com, etc. I really can't find a better setup for the same money. I'd LOVE to have a 1920 x 1080 display, but all of those seem to be well over $1,000. From the benchmarks I've seen, the Mobile 4650 seems to be the best GPU out there for my price range. Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's what I found.

4650 > 9600M GT > GT 120M > 9600M GS

The results I found were for the 512MB version of each of those cards. This HP laptop has a 1GB 4650 in it, which is nice albeit not a major deal I suppose.

Right now all I'm playing is Age of Conan, which performs fantastic on my desktop (Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz w/ GTX 260 Core 216). I could probably suffer through AoC on this laptop with lowered details I'm sure.

Does anyone know of any BETTER deals than this laptop? If I can get something with higher resolution for about the same price, or better performer, etc I'd be interested in looking. Most of the other inexpensive gaming laptops I've seen carry either a T6400 or P8600 Core 2 Duo. Sure the P8600 would be better, but I'm doubting it's a huge deal considering the lower end GPUs we're talking about.

Thanks for any input from anyone.

BTW: I liked the specs on this MSI laptop, but the two reviews on NewEgg were pretty poor.
MSI GX720: P8400 C2D, 9600M GT, 17" 1680 x 1050 $899 - $50 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834152100

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ i5-750 4Ghz @ 1.32V / Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P / Xigmatek HDT-S1283
GTX 470 SLI / 8GB GSkill DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24 @1.5v
2 x WD Caviar Black 1TB / Thermaltake Armor BWS8003
Win 7 64bit / Antec TPQ-850 / Vantage P31806 / 3dMark06 25351 / 3dMark11 P7597
Reply to jerreece

Guess the laptop forums aren't very busy! lol

------------------------------ i5-750 4Ghz @ 1.32V / Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P / Xigmatek HDT-S1283
GTX 470 SLI / 8GB GSkill DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24 @1.5v
2 x WD Caviar Black 1TB / Thermaltake Armor BWS8003
Win 7 64bit / Antec TPQ-850 / Vantage P31806 / 3dMark06 25351 / 3dMark11 P7597
Reply to jerreece

Nah, that notebook looks excellent for it's price.

jerreece wrote :

Okay, first of all I'm looking for an inexpensive laptop to use for mobility, and some occasional gaming. My wife doesn't like me going upstairs to play on my desktop all the time. I figure with a notebook I can do email/news/blogging on the couch beside her. And, if I want to, I can fiddle with some games.

A few days back I went to Costco and purchased the following:

$649
Acer Aspire 6935-6194
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit
Intel Core 2 T6400
Intel 4500MHD Graphics (I know, but it's not for gaming)
1366 X 768 16" Monitor
4GB DDR3 1066Mhz RAM
320GB 5400RPM

It's a great laptop for what it is, and I really enjoy it. However, I can't even put Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars up to Medium W 1366 x 768. LOL! I know Intel's graphics suck in general, and integrated isn't any good for gaming. So I never intended this laptop as a gaming machine. However, I've found that I really wish I COULD do some kind of gaming on my laptop.

So here's another one I'm considering. Costco has a generous 90 day return policy on laptops, so I may trade-in.

$879
HP DV7-2043CL
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit
Intel Core 2 T6400
ATI 1GB Mobility 4650
Lightscribe SuperMulti 8x DVD+/-
4GB DDR2 (800)
17.3" Monitor 1600 x 900
500GB 5400RPM

Costco doesn't start selling this model at that price until May 11th. So I have a couple days. I've done some research online, looking through TigerDirect, NewEgg.com, etc. I really can't find a better setup for the same money. I'd LOVE to have a 1920 x 1080 display, but all of those seem to be well over $1,000. From the benchmarks I've seen, the Mobile 4650 seems to be the best GPU out there for my price range. Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's what I found.

4650 > 9600M GT > GT 120M > 9600M GS

The results I found were for the 512MB version of each of those cards. This HP laptop has a 1GB 4650 in it, which is nice albeit not a major deal I suppose.

Right now all I'm playing is Age of Conan, which performs fantastic on my desktop (Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz w/ GTX 260 Core 216). I could probably suffer through AoC on this laptop with lowered details I'm sure.

Does anyone know of any BETTER deals than this laptop? If I can get something with higher resolution for about the same price, or better performer, etc I'd be interested in looking. Most of the other inexpensive gaming laptops I've seen carry either a T6400 or P8600 Core 2 Duo. Sure the P8600 would be better, but I'm doubting it's a huge deal considering the lower end GPUs we're talking about.

Thanks for any input from anyone.

BTW: I liked the specs on this MSI laptop, but the two reviews on NewEgg were pretty poor.
MSI GX720: P8400 C2D, 9600M GT, 17" 1680 x 1050 $899 - $50 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834152100

you might want to look at some sagers. Those tend to be great for gaming and cheap at the same time

http://www.sagernotebook.com

Reply to demorte

I consult IT for a living, and I'm upgrading my HP DV6700 (15.4", 1200x800, T5750, 2GB, nVidia 8400GS) laptop. For me, I wanted a larger screen, with more resolution. On paper, 1900x1200 and 1900x1080 resolutions look great, but the fonts are so small on 17" screens that it's tough (at least for me) to read. Yes, I know you can lower the resolution and put up with a crappy, out of focus fonts, or increase font sizes with mixed results - but thanks.

After being tempted by the HP HDX 18T (the too big to lug around laptop), I ordered a refurb DV7-2043 from costco for under $800. I think 1600x900 is a great balance for a 17" notebook, and they are including a high end video card (atihd4650). I considered models from Dell and Toshiba (I love the Dell Studio XPS stuff, but too pricey).

My existing HP DV6700 has served me well, and I'm selling it to a customer of mine who is really looking forward to getting it. I haven't seen anything out there that gives you this feature set at the $800 price level. The weight at 7.7lbs is decent for a 17.3" notebook too. Also, you gotta love Costco - no questions asked on returns.

Reply to dgusta

You can prefer lenovo ideapad y550 418629Q with processor 2.1ghz, 4gb ddr3 ram, nvidia gt 130M graphic card with 512mb memory

Reply to Anonymous

"You can prefer lenovo ideapad y550 418629Q with processor 2.1ghz, 4gb ddr3 ram, nvidia gt 130M graphic card with 512mb memory "

dude this post is 4 months old

Reply to ak22

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