Gaming laptop advice

[maxwku]

I’m looking for a gaming laptop and would like some guidance. I like playing Medieval Total War 2 and Ages of Empire 3. I know a little about laptops, but would like some guidance. If I can get advice on what to look for (what’s important) and what to stay away from (i.e. core 2 duo or above, stay away from anything lower, need this much memory, nothing lower, etc).

Thanks,

Max

 

[JMTech]

Hey Max,

What is your laptop budget because I have a lot of suggestions, but the criteria needs to be precise.

 

[Maziar]

Fill the FAQ first
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/50797-35-read-buying-laptop

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

Hi there,

One of the most important features of a good gaming laptop is excellent graphics. You also need a powerful enough processor to handle the gaming. I recommend you check out a tool called PC Scout: http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/pc-scout/laptop-set-criteria.aspx?mode=landing#. Search the power gaming laptops to compare some different options. I think this will help you get a better idea of what you need to look for.

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[maxwku]

FAQ :

1. My budget $1000 or less
2. 17” notebook or bigger (best deal for the money)
3. I need 1024X768 screen resolution or better
4. Portable Laptop
5. 2 hour battery life.
6. I would like to play Medieval Total War 2 Kingdoms, and Ages of Empire in high settings:

Specs for Medieval Total War 2 Kingdoms:
•Windows 2000/XP/Vista
•Celeron 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 of equivalent AMD processor (2.4 GHz recommended)
•512 MB RAM (1.0 GB recommended)
•12.0 GB free hard disk space
•100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card with latest drivers
•DirectX 9.0c (included)
•128 MB hardware accelerated video card with Shader 1 support and the latest drivers. Must be 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible. (256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 7300, ATI Radeon X1600, or greater recommended)
•Internet connection required for multiplayer
•1024x768 display resolution

Specs for Ages of Empire 3:
•Microsoft® Windows® XP
•PC with 1.4 GHz equivalent or higher processor
•256 MB of system RAM
•2 GB available hard disk space
•32x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
•64 MB video card with support for hardware transformation and lighting required
•Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio
•Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
•56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play

7. I would like to stream movies via hdmi I/O
8. 320 GB hard drive or bigger (biggest bang for the buck)
9. I would like to buy local to be able to get customer support (i.e best buy, computers plus…) if not I don’t care what site I get it from.
10. I want to keep the laptop till I can’t upgrade it enough to keep up with latest games.
11. DVD ROM/Writer is minimum, if I can get Bluray then it’s a plus
12. I don’t have enough knowledge to know which brands are more or less reliable, any advice is welcome.
13. I live in United States

Any advice.

 

[maxwku]

Guys I did more research, I found out that Medieval Total War 2 and Kingdoms is not compatible with windows 7 64 bit. I was also told at Best Buy that for $90 buck and a windows professional 7 upgrade they can install some kind of mock windows xp that would allow me to play or run programs not compatible with windows 7. Please can anyone give me a suggestion on a laptop that can run my games on high settings, they are old games and require much. Also I read on this forum that Asus VK346H is not all that reliable.

Thanks