Gaming Laptop

[jtharippa6]

One day when I get the time, and motivation I wanna build a computer
i dont see that day coming in the near future though
I do however want a laptop that i can take out to sea with me.
My girlfriend is taking online courses and I deploy soon
I couldnt play games on the the one I use now because it's pretty cheap
I dont wanna spend a lot money on anything hardcore,
But I do want something I can watch movies in the quality they were intended to be viewed in
Also something I can play a few games with like the sims
My question is does anyone know of any really good quality laptops that can do what I need and wont break the bank?
Also i have almost no knowledge of computers.

[Brian]

For this group you really need to define break the bank. If you give them a price cap I'm sure they will come up with some pretty good choices. I also feel that in the long run it's cheaper to buy a better quality brand for a little more money. I've had a sony that barely lasted a year, a Dell XPS which was a waste of money, it was nice at first but due to a design flaw somewhere it would burn up the video cars, 3 of those at $300 each over a year was a bad choice. My latest one is an Asus I've had since fall of 2009, taken on 2 deployments and it's been a champ. I did have to replace the screen twice, once I closed it on an external hard drive while I was sleeping and the other happened because of a car accident. I think it was around $1000 - $1200 when I got it. It handled most games pretty well.


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[MARDIGRA21]

I have a m17x. What is your budget?

[Bull3tBait]

I have a m17x. What is your budget?

I have one too. It's about 4 yrs old and still kicking


Sent from my Happier Place.

[CrzyChinook]

I have one too. It's about 4 yrs old and still kicking


Sent from my Happier Place.
mine too!!! though i have issues with the powersupply/battery.. but it still kicking my M17xR1!!!:cool:




yeah with a base budget of 600-800 i could piece you together a mini ITX gaming rig that could run everything.. which i did for 500 but had some parts on hand.. and will be building one for my son at 498 by re-purposing some of his stuff from his old computer..prices are pretty steady now adays

[smoke]

One day when I get the time, and motivation I wanna build a computer
i dont see that day coming in the near future though
I do however want a laptop that i can take out to sea with me.
My girlfriend is taking online courses and I deploy soon
I couldnt play games on the the one I use now because it's pretty cheap
I dont wanna spend a lot money on anything hardcore,
But I do want something I can watch movies in the quality they were intended to be viewed in
Also something I can play a few games with like the sims
My question is does anyone know of any really good quality laptops that can do what I need and wont break the bank?
Also i have almost no knowledge of computers.


What is your budget?
Keep in mind, I work for Dell, so I have a bias'd opinion.. :first:

[jtharippa6]

Sorry for the wait
I was thinking no more than $400
Doesnt have to be a brand new hardcore gaming machine like alien ware or asus
I have been looking on craigslist for people giving theirs up.
I was thinking an hp with an i5 or i7
I dont really know what components make a good laptop

[smoke]

Sorry for the wait
I was thinking no more than $400
Doesnt have to be a brand new hardcore gaming machine like alien ware or asus
I have been looking on craigslist for people giving theirs up.
I was thinking an hp with an i5 or i7
I dont really know what components make a good laptop


You'll find it very challenging to find an i7 for $400 or less.
probably an i5, you could check Best Buy..
at that pricepoint, you are really limited on features.. You;l find something at that price to watch Dvds, but nothing bluray and questionable HD display.
Best Buy has sales all the time, definately try Amazon, or Newegg, and you could also try wholesale stores like SAMs, BJs, or Costco.

[Brian]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291193757528

Pretty much the same asus I have.


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[K0mr4dzR01t627]

My gf is getting me a MSI Apache which is $1299 and its gonna last me a long time. (I hope)


I said this cause im a boss....carry on my wayward son

[BULLETMAN]

Sorry for the wait
I was thinking no more than $400
Doesnt have to be a brand new hardcore gaming machine like alien ware or asus
I have been looking on craigslist for people giving theirs up.
I was thinking an hp with an i5 or i7
I dont really know what components make a good laptop

Check your BestBuys like Smoke said, but when u go in find an associate right away and ask what they have in there open box stuff!! I have gotten , GREAT desks on TV's and Laptops that way... Check all the BestBuys in your area because they all have different open stuff , don't just buy one the first time u go if it's not what u want because people return stuff all the time..... Story for u, my Piece a Shit cousin had his girlfriend go in and buy a TV that he wanted , put it on a credit card so it was never really money out of there pockets, then a week later had her return it.... The next day he went in and bought the TV she returned for 20% off!! Not saying this is a good way to get stuff by any means, just showing u they do resale returns.... Ok hope you find something u want.....


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[jtharippa6]

Check your BestBuys like Smoke said, but when u go in find an associate right away and ask what they have in there open box stuff!! I have gotten , GREAT desks on TV's and Laptops that way... Check all the BestBuys in your area because they all have different open stuff , don't just buy one the first time u go if it's not what u want because people return stuff all the time..... Story for u, my Piece a Shit cousin had his girlfriend go in and buy a TV that he wanted , put it on a credit card so it was never really money out of there pockets, then a week later had her return it.... The next day he went in and bought the TV she returned for 20% off!! Not saying this is a good way to get stuff by any means, just showing u they do resale returns.... Ok hope you find something u want.....


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Haha I love that story. I will go to a few best buys to see what they have.

[Ragingclue]

You're going to want a dedicated card in that laptop if you're going to be gaming, but if you go far enough down the low end of dedicated cards, you're pretty much at the level of the Intel HD4000 which usually comes with anyway.... If you're looking newer i5 or i7, you'll be fine as the CPU won't be your bottleneck anyway. Also, I know you gave an example of what games you like to play (e.g. The Sims), but if you list the titles you're into, that would help to know exactly how stressful your target games are going to be.

Best bet is to find one that has been used, those are always the best deals. However, they don't exactly show up on your doorstep every day so if there's not something available in that regard, then I guess you'd have to look elsewhere. Looking for opened items like others have said is also a great idea.

Only other piece of advice I have is this: Get a cooling mat setup if you're going to be stressing that thing all deployment long (or you can build something similar for cheap, all you're basically doing is providing volume flow from below.

[jtharippa6]

This is all great advice.
I'm still looking around.
I've looked up what the requirements are to run sims 3 which is the only game i'll buy for the laptop i'm looking for
The minimum requirements are almost nothing but I dont want any issues because i'm running out of time
I've come to the conclusion that i'll need 6gb ram and i5 and equivalent.
Graphics cards I just dont understand though....

[MARDIGRA21]

If you're just planning on running sims 3. Integrated graphics will do just fine. Just post the specs of the laptop you're looking to buy an well let you know

[CrzyChinook]

6961
sorry this is too funny not to put this here

[jtharippa6]

Has anyone had any luck with refurbished laptops?

[Brian]

I've never tried it. Stay very far away from those mall kiosk or rent-to-buy stores though. They have ripped off so many soldiers that need to get a laptop.

[jtharippa6]

I just ordered one from ebay today. I thought it was a pretty good catch. It's a toshiba satellite C55D. Here are the specs.

AMD Quad-Core A6-5200M Accelerated Processor
Windows 8.1
8GB DDR3 memory
750GB (5400rpm, Serial ATA)
15.6" widescreen
Up to 4.98 hours
AMD Radeon™ HD 8400

[smoke]

I just ordered one from ebay today. I thought it was a pretty good catch. It's a toshiba satellite C55D. Here are the specs.

AMD Quad-Core A6-5200M Accelerated Processor
Windows 8.1
8GB DDR3 memory
750GB (5400rpm, Serial ATA)
15.6" widescreen
Up to 4.98 hours
AMD Radeon™ HD 8400






I might be inclined to upgrade the harddrive to a SSD.. 5400rpm will be noticeably slow, but everything else looks bitchin!

[Ragingclue]

Even a hybrid drive would be a great upgrade.

[jtharippa6]

I'm very open to upgrading it once it arrives.
Is there a site that'll show me whats compatible with my computer, or if it even can be upgraded?

[Brian]

For the memory, you can try newegg, tigerdirect and others. They will tell you what came stock and the max your MB can use. The type of OS will also impact how much memory can be used by your system. Those sites may also tell you what other things can be upgraded. Hard drives are basically limitless as long as it has the same connections of your Motherboard. A google search should help you determine the max processor and graphics card the mother board can handle. You will need to find out if they are separate or if the processor combined with the graphics processor.

[smoke]

For the memory, you can try newegg, tigerdirect and others. They will tell you what came stock and the max your MB can use. The type of OS will also impact how much memory can be used by your system. Those sites may also tell you what other things can be upgraded. Hard drives are basically limitless as long as it has the same connections of your Motherboard. A google search should help you determine the max processor and graphics card the mother board can handle. You will need to find out if they are separate or if the processor combined with the graphics processor.

Almost all newer laptops are 2.5" sata.

[MikeG]

Stay away anything by DELL

Asus is best way to go.

if your going get Desktop buy barebone kit and build it yourself.

[iamthesgt]

Stay away anything by DELL

Asus is best way to go.

if your going get Desktop buy barebone kit and build it yourself.
Why avoid Dell? If you get their refurbished stuff, you can save hundreds (sometimes 50% the price of a new one) and it's reliable - my family buys everything refurbished.

I would agree that Alienware is quite overpriced new though and agree if you're going desktop build it yourself.

[MikeG]

I just dont like Dell's customer support nor do I like Alienware.

[iamthesgt]

I just dont like Dell's customer support nor do I like Alienware.
Interesting. I've only dealt with them a couple times, and they were solid. Not Amazon or anything, but nothing to complain about.

[MARDIGRA21]

Well dell is expensive I got my m17x in early 2012 for 1600 with a 7970m which can run the latest on high or ultra

[Brian]

Didn't Dell buy Alienware a few years ago?


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[jxspyder]

Yeah.


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[smoke]

I just dont like Dell's customer support nor do I like Alienware.

I think you'd find out that our support has improved 10 fold since Michael Dell took the company private. Most of our client support has come back stateside.

He heard customer complaints, and wasn't happy with the direction the company was heading which is why he entered into a deal Silver Lake Partners to buy the company and take it private.

[ProdigyVader]

I have been happy with the stuff I have gotten from ibuypower.com ... If you don't want to build it and want the warranty, I would suggest looking at them. Their prices are much cheaper than Alienware and good quality.

[Somethinbig]

Digital storm is a great company. I got my laptop through them a few years ago and if I send it back with new parts they will upgrade it for free. It's a nice option if I'm too busy