Budget gaming laptop?

Discussion in 'Computers and Consoles' started by 1990, Dec 1, 2014.

  1. 1990

    1990 Paid Member Paid Member

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    First off, what makes it a gaming laptop, is it the graphics card?

    My son has asked for one that's about 1200 so has no chance, sorry boy. Is there such a thing as a budget gaming laptop that he could improve over time (like we all do with these old Golfs ;) )?
     
  2. Trev16v

    Trev16v Paid Member Paid Member

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    How much are you willing to spend at very most?

    Considerations for gaming laptop:

    Decent 1920 x 1080 display vs the pitiful standard 1366 x 768

    Decent processor (i5, i7 ideally)

    Dedicated GPU can be a must for some games - rather than integrated Intel


    ...and other things I can't think of right now.

    I've recently bought two different machines that tick all the above and I'm very fussy about what I have in terms of build quality and features.

    First machine is an Asus N56VZ.

    More recent one is a Dell 7537.

    Both were almost 600 for almost mint used/refurbished.
     
  3. sparrow Paid Member Paid Member

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    budget + gaming = military + intelligence, neither go together well.
     
  4. bootsie Paid Member Paid Member

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    It's tricky with laptops to get something with decent graphics.
    You're right, graphics card tends to be pretty important. Ideally I'd go for something with a decent NVidia GPU but they tend to be pricey.
    The inbuilt Intel stuff is getting better but still generally lags behind. I wouldn't have anything less than an Intel HD4000, but the new generation HD4200/600/800/5000 are better and the newer Iris better still but again getting pricey.
    CPU is important but I'd be happier with a faster i5 than a slower i7 - the extra i7 stuff (Hyperthreading mainly) tends not to be used by many games.
    Can't give you any specific models off the top of my head (we tend to deal with business stuff). Didn't Dell buy Alienware? That used to be good stuff.
    Scan usually do good stuff, not sure what you're budget is like but something like this might be worth a look.
    You probably need to decide on a budget - as above, gaming doesn't come cheap.
    Oh, and I'm assuming that gaming means 3D running around fast moving stuff - it's it's just 2D Civilisation-type stuff then most modern laptops will handle that ok anyway.
     
  5. slimwadey Paid Member Paid Member

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    Have a look on overclockers.co.uk for pretty good deals too
     
  6. Finite

    Finite Paid Member Paid Member

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    I don't know if its still a viable option, but it used to be possible to run an external desktop graphics card with desktop PSU via an expresscard slot (slot & bios permitting) with some development type adaptor parts from Taiwan (expresscard to PCI-E and Mini PCI-E to PCI-E). The latter tends to be bios limited.
     
  7. vr6smith Forum Member

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    1200 is a lot...

    Instead try

    329 Xbox one
    399 47" led TV
    728 total with room for games... Or add a battery to make it all mobile lol
     
  8. 1990

    1990 Paid Member Paid Member

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    I was hoping about 450 so looks like I have no chance lol

    I might get him snow boarding lessons instead
     
  9. WillG

    WillG Forum Member

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    Does it have to be a laptop? Would a desktop PC be any good? They'll be much cheaper and much more upgradeable in the future.
     
  10. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    aye even wee little mini pc will tend to be better than a laptop for gaming, or at least give you the option to upgrade the graphics card in future.

    with a laptop generally memory and hard drive the only thign you can mess with but some have internal add on cards for wireless and such which can be messed with. some easy job open a flap and change some you gotta strip em down a bit to get to the card. but yeah, if you spend the equivalent moneys on a pc as you would for any particular laptop it will usually be better spec. the only thing is you may have to buy the monitor separate depending on the bundle you go for which eats into the spec of the peeeceee

    at the end of the day it depends what kind of games he is expecting to play on it
     
  11. blis Forum Member

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    Yes, RJ is right, the graphics card is where all the action takes place, polygons are rendered and textured and the RAM speeds are much higher and that's where all gaming system have the $$$ invested, the other is higher speed ram.
    There are Notebooks that have higher end internals such a small form factor motherboards, but they are more like luggables and generate a lot of heat. Using SSD HDD (Solid State Drives) improves performance a lot, but again, take note, the more bits you pass per second the hotter it gets. It all adds up to the same cost in the end and in truth, you need to ergonomics to enjoy your game play.

    A small form factor desktop from HP or Dell with a CUDA capable NVidia GFX card with on board 2GB memory rather than shared main memory will be the best option. It's often much cheaper to buy a bundled package than buid one yourself too.
    Ensure there are enough ports for any gaming devices and sound card options. It should have the higher speed internal memory and be careful that the cards are not short ones only and the last thing is quiet and efficient cooling.

    Personally I spent more on Lian Li case than any other component in my package, it's alumium, screwless and quiet.

    PS: Look for coupons and specials!
     
  12. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    Aye my lian li case has been with me from almost the beginning of my pc gaming 'career' :lol: I've got a window for it in the garage from when I was into all the neons and such but I've grown out of that stage now. I remember the humble beginnings of pc pimping the amount of gear you can get these days is crazy! I used to be a reviewer for moddin.net if anyone remembers that site [LOl]
     
  13. 1990

    1990 Paid Member Paid Member

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    Before I look at desktops what do people think of the Acer E5-551?

    SPECIFICATION
    Processor AMD A10-7300 processor (2.0 GHz, 3.2 GHz with Boost, 4 MB cache)
    RAM 8 GB DDR 3 (16 GB maximum installable RAM)
    Graphics card AMD Radeon R6
    Storage 1 TB HDD, 5400 rpm
    SCREEN
    Screen size 15.6"
    Screen type LED
    Resolution 1366 x 768
    Screen features LED backlighting
     
  14. bootsie Paid Member Paid Member

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    Doesn't jump out as anything special TBH, not sure I'd class it as a gaming-level laptop.
    However, it's reasonably good value for money and as long as your not playing Call of Duty on it, it would be fine for "normal computer stuff", maybe a bit of Minecraft or something not too graphically taxing.

    Is this [400] your budget Ian? and it's something for Christmas, I guess? I can take a look at our dealer demo list, see if there's anything suitable on there for you.
     
    1990 likes this.
  15. HPR

    HPR Administrator Admin

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    HP Pavilion 17.3`` Notebook
    Intel i5 4210U
    12 GB RAM, 8 GB SSD and 1 TB HD
    NVIDIA GeForce 840M- 2GB
    555 ( Media-Market promo )
     
    1990 likes this.
  16. bootsie Paid Member Paid Member

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    ^^^ that's a great deal
     
  17. sparrow Paid Member Paid Member

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    Buy that, replace the horrendous little SSD with a decent sized one, reformat and you'll have a very decent laptop.
     
  18. Finite

    Finite Paid Member Paid Member

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    I wouldn't touch Acer or anything less than an Intel mobility CPU. HP are pretty solid I've had these notebooks for years and with a USB3.0 expresscard via a docking station it still does what I need for now.

    That SSD is probably set up as a cache so a small high quality one should be fine.
     
  19. 1990

    1990 Paid Member Paid Member

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    Reformat because its from overseas? I'd say my max budget is about 450.

    Do you have a link to that offer Hugo? Thanks :thumbup:
     
  20. HPR

    HPR Administrator Admin

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    Ian, have email sent
     
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