What's a good gaming laptop for me to invest in?

[Rappyd00d]

I go to LAN parties quite frequently, and I thought a gaming laptop, though not upgradeable, would be more convenient than lugging a case and monitor around. I've been looking at this one (http://www.amazon.com/Pavilion-DV6770SE-Entertainment-Processor-Premium/dp/B00111SB6C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1204251708&sr=1-7), but what do you guys recommend? Anything can be better than my current build (80G HD w/ GeForce MX 4000 >_>), but I'd prefer if it was affordable and could run Vista-compatible games.

[Rubius-sama]

I dunno, I hear this one is all the rage these days, but the price point is pretty steep.

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9634/spbjj3.png



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Rubius-sama on 2008-02-29 23:33 ]</font>

[beatrixkiddo]

One that isn't a laptop.

[VioletSkye]

With an 8400M GS you aren't going to be gaming on anything other than low settings/resolution on any modern games.

[CeruleanWitch]

I currently use the Dell XPS M1330. It's a piece of junk and they rip you off (e.g. I asked for a Sound Audigy Blaster sound card, but they decided to only give me a software edition of Creative SAB instead). That and the 8400M GS is just like what VioletSkye said. I run PSU on all medium settings, but for other games, I generally run them on low (Overlord and Team Fortress 2 are two examples). This laptop couldn't even handle BioShock when Vista was installed, but I downgraded it to XP and it runs just fine.


tl;dr: Don't get a laptop that's a Dell and has the 8400MG S card.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: CeruleanWitch on 2008-03-01 11:24 ]</font>

[RuneLateralus]

8600M GT probably would be the lowest video card you want for gaming on a laptop.

I got a Macbook Pro and while it runs WoW great with the settings up (though full screen effect will slow down the game a good amount...but that is on OSX 10.4, not Windows XP or Vista which I hear the frame rate goes up for those), I haven't tested any of the Vista DX10 games on it yet. However, from the videos I seen on YouTube that show, they look very playable and look nice (from the angle nor do I remember if they were on Vista or not).

Now I am not suggesting you get a Macbook Pro (since you have then buy Windows for it for most gaming...plus they are expensive), but I do suggest you do look at the specs for probably decent idea of where to start for your laptop.





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RuneLateralus on 2008-03-01 20:12 ]</font>

[Blitzkommando]

I can vouch for the 8600M GT. I have a Macbook Pro myself and run Vista Business 64-bit on it (upgraded the sucker to 4GB of RAM for $80). I'm able to play essentially anything I want at 1440x900, though often without AA. I did test Bioshock and it was playable, mostly, in DX10 though there were points of slowdown. Anything based on the Source engine runs beautifully. PSU also runs fine at 1280x720 (seeing as that is the only widescreen mode for PSU). Overall it's a very decent mid-range chip just make sure it has at least 256MB of dedicated memory as 128MB is frankly not enough for modern games.