Thread: Suggestions for a budget gaming laptop

  1. #1
    Make Fortran great again
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    Suggestions for a budget gaming laptop

    I've decided to start playing computer games again, and thus I need a decent gaming laptop. The best computer I have in the house currently is a Core i3 machine with a 512 MB video card. I'd like not to spend over $1000, if possible.

    Anyway, if anyone has seen any particularly good deals on Newegg etc. lately, please throw them my way in this thread.

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    What games do you aim to play? That more or less sets the bar for what you need, so you should more or less figure that out before you buy anyway.
    "A Professor of Computer Science gave a paper on how he uses Linux to teach his undergraduates about operating systems. Someone in the audience asked why use Linux rather than Plan 9?' and the professor answered:Plan 9 looks like it was written by experts; Linux looks like something my students could aspire to write'."

  3. #3
    Make Fortran great again
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    project zomboid, SNES emulators (I'd like to be able to run bsnes at full speed), maybe some older FPSes

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    Master Apprentice phantomotap's Avatar
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    O_o

    Given those meager requirements versus surplus budget, you can just go aesthetics over other considerations. You are seriously spoiled for choice. You can find thousands of models with an "i5" pushing at least 2.2GHz with dedicated video and surplus RAM in a fine shell. You should throw "i5 nvidia" or "i5 amd" at "Newegg" or similar and click around until you find something you think looks cool.

    I don't know of any deals right now, but I don't recommend buying laptops at "deal" prices in any event. I've seen too many purposefully designed models that aren't what they seem on shelves labeled "deals". You can buy something a few months off production and get something that is actually a great buy.

    *shrug*

    With your budget versus requirements, I'd consider looking for something just old enough to ship with the last "i5" package, 6GiB RAM, and standard HDD storage. You could then toss a consumer SDD at the laptop and get something that actually feels faster even if using a bit more juice on average. (I'm assuming that you don't have an SDD now given the specifications of your current machine.) You will not see as many options, but you will not have to look hard, and you will not have to get something wonky created just to throw at consumers during sales.

    [Edit]
    You'd probably have enough left over to grab a couple of PS4 controllers for some lovely emulated goodness.
    [/Edit]

    Soma
    “Salem Was Wrong!” -- Pedant Necromancer
    “Four isn't random!” -- Gibbering Mouther

  5. #5
    Registered User MutantJohn's Avatar
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    A gaming... laptop?

    O_o

    Why would you ever do that?

    True gaming desktops require stupid amounts of cooling, something laptops can't really match.

    Then again, the games you posted seem rather... lightweight. I thought this topic was about playing Battlefield 4 or Watch_Dogs or something like that on a laptop and expecting "good" graphics (high+).

  6. #6
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    I have to agree with MutantJohn.

    But I'm guessing Epy needs a mobile gaming platform. However those emulators, at full speed, will go through your battery life like nothing. Which pretty much defeats the purpose of mobility. I suppose, if you are planning to play while commuting -- and this is not about gaming while travelling long distances without access to a power outlet -- it should be ok. But the thing I always hate about laptops is that I'm always in recharge mode. It's a part of my life. Like remembering to flush the toilet or lock the front door.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    Well, let's clear up the mobile requirements then, shall we?

    Desktops have way more horsepower for way less money. If you're going to go the mobile route, be prepared to spend much more money for less portability and less horsepower and less upgradability. Essentially, if you want a gaming laptop, it's going to big, bulky, have poor battery life and cost like crazy if you want good graphics. Graphics cards generally can't be swapped, and depending on the model, changing CPU may be difficult too. Forget about changing the motherboard in the future. I don't think you'll get any overclocking either.

    You get all of these things - upgradability, more horsepower for less money with desktops. But it might not meet your requirements. So as to give some more directed suggestions, what are your requirements? Laptop or desktop?
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

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    Master Apprentice phantomotap's Avatar
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    True gaming desktops require stupid amounts of cooling, something laptops can't really match.
    O_o

    A pixel-collider ("true gaming desktop") is far outside of the stated price limit.

    However those emulators, at full speed, will go through your battery life like nothing.
    I had one of the first "true gaming laptops" for a few days. (The thing was literally a desktop in slim body with a panel attached.) I think I got nearly seven minutes on battery.

    *shrug*

    The battery was nothing compared to the heat problem. I sent the bloody thing back because of heat. I seriously thought my pants had been about to catch fire.

    Laptop or desktop?
    o_O

    Okay.

    Soma
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    “Four isn't random!” -- Gibbering Mouther

  9. #9
    Registered User MutantJohn's Avatar
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    For $1000, phantom, you can build a pretty sexy computer.

    I mean, sure, you probably can't max the Witcher 3 with these builds but assuming you have the OS, keyboard, mouse, monitor, these are two builds within the absolute limits of the budget :

    manirelli&#39;s Build Guide - Great Gaming Build - PCPartPicker

    Logical Increments - PC Buying Guide

  10. #10
    Master Apprentice phantomotap's Avatar
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    For $1000, phantom, you can build a pretty sexy computer.
    O_o

    Obviously. You can even buy them off the shelf. I referenced thousands.

    You must though know very different people who claim to have a "true gaming desktop" than I know.

    The last time I saw a "true gaming desktop" with the "A gaming... laptop?" complaint, the poster was driving a $1000 (USD) CPU.

    I can't hardly be blamed for thinking you are of the "16 GiB" is a minimum for games crowd.

    Soma
    “Salem Was Wrong!” -- Pedant Necromancer
    “Four isn't random!” -- Gibbering Mouther

  11. #11
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MutantJohn View Post
    these are two builds within the absolute limits of the budget :

    manirelli's Build Guide - Great Gaming Build - PCPartPicker
    My friend. You should know better about optimizing your budget. If you really want to go the extra mile, you should squeeze those 1000 USD like they were your last (at least that's how your mind should be programmed when working under such low budgets):

    - Scratch the case entirely if you already have one. Alternatively, buy the cheapest you can get. Most features, as advertised by case makers, are all a bunch of nonsensical and unverifiable buzz BS anyway. Savings: <=$70

    - SSD. Drop it. You aren't going to install any game in there. And if you are, you are going to benefit only from faster loading times. Which frankly is sort of boring, when what you really want is to play games at max settings. And no, loading data from disk faster isn't a major concern either, including 4x strategy titles. Savings: = $47.99

    - 8GB is just fine. 16 GB is over the top. Not needed. Very probably not even used by your game of choice. Drop it. Savings: ~ $25

    - Motherboard. We really don't need to come here. You already saved around $140. But, you can get LGA1150 mobos for as little as $50 that will handle nicely the hardware you are throwing at them. Savings: ~ $40

    So now, you have around a surplus $180 that you can use to beef up that video card, a good monitor if yours happens to suck like mine, or some nice games off of Steam. And if you are like me and never buy just-released games and can just wait for the time they come on sales, that's a whole lot of games. Enjoy.
    Last edited by Mario F.; 02-15-2015 at 05:01 PM.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  12. #12
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    I'm not going to agree on the SSD bit. While it probably won't be used for games, it is absolutely essential to a modern system and is absolutely worth those $50.

    Also, just be careful with those motherboards. It's the hub of the system and likely one of the most complex things. If it breaks, all hell can break loose. Just be sure to get a quality brand at the very least.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  13. #13
    Registered User MutantJohn's Avatar
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    Yeah, I was just lazily posting links. You don't have to follow them verbatim.

    Personally, I'd love a SSD and 16 GB of RAM but that's because I actually program and playing with that much data is kind of fun. I think right now 8 GB is perfect but I heard the Witcher 3 would need like 6 GB. If you have 8 GB, that's cutting it a little close. I'm using 1.43 GB right now, add 6 to that and we're at 7.43 GB.

    If you want to max all the newer games, 16 GB might not be so bad if developers are just going to go nuts with how much RAM they use.

    Also, yeah, I have a pretty cheap definition of a good gaming desktop. I think $800 would get you a "good" desktop but $1000 could get you a "great" one. I just hate how that one build on logical increments recommends and AMD GPU. Oh God *vomits*

  14. #14
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    Well, about RAM, I'd say that 8 GB is pretty sufficient for gaming, especially if you close down applications prior to opening the game. But then again, with the advent that PS4 has 8 GB of memory (I believe?), we're all hearing how new games will use much more RAM in the future, so it is possible we'll get games using lots of RAM in the future. But still, that's the future. Just leave a slot or two of memory free so you can upgrade later and you won't have any problems with 8 GB right now. 16 GB is useful for those who use a lot of demanding applications. But the most I've been able to get up to is about 12 GB of RAM, though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  15. #15
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elysia View Post
    I'm not going to agree on the SSD bit. While it probably won't be used for games, it is absolutely essential to a modern system
    Absolutely essential? No. I have been doing with my computer what any other power user has with theirs. Coding, playing modern games, running virtual OSes.

    Maybe you mean absolutely not essential, but useful.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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