2012 - 2013 Budget Gaming Laoptop?!?

[BR8KAR]

Girls and boys (gents & ladies),

I havee been thinking of investing into a new laptop or parts to build my own PC. With current financial situation I can afford no more than USD 770.00; Is there any suggestions towards part makes and models I should consider purchasing. For games coming out between now and 2013.

[Nickolaeris]

First you should decide what you really want - laptop or desktop PC.
With same price, desktop will be about 1,5x times more powerful, than laptop (2x times if you already have monitor). And, if you really live on Seychelles, computer part should be easier to get, than any laptop. But laptop gives you real freedom - even if it's big and heavy, you can carry it anywhere you want.
As for desktop PCs, you have freedom to make any config you want, just take a look at what you have in stores, and post it here with prices - we'll help to make something good.
As for laptops, for 770 USD you can find low-level all-in-one laptops. Forget about AMD CPUs - they're cheaper than Intel, but weaker and hot, you'll need Intel Core i5 (i3 doesn't have Turbo Boost, which really increases frequency, and i7 is more expensive). For gaming you'll need dedicated GPU, for such price you can find something AMD Radeon 7670, NVidia Quadro 1000M or NVidia GT630M - all modern games will be playable at Medium or High settings, all upcoming games should be playable too (maybe not at high settings, but you'll be able to play them).
If you'll decide to buy laptop, I'd recommend saving about 1000-1100 USD to buy gaming laptop. It should run all modern games on High or Ultra Settings, and will be definetly enough powerful to play upcoming games not only in 2013, but in 2014 or maybe even later ;)
I don't know much about modern desktop AMD solutions, as for Intel - build PC on Socket 1155 - it supports both 2nd and 3rd Generations of CPUs. You'll be able to upgrade desktop PC later, so don't try to buy only newest parts - they'll become much cheaper in few months.

[BR8KAR]

Man, thanks for the pointers. That was very clear and insightful. I will have to go shopping around for parts. Yeah, I am from Seychelles.
Ultimately, I agree, a desktop would seal the future proof deal. Furthermore, I don't mind a bulky, heavier laptop as long as it gets the output I desire. I was thinking that i5 is good to settle for (i7 may be above my price range); had a discussion over that with my brother in law.
I agree, Intel CPU seems a safer choice.
I'll have to do some window shopping then I'll post the details.

Thanks for your time man. I appreciate it!

[Nickolaeris]

About laptops - they won't be as upgradable as desktops (though you can find spare better CPUs or GPUs from more advanced models on ebay, their price is just a bit too high - when you'll get enough money for such upgrade, it'll be already time to think about buying new laptop), but in several 17"+ models you can see slot for 2nd hard drive (or in some laptops there can be mSATA slot for mSATA SSD), or you can replace DVD-ROM with special HDD case. Only RAM can be upgraded freely, but that's not a big deal at all.

And about SSD - take a look at them, it'd be really great to have at least 120 Gb SSD as system disc (better to get SATA3 than SATA2, but size is more important), while keeping games on HDD. Larger size SSD may cost too much for your config, but such combination (SSD for system, HDD for data/games) definetly worth considering. Don't look at write speed comparison (though it's one of the most known advantages of SSD) - real difference is because of very low latency, everything on SSD will work much faster. It's better to keep about 40-50% of SSD free, keep this in mind too.

[BR8KAR]

I have noted this. Didn't think about it really.
I agree, in all sense of future proofing, a laptop may not be my best purchase. Hmm.. I will have some time to pull on a list. Did a little net research on (http://www.pcworld.com/article/238006/build_a_gaming_pc_for_under_1000.html) maybe you could have a look and tell me if this guy isn't just blowing smoke.

[Nickolaeris]

Not bad, except the fact that the author ignores AMD - their mobile solutions suck, but desktop ones worth looking at. I don't like AMD and don't know about their modern solutions, so I'm recommending Intel. But if someone else will give good recommendation about AMD, maybe you should check it out too.
And this article is outdated, you can get this parts cheaper now, or get better ones for same price.

[𝓕𝒖𝒎]

NVidia Quadro? That's not a gaming card! GeForce are gaming cards, Quadro are for graphics design, autoCAD and other pixel-perfect rendering needs.

To the OP:
If you don't NEED a laptop. Get a PC, they are cheaper for the same power.
I agree i5 is a better idea than AMD currently. The recent Bulldozer was a disappointment.
For a graphics card, that depends what you want: If you play on 1280x720 you can get even a GeForce 550 Ti and it will work great. If you want 1920x1080 FullHD games in maximum detail, then a GeForce GTX560 Ti or Radeon HD 7850 is needed.

Last but not least: DON'T SAVE ON THE POWER SUPPLY!
Get a big PSU, preferably from a well-known company like Corsair or Tagan. These you can believe that 500W gives actual 500W. With a cheap no-name power supply, even 600W can be less than 450W in reality. Not to mention a PSU malfunction can destroy your expensive PC parts.

[Nickolaeris]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Fum:

NVidia Quadro? That's not a gaming card! GeForce are gaming cards, Quadro are for graphics design, autoCAD and other pixel-perfect rendering needs.

But anyway, it shows pretty good performance in games for laptop:) And it just was in 1st laptop I've found for such price:)

I totally agree about PSU, but about GPU I'd like to add - we don't know if B3RT already has PC (then he'll be able to use old monitor and HDD), or he's buying new PC from scratch - then he'll be quite short of money.

[𝓕𝒖𝒎]

True, if he needs a monitor then it limits the choice of other parts by a lot.

[BR8KAR]

Hey guys,

I appreaciate the help. I will have much to look into. Honestly, I think it was a great idea posting in Steam (gamers helping gamers).
Yes, currently I do not have a PC, I will have to start from scratch. I am using a HP Pavillion dv5-1153ei.
Last night, I removed Skyrim, Dracula Origins, Mass Effect 1, World In Conflict and Settlers - Heritage of Kings, just so I could install Mass Effect 3 (non-steam edition).

[Nickolaeris]

For start, you can make PC without GPU (Intel Core CPUs have integrated graphics, so you'll be able to use PC and even play some games), then sell laptop and buy good GPU. Also you can buy only 1x 4Gb RAM stick, and buy second later. SSD can wait too.

Give a link on some store near you:)

[Dantrey]

hey bro , i just spent £360 on a new laptop , it plays games going up to skyrim , its got good memory and its super fast , its a hp pavillion g6 , its a amazing laptop and it is for the price too , the guy in the shop tried to sell me one that wouldnt do half the stuff this can for £400 more , lucky i knew what i was looking for and not get scammed out man

[PoorUglyHappy]

If you have an under 1000 budget then you are better off with a desktop you will get more bang for your buck.

[Nickolaeris]

Początkowo opublikowane przez paperheart69:

hey bro , i just spent £360 on a new laptop , it plays games going up to skyrim , its got good memory and its super fast , its a hp pavillion g6 , its a amazing laptop and it is for the price too , the guy in the shop tried to sell me one that wouldnt do half the stuff this can for £400 more , lucky i knew what i was looking for and not get scammed out man

HP pavillion G6 has several modifications with different hardware, which one you've got? Most of them have GPU worse than Intel integrated HD4000 (in new 3rd Generation Intel CPUs). And this laptop is pretty old already...

[Razgriz2099]

I used to use laptops to game. I started with a Dell Inspiron 9200 in 2005 and then got an Acer Aspire 7520 in 2008 and let me tell you they suck for gaming. Stick with a desktop, they will save you money and headache in the long run. They are also much more powerful per dollar and easier to maintain if something goes wrong. Also since your on a budget you should probably consider building an AMD system, its true they're not completely as powerful as intel or whatever but they give you plenty of bang for your buck. Take my system for example it cost me $850 in 2010 plus $200 for my monitor But that doesn't include the hefty amount of upgrades I put in that allow me to run Battlefield 3 on Ultra setting with 40-80 fps. Three quick tips also, 1) don't skimp on the power supply like Fum said. 2) Pick a case that has tons of airflow, I recommend the HAF series by Coolermaster (I have the HAF 912 bout $50-$60) 3) Use newegg for finding parts, they have good sales and service but, dont be afraid to shop around for the best prices.

[Michael Murphy]

It doesn't make sense to not get one of those AMD Fusion laptops. They are cheap and game decently well because of the GPU inside of the APU, a decent 500$ AMD Fusion Laptop can score medium graphic settings in BF3. At best, Intel cannot compete in the graphics department, and will never be able to, especially in the currency range you are looking for. At best, wait for the new Piledriver-based AMD Fusion laptops releasing right about now. Get a decent quad core APU laptop, it has a great Radeon HD 7xxx graphics card inside the processor.