Curse

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 10, 2010, 11:33 PM // 23:33

So not too long from now, I will be heading to my first year of college. My father is most likely purchasing me a MacBook for my graduation computer, and I'm curious if this will be able to play Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 on a good level. I'm hoping medium high graphics, but I don't think a MacBook is capable of that. My first priority for this laptop will be its educational purposes (notes, internet, etc.) but I also would enjoy being able to get back into Guild Wars, especially with the future release of GW2.

Now, other laptops are possibilities, but I'm hoping I can stay within the range of MacBook or MacBook Pro, as I do love Macs.

Here are the specs pages. MacBook:

http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html

MacBook Pro:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-13inch.html

If anyone knows of laptops in the same price range that can perform better than a MacBook or MacBook Pro for school work or gaming, that would be appreciated also! Thank you!

Neith · Oct 10, 2010, 11:39 PM // 23:39

my understanding is that Mac does not support GW. I have to use Boot camp to play GW on my mac and it sucks or at least Windows Vista sucks, i get snow and freezing of the computer after a certain amount of time has elapsed on the game. I have to close it out and restart the game or shut the computer off completely and let it rest. My recommendation is if you want to play video games on the laptop don't get a mac.

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 10, 2010, 11:49 PM // 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neith

my understanding is that Mac does not support GW. I have to use Boot camp to play GW on my mac and it sucks or at least Windows Vista sucks, i get snow and freezing of the computer after a certain amount of time has elapsed on the game. I have to close it out and restart the game or shut the computer off completely and let it rest. My recommendation is if you want to play video games on the laptop don't get a mac.

Really? Wow, that's not good at all! I think I heard something about that a while back, now that I think about it. Thank you!

Does anyone know of a different laptop that will suffice? Maybe high resolution for Guild Wars and won't lag the game, on which I can do school work and other tasks still.

I'm looking around the 13 inch screen range, I'll have to take it to and from my classes.

Malice Black · Oct 11, 2010, 12:27 AM // 00:27

Try the Dell Studio 14 range.

Don't expect amazing game graphics though. It'll play gw1 fine, gw2 is anyones guess right now.

I wouldn't just limit yourself to the 13" market. You pay quite a bit extra for that drop in screen size...

14-15" screens are still easily portable, and don't weigh all that much more.

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 11, 2010, 01:25 AM // 01:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malice Black

Try the Dell Studio 14 range.

Don't expect amazing game graphics though. It'll play gw1 fine, gw2 is anyones guess right now.

I wouldn't just limit yourself to the 13" market. You pay quite a bit extra for that drop in screen size...

14-15" screens are still easily portable, and don't weigh all that much more.

Cool, thank you. I hear Newegg is great for buying computers, I'm just really not a computer know-it-all so I have no idea how to search for one that has great system specs. I'm willing to go to a 14-15" screen, as long as it's not too large of a laptop.

Elder III · Oct 11, 2010, 03:17 AM // 03:17

what's your budget? I'd be happy to point you in the right direction if I had some figures to work with.

tijo · Oct 11, 2010, 04:28 AM // 04:28

Yeah, give us your budget and we'll try to find you a good bang for the buck. Other than that, any particular screen size, resolution, battery life that you want?

I've shopped for a laptop for university/gaming recently and it can sometimes be a mess considering the amount of options you have at your disposal.

One last thing, check the forums at www.notebookreview.com you'll probably find them to be quite helpful.

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 11, 2010, 05:28 AM // 05:28

I'm looking at a budget of $1000-$1100. Something with a battery life around five hours, hopefully light weight. I'm not worried about screen size as long as it isn't tiny or too gigantic, maybe 15". As far as settings for Guild Wars, I would like to be able to play it on medium-high (preferably high, but I won't be too picky!) without lag. I'm just really wanting one that will play GW2, even though nobody is positive on the specs yet.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, you guys are great with help!

Elder III · Oct 11, 2010, 01:34 PM // 13:34

A laptop that can play GW2 is going to require a dedicated video card --- laptops with dedicated video cards are much more powerful and consume allot more battery life. Anything over 2 hrs battery life for a "gaming" laptop is considered good. Of course if you only want a 15" then you might find what you are looking for, just expect to pay a premium for that longer lasting battery.

Quaker · Oct 11, 2010, 02:45 PM // 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neith

i get snow and freezing of the computer after a certain amount of time has elapsed on the game.

This sounds like an overheating issue, not a Vista issue. Just knock you graphics settings back a bit - particularly, set AA back to 2x if it's on 4x.

@OP - almost any laptop that costs the same as a Mac Pro will perform better - except perhaps a Sony, or other high end brand. Others will point you to specific models - I'll just say to make sure you get one with a good "discrete" video chip with it's own graphics RAM.

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 11, 2010, 04:49 PM // 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elder III

A laptop that can play GW2 is going to require a dedicated video card --- laptops with dedicated video cards are much more powerful and consume allot more battery life. Anything over 2 hrs battery life for a "gaming" laptop is considered good. Of course if you only want a 15" then you might find what you are looking for, just expect to pay a premium for that longer lasting battery.

Ah, okay. I was reading about some laptops and I understand this now, I think a 1 1/2 hour battery life would be fine. I found this laptop while looking at the site Tijo reccommended:

http://www.notebookreview.com/price/...568&productID=

I know it's mainly for gaming, but it looks like it would play Guild Wars beautifully - and top notch. Does anyone know of a laptop similar to this, maybe a little cheaper? It seems this one has everything in perfection.

Edit: Also, what are general specs on a laptop to be able to play on high settings, with no lag? And what video card/memory?

tijo · Oct 11, 2010, 04:55 PM // 16:55

You could for a laptop with switchable graphics in order to increase battery life. Unfortunately, no models with switchable graphics come to mind right now. You can also change the battery from a 6 cell to a 9 cell in order to increase autonomy as well.

Don't expect the battery to last long when gaming though.

EDIT: In response to your post below, 2-3 hours should be achieved easily enough on a laptop with a decent GPU. It may require a bit of tweaking depending on the laptop, but nothing too difficult.

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 11, 2010, 05:47 PM // 17:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by tijo

You could for a laptop with switchable graphics in order to increase battery life. Unfortunately, no models with switchable graphics come to mind right now. You can also change the battery from a 6 cell to a 9 cell in order to increase autonomy as well.

Don't expect the battery to last long when gaming though.

I'm mainly just looking for a 1 1/2 to 2 hour battery life for when I'm taking notes in class, etc. Not for gaming.

patrona · Oct 11, 2010, 06:34 PM // 18:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neith

my understanding is that Mac does not support GW.

Not officially...

i recently found a site that made a unofficial cider client for guild wars

Clicky

It's a very small dmg file that triggers the download of the client... (it might take 30-45 min to download and install it. It's keeping you on the same 'please wait' screen the whole time, but that's normal.)

I use it on my `10 unibody MBP and it works like a charm, except for the `@`key

I don't know if this is legal or might get you banned, but i'm using it and still playing the game, but use it at your own risk

btw many ppl say macs are wayy overpriced. this is true, expect for the 13`MBP which gives you a hell of lot bang for your bucks. And if your intention is not primarily to game on your system (aside from guild wars) i certainly would go for the 13`cheapest MBP.

Quote:

I'm mainly just looking for a 1 1/2 to 2 hour battery life for when I'm taking notes in class, etc. Not for gaming.

My MBP easily reaches 6 hours when just doing some office tasks and internet. if you disable airport it might last even longer.
when gaming or watching a movie it last for 2-3 hours tops. Remember though that they (MBP) are made out of aluminum, which is a damn good heat conductor, so prepare to get a hot mac when gaming

Elder III · Oct 11, 2010, 09:48 PM // 21:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by CasterOfShame27

Ah, okay. I was reading about some laptops and I understand this now, I think a 1 1/2 hour battery life would be fine. I found this laptop while looking at the site Tijo reccommended:

http://www.notebookreview.com/price/...568&productID=

I know it's mainly for gaming, but it looks like it would play Guild Wars beautifully - and top notch. Does anyone know of a laptop similar to this, maybe a little cheaper? It seems this one has everything in perfection.

Edit: Also, what are general specs on a laptop to be able to play on high settings, with no lag? And what video card/memory?

that's a great laptop, but honestly it's overkill for GW1 or even GW2 - that's a top end gaming laptop.. the kind that Alienware and similar companies charges $2500 for. :/ If I were you I'd save $600 and get the one below, it will run away with GW1 and play GW2 very well also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220827

tijo · Oct 11, 2010, 10:01 PM // 22:01

Yeah, definitely overkill for GW and not to mention it's rather bulky.

EDIT: On another note, if you like the look of the machine, the G53JW will be out soon. Practically the same as the G73JH but with a GTX460M, 15" and a USB 3.0 port

The N61 is also a good choice, good GPU for the resolution it offers, good CPU as well. As a bonus, all asus laptops come with a 2 year warranty in the US and Canada and a 1 year accidental damage warranty that you have to activate though,.

CasterOfShame27 · Oct 12, 2010, 04:18 AM // 04:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elder III

that's a great laptop, but honestly it's overkill for GW1 or even GW2 - that's a top end gaming laptop.. the kind that Alienware and similar companies charges $2500 for. :/ If I were you I'd save $600 and get the one below, it will run away with GW1 and play GW2 very well also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220827

See, that one looks so much better and weighs less. I just really want a laptop that will play GW2 on high settings and smooth gameplay, because I don't want to invest in something that will give me medium-high and a "good" experience.

Quote:

Yeah, definitely overkill for GW and not to mention it's rather bulky.

EDIT: On another note, if you like the look of the machine, the G53JW will be out soon. Practically the same as the G73JH but with a GTX460M, 15" and a USB 3.0 port

The N61 is also a good choice, good GPU for the resolution it offers, good CPU as well. As a bonus, all asus laptops come with a 2 year warranty in the US and Canada and a 1 year accidental damage warranty that you have to activate though,.

I actually don't like the look of the Asus G73JH, but the specs are awesome and the keyboard is so nice, what with the light-up feature and all. However I have heard so many horrible reviews of it due to technical issues (Blue/Gray Screen of Death, Graphics Card Update Problems), I'm leaning more towards not purchasing it.

Lourens · Oct 12, 2010, 12:19 PM // 12:19

the asus G73H is way to heavy your better off with a toshiba qosmio

Ewon · Oct 12, 2010, 02:08 PM // 14:08

I use my macBook Pro to run GW1 fine. If I'm just logging in for a few minutes I have crossover game sinstalled to open gw. If I plan on gaming for any length of time I just boot into windows on it.

The one problem you might have, which can be the case in several laptops, is overheating. I use smc(?) to control my fans when booting into windows, as they tend to take a while to start up.

tijo · Oct 12, 2010, 02:37 PM // 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by CasterOfShame27

See, that one looks so much better and weighs less. I just really want a laptop that will play GW2 on high settings and smooth gameplay, because I don't want to invest in something that will give me medium-high and a "good" experience.

I actually don't like the look of the Asus G73JH, but the specs are awesome and the keyboard is so nice, what with the light-up feature and all. However I have heard so many horrible reviews of it due to technical issues (Blue/Gray Screen of Death, Graphics Card Update Problems), I'm leaning more towards not purchasing it.

From owning one, i can tell you that fixes have been released for pretty much every problem it had (New bios for CPU throttling, vBios for the screens of death). However, to say that it's big would be an understatement. Personally i'd go with the N61 or a MSI (their new models look like toys though).

The new 15" hp envy look very good and from what i've read don't seem to suffer from the traditional HP notebook issues. http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en...0-4166179.html The specs are also pretty good. If you prefer a more traditional look, take a look at models from Clevo.

Check this reseller for more laptops with gaming capabilities options:
http://www.xoticpc.com/

EDIT: Definitely take a look at the qosmios as Lourens suggested. Be sure to check the reviews though, some models (at least the older ones, don't know about the newer ones) tend to overheat while others stay cool.