Curse

subarucar · Feb 21, 2009, 11:16 AM // 11:16

Im planning on getting a laptop sometime soon, and with such a huge range i have no idea what to go for.
Stuff I Want:
Under $1600 NZD (Should be about 850 USD)
Reasonable for gaming (doesnt need to run crysis on full specs).

If you have any tips/recommendations please post.

Thanks in advance.

edit: Dont give me those "Buy a desktop" comments, im after something portable.

Andurros · Feb 21, 2009, 02:03 PM // 14:03

I do not know enough about computers to tell you to get this or that but I do know that I wish I had purchased differently.. I wish that the heat vent was on the back instead of the side. I wish that it had more usb ports on the back instead of the sides. I would have liked to have been able to afford one with a full keyboard.

Elder III · Feb 21, 2009, 09:12 PM // 21:12

at $850 USD you will be at the low end for a gaming laptop.... now just because something will not Run Crysis at max resolution and high settings (let alone highest), it may still work very well for almost every other game out there, new or old.

Now if you are in NZ.... do you intend to have it shipped to you from the USA???

subarucar · Feb 21, 2009, 10:34 PM // 22:34

No, im expecting to buy from a store in NZ.
I do realise this is low end market for gaming laptops, basicly im after something that could run games like CoD 5, Mass Effect, and other fairly recent releases at a decent rate.
Also iv been looking at some that have "Shared" or "Dedicated" graphics cards, could someone explain this to me.

Elder III · Feb 21, 2009, 11:01 PM // 23:01

Ok Dedicated means that there is a separate graphics processor or video card inside the laptop... Shared or "integrated" means that the graphics processor is part of the motherboard and for it to function it takes resources away from the rest of your computer, and it will be far far far weaker for any gaming or other 3D applications. That's a somewhat simple explanation, but to sum it up.... do NOT even consider getting a laptop that says "shared" or "integrated" under the Video Card specifications.

One with a dedicated card will give you a far more comparable perfomance with a desktop computer.

you will want somethign along the lines of this.. but I don't know if you will find it that cheap in NZ... this is cheap for what you get even here in the USA...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115539

bsoltan · Feb 21, 2009, 11:07 PM // 23:07

A laptop with 'shared graphics memory' shares the normal memory for graphics as well as normal applications, if you're looking for a gaming laptop then you'll want avoid those with 'shared'. 'Dedicated memory' is only for the graphical applications (games).

Psyko · Feb 22, 2009, 12:13 AM // 00:13

ok, so i've only played hardcore techie once, and that was to buy my own comp, so forgive me if i miss the mark on a few specs, but i have found Asus computers to be more than affordable for their specs (at least, directly FROM newegg)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220459

i was thinking it might be worth the extra 200 bucks to order it :P, but a second opinion would be wise.

Elder III · Feb 22, 2009, 12:52 PM // 12:52

3470 is not a very good card for gaming, you would want a ATI 3650 at the very least or a 9600 series would be even better.. the main problem is not knowing what is available in NZ, where the OP intends to buy his/her laptop....

Subarucar - you may need to see what is available to you locally and then post the specs here so that we can advise you on what to buy.

subarucar · Feb 22, 2009, 06:56 PM // 18:56

Cheers Elder, thats probabaly a much better idea.

Heres some links to places i would consider buying from:
http://www.dse.co.nz/dse.filereader?...ogs/CTG0001825
http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/compute...=topseller-dsc
http://www.bondandbond.co.nz/compute...1-c233-p1.html
http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?pa...05 8b596d05c0

Elder III · Feb 22, 2009, 11:16 PM // 23:16

this one would meet your needs and just barely meets your budget too....

http://www.bondandbond.co.nz/compute...prod10713.html

I'm afraid that with the higher prices in NZ that is about the best you will find, for that price it's easily the best for gaming that I could find on those websites. It should handle the latest games (other than Crysis) just fine at that resolution on mid to high settings and playable FPS.

I had a HP Pavillion dv series and I enjoyed it while I had it... it has plenty of features and you can upgrade the RAM after you get it by adding another DIMM for a max of 4GB.. which I would reccomend that you do at some point int he future. XD

Lourens · Feb 23, 2009, 08:04 AM // 08:04

I would go with this little power machine great for gaming to

http://www.alienware.com/products/ar...de=SKU-DEFAULT

enter_the_zone · Feb 23, 2009, 07:25 PM // 19:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lourens

I would go with this little power machine great for gaming to

http://www.alienware.com/products/ar...de=SKU-DEFAULT

At almost 3 times his price ceiling, maybe not...

Go for the Pavilion, but do it soon because it's NZ$100 off until 3rd March.

It's not a great gaming laptop, but to get one you really need about NZ$5000.

subarucar · Feb 24, 2009, 02:31 AM // 02:31

Alienware is bad IMO, much to expensive for what you get. Anyway, the Pavilion looks reasonable at a nice price, ill probabaly head down B&B in the weekend. I was basicly after a laptop for school/college/uni. And i thought id may aswell up my budget by a few hundred to get something i can use for games when i dont have access to my desktop.

Thanks All - Thread can now be closed.