Buying a Gaming Laptop.

So guys I'm thinking of buying a gaming laptop for when I go to Japan. Anyone have any good suggestions for what to buy? It doesn't have to be high end, as long as I can stream at 1080p and have great quality that's all I need. My budget is around £1000. Thanks for any recommendations!

I heard MSI makes good ones now adays.

I've got an Alienware MX18. People are going to shout me down, but the SOB is almost four years old and still going strong.

A rig like mine nowadays starts at approx 1300 quid.

I run RTS games on it - unlike shooters they need a whole lot of power (mine runs vCoH flawlessly)

Having said that I get my desktops from Cyberpower (excellent UK company, great customer service). For the same price they do some badass gaming laptops...

Fangbook Evo

CyberPowerPC FANGBOOK EVO 17.3" FHD LED-Backlit 1920x1080 Display w/ Red backlit performance keyboard with programmable keys, Built-in 720p HD webcam, HDMI Port, Li-Ion Battery, & Universal AC Adapter...Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ Mobile Processor 2.40 GHz 6M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.40 GHz

The Alienware has: 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4910MQ Processor (Quad Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1GHz).

I'm sure some of our more tech-minded members will be able to split the difference for you. The main issue with laptops is design - optimal performance plus cooling and extra slots. This ain't an issue with a tower, but it is with a lappie. This is why you get what you pay for - my Alienware rig is very quiet and performs well but runs dry very quickly - it needs to be plugged in for gaming.

I currently use the y500 by Lenovo, costed around $1,000. Was able to run BF4 on it. Think the new version came out at the start of this year, y510.

My Asus N56 runs COH2 nicely, you do want to buy an exteral fan for it but other than that, I'm very happy with it.

I don't have advice on a particular model, but make sure you are extra diligent about cooling it! I had one and went through three motherboards. You really, really don't want to have something like that conk out while you're abroad. Even if a replacement is covered by warranty, there will likely be international shipping that you'll need to pay for (and wait for).
So, yeah, read the warranty and build yourself a supercooled chamber on your desk. Hold it up off the table with some books to give air flow underneath, and then point a desk fan at it for good measure.

xoxoxoxoxoxo
computerheat
aka
moltenmotherboards

C'mon guys this belongs in hardware and tech section...

C'mon guys this belongs in hardware and tech section...

we have a section of that? Show Spoiler

on a side I note i like my lenovo thinkpad can run need for speed something, borderlands, and call of duty two

Gaming and Laptops don't really go together. They're either underpowered or have inadequate cooling, and that tends to make their useful life very short. If you're just transporting it somewhere, I'd recommend an ITX build inside a super-compact case (ie, Ncase M1 / FT03-mini, etc.) You'll get really good bang-for-buck on a €1000 budget.

If you do insist on a laptop, make sure it is Intel Haswell-based (4xxx), and the GPU is Nvidia's Maxwell chips (8xxM series). Haswell has incredible power saving features when downclocked and idle and Iris Pro, which is Intel's best integrated graphics to date. Marketspeak aside, Haswell has low power consumption and quick start up, with plenty of power on the i7 models.

Same thing with Nvidia's Maxwell, they pair pretty good performance with lower power draw. The Nvidia/Intel combo can switch to integrated graphics (which isn't shabby) when you aren't in dedicated gaming mode.

For the love of god, don't buy AMD based APUs with a GPU, you'll hate yourself.

For streaming and gaming, you'll need an i7 and high end GPU (870M+). CoH2 unfortunately has really shit optimization, so you'll get 22fps @ 1080p for CoH2. That's going to cost you a pretty penny. Steaming also taxes the CPU heavily, so you'll need a good one. I'd guess somewhere above an i5-4310M+.

If you've got time on your hands, you could:
- Cheap out on RAM, buy it elsewhere
- Swap the HDD for a SSD
- Whitebooks (Clevos, Sagers, etc) / certain "gaming" laptops have MXM connectors. This will allow you to upgrade your GPU down the line
- Swap the CPU for a higher-end one that still fits within socket, if TDP allows for it
- Do NOT skimp on the screen. Some screens suck a lot. Get 1080p. Don't pussy out on 1366x768, they're fucking awful. Read the reviews.
- I recommend no larger than 15.6". 17" gaming laptops are really big and really heavy. They also have little battery life, and will function poorly outside of a gaming laptop. Gaming laptops quickly turn obsolete because games these days are all about LOOK AT THESE GRAPHICS, and each generation stresses the GPU more.

- I really honestly recommend ITX build + lightweight tablet/laptop for on-the-go work with heavy duty gaming/workstation/

what tengen said Show Spoiler

just let me add some points
i dont know about the prices in the UK but i think you pay a chunk in VAT!??
so dont get your hopes high on do it all laptop

dont get alineware, they cost more than any other brand. check Acer, ASUS and MSI for budget

you dont have to get "gaming" laptop, they cost more for shiny keyboard and other stuff (they do have better cooling somtimes)

every other thing is mostly covered by tengen. wise words
and i would second the ITX build, you will have a place to stay and they are easy to carry or ship, you can buy a screen over there.

i have a full build (m-atx) that i carry around all the times, sometimes without the PC case
just dont try to take it as a carry on the plane. the airport security wont like it
even though i did pass few times with it

This should do it Hans!
Though I don't know whether the resolution is big enough!

Alienware

Probably get Alienware if you want something decent, the only problem I can see is that whilst you can stay under your budget, you probably cant for 1080P, its probably going to be more like £1300. But then you might be able to pick up a deal or something.

Alienware

freeloader MVGame

CPU is easy to pick, but notebook GPUs can be confusing because so many of them are utter rubbish. Have a browse of notebookcheck.net - some of the newer GPUs have Coh2 benchmarked, for example http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-880M.107622.0.html

Thanks for the feedback guys =). Either way I need a gaming pc/ laptop for when I go. I don't want to risk transporting my current pc all the way to the other side of the world unless I can guarantee it's safety.

This should do it Hans!
Though I don't know whether the resolution is big enough!

SLI Floppies FTW!