Gaming laptop brand recommendations - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingalekay 

Yeah I know that gaming desktops would perform better but I don't see the point . . . you might as well just play all your games on an xbox or ps3.

I have both and they are if possible worse then my laptop.  But it all depend what you are going to use it for of course. Most of the games I run don´t run best on gamepad anyway and good graphics does enhance the experience if you value immersion :)

You can use headphones instead of speakers.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingalekay 

I've narrowed my choices down to 2 brands: MSI and Sager everyone.

 

EDIT: By the way guys, are the Dynaudio speakers built in to some of the MSI notebooks good quality? And yeah I know that that is probably a stupid question because it's Dynaudio but I want to make sure because I wouldn't be using external speakers on my gaming notebook and there is not much room in a laptop for speakers.

Nice, and like some one elese said, you'll be running your games on low-mid settings,

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingalekay 

Yeah I know that gaming desktops would perform better but I don't see the point . . . you might as well just play all your games on an xbox or ps3.

Pc realease of games are always better than Consouel... you have the option of using mouse and keyboard for FPS which is divine and using a Game Pad for more action and driving based games to :3 plus you've got accsess to all those awesome MMO's that come out year round... so there's better Visuals, better controls and more variety on the PC as opposed to the counsouels

Plus if you like me and you like to play multiplayer games with walkthroughs and tips then you'll need a pc with dual screens. Nothin's better than playing a raceing game, while having the track guide 3 inches to your left! It elminates the element of suprise from the course giving you the advantage, same applies for FPS, know the map better than the other guy and even if you suck you'll win! Information can be your best weapon... and the PC makes getting that info quick and easy :D

Must it be a laptop? In this price range you could build a very good gaming desktop and have money left over to get a less expensive laptop if you need it for something other than gaming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHavak 

Must it be a laptop? In this price range you could build a very good gaming desktop and have money left over to get a less expensive laptop if you need it for something other than gaming.

Yea seriously if you can build a decent $600/700 rig with Monitor and OS, then you could save a little more and get a laptop in 3-4 months. That way you've got HIGH gfx at home and low on the go 

The best would be ASUS and MSI. There are other small OEM makers that make these too but at the moment I haven't looked at them.

The ASUS and MSI laptops are generally on a price to performance ratio not as fast as their ALienware counterparts. But keep in mind Alienware is at near the bottom of the list for reliability and customer service(Dell). Same for Dell who is the parent of Alienware. Toshiba isn't really a full on gaming company.

But for a great mix of price to performance to reliability ratio. ASUS is the way to go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowei006 

The best would be ASUS and MSI. There are other small OEM makers that make these too but at the moment I haven't looked at them.

 

The ASUS and MSI laptops are generally on a price to performance ratio not as fast as their ALienware counterparts. But keep in mind Alienware is at near the bottom of the list for reliability and customer service(Dell). Same for Dell who is the parent of Alienware. Toshiba isn't really a full on gaming company.

 

But for a great mix of price to performance to reliability ratio. ASUS is the way to go.

I've been hearing too that AMD Laptop Cpu's are actually pretty good, so that might help you save some cash

Alienware:

Pros:

• Looks great
• New updated versions have better cooling
• Gets browny points with your friends(Think Alienware as Beats, you get "respect" for having one)
• Great Price to Performance ratio
• For the speed of them, very little can beat it
• Has support behind it as it's backed by Dell
• Find them very easily and everywhere
• Discounts and cheaper prices can be availble due to mass availbility and backing by Dell

Cons:

• Reliability as it's a Dell subsidiary is very low. They are near the bottom of the list for Reliability.
• Support isn't that good. Also very low on the list.
• Has the most problems in terms of percentage.
• The most beginning problems (due to a lesser knowledgeable buyer base) by call volume
• Cooling problems stil (gets insanely hot)
• BSOD's are very common. Like Dell, gets cheap parts from Foxconn and etc etc. RAM is RAM to them, 8GB's is a good looking number to consumers when they can get it for $25 as opposed to ASUS who actually spends more money and QC's the parts
• RAM, HDD, driver issues are prevelant. 
• Design and Ergonomics on some models is meh
• Can cause bodily harm due to the intense amount of heat it produces.
• Monitors have had some problems in the past.
• Components aren't the highest quality(or acceptable quality for a "gaming machine")
• The Enthusiast user base(think us on head-fi but for computers) hate it and they are the Beats of gaming laptops. As in, they work, have many great things about it...but ain't gonna touch it with a 20 foot pole as it makes you a "buyer" of "THOSE" things and .....their reliability and brand connotation is horrid.

BSOD's and driver and what not problems are common with ALL companies. IT;s just that by percentage.. Alienware is THE worst large gaming laptop brand out there by reliability, problems and what not by percentage.

Percentage means you don't have to worry about how many they sell.

Theoretical:

A brand with a 5% error(just saying) that built 1000 computers will have 50 with problems out of that batch. Alienware by Dell of course sells more than ASUS so with more units it looks worse for them when they have more users complaining of problems as opposed to if ASUS had also a 5% error and only made 100 computers per month and you will only see 5 people with problems.

Percentage eliminates the problem of how many are sold and cause the "illusion" of more problems and thus gives us a better and more objective analysis of the brands...of which Alienware is on the bottom of.

I hope I was objective and unbiased enough for a good answer to your question :)