Black Friday - Gaming Laptops

LeftCoast

Hi Everyone

I'm looking to poissibly get a gaming laptop this week for playing MMORPG. I'd like to keep it under $1,000. I'd appreciate any recommendations if anyone sees any killer black friday deals....or any of the other days of th week for that matter!

Thanks!

Sherardp

Dell XPS /Alienware and Falcon are a few that come to mind. Here is a newer review of a few models, perhaps one you can configure to your liking.

http://computers.toptenreviews.com/gaming-laptops/

maximillian

Laptops are nice, but ask yourself if you really need the portability. Many laptops simply don't do well under constant heavy CPU loads. They get really hot and eventually internal components will break due to thermal stresses. Had a work laptop die this way; LCD display became flaky over a few weeks. I suspect the GPU died, and the laptop wouldn't boot afterwards.

If you don't need portability then a nice gaming desktop would be more suitable.

LeftCoast

maximillian wrote: »

Laptops are nice, but ask yourself if you really need the portability. Many laptops simply don't do well under constant heavy CPU loads. They get really hot and eventually internal components will break due to thermal stresses. Had a work laptop die this way; LCD display became flaky over a few weeks. I suspect the GPU died, and the laptop wouldn't boot afterwards.

If you don't need portability then a nice gaming desktop would be more suitable.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll just try to remain patient. I was thinking the laptop cuz I still don't have my own place, and I'm renting from a buddy of mine. Not alot of room here to set up a desktop. But I don't want something that could crap out on me either.

maximillian

Never tried a "gaming" laptop like Sherardp mentions. Perhaps those are cooled better. Do your research.

polkfarmboy

A fellow polkie has an awesome gaming rig for sale here if interested .It has a gtx480 and its going for $900 right now

Gadabout

The main key for a gaming laptop is to get one with a decent video card. The video card will take a lot of load of the processor. Also, I have always elevated my laptops. The two product I use all the time: For Travel - Lap Desk & For the Home - Cool Pad.

Once I started using these type products I don't have any cooling issues. I also usually pop the fan covers one a year and gently clean the blades. My average life on a laptop is pretty normal, 4 years or so. I usually feel the need to upgrade, before they die. As a side note, I have been running gaming laptops since the days when they were putting Pentium desktop chips in laptops and still got 5 1/2 full years out of that one. (It finally succumbed to hard drive failure)

Since the case is larger, I would assume that you would be able to get better cooling out of a 17" model and the extra screen real estate won't hurt either. This might be a little hard to purchase at your price point, but I think the Dell XPS 17 base model is under $1K. In the under 17" size, the Alienware M11x R3 is under $1K. There is also a coupon code for $50 off the price - BHW1L0MX0D?MCX. Also, the Toshiba Qosmio X775 is a little above your price range but the specs look pretty decent.

You will get better cooling in a desktop, but you also shouldn't be afraid of getting a laptop if you upgrade every 4 years or so.

Hope that helps,
Scott