Laptop vs. Desktop

[KoMoDo]

Hello guys,

I'm in the states and will stay for quite a while - including the very high chance of going to college in the states.
I am somewhat of a gamer, play popular new good games - such as black ops when itll come out, and i will want to play starcraft 2 - as well as old games like warcraft 3 and the likes.
my question is simple - are there any laptops that will set me back for less than 1k and will be able to play all those games, or should i go for a desktop? a laptop could be awesome since i am traveling from time to time and ill probably need one for college - i also don't want it too heavy though, i suppose 15'' monitor could do it.. i checked alienware prices and they are REALLY high so im afraid of your answer - either way laptops aren't my favorite and i guess i can bring my desktop with me to college - on that note, a desktop will set me back for a lot less WITH a monitor, right ?

Thanks in advance.

[glc]

Can you find another 100 bucks?

Newegg.com - ASUS N61JQ-X1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 16" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730

[KoMoDo]

that does look pretty sweet - asus as a laptop manufacturer? i always get them for their mobos, but laptops ?

and - i plan on buying a desktop/laptop in september, not right away as i dont need one now - since im traveling - i will settle down in the beginning of september, then fly out and officially settle down in San Antonio (anyone from there ?!) in mid september or so. should i reopen this thread then? i was looking for advice, links are awesome too though but prices should drop by then, no ? and anything over even 900$ is pushing it, i have 1900$ in the bank at the moment and im doing a bit of traveling as you figured out as well thats what happens when you get out of the IDF and get paid lousy there

[glc]

Reopen this thread when you are ready, let's see what the market looks like then. How do you pay for things when you are over here?

Asus makes some really nice laptops - here's their whole line on Newegg:

Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops,Laptops / Notebooks,ASUS

I have an Asus EeePC netbook and I love it.

[Nikon]

my asus p50ij plays sc2 just fine. i actually just beat the game in campaign mode yesterday =D

[David M]

Komodo, it comes down to deciding if portability or running the more graphically intense games is more important.

Nikon, its probably helpful to not use the acronyms for games. Most people don't have them memorized.

[KoMoDo]

ok, sounds good - i will look for one in the beginning of september and basically bump this thread - im guessing i will be able to find cheaper deals (will most likely go for a laptop after all if i can find something for less than 900$-ish) - do you think i can find a better deal now than in a month from now even though prices will drop? highly doubtful..

Thanks

[glc]

There will always be *something* available.

[KoMoDo]

ok ive decided to bring this post back to life since im going to settle down in less than 2 weeks and should start looking for stuff already -
so i thought of getting a laptop just because itll be more comfortable for traveling and for school - i guess i can bring a desktop and a monitor with me to college when i go next year but a laptop will just be easier - so i want to get a really good one which will play me SC2 and the likes on high quality and widescreen - what do you guys think ?
im looking for laptops atm at the alienware website - they have a deal for like 1200$ which is a 15' widescreen monitor, looks good overall - couldn't find the weight.. 1200$ is sort of overkill, im pretty sure i can find a better deal since that amount is probably for the brand... the laptop comes with an nvidia 260M - i have a 9800 gtx back home, which is better ?
what do you guys recommend ? ill check newegg as well, maybe they'll come up with better deals in the start of september, i just want to buy one and ship it to my apartment which ill be in on sep 4th already.
thing is im afraid of laptops because if something breaks im sort of stuck - on a desktop i just buy a replacement - insurance is usually for only 1 year, right ?

lastly - can you think of a place where i can get a laptop without an OS installed? i bet that will save me money, seeing as i have a CD of windows 7 from my dad's work - even if they do come with an OS and i cant control it - they come with a LOT of malware, or did stuff change lately? I remember any Toshiba or HP laptop i saw just had a bunch of unneeded stuff - i could always reformat it with my win 7 CD so ill just have a clean laptop, but why go through all that process..

what do you think guys? i really appreciate your help and i sure did put a bunch of questions out there.

Thanks a lot in advance.

KoMoDo

[glc]

I'm really liking what I see for Asus laptops on Newegg with mobile i7's and discrete graphics.

Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops,Laptops / Notebooks,ASUS,Dedicated Card,Intel Core i7

[KoMoDo]

ill check up on that page in a few days, gotta say they're pretty expensive - think ill wait for the last minute to get them. how are the gfx cards on those ? the 350M and stuff ?
are the ASUS clean? do they come with a lot of random apps and the likes ? i didnt check their weight yet but thats a big factor too.

what about the OS thing? i would rather have a clean laptop and install an OS to save probably 100$ on that too...

[glc]

Not worth the trouble - you can use Decrapifier to uninstall the unnecessary preloaded crap.

[KoMoDo]

compaq worth anything ?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Compaq+-...=1218222407602

seems extremely cheap but specs aren't bad at all.. Radeon 4250 HD is that bad ?

[glc]

Compaq laptops are junk.

[KoMoDo]

ok the nvidia gfx card seems a little better after doing some research - the thing im afraid of is that people say its meant for mid-range laptops, paying 1200$ for a laptop is considered a mid-range laptop?! that is not cheap.
Newegg.com - ASUS G Series G51JX-X1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M

that is 1200$ - i checked alienware and the m15x goes for 1200$ as well - what do you think? are the ASUS the best bang for my buck so far? I like Dell laptops so i bet there are plenty of other options, what do you think? I have also read ASUS comes with a lot of bloatware but ill use that decrapifyer program you mentioned which hopefully does the job.
the alienware comes with 3GB ram, i3 and geforce 240M - i take it thats a big downgrade from the ASUS ?

[glc]

BIG downgrade.

Sure, Dells are cheaper, but they don't have many with discrete graphics without getting into Alienware. If you want to game on a laptop, it's going to cost you. Yes, $1200 is mid-range. If you want a really strong gamer, that $1600 Asus with the 5870 and 17" screen looks like a great deal.

[KoMoDo]

tbh i want to play SC2 and games like that on high quality, CoD4, Black ops that will come out - etc. do you think itll handle it? 1200$ is more than what i thought of spending, i want it to last for a few years now (less for gaming but more as a computer that ill have with me since i am going to be a student next year).

so as long as the computer i linked (the nvidia one) can do those games in high quality and widescreen res - i will take it.

and you respond positively - do you think i should wait an extra few days to see if prices go down or anything new comes out ? i want it to be in my apartment by sep 4th so i will buy it by the last day of august or so. what do you think ?

Thanks glc

[glc]

Well, it's already on sale - $100 off and free shipping.

[KoMoDo]

sorry for asking so many questions, i just dont have that much experience in regards to prices going up or dropping - if you were me, would you get it now for the risk of them bringing back that 100$ off ? or would you wait another week and see if it dropped more or if you can find something else? i was planning on buying it next week, but its all risky...

edit: my brother told me theres plenty of sales for the labor day weekend, should i hold on for that too ?

cheers

[glc]

Your call. Roll the dice.

[KoMoDo]

what do you think of this? ill wait till labor day maybe they'll drop the price, but for an extra 100$ its definitely worth it - its not the X1 version but it seems much better than the 51jx doesn't it ?

Asus - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i7 Processor / 17.3" Display / 6GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive - Black - G73JH-RBBX05

[glc]

That's a great deal - Newegg has the same laptop with 8gb memory for $1549. The 5870 has to be one of the strongest video chips you can get in a laptop.

By the way, don't expect great battery life out of any laptop with a gaming-quality video chip.

[KoMoDo]

so the 15.6'' will have better battery life obviously ? the thing is that the 17'' one is massive, but it has much better of a gfx card - can you think of a place where i can get a 15.6'' laptop with a good gfx card that won't cost too much ? I was thinking of getting a laptop screen that size where i can play games but whenever i am able to, plug it via HDMI to a tv or a bigger pc monitor ill buy as well to play like its meant to be played.. what do you think ? cause, this being a laptop i want it to be mobile, and the 17'' one is like 7.6 lbs which is HEAVY.

also, on another note - to keep this post moving, my brother is looking for a laptop as well, how are the ACER's ? this looks like a pretty sweet deal, lightweight aswell.
Amazon.com: Acer Aspire AS5251-1805 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black): Electronics

Thanks a lot glc for the help, truly appreciated.

[quartet-man]

Komodo, Acers are considered crap from what I hear.

[glc]

Like I said before - Asus, Dell, or Lenovo.

You need to sort out your priorities - you can't have everything.

[quartet-man]

GLC is right about priorities. It is a fact of life that when one gets one thing, there is typically a price to pay. One gain means a sacrifice somewhere else. Sometimes this is to keep prices more reasonable and other times it is simply that you can't have it all (for instance larger screen means larger computer or video card for gaming means less battery life.)

[KoMoDo]

ok ill try to focus here -
i decided i want a 15.6'' one, i am staying at a friends place who just got this one

ASUS 16'' laptop

the monitor is too big - i figured i just get a smaller, lighter laptop and connect it to an HDMI on a TV or buy a larger monitor as time progresses.. 15.6'' isnt bad at all for gaming either.

problem is - the 16'' and 17.3'' models have much better gfx cards, and seem even cheaper than the 15.6'' one i wanted to get, which makes no sense.
can you think of a 15.6'' laptop which is cheap and has a good gfx card ? i figured lighter, smaller monitor with the same gfx card should be cheaper - i dont want a bulky 17.3'' laptop to take around with me.. plus battery life would be a little better on the smaller monitor.

Thanks in advance, sorry for any confusion.

[glc]

You have to compromise..............

You will NEVER notice the difference between a 16" and a 15.6" screen. If the 16" is too bulky for you, get a 14".

Newegg.com - ASUS N82JQ-A1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 14" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M

[KoMoDo]

i see how it is, the bigger the laptop, the easier it is to fit normal sized components into it.
ill see how big that 16'' one is, and then decide.
will the GT 335M run SC2 on high widescreen, and Black Ops on medium at least ? any idea?
what about x.264 video files and HD movies etc ?
then i wouldn't mind getting it and plugging it via HDMI to a TV to watch movies or play games - if not, ill get the 16'' one, 5730 will do what i need at least ?

Thanks

[glc]

It appears that the 5730 benchmarks about 3% faster than a GT335M, both with mobile i7's. That's close enough where I doubt you would notice the difference.