Gaming Laptop?

Question

You know how most computer manufactuers offer a specific laptop they claim is for gaming? (Dell, gateway, Alienware, Falcon PC, etc.)

Well, two questions:

1) Are they worth it.
2)What brand would you say I get?

Or any advice in general.

Thanks!
Peace.

Answer 1

Dell owns Alienware. They make them cool looking to sucker people into buying them for the flash factor insetad of what counts - actual computing power.

The rule of thumb for figuring out how much a notebook is going to cost you is to design the desktop that will do everything that you want it to do... then double the price. Portability and light-weight requires more $$$ to produce.

When you are ready to buy a new system, go to www.stupidcheapcomputers.net. I buy all of my stuff from them, and everything is Vista ready.

Microsoft is about to release its latest operating system, Vista, in January. It’s going to make all of these “bargain” computers nothing but JUNK as soon as it’s released. The reason that you are seeing so many cheap systems on the market right now is because a lot of them CAN’T RUN Vista and the merchants are trying to dump them as hard and fast as they can before Vista shows up and everyone learns what a piece of crap they were sold for $500 (or whatever).

Anyway, I bought a complete, new system from stupidcheapcomputers.net with a warranty for LESS than it would cost me to build it myself or order a custom one from the manufacturer. You can use my frequent buyer code: ATX926. That will get an additional 10% discount at checkout.

I have NEVER had any problems with anything that they have sold me and their customer service is outstanding. Those guys blow my mind.

Good luck!

Answer 2

No, they are not worth it. Desktops are much more scalable and upgradeable for future needs and games. Not so with laptops. The video card, processor or both will be outdated in two to three years, you MIGHT be able to upgrade the processor but you're stuck with whatever graphics card it came with (the exceptions being select models from Dell and Alienware). As I said, I wouldn't bother, buy yourself or build yourself a desktop that is suited for gaming, chances are it will last you a good five years before you have to consider major component upgrades, there will of course be intermediate servicing such as GPU upgrades and memory upgrades.

My guess is you'll have to replace the motherboard, processor, graphics and get new memory in five years. That's a fairly long lifespan for a single system. Don't forget the intermediate upgrades, that's why desktops are so much better.

There is no such thing as gaming on a laptop. People do it but it's just such a waste.

Answer 3

The gaming laptops are expensive machines due to the power they pack.

The relative importance of the different components and the needed performance of them are depending on what game you play.

Typically gaming desktop PCs are both more performant, easier to upgrade afterwards, offer more choices, but are hard to lug about. Consider how important the portable factor is for you.

Answer 4

Right now the best quality and computer laptop for gaming are the DELL XPS, it was said on all magazines and are recommended by big gamers, the price range is 1,200 and up.

Answer 5

I would go with an Alienware labtop. They have great customer support, and long lasting (tough) labtops.