Recommend me cheap laptop for gaming

My friend wanted to buy a widescreen laptop.

budget = ($510) $649 ^^

harddisk space at least 160GB

can easily play:
World of Warcraft
Call of Duty 4

if it can play Crysis the better.

 

lol thats really asking for a lot for that much, my laptop has a GT330M 1GB and it can play WoW only on like medium settings for good FPS

 

Republic of Gaming

Asus G73SW

 

Acer Aspire AS5742G-6480 Notebook Intel Core i3 380M(2.53GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M w/1Gb of dedicated graphics memory.

Best price I could find was $600 at NewEgg.

Amazon has one for $550 but it only comes with Intel HD graphics. Not suitable for FPS or other games that require graphic horsepower.

Good Luck,
SourMilk

 

idk with a 5400rpm HDD ur gunna have slow loading times and decrease in overall performance.

 

If he really want's a "gaming" notebook then he should increase the budget.
Because what ever he buys for that amount of money, it won't be a gaming notebook. IMO

Just a thought, If your friend lives in India as you? He can't buy the notebook from Newegg.com since they don't ship World-wide AFAIK.

 

Depends on where you live. Where I'm from, I could probably get an i3/i5 + Radeon HD 6470M laptop, which is enough to run most games comfortably provided you don't use the highest resolution settings.

 

Surely, but if you are really into gaming then you want to run on the highest Res as possible.

And since he wanted a gaming notebook he will probably use it for gaming Only, wich is why I think he should buy something more powerful.

 

Well, I don't really mind. As long as its playable and doesn't look too terrible, I'm fine with it. On laptops you won't be going up to 1960x800 resolutions anyway, you can't even if you want to, and the max is probably 1366x768 or 1200x800, or maybe even 1024x800 depending on the game.

 

Back to Republic of Gaming:

ASUS G73SW - Sandy Bridge

ASUS G73SW-XA1 : $1,399.00

http://www.amazon.com/G73SW-XA1-Rep...O9AK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1302247587&sr=8-3

ASUS G73SW-A1 : $1,761.28

http://www.amazon.com/G73SW-A1-Repu...J864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302247587&sr=8-1

ASUS G73SW-3DE : $1,939.03

http://www.amazon.com/G73SW-3DE-Rep...GPP2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302247587&sr=8-2

 

Haha, very easy to buy any of those with a budget of $510
I guess he would need to ask for a rebate, quite big rebate

If we forget about the price, they are very nice

"Nvidia GTX 460M Graphics with 1.5GB GDDR5"

 

LOL!

His budget is unreasonable for what he plans to do.

Getting one this summer.

 

Yes, I know. I wish him good luck finding one instead of recommending one

Good for you

 

budget upped to $600-$649

How about these?

Out of Stock but maybe I can find one in my country.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157547

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=Lenovo_Ideapad_z560-_-34-146-986-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=Lenovo_Ideapad_z560-_-34-146-985-_-Product

 

none of those will play modern games on decent settings, it might be helpful if we also knew what kind of games hes looking to mainly play?

 

Nope, the Graphic cards is unfortunately on the low-end side, not good enough for gaming.

Try harder

 

IMO, there is no such thing as good gaming notebook - in spite of what some notebook makers would have us believe. Gaming is just about the most demanding task we can ask of our computers. PCs cases, designed for easy access for cleaning support multiple fans but still struggle to keep a gaming machine cool.

Notebook cases are proprietary, do not offer easy access for cooling, and by their very nature, are not big enough to support the fans needed to provide adequate cooling.

 

as this has been discussed in a previous thread, this is just wrong, there are plenty of "good" gaming notebooks that can handle the latest games at highest settings. yes they have a premium price on them and yes they arent as "good" as their desktop equivalent, but there ARE good gaming notebooks that work perfectly fine.

 

Sorry, but you are incorrect. You cannot define, "good" gaming machine by game performance alone. We are talking "gaming machines". Not just any ol' game machine, but "good" ones - "above" average!

We have to look at the big picture. You can hammer a nail with a wrench, but that is not the right tool for the job, right? I have a good car with a big engine. I can pull my trailer with my car but the better tool is my truck, which was designed to pull (and stop!) towed trailers. My car can tow, but it is not a "good" towing machine.

Being able to run a game is not the sole criteria for a "good" gaming machine. A good gaming machine is more than just a decent CPU, good graphics, and lots of RAM. Can you play games on notebooks? Sure. But not the point. A "good" gaming machine is also designed to support the extreme power and cooling demands serious gaming places on our hardware, AND do so over extended periods of time - hours at a time, day in and day out. The very nature of notebooks (thin, lightweight, battery operated, compact design) is conducive to travel, portability, email and PowerPoint presentations. And they have no equal in that!

But as noted in my sig, heat is the bane of all electronics. Serious 3D animated gaming on any computer places extreme demands on the hardware resulting in lots of generated heat that MUST be quickly, and efficiently removed. Heat does not have to be excessive to cause damage. Extended periods of high temperatures stresses components, reduces stability, and most importantly, increases aging significantly.

That's just the facts as defined by Physics and Ohm's Law. Matter expands when it heats up. When conductors expand, they offer less resistance to electron flow. Less resistance (with a constant voltage) causes an increase in current. More current results in more friction (electrons bouncing off each other and conductor walls) resulting in more heat - and the cycle would continue to "thermal runaway" if the circuit designers did not build in regulation/protection. But regulation takes more control circuitry, and power to manage it.

Notebooks, as a category of computers, do not make "good" gaming machines because,

1. Heat management is an inherent challenge for notebooks under normal usage. Gaming is much more demanding. The CPU heatsink fan (HSF) size is very limited, and not upgradeable. While there may be a couple notebooks with large bottom case fans "marketed" as gaming machines...
2. Notebooks do not allow for adequate cleaning - necessary for proper cooling - essential for continued full speed gaming AND electronics longevity. Fans, even small ones, are excellent at sucking in heat trapping dust.
3. Notebooks were invented for and are designed to be lightweight for travel, yet capable of substituting for your "office production machine" when on the road. They are not "desktop replacements" any more than they are "game machines".
4. Notebooks have very limited upgrade capabilities. This means besides the HSF assembly,
   
   
   • If you want to upgrade your notebook's graphics (for better gaming) you probably can't.
   • If you want to add more RAM (for better gaming) you probably can't, or will have very limited options.
   • If you want to upgrade your CPU (for better gaming) you probably can't, or will have very limited options.

So once again, because notebooks do not allow for adequate cooling or proper interior cleaning by a "normal", and because upgrade options are extremely limited (and expensive) notebooks do NOT make good gaming machines. Can you play on them? Yes. But they are not the right tool for the job!

Ummm, right - that goes right along with what I've been saying. But also - there is no desktop equivalent! Two machines having equivalent CPU, RAM, and graphics does NOT mean they are equally good at all the same tasks! We cannot define "equivalent", in terms of defining a "good" gaming machine so narrowly for such a broad category. And exceptions don't make the rule.

There are many desktop cases that do not make for "good" game machines too! They may only support 80mm fans, or not enough fans. They may only support low-profile (thus low power) PSUs and expansion cards. Or not provide space for a larger, more efficient cooler. Or the user may not have configured the fans properly for good front-to-back flow through the case. Can you still game on it? Maybe. But is it a good "game machine"? No. Same for notebooks. Can you game on a notebook? Yes. Do they make good "game machines"? No. At least I have never seen a notebook with lots of cooling options and accessible internally for thorough cleaning by a normal user. And we know component upgrades are limited.

If you do use a notebook for gaming, and sometimes, notebooks are our only options, I highly recommend you use a Notebook Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply. Keep all vents, slots, ports, cavities clean of heat trapping dust, and have the internals professionally cleaned periodically - unless you are competent at, and properly tooled to fully disassemble/reassemble your notebook's proprietary case.

 

once uve actually used a high end gaming notebook u can see that they can cool themselves well enough. i have a decent notebook which can play FPS games, MMO's for hours on end and never have heat issues. my friend that has a much higher end model than me (17 inch, that is quite thick of a notebook) can more than handle the temps as well, it never gets rediculously hot and he is able to game for hours and never has to turn it off because of heat.

and wen u buy a gaming notebook that was designed for that task, they typically have customizability options. some do have replaceable video cards, they all have the ability to add RAM, and some let u replace the CPU as well.

you simply need to know where to look wen getting a gaming notebook. you seem to be thinking of the generic HP laptops, etc. dedicated gaming notebooks can handle themselves just fine because they are designed different on the inside. So yes they won't be as good as desktop because of size, but they are more than suited for the job of hardcore gaming. I think you need personal experience with these before judging them instead of just ur theoretical issues with the idea of a gaming notebook.

 

Just look at the cooling system build into G73SW. And, the temperatures it is running while playing games. Two dedicated fans, which take air from the front and release it at the back of the laptop. First laptop which uses this kind of cooling system. The temperatures are posted on the internet.

Back to Republic of Gaming : G73SW : Sandy Bridge

 

Back to Republic of Gaming : G73SW : Sandy Bridge

Temperatures:

System Noise:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-G73SW-Notebook.45917.0.html

 

I am not a hardcore gamer but I have worked on, tested and played with many high-end notebooks, including some marketed as "gaming notebooks". Most recently I got to play with an ASUS G73. Nice machine, but very heavy for a notebook of today. The game play was good. But it cost about $1700, considerably more than the OPs $650 budget limit.

And again, exceptions don't make the rule. The ASUS G73 is marketed as a game machine. Most notebooks do not allow for such upgrades. It is not a typical notebook but even still, the upgrade options for the G73 are very limited, and likely proprietary. That said, though it plays games well, it still has all the limitations inherent in notebooks that prevent notebooks, as a category, from being "good game machines" - that is a marketing gimmick! Do not fall for it.

I have also built many gaming rigs over the years, most in the $1,000 - $2,000 budget range. Play on a PC with lots of RAM, a monster graphics card, 22 - 24" monitor and a decent set of full size speakers is a vastly superior experience to a notebook with similar horsepower, but a tiny 17" screen and tinny 2-dimensional sound.

The ability to play games well does not make "a good game machine". Sure, you can buy a big external monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse, but that sort of defeats the purpose of the notebook, no? At least for those devices you paid for but are not using. Not an efficient use of money - if the goal is the get the best game machine for the money.

I have also built game machines with higher budget, and a couple with budgets $4,000 - $5,000. Play on a PC with two monster cards (or 3 cards!!! with 3-way SLI), big screen(s) and surround sound and that's an experience! No comparison to any Alienware or ASUS notebook I've used - even when attached to exterior monitors.

A PC with multiple large and quiet case fans can keep the interior cool, though they can cause the air filters to pick up a lot of dust. Being washable and simple to remove makes the chore of cleaning all that dust and dirt that was not sucked into the CPU heatsink almost a pleasing task to do. And the quick release to pop open the side makes cleaning the interior a snap - fortunately the filters minimize the frequency of that need.

The ASUS manual makes no mention of interior cleaning of all that dust that will be sucked in over the next few year or so - it just says over and over again, take it to an authorized service center. Interior cleaning is essential "preventative maintenance" for any computer, let alone one used for gaming. It is a relatively simple task in a PC, even for newbies. At the very least, a newbie can easily open the PC side panel and peek inside for a simple inspection to see if cleaning is necessary.

I am not saying you cannot get decent game play out of a notebook. You can. But you have to pay for it, a lot. You can also keep a notebook from going into thermal protection mode after months or years of heavy use - IF you have the skillset and experience to open the case and keep the interior properly cleaned. Without proper cleaning, over time, enough dust and dirt will be sucked and packed in to every crease and corner, including heatsinks and around every heat sensitive device. The problem is, and notebook makers know this, it is beyond the skillset and comfort zone of most notebook users, including gamers, to crack open a notebook case for proper cleaning.

Notebooks are great if you need to take your computer with you for school, work, or travel. Or if you need to lock your computer up when you leave it behind.

But if you are looking for "a gaming machine", don't look at a notebook. Look at a mid to full size tower or desktop case with an easy open side panel that supports multiple large (120mm or larger) fans, preferably with washable removable filters. Then pick and chose your motherboard, RAM, CPU, PSU, etc. that meet your needs and budget today - even if that means skimping back on horsepower now, with the anticipation of upgrading later when permits.

 

thank you guys for great response. I knew it is better to buy a desktop but my friend insists on buying a notebook because he will move out of the country soon.

we'll be raiding the shops tomorrow..
here are some specs that we think he can afford

CPU at least Intel Core I3/I5
Ram 2-4GB

GEforce GTS 360M
Geforce GTX 260M
Geforce GT 445M
NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800m
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 285m

 

Hi Bill,

Thank you for such an insight and teaching. Learned a lot.

Best regards my friend

KOR!