Well, I'm going into uni in the next few months, so I figure I need to get myself a new laptop. Previously I've always had desktop PCs so I've never needed to look into laptops until now, so I don't know what brands are reliable and so on. Now, I'm going to be using it for gaming quite a lot, so preferably no Macs (/flameshield) as well as possibly some very light graphical artwork and also for actual work (word processing, presentations, the usual). I'm not expecting it to be an absolutely top-of-the-line, run-Crysis-2-completely-maxed-out type of rig, but at least something that runs current games on medium-ish graphics will be fine. So, any suggestions to set me on the right path?
Buying a gaming laptop, especially a cheap one, will likely be the worst financial decision you will make in your life. Especially for your first year at college, holy cow. If I had a nickel for every time I saw someone post "OK I'm looking for the SICKEST gaming laptop for my first year at school" I'd have enough money for a sick gaming laptop.
Build a budget desktop PC with a decent video card that you can upgrade easily for gaming and buy the cheapest lightest laptop with the longest battery life you can find. Refurbished MacBooks are great, but you don't want a Mac so I'm not sure what to recommend since the trend in PC laptops lately have been underpowered netbooks and overpowered massive monstrosities with few good choices in between.
Well preferably I'd like just the laptop, since I'll be visiting home for rather long periods of time, and I'd REALLY rather not lug a desktop around in a bag on the train. The whole laptop thing has worked fine for my brother for the last 4 years he's been at uni, so I figure it'd be the same for me.
No, you'd leave your desktop there. You can keep your files in sync with something like Dropbox. The issue you're going to have with a laptop capable of running games is that you're going to be wandering around school with lots of heavy stuff already between books and other junk. You'll quickly come to hate your 10 pound laptop that gets 30 minutes of battery life when you realize for (likely) less than you paid for your laptop you could have bought a more capable desktop for gaming and actually have a laptop that's designed to be portable and last most of the day without charging.
Well since I said I'd be away from uni for length periods of time, I'd prefer to be able to have a gaming laptop to play at home.
I'm with Hodapp on this one, it's not at all easy finding the "perfect" gaming laptop, if it even exists. It's either mediocre with a cheap feel and terrible battery life, or it's insanely expensive but still no better than a PC of half the price. Unless of course you set your gaming sights a bit lower... if you wanted to run old C&C games and a few emulators you can pretty much take your pick.
Agreed with hodapp. But anyways, if I was ever to buy a PC laptop, MX11 will be the one of the top contenders. http://www.alienware.com/Landings/m11x.aspx
Hm, genuine question: is £300 regarded as too expensive for the requirements I stated in the first post?
I don't think so, but I might be a bit out of the loop. I bought my laptop about 6 years ago now for £1100, then my MacBook this year for £700. Neither of which play many games these days so I'd consider anything under that cheap enough.
That's the price of my brother's laptop (around £300), which isn't exactly a supercomputer, but runs current games on medium at least. So I'm sure there must be a middle ground somewhere, it's just a case for looking for it.
I made you a Venn diagram......this is how it is.......the two things your looking for are rarly found in one laptop
Macs can't play many games... If you don't want to build a PC, which I would suggest, and want to get a laptop you could get an Asus or Acer. Those are both good brands. Above all, DON'T get Alienware. It's basically cheap hardware packaged in a cool looking case, then sold for ridiculous prices.
