Buying new laptop for work and gaming. Need your advice!

What's up everyone. A couple months ago I was all set to buy a Dell and then I decided to wait a couple months until Windows 7 released because I thought there was a chance prices would go down and there would be some deals.

Well there was an article on cnn.com saying all of the computer manufacturers were planning big deals on and after Oct 22 for Windows 7's launch, so it seems I made the right choice.

I still don't know as much as I'd like to though, which brings me here. Someone provided me with the following helpful link.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html

My questions are...

- Is this a good list?
- Which video card on this ranked list is the minimum I'd need to get to be able to play new games at decent settings?

Ideally, I want to be able to play games like Mass Effect 1/2, L4D2, Splinter Cell... Basically all the 360 games that are also on PC (I have a PS3). I don't have delusions of running Crysis on high settings.

My price point is about $1000 - I can go up to $1200 if absolutely necessary. I'd like to be able to get a 1080p screen, a blu-ray drive, and a fast enough processor/video card to run and stream 1080p video with no frame drops.

If anyone actually is looking at laptops too, I would love to get recommendations for specific make/models. I need a laptop that looks professional (for work) so I can't get an Asus gaming laptop or an Alienware laptop.

Thanks a lot!

 

Minimum I would go for those games (and for future games) would be the 230M/3850. You should definitely be able to hit your budget.. for example, the Dell Studio 15 at the $899 price comes with a 4570. The HP dv6t with the i7 720qm comes with a 230M.

 

You're going to be hard pressed to find something for $1000-$1200 with the 1080p screen, BR, powerful CPU, and a decent gaming CPU.

For $1000 or so you can usually find a notebook PC with a 1366x768, or 1600x900 (if you're lucky) resolution, 2.0 to 2.2GHz CPU, and a GTX 260m or HD 4650 GPU.

You might want to post in the "What Notebook Should I Buy" forum here at NBR. I guarantee the folks here will find you a decent compromise.

Closest I can find is this Sony for $1250.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117933

Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz
16.4" 1920x1080 LCD
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 with 1024MB RAM
500GB HDD
6GB DDR2 RAM
BD Combo (Blu-Ray read, DVD/CD write)

Or check out a Dell XPS 16. They are over $1200 configured how you like, but you can frequently find decent discounts. Even check out the Dell Outlet Store for refurbished ones at a decent discount.

 

Cool thanks guys. I didn't know there was such a thread, but I'll post there too.

If I have to compromise on the screen's resolution that's fine. A good amount of the time I'm planning to run the video via HDMI to my 1080p tv so as long as it outputs 1080p, I don't care if it isn't quite that resolution on the laptop screen.

Not sure if it works like that though.

 

Most new laptops(especially the ones with gaming GPUs) have an HDMI port and can output 1080p video just fine regardless of the laptop's screen resolution.

 

that list on notebook check is good, the benchmarks arent though. i run my games on a hd 2600 and all games run good on medium settings (except wolfenstien for some reason - i get a good framerate but the game tweaks out) modern days though i would not go lower than a 4650 for a nice midrange gpu.

 

Yeah, output through an external can run at any resolution regardless of laptop screen resolution.

If you can compromise the screen resolution that opens up a bunch of options. Sager, Dell Vostro, and Lenovo Thinkpad or Ideapad come to mind if you want it to look professional. They might be a little more expensive but also have that professional finished look. I'll see what I can find when I get a chance.