Looking for a decent gaming laptop, dont know if i trust the people in recommend me a laptop forum

Budget around 800-900. Want to play games like gta, dayz, skyrim, bf4 etc. I dont know a whole lot about laptops but i know i want a i7 and at least 8gb ram (upgrade able) and a decent graphics card. I travel a lot so dont say buy a desktop, i got it they offer better performance at a lower price, move on. Any questions and ill try and answer. Thanks

 

What Notebook Should I Buy? - A Laptop Buyers Guide <--- this place will help more.

 

I posted there too. I was hoping for the input of people who actually game with their laptops.

 

Most of those that answer there does game with their laptops, however it's always the price vs power that is the deciding factor.

I'd say I trust those guys there way way more than reviews on amazon or wherever else on the Internet.

 

Honestly this is the closest I can get to your specifications. Its got an i7, and an 860m, which means it will run any game at decent settings Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC

However its 988 bucks.

 

Expect to spend $1000-$1200 for a decently powerful gaming notebook with 860m, i7, SSD. Save up for a little while and you'll be happier. Plus with 900m series due out soon, you will get even faster GPU at similar price as 860m today. 970m and 980m are due out soon, but 960m likely due before end of year.

 

You usually do not go under $1000 while still being gaming-capable, so your finding is correct defengar. Anything less and he'll need to take performance hits somewhere.

 

Another question I have is how important would it be to upgrade from 8gb of ram to 16gb?

 

And HTWingnut you mentioned SSD, how important is that to have? I am rather new at this so excuse me for having a bunch of questions.

 

Imagine punching the gas on a Ford Fiesta or FA-18 Falcon fighter jet... That is difference between laptop hard drive and SSD.

 

Alright so on xotic pc, adding SSD and a OS is about $180. Youre telling me its worth that much?

 

How does not having a OS work? kinda thought you needed one.

 

SSD? Sure. Not having an OS means you'll get drivers & software on disc, and your machine would be wiped clean when you get it. It's not really a problem if you have your own OS ready to install.

Sager doesn't add bloatware to OS installs though. You usually get necessary drivers and the OS and nothing else, so buying an OS through them is not a hassle.

 

Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC

A bit over budget but how does that look as far as its price is?

 

Can't see that. Just list the CPU, GPU, Thermal paste, RAM, HDD setup, wifi card, OS (or not), any extras you chose and warranty listing. You don't need to copy/paste everything from the list.

 

sager np4658 (clevo w650sf)

Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4710MQ (2.5GHz - 3.5GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – SPU201)

8GB DDR3 1600MHz [1x8GB] Dual Channel Memory (SKU - RAM02S)

NVIDIA® GeForce™ GT 840M (2.0GB) GDDR3 PCI-Express DX11 w/ Optimus™ Technology

120GB Crucial M500 mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive ( Operating System – Drive C: )

750GB 7200RPM [SATA II - 16MB Cache] (SKU - HDD099)

LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Technical Support (Labor through XPC)

Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial

Stock OEM Thermal Compound

$1049

 

which after shipping and taxes its going to be closer to 1200. 400 overbudget. Theres gotta be a cheaper option right?

 

Cheaper option would be to get the ssd somewhere else, however that means you'd be installing it yourself (which isn't particularly hard but I wouldn't recommend it if you're uncomfortable with it)

It'll drop probably around 40usd.


You could also remove the ssd, get a better graphics card (860m), and get the ssd later on.

Gaming really relies more on gpu, while an 840m is ok for now, 2 years down the road it's gonna have a hard time keeping up.

I'd really suggest saving up a bit more and wait for the 900 series. Unless you really really need that laptop now and can live with the 840m

 

What is your definition of "playing" games? Is it any particular settings like low, mid, high, ultra? Is it any resolution in particular? Perhaps any framerate?

A combination of a Core i7 and decent graphics means already an investment of around 1k dlrs. Perhaps you can find a very good deal on an older laptop?

I suggest to raise your budget and get something midrange like an 860m. For example my Asus N550 which is my work laptop, its current model costs 1k dlrs or so and it packs a core i7, 8GB of RAM and an nvidia 850m. This combination of hardware is able to game comfortably, but not on high settings/high performing.

 

You know... I am fairly sure your exact setup with a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD (but lacking the SSD) but with a 860M is to be found on the W230SS, W355SSQ and W370SS... It should come out it just about the same price you listed there too. You could always source a SSD a bit later, but the performance bump with that chip would be great for gaming if that's what your aim is.

 

Look at the Sager NP7358 / Clevo W355SSQ. With same config it will cost $1179, but the 860m is well worth the $130 price difference.