Problems with Gaming on a Laptop

I want to get a gaming laptop for college (don't worry, it's not one of those threads), but whenever I ask for advice/input, all I hear is how I should be getting a desktop instead.

So tell me, which fears about laptop gaming are founded, and which aren't? From overheating to lack of 'power' to just being bad, what do people buying new gaming laptops actually have to worry about?

 

The only thing you have to be aware of, is that a gaming laptop will give you less performance than what you could get on a desktop for the same price.

Any gaming laptop, Asus G series, MSI G series, Alienware, Clevo, etc. that was designed with gaming in mind won't overheat or suffer from lack of power (there's a reason the power adapters for those are enormous) if it is properly maintained.

My advice is that if you don't need to move the computer around for gaming, get a desktop + a netbook. If you go to lans often, have to transport the computer with you often to game on it (read going back home every weekend etc.) then a gaming laptop may very well be worth the trade off in performance for portability.

 

In most cases, an overheating laptop means some sort of defective part or improper assembly so if at all possible, try to give yourself some time between buying the laptop and starting the semester if this will be your only PC. That way you can check it out to make sure it's working as it should or return it for repairs/replacement/refund. As far as lack of power or being bad, it'll depend on the games you want to play and your budget for the laptop.

 

Honestly, what you guys are talking about is what I'm thinking too. That's why I'm often surprised/confused when people trash gaming laptops, especially when it comes from people I think know what they're talking about. Are any of their concerns founded though? In a proper, well-maintained laptop?

Just fyi, my budget is around $2000, and 'bang for buck' isn't really my concern. Any good links on how to maintain a laptop then?

 

The only real reason not to buy one is the price.

The total cost will be cheaper to build a more powerful gaming desktop ($600-800) and buy a separate non-gaming laptop ($400-450).

If you need a gaming laptop for portability, I would recommend the following criteria:

• display resolution at least 1600x900 or ideally 1920x1080 (lower than 1600x900 you are missing out on the visual experience for recent games IMO)
• graphics card at least 1GB NVIDIA 460m, 555m, AMD 5830m or better
• if you can afford it go for Sandy Bridge quad core
• 6GB RAM
• if you really have a higher budget, go with SSD to reduce loading times

EDIT: just saw your budget is $2000 - you can afford a top of the line gaming notebook - check out the Sagers with NVIDIA 485m or 6970m, 1080p display and SSD.

 

a few years ago a top of the line gaming laptop would cost 4000usd plus. nowadays you can get a top of the line gaming rig for 2000usd. with that being said, you could get an equally powered desktop for less than 800usd, and that would be considered just above mid-range (desktop).
the biggest issues of gaming laptops are price, performance and upgradeability. with regards to price, your budget will be enough to get the most powerful single gpu laptops around. you have to understand however that these are not equivalent to performance/gaming desktops.
your last concern should be upgradeability. desktops are fairly straightforward to upgrade. and while upgrading ram and hdd's in laptops are usually doable, only few laptop models have user upgradeable cpu's and gpu's.
if your are ok with those 3 major limitations and if you value mobility and portability, then a gaming laptop is definitely for you.
with regards to overheating, there have been models that have heat issues due to flawed thermal design. however there are also many laptops that have excellent cooling and are specifically made for gaming. just remember that they will also have temps higher than desktops.
just do a little research to determine what gaming laptop suits your budget, needs, and preferences. since i own one, i recommend a sager.
good luck.

 

Quite a lot of gaming laptops are actually very upgradable. Usually the only thing that can't be changed is the PGU, but the top tier gaming GPU's are quite often only released on MXM. If it's a custom rig then the chances are even higher that you have MXM.

 

Read reviews on notebookcheck.net and stay away from laptops that have components that reach 90c or more. I personally would not use a laptop if the components exceed 80c. It goes without saying that you should clean out your fans regardless of using a laptop or desktop.

 

If you don't mind the mass of a 17" laptop, you can get specced Alienware M17x for ~$2,000 (Base price ~$1,500). The M17x is very nice and, if maintained properly, won't over heat. The M17x is also semi-upgradable (HDD, ram, graphics card).

 

Honestly at your price range why not get both? For your budget you can build a desktop that will run circles around any gaming laptop and also pick up a smaller laptop like an Alienware m11x or Envy 14, etc.

 

if my budget was as high as 2000 i would NEVER spend that on a gaming laptop. Like the guy above said. BUY BOTH if you need a laptop.

A top of the line gaming rig wont cost you more than 800-1000 dollars if you shop at newegg and buy the right stuff. I built my brother a gaming system for 800 flat that can take any game in existence.

The other 1000 can go to any laptop you want. And best part it wont be limited by games so you can look for battery life etc...


Or ... you can buy a "gaming" laptop for 2000. Hot. huge. and low battery life. Its not like its portable anyway so whats the point? Also when new video cards come out and desktop users upgrade what are you going to do? sell your 2000 laptop for half its price because of depreciation, and spend 2000 again for another gaming laptop? tech moves too quick, price may not be an issue now but it will be eventually. your wallet wont keep up.

Btw ive been gaming on laptops for the past 3-4 years. just talking from experience. Save your money.


IF you can find a laptop that is relatively cheap and can still play games on medium settings... nothing wrong with that. But its pointless to spend 2k. The Acer 3830TG has 540M. Good gaming performance will run most games on medium. $750. Something like that maybe. But if gaming is your TOP priority and you must have 60FPS and above on ultra settings i suggest u forget laptops.

 

Not that i have anything against laptops but i'm hoping to never have to buy a "jack of all trades" laptop in the future. Since I'm a student i need it for everything including gaming.
Once i graduate I'm sticking to desktops for gaming purposes and just have a non gaming cheapo laptop if i ever need it.

 

I dont know what graduation has to do with laptops and gaming. The situation in the future will be the same as it is now.

If the budget is as high as 2000, there is no point to get a gaming laptop. If you do that you get:

1. Heavy laptop that is more of a desktop replacement anyway. Been there done that. 15 or 17 inch brick on your back is not easy to lug around campus. It will be lots of fun to hang with friends when your backpack weighs a ton... Which is why it will never leave your desk.
1.5 Its not easy to use in class. Its bulky and looks nerdy as hell. No one will be bringing these to class and you will look like a fool with it. No convenience factor at all.
2.Battery wont last for jack.
3. The gaming laptop will suck at gaming. You arent going to game full HD will all settings cranked up (including AA, etc), because even most DESKTOP cards have trouble with it.

Here is 1 "upgrade" you can buy for your desktop. Crossfire 6850s. 280$.

AMD Radeon HD 6850 CrossFire Review - Page 8/25 | techPowerUp

Look at the FPS in games from these 2 cards. Now show me what upgrade you can buy for that amount for a laptop that will even come close. Here is a hint: it doesnt exist.

To sum up a long rant a gaming laptop: Wont be good at gaming, wont be portable, wont have good battery life, and will spend most of your time on your desk anyway.

If you have a desktop and a laptop you get the best of both worlds... for the same price mind you.



EDIT: What i mean that it wont be "good" at gaming is that it wont be the best or great. I guess you can say it will be good. But it wont be what a desktop can do. And its really going to sting when new games come out and you are going to be turning down settings on a "gaming" machine just to keep up. especially since u paid 2k for it.

 

spend around $1200 on a decent desktop + monitior and the rest on a decent laptop. Try to buy on sale.

I was able to pick up a A660-3DV for less than $1000 when it was on sale(orginal price was $1800).

A very decent gaming desktop + 24inch monitior should not cost u more than $1200 if you shop around (I got mine for less than that).

Gaming laptop is heavy, drain battery life, and doesn't look that nice. If you want impress you classmate with your laptop get a Lenovo business class laptop or a MacBookPro. My co-worker was able to get a Lenovo that's on sale for $1200 (normally cost over $2000 but he got an older model but still look nice!).

 

There's always a place for gaming laptops, especially amongst those who travel often and don't have the space or long-term property security to deploy a desktop. Of course the desktop is superior to all laptops available for gaming with the correct hardware specifications, the flip side is the inability to take the monitor, tower casing, hard drive and everything else onto a plane for 12-hour plus flights.

We pay good money for gaming portability, even if it depreciates quickly.

 

it makes me chuckle how many people have computing spec laptops and have huge hangups about it.

The last couple of days a lot of people are advising against buying or getting a laptop for gaming.

 

I've been playing games in a desktop since 1998, and I realized after buying an ASUS G73SW, ...that I'll never play in a desktop ever again. Desktop is so boring. You're stucked in one place, cables everywhere, a mess of wires. Though I still have my gaming desktop, I've lost interest playing in it. Portability and a clean setup has changed my gaming experience.

What ever the most demanding games today, a gaming laptop could play. The Witcher 2, I've finished it on my G73SW on stock GPU clock, at 1920x1080p on a glossy 17.3" HD screen medium-ish setting. Though medium-ish, the 1080p resolution makes it so vividly clear and detailed.

There are SLI and X-fire laptop these days, those things could play anything. There's something about portability and gaming that really lifts me up. Able to play anywhere in your house (or outside in the patio for others), in your bed without all those cables..

Try telling those guys with 485M and 6970M (even single GPU) if they wasted their money with their laptops. Even those single GPU laptops could play anything. How much more the SLI and X-fire laptops.

Only Witcher 2 made me OC'ed my laptop for curiousity and got decent fps like 30+ to 50 at 1080p. Other games I don't even need to OC and have fps galore in ultra high/very high settings 4x, 8x AA.. plus I could play anywhere I feel like.

 

Buy an AMD Llano notebook with a discrete GPU and have plenty left over to also buy a gaming desktop as well.

I'm sure that'll get me accused of pushing fanboyism, but it's going to be the most cost effective way to get both mobile gaming and high performance gaming....though just not at the same time.

 

I wonder when people will start to realise that not everything concerning value or worth is directly related to how much something costs and you don't have to be constantly on the move to prefer having a gaming laptop.

 

I simply don't have the space in my house to accommodate both a laptop and gaming desktop. The spare bedroom where I would normally keep them is where my first born is going to be. The new space is far smaller, with just enough room for a small desk that will house the laptop, keyboard, mouse, and printer. That's it.

 

As a college student myself, I can say that I am glad I have my Gaming laptop now, but I can also see good reason to go the 2 rig route. So just think about what you are going to do with your computer (Gaming on the go? or are you mainly using your laptop for taking notes?), and find a good compromise. Some people just don't have the space for a desktop, so a large laptop suits them. It's all up to what you plan on doing on it.

 

I would simply go for a mid range solution as phineagle said, I have been without a desktop for quite some 7 years, and havent looked back, I can play decently on my current laptop (4670m), and its fairly light for a 16'' (weights about 2.5kg, my older lenovo was a 14'' with a weight of 3.1kg)

So get a mid range laptop, that is portable and capable, I would simply say grab the vaio SA, it has more power than my current notebook, with it being significantly smaller, and a significant better battery life, the acer 3830tg would be a good choice if it werent for the throttling issues.

Simply for me uni is 13'' or 14'' never something above it, I should know this since I have graduated in International Relation, Economy, and Im going for my third in CS.

 

it is cheaper of course to build a gaming desktop + buy non-gaming laptop.

However, sometimes you really need a laptop for portability.

And although there are some behemoth gaming laptops out there, they are still more portable than desktops.

Also these days there are quite a few laptops with video cards that can handle gaming on high settings at 1080p or 900p without looking like an oversized alien spacecraft, with pricing between $1200 - 1600.

 

I don't need another laptop, and I don't 'need' the other $1000. Money is not the concern. Neither is battery life, cause it is going to be on my desk all the time. I just don't want to deal with moving to a new city, moving in and out of dorms, etc. with a desktop/monitor/speakers/keyboard to worry about.

Heat is a concern I have, but people here are contradicting you and telling me that it isn't a problem. Low battery life isn't a problem, because it's only going to sit on my desk.

Thank you for your input.

 

I'm not taking it around campus. Honestly, all I am concerned about is if it can play games on 'high' settings, and if it will 'die' on me overheating/battery issues/stuff going aidfha;sdf. Thanks.

 

If you buy a decent gaming laptop like the NP8150 or the NP8170, heat will not be a concern at all. My laptop (in sig) idles at 40C and my GPU maxed out at 80C after playing GTA IV for hours. With older less demanding titles, for example Hitman Blood Money, my GPU never goes beyond 70C. If I wanted to have even lower temps I could always set my fans on maximum which would have dropped it by around 10C but I prefer the quiet.

Regarding battery life, even though you say it is not a concern, I get around 2-3 hours with standard use which allows me to watch movies away from the power source if I chose. Some people select a Dual Core at a lower wattage to increase battery time even more.

Many who say gaming laptops have poor thermal performance have simply gone for the wrong brand. Some gaming laptops have terrible cooling design with underclocked GPU's yet they still manage to overheat. I owned a laptop that had a GPU which was at least 60% less powerful than my GTX485M yet it idled around 20C higher and maxed out at higher temps too.

 

Get a Radeon HD 6970m. Top of the line single GPU at the moment along side the GTX 485m, except $200-$250 cheaper. No worries of it overheating in the Clevo / Sager models.

To be honest I would have loved to have a nice desktop replacement laptop in college because I always lugged my Amiga 500 back and forth between college and home (ok, I'm dating myself, that was like 15 years ago), but still, would have made my life so much easier.

If you have the room and don't need the portability, then build a desktop. You can even build a small form factor PC. I just built a Shuttle SH67H3 the size of a four-slice toaster with an i5-2400 and eVGA GTX 460. It doesn't really have any CPU overclock options, but not really necessary anyhow.

 

Are there any brands I should be avoiding then?

 

Buy whatever brand you want.

If you want highend laptop gaming, you'll need a ATI 6970m or nvidia GTX 485m OR a SLI/Crossfire card (mainly SAGER or Alienware).

Good luck

P.S. - just occurred to me, we can now say: "a desktop is a poor mans laptop".

 

Only when top of the line laptop graphics can meet or exceed top of the line desktop graphics.

Another thing to consider would be warranty service. As far as gaming laptops go I believe Dellienware is the only one who offers home service. I've heard some horror stories about Asus RMA which ultimately lead me to going with desktop/laptop combo instead of a G73 or G53. Being without your computer at college for a long period of time would be pretty painful, since you would have to resort to using the computer labs or other public facilities. Also no gaming while your computer is being repaired.

 

Dell, HP, Toshiba (see my sig), Lenovo offer On-Site warranty coverage; which is the best way to go!!!

Alienware + On-Site would be a good combo.

 

@ alexmuw

Those laptop brands you mentioned, other than Alienware are unlikely to have adequate cooling for gaming.

 

10char

 

I'm actually thinking about a small desktop now (wrong forum then, I guess). This is what I wrote:

"Hey guys, I'm looking to build a small gaming desktop for college, and this is what I'm looking at so far http://originpc.com/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=697 (the customize button is on the left).

At first, I was trying to decide between getting a gaming laptop and a full-tower desktop, but too many people criticized the former for me to be comfortable, and a normal desktop simply doesn't provide me the portability I need. Within this thread, please refrain from advising me to get a laptop or bigger desktop. Thanks!

While I am sure about some components, there are still many uncertainties that I have. Frankly, I'm not that good with the technical stuff, despite loving the benefits of it. With a $2000 budget, I want to buy a powerful gaming computer, but not waste money on items that are 'overkill'.

Here's what I'm (relatively) sure about:
- Silverstone SG07 case
- Noiseblocker Mutl High-Performance Ultra Silent Fans
- ASUS P8H61-I B3 stepping (USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s,) {can't change with this case}
- SG07 600 watt PSU {can't change with this case}
- 8X Slot Load CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) {don't think I'll need blu-ray in college}
- 8-channel High Definition Surround Sound Support

You can see that I left out the processor, graphics card, ram, and cooling.

Honestly, I don't know how 'good' is overkill with these things.

How do I balance the processor and graphics card in the optimal way, without going over my budget?

Will 8GB ram even be used? Why is one so much more expensive than the other?

Should I get "High - Performance Air Cooling?" I've heard a lot of bad things about liquid cooling...

I'd appreciate it if you guys could help answer some of those questions. Feel free to "build your own pc" and tell me the specs you chose too. Just make sure that you do pick the Silverstone SG07 case.

Thank you so much!"

 

It is not a fear but rather the fact that you are paying a huge premium if you want a 'gaming laptop' when compared to a PC counterpart that can have at least in the GPU department a double performance for the same price.

Like already stated, here and in many other threads: if you plan to game on a single location (home, your appartment, gf house, don't know ) then getting a PC is better as performance per buck goes.

Hope it helps

 

There is are places for gaming in laptops, but those places are specific and each of us should weight whether it suits our needs or not.

Not everyone has the income to continuously replace their laptops in order to keep up playing games at high resolutions.... or even play at all. Such is my case: I bought an Asus with the 5730m GPU on Q1 last year (a very good mid-range mobile GPU at that time). To my dismay I learned a couple of months ago that I couldn't play at all TW2 in my laptop... and that I'd be lucky if I could get with lowest.... That was unacceptable for me and made me realize I can't be spending cash every 1.5 years for something half decent, so I turned for a gaming PC which costed me to assemble less than my 1-year old laptop and is waaaay more powerful.

To sum it up: I'm not against advicing gaming in laptops, just that each buyer should get an idea of what he is getting into and should decide if they really need such mobility (which was indeed my case a couple of years back).

Just my 2 cents

 

You're better set if you ask to the experts in Desktop Reviews - PC Reviews and Desktop Computer Buying Guide

My humble advice, giving your budget, is to get the best cpu/gpu, that way you are future-proofed. That'd be the i7-2600 or i7-2600K and a 580 GTX or Radeon 6990. I have 8 gigs of ram. Maybe they are not used (a lot) nowadays but if you can find a good deal go for it (like I found).

Hope it helps

 

I have owned SFF PC's over the years and Shuttle used to be my SFF PC of choice. But Silverstone have great products too. Own an SG01, but was about to get an SG05 instead of my SH67H3 Shuttle. I may return my Shuttle because of its limitations and go with the Silverstone.

 

I probably built my desktop and bought my laptop for under $2000. I have to run newer titles on medium (and future titles probably on low) when I'm using the laptop but that doesn't really bother me, if I want to max stuff out I have the desktop for that, and lower settings don't matter when I just want to play something and I'm not home (or lazy and sitting on the couch, etc). I would never buy a gaming laptop in the $1,000+ range (I got mine on sale for ~$600), though, because at that point it's just diminishing returns and a lack of ability to upgrade without spending a similar amount of money.

 

One thing to remember is while these are gaming 'laptops' they aren't all that mobile. They are heavy and they have poor battery life. That being said, I love my alienware laptop but I rarely move it from my coffee table.

In the end it's your choice, get what YOU want and need.

 

My 15.6" is portable enough for my use and gets about 3 hours just browsing the web.

 

With the latest Sandy Bridge laptops, the machines with 460m/560m are getting approx 3 hrs battery life, which is excellent IMHO. The M18x even has a switchable graphics option and can get 5 hours I believe on battery. But the M18x isn't something I'd want sitting on my lap, lol.

 

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