help choosing gaming laptop

Hi,

Please help me choose a good gaming laptop as a surprise for my son. He mentioned Alienware, but I have read some less than good things about them.

I don't understand all the jargon, but I know he wants a computer that is fast, and I want one that isn't the most expensive. Please offer some suggestions, thanks!!

Cris

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by crisinaz

 

hi,

if you give some more specifics like your budget, and possible other uses, we can help u better, there are a ton of gaming machines out there, with different specs and prices.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by crisinaz

 

Thanks for the responses. I would really like to stay under $1,000 if at all possible, but will sacrifice in other areas if I need to, in order to get him a faster computer.

 

thats gonna be a tough bill to fill fella. 1000 bucks is a good price for any "respectable" laptop designed for some special purpose like gaming, or any 3D work for that matter. the HP ZD8000 or Compaq X6000 (same computer on the inside) might not be a bad deal. You can go to costco.com and configure one up just to look at the price. BestBuy also configures them in the store, i think they might be slightly cheaper (prices fluctuate weekly), but Costco seems to have the best return policy out there: 6 months in store returns.

I just configured a ZD8000 on costco's site with the best video card (X600 w/256MB), a 3.0GHz P4 and 1gig of ram. since it comes with DDR2 (fastest ram out there i believe) you could maybe drop down to 1 512 stick (saves $125) and add another later if need be.

People seem to think the Dell 9300 is a good one also, and with the $750 off online coupon, you might be able to get down to a similar price of the ZD8000. just my 2cents for what they're worth...[^]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by maddog

 

If you're willing to go to $1250, I would suggest the following using the Dell $750 off 1999 coupon:

Dell 9300
WXGA+
Pentium M 740 1.73
XP Home
512MB ram
80Gb HD
DVD/CDRW combo drive
256Mb GeForce Go6800 (this is a MUST if he is a big gamer)
6 cell battery

Comes to $1946 before coupon. Play around with the options to get it over 1999 for the $750 off to work. Depending on if you or your son would be able to swap the ram from other sources (it's easy), you may want to pay a premium and get 1Gb now. The 60Gb 7200rpm drive might be a good upgrade if you want to guarantee a non-4200rpm drive. But most of the time they send 80Gb 5400. Also, you might want the athome warranty upgrade.

Let us know what you decide!

 

Unfortunately if you are buying it for a big gamer, under $1000 is not going to be possible. There are no laptop with a decent graphics card that are under $1k.

The $1300 Dell Inspiron 9300 is by FAR the best deal out there. It has one of the fastest laptop graphics card on the market, you really can't beat it at that price. I'd hop on over to the Dell forumn to check out more about the model...

cheers,

yass

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by crisinaz

 

Wow, thanks everyone!! I am going with the Dell 9300 as outlined above. Really appreciate the advice.

Regards,
Christina

 

BTW, how old is your son anyways? In the teens?

 

I don't see the 1999 coupon. Is it still available??

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by enamelqueen

 

Hi there,

My son is 11, but he is a high-functioning autistic child, so I try to indulge his love for video games, technology, etc.