6 Questions About Gaming Laptops

To preface this thread i would like to point out that i won't be buying anything for at least 11months(college computer). I understand this may make my question difficult but please keep that in mind for your advice.

answer any or all that you feel you can, any input is much appreciated.

1st: Do Alienware computers function well with GW?

2nd: What do you anticipate the graphics card requirement to be for GW2, running the game at a mid-high graphics level?

3rd: How big of a deal is the material that the laptop's case is made out of?(i have never owned a laptop, and don't need it breaking :P)

4th: Obviously memory is an absolute must. But would going with a non-top-of-the-line processor degrade my experience?

5th: If you own an Alienware laptop now, what is the battery life when not using it for gaming? The website talks about 'stealth mode' but what does that increase the battery life to?

6th: I know that a large problem with Alienware is the price tag, i'm willing to spend a good deal but not if there is something that can match these computers in hardware and reliability. Your personal suggestion?

Thanks for your advice,
Siris

Honestly, a Laptop might be handy and portable but you would get many more years out of a desktop system even if it's still from alienware.

The m15x (alienware) should do well for almost every game. get the standard mobile i7 that it comes with but add a bit of ram and upgrade the videocard to the GTX 260m, upgrade the ram to 4gigs of 1333 and get the HD screen and youve got yourself an incredibly good laptop for two grand. Since the m15x is actually portable, not like the 17 gaming laptops , it doesnt include SLI graphics so for games that have intense graphics (mainly just crysis) you may have to lower the resolution a little bit. Ive read reviews cause im thinking of buying this machine myself and i always go to a review that has the framerates and everything of games at certain settings depending on what model. So yeah you really cant beat the 2,049USD configuration of the Alienware m15x which is just the normal laptop but upgrading the videocard to the 260M, upgrading ram to 4gig at 1333hz and upgrading to the HD screen if you care about resolution. Not upgrading the screen and leaving it at the 1600x900 default will actually make games run better cause its a lower resolution and it will still look just as nice. Hope that helped you.

BTW if you end up going with the Alienware M17x which is a powerhouse, it weighs alot and isnt very portable so id get the m15x

1st: Do Alienware computers function well with GW?

- Most laptops/desktops today will work well with GW as most will meet or exceed the recommended requirements with no problems. Get a decent graphics card and a couple GB RAM and you'll be fine

2nd: What do you anticipate the graphics card requirement to be for GW2, running the game at a mid-high graphics level?

- No specs have yet been released so it's hard to speculate. Get the best computer you can afford. Look at the specs for modern games today and compare for an idea, but until the specs are out, no point in speculating

3rd: How big of a deal is the material that the laptop's case is made out of?(i have never owned a laptop, and don't need it breaking :P)

- As long as it's soft and has something to prevent your casing from being scratched should be fine. Any bag specifically designed for laptops from leading luggage manufacturers or in computer shops would meet your needs, confirm the size you'll need yourself, but really it's your preference.

4th: Obviously memory is an absolute must. But would going with a non-top-of-the-line processor degrade my experience?

- When it comes to processors, it really depends on what you can afford at the time. For example, usually the processors in mid to high end machines are pretty fast. These days the more cores it has the better, but alot of the performance is down to other factors as well, including the motherboard, hard drive read/write/transfer speeds, amount and speed of memory. The more you can afford the better for you. It's all about what you can afford, just don't sell yourself short.

5th: If you own an Alienware laptop now, what is the battery life when not using it for gaming? The website talks about 'stealth mode' but what does that increase the battery life to?

- battery life is going to be reduced from normal operation significantly when using your system for games as it will require faster processing and data transfer throughout the system for longer periods. When gaming, bring a power supply where possible.

6th: I know that a large problem with Alienware is the price tag, i'm willing to spend a good deal but not if there is something that can match these computers in hardware and reliability. Your personal suggestion?

- Vadim computers used to be fairly comparable, but if you shop around you're sure to find something you like. Alienware is owned by Dell for the last few years and they have the competing XPS line of gaming hardware but there's plenty of smaller manufacturers out there.

For GW2, if you want to play it at resolutions of 1680x1050 with some additional settings turned on (Anti-Alias, etc.) I would recommend a laptop with at least Nvidia Geforce GTX 260M/280M or ATi Radeon Mobility 4850/4870 GPUs. Even these GPUs may not be able to handle the persistence world with a lot of people on screen at once from looking at GW2 trailer and graphics detail. Might have to tone down the display resolution just to get playable frame rates with some medium to high graphics setting on.

CPU and GPU almost go hand and hand together. If you have a super graphics card paired with an avg CPU then you'll get performance bottleneck with games. For laptops I would be looking at 2.5GHz CPU and up. And I wouldn't bother with Quad Core and just focus on a fast Dual Core with minimum of 4GB worth of DDR2/3 memory.

I've actually been looking into buying a new gaming and all purpose laptop myself recently. The Sager NP8662 seems to win in all areas and based on buyer reviews. It's 15.4" and decent screen resolution and GTX 260M 1GB GPU.

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8662-...wconfigure=yes

ibuypower.com and cyberpowerinc.com also have a similar 15.4" laptop using the same Clevo motherboard with onboard "3D" audio/sound card and HDMI out port. It looks good too, not overly fancy. With the Sager model you can get all the latest BIOS, drivers and customer support through them otherwise you can get the latest drivers from Clevo's website I believe. I think Clevo already has Windows 7 drivers available for the motherboard model should you want to pay extra for the upgrade or get it free (mail-in-rebate offer). All these websites offer some kind of 3-5% and military discount so just look carefully when customizing to your need.

I don't own Alienware products and am unsure how often they provide software (BIOS, firmware, drivers, etc.) support update. I do own a Dell laptop and I wouldn't recommend Dell for gaming laptops as they do not provide GPU driver update often if ever. With some brands you can go directly to Nvidia or ATi to get the latest laptop GPU drivers without fear or incompatibility issues.

When looking for laptop the first thing I'd research on is if the laptop you are interested in has motherboard chipset, audio/sound card, and GPU drivers for Windows Vista or 7 (future proof) from manufacturer or the manufacturer allows for direct driver updates from the parts manufacturers (Nvidia, AMD/ATi, Intel, Asus, Clevo, etc.). Again, some manufacturers use customize or propriety software (drivers, firmware, etc.) and don't allow for updates from 3rd party which in the long run is terrible for the buyer. I think this is a way of preventing future proof even though possible (fast CPU, GPU, etc.).

Think of the size you want then go from there by component comparisons and price. Personally, anything bigger than 15.4" even 15.6" screens are too big to be considered portable due to space needed. 15.6 is about 1" longer than 15.4" width wise when I visually compared two Asus models at a local Best Buy. Good luck.

Get an extended warranty!!!

Eventually one of the fans will die and this could destroy the whole system, so if you don't have a good warranty that's basically it for your little laptop

I personally think AlienWare are overpriced for what you get, take a look around other brands and see if you can pick up the same thing for cheaper, or something better for the same price. I find it's a bit like some food brands, same food, but you pay an extra $1 for the prestige label.

In terms of battery power, high spec laptops generally don't fair to well, even when put onto low power settings. I can ease around 2/3 hours of battery out of mine with performance set to low and screen dimmed. But you certainly don't want to try gaming for over an hour battery.

My guess at GW2 recommended specs:
2Ghz Dual Core
1GB Ram (2 on vista)
256MB video card

Basically current new release game specs, MMO's need to run lower specs so worse PCs can still play them to keep the player base up. GW's current engine also provides amazing graphics for what little it requires, and GW2 will likely be the same.

AlienWare is usualy a bit overprised, I can play gw maxed out on my laptop (2ghz dual core and 9600m gt gpu) for gw2 nobody knows but I think and hope :d it'll be something like subarucar said

You say that you are planning to buy about 11 months from now. That is long time as far as the computer business is concerned. By then there will be new models with new cpus, new RAM, new gpus, new, new, new. Alienware (or any company) may not even exist by then. But:

1st: Alienware computers function as well with GW as any other brand. There is nothing special about them as far as hardware/software is concerned, relative to similar models from other brands. (There may be differences relative to build quality and aesthetics, but that doesn't affect gameplay.)

2nd: I anticipate that the graphics requirements for mid-high performance would be a mid-high performance gpu. Since you are not planning to buy for almost a full year, there is no point in discussing any specific gpu now - they'll all be different by then.

3rd: Laptops are designed to withstand a certain amount of abuse. The cases are usually made from metal and/or some sort of dense rugged plastic. They are not delicate machines that you need to be particularly careful with. Of course, cheap, low cost, machines would be less rugged, but Alienware ain't cheap.

4th: The performance of games these days is more dependent upon the power of the gpu than the cpu. You can always get away with less than a top-o-the-line cpu.

5th: Again, since you are talking about 11 months from now, battery life is subject to change. Best would be to read reviews of specific models at the time of purchase.

6th: There are many quality brands out there. There are also many brands that build a broad range of laptops from cheap stuff to high-end quality units. You could even buy a iBook and install Windows on it. Basically, stick with a known brand and read reviews.

I concur with Quaker on every point..... it's not really possible to discuss specifics or best configuration etc. if you aren't going to buy for a year. Read up on gaming laptops as your time to buy gets closer and you will be able to make an educated decision.

2 other thoughts:

Alienware is a good brand, but pricey - consider CyberPower, Sager, or even some of the higher prices ASUS models.
Get a 17" or bigger - gaming on a 15" sucks - it's terrible.... and anyone that can't carry 7-8 lb laptop (a 17") on their shoulder is a total wimp. I carried one half way around the world (literally) multiple times and it didn't hurt me one bit either.

Before you set on your mind on something consider this:
-Alienware overcharges you for looks and they heat like the earth's inner layers.

I highly recommend CyberPower, its much cheaper and they still look just as sick (plus you usually get free games).