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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 22nd Sep 2014 at 3:21 PM Last edited by AlexanderKitely : 22nd Sep 2014 at 7:18 PM. Reason: Forgot something
Gaming Laptops
Hi,

Couple questions. I'm looking into getting a gaming laptop which I would dedicate solely to video games. I have a general use laptop, but it can't handle all of the stuff I put it through. Sims is the only video game I play, but given that I have all the EPs and an addiction to CC, it's too much for most computers to handle. Getting a desktop would make no sense as far as my living situation goes, so I'm looking for a laptop.

1) What are the best gaming laptops out there, not keeping affordability in mind? I plan on saving up for one, so I might as well save up for the best I can find.

2) What are the best gaming laptops, keeping affordability in mind? Out of curiosity.

This the laptop that seems best out of my search thus far: http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/MSI-...o-Gaming-Laptop
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Field Researcher
#2 Old 22nd Sep 2014 at 6:21 PM
I have Sony Vaio to play the sims 3. The game runs fine on my laptop.

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One Minute Ninja'd
#3 Old 23rd Sep 2014 at 12:09 AM
ibuypower itself has a spotty reputation. Some folks have had good luck with them, others report problems with service. However, the laptop they're selling is from MSI, and that is regarded as a quality product. That particular laptop looks sweet for the money, but, and this of course is dependent where you are, Amazon is selling the same laptop for $1,299, although with only 12 GB RAM (I believe they claim 16 GB on the ibuypower site). http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE70-Apac...ords=msi+laptop

If you go this way, I would suggest that, down the road, if your budget won't allow it right now, go for an SSD upgrade kit for the laptop. It's a big payoff for performance, especially now the prices have come down, and are slightly more power friendly for a laptop, anyway.

You should also check out the whole MSI line before deciding, and then shopping it out for price. http://us.msi.com/product/nb/#?cate...category_no=271
Scholar
#4 Old 23rd Sep 2014 at 12:44 AM
I have an HP G7 Pavilion with an AMD A6 Processor, dual dedicated graphics cards (AMD 7670 and 7520), 6 GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and a 1Tb GB external HD. The laptop itself was about 750 dollars manufacturer refurbished. .I play all 4 Sims series on this laptop, as well as games like Skyrim, Wolfenstein New Order, Elder Scrolls Online, Borderlands 2, and Bioshock Infinite and it works great. My only issue is that my case has cracked which will eventually result in my needing a new laptop but I have had it for around 2 years already.


I would recommend looking for manufacturer refurbished because whatever upgrades the original buyer made to the machine when they traded it in or sold it.. . are kept by the manufacturer. I really lucked out on this laptop because if you look at the base HP Pavilion G7 it doesn't come with a very high speed processor, or a dedicated graphics card. Try websites like Tiger Direct or the manufacturers website themselves you can sometimes find better deals that way
Test Subject
Original Poster
#5 Old 23rd Sep 2014 at 3:37 AM
Those look good. I'll probably avoid ibuypower then. I've also heard really good things about alienware, not sure if anyone has any experience with those?
Mad Poster
#6 Old 23rd Sep 2014 at 5:20 AM
I think my laptop is something like this and it's worked out okay.

However, allow me to put you off my own suggestion! ASUS apparently has a really shitty as fuck reputation with its LetMeRepair warranty company. Put the wind up me when my fucking motherboard decided to commit suicide totally out of the blue and I did some Googling on the crusty old laptop that feels like it's going to explode simply from pressing the power button. But I digress. ASUS actually came through pretty well for me, and despite the motherboard hiccup, this laptop is pretty damn awesome.

TL;DR I shouldn't really give laptop advice.
Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 23rd Sep 2014 at 8:00 AM
I have an Alienware laptop that was a gift. It is sweet, but the battery lasts a ridiculously short time, with a 10 second warning before it dies. I think Alienware is very overpriced for what you get. If it was my dime I would try an Asus.

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Mad Poster
#8 Old 23rd Sep 2014 at 9:34 AM
I have a 4-5 year old Asus gaming laptop (which was intended for other purposes), and it runs the game fairly well. Max settings on everything but high-detail lots (set to minimum) and shadows (I like my shadows blurry, like in real life). Only the occasional hang, but usually when I was also on the internet with my 100 tabs open

However, I think that your experience may vary, as other people have been experiencing problems with Asus laptops. It also sucks up battery life, so expect to have it plugged in at all times.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 24th Sep 2014 at 8:24 PM
I ended up getting a used Alienware 18 off of Amazon. Is an external hard drive still a good idea?
One Minute Ninja'd
#10 Old 25th Sep 2014 at 12:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by AlexanderKitely
I ended up getting a used Alienware 18 off of Amazon. Is an external hard drive still a good idea?


It is for backup. Especially for a used gaming laptop. Those things get hot, and that shortens the electronics lifespan. Buying a used gaming laptop means there's a good chance whoever is selling it used it to heavily play games. Which means time to failure is likely shorter than expected. So frequent backups to an external drive would be a sound idea.
Theorist
#11 Old 25th Sep 2014 at 12:23 AM
I have a 4 year old Toshiba Satellite computer. I only have Sims 3 and 2 expansion packs and CC and it runs okay with some of the settings on high. It takes a long time to render colors (if that is the right term) and the textures get a bit weird. I was thinking if we had to get a new one, I might get the next version of the one we have and it would play better. Good luck-- I am watching this thread for suggestions as well.

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Test Subject
#12 Old 25th Sep 2014 at 1:15 AM
Since this thread is more active then mine I'd like some advice on this laptop. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER This is the one I was thinking about getting. What do you think?
One Minute Ninja'd
#13 Old 25th Sep 2014 at 4:19 AM
Quote: Originally posted by xChasingButterfliesx
Since this thread is more active then mine I'd like some advice on this laptop. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER This is the one I was thinking about getting. What do you think?


If possible, I might jump up one step in that line to the next model, which uses an i7-4700HQ chip. Even though it's clocked a bit lower at 2.4, it offers 4 cores vs. 2 on the i5, and a larger L3 cache. The performance might not be dramatically different on some benchmarks, but the 2 additional cores can come in handy, especially in other games or programs that will utilize all 4 cores more efficiently than TS3 really does. Either way, they are competent machines that should run things nicely for a laptop.
Test Subject
#14 Old 26th Sep 2014 at 12:07 AM
Quote: Originally posted by eskie227
If possible, I might jump up one step in that line to the next model, which uses an i7-4700HQ chip. Even though it's clocked a bit lower at 2.4, it offers 4 cores vs. 2 on the i5, and a larger L3 cache. The performance might not be dramatically different on some benchmarks, but the 2 additional cores can come in handy, especially in other games or programs that will utilize all 4 cores more efficiently than TS3 really does. Either way, they are competent machines that should run things nicely for a laptop.


I went with the i5 model. I'm not much of a gamer outside of Sims so I should be fine right? It's set to arrive by Saturday! I'm really excited about it.
One Minute Ninja'd
#15 Old 26th Sep 2014 at 11:50 AM
Quote: Originally posted by xChasingButterfliesx
I went with the i5 model. I'm not much of a gamer outside of Sims so I should be fine right? It's set to arrive by Saturday! I'm really excited about it.


I guess we'll know by Sunday if you'll be fine.

Yes, it should run quite well. Enjoy it. And do report back your experience, as it's helpful for the community to get feedback on what hardware works well.
Test Subject
#16 Old 26th Sep 2014 at 3:15 PM
Quote: Originally posted by eskie227
I guess we'll know by Sunday if you'll be fine.

Yes, it should run quite well. Enjoy it. And do report back your experience, as it's helpful for the community to get feedback on what hardware works well.


Yuup, I guess we will. I wish there was a nervous grin emoticon! And I will, whenever I emerge from Simworld!
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