$500-$700 Laptop for Modest Gaming

[runo]

Hey guys!

So about a billion years ago I made a thread about laptops and gaming, but I figured I should make another one so I can ask some updated questions. I was hoping you guys could help me out in picking a good laptop that'll play some of my favorite games when I can't access my desktop or I'm at work/school.

Here's what I'm looking for out of the laptop:
1. Price: It has to be between $500 to at or under $700 between now and October (I'm ordering it early October 2012). The lower the price the better. A sale is good, but if it's naturally bada** then I'll take it. If it's REALLY bada**I can pay a little over-budget, but not by much.
2. Performance: It's literally just for instant messaging/email, music and gaming. In order of importance, gaming is my number one important item in that little hierarchy. :>
3. Build quality: I really don't want it to die on me in a year or less. A quality battery, cables, screen and internal components mean a lot to me. I'm sure this is a given but I haven't looked at a laptop in like three years, so at least a couple USB 2.0 ports so I can plug in a mouse and analog jacks for my headset would be amazing.

Things I don't really care about:
1. Weight: Portability is nice, but I'd rather carry around a twenty-pound brick if it performs well since a lot of its life is going to be spent plugged into a surge protector in my house or at work.
2. Battery life. As long as we're not talking like, 2-3 hours unplugged, I don't mind if it's not notoriously long-living when it's not sucking the electricity out of my house. It's mostly going to be used as a second computer and for when I'm out travelling, idling at my desk job (it's allowed, it's okay!) or at college.
3. Screen size: Nothing under like, ~12" preferably but I don't care if it's between 12" - 13.7" all the way through 17.6" or whathaveyou.

Games I intend to play:
I'd like to run at least a few of the following at medium/medium-high or better settings, if at all possible, in order of preference..
#1 Guild Wars 2 (this is really important. Being able to reliably run GW2 would be great)
#2 Borderlands 2
#3 HAWKEN
#4 MechWarrior Online
#5 Dead Space 3
#6 Tribes Ascend
#7 Counter-Strike: GO

If there's any more information I can add, let me know. Is a laptop of such quality even anywhere near possible?

Here is a small list of laptops I was eyeing:
A. lenovo IdeaPad Y480 (I'm hesistant due to the total lack of reviews on NewEgg, but some online reviewers are claiming it's pretty boss.)
B. Acer Aspire TimelineU Ultrabook
C. lenovo G780
Thanks in advance,
-Runo

 

[skyrocket586]

Not sure if I posted on your previous thread but I have a Lenovo thinkpad E520 and it does mighty fine at pretty much anything you throw at it. Price is good (in NZ, below 800 here so should be easily under 700 US), performance is great and the build quality is really solid. 15.6 inch screen is not massive but good enough. I did upgrade the ram to 8gb but that is a cheap upgrade and well worth wile.
I get a good 50-60 fps on most games which is plenty fine for me.
Hope that helps!

 

[Cyprias]

The G780 has a 630M which is slightly slower than the 640MLE in the other two.
The Aspire's CPU is clocked slower than the other two.

The lenovo IdeaPad Y480 looks the best.

This says you'll get about 55FPS on low settings in GW2.

 

[pickles]

The G780 has a 630M which is slightly slower than the 640MLE in the other two.
The Aspire's CPU is clocked slower than the other two.

The lenovo IdeaPad Y480 looks the best.

This says you'll get about 55FPS on low settings in GW2.

+1 for the Y480/Y580.

 

[Adam]

May be out of your price range, but Asus makes GREAT gaming laptops.

Also, on the Ultrabooks, you're paying more just because it's an "ultrabook" which is silly.

If you are just looking at them hardware wise, the Core i5s are great mid-range gaming processors. Honestly, i7s are over-rated and unless you're doing higher level computing, you don't actually NEED an i7.

 

[mobomelter]

May be out of your price range, but Asus makes GREAT gaming laptops.

Also, on the Ultrabooks, you're paying more just because it's an "ultrabook" which is silly.

If you are just looking at them hardware wise, the Core i5s are great mid-range gaming processors. Honestly, i7s are over-rated and unless you're doing higher level computing, you don't actually NEED an i7.

Finally someone who doesn't just blindly recommend getting the i7's regardless of what you're using it for.

OP, Check out http://www.reddit.com/r/suggestalaptop

They are usually pretty helpful.

 

[Snipeye]

Going to be honest. The games you're looking to play for that price of a laptop; look at just medium to medium high settings at best. I can tell you that I own a Lenovo Ideapad Y560. It's pretty good for the games I want to play on it, but because of it's small screen, FPS games or games where there's a lot of information to be displayed and absorbved, becomes very difficult. So I do not recommend the Y480. If the screen isn't at least 15 inches, I wouldn't understand how a person can put so much eye strain to actually try and play FPS games on a small screen.

Not sure about some of the requirements or things you put in for what you're looking for beyond the price. Gaming is primary concern, but you don't want the laptop to die in 2-3 hours on its battery alone.. Uh.... Those two things DO NOT WORK TOGETHER. Either you don't play games and get long battery life, or you play games and get crappy battery life. The only way to avoid a crappy battery life for a laptop is to not game on it while you're using its battery alone. You can get Optimus, or have the laptop be built out with low-wattage using parts to try and extend the life as long as possible, but then we're hitting other categories and considerations that may be beyond what you were looking for. FYI, Optimus in quick terms, is a switch to turn your laptop's graphics card on and off. On, it's using its full gaming abilities. Off, you're stuck using the built-in crappy mobo graphics, which is enough for word processing, web browsing, listening to music, and solitaire (the one reliable game regardless of time).

You will care about screen size. Gaming on a itty bitty lil screen on a laptop versus the nice, huge monitor you're desktop has is as different as night and day. 15 inch monitor is the minimum recommendation I can give for a FPS gaming laptop. Bigger is better, but then it becomes unrealistic price wise. 15.6" laptop is the sweet spot to me.

Here's my recommendation:
Find good laptops with positive ratings that gamers say can play the games you want to play. Research those laptops, and narrow your pick, ideally to the brand and model. Shop around for them, but here's the caveat: I'd recommend buying straight from the manufacturer.

Yes, from the manufacturer, because here's the trick: Shop around for discounts, rebates, and other codes you can use to apply to your purchase. When I purchased my Y560 about two years ago, I paid only about $750 with (roughly guessing) $480 in discounts (Had a $280 discount code and they were on sale for another $200, and the two stacked). So I really got a $1200 laptop for just $750. And all I did was find the model I liked, what parts I wanted, and looked all over the place for any sizable promo codes to use with the sale. Sometimes the codes won't stack, other times they will (depends on the code and the sale).

P.S. Don't bother with Ultrabooks. They're super-thin. Okay, fine. If you're only going to carry the laptop around for gaming purposes and homework from time to time, why pay extra money for a style? Yes, I know it's thinner and therefore it weighs less, but unless you're a frequent business traveler, I don't see any reason for a person to buy an Ultrabook unless they travel or move around a lot.

 

[killer4000]

I think the cheapest gaming laptop you can find that is new and can run most games will be up $1400-$2000 (base price, not really looking around deeply for discounts and deals.) which is the same as a rig. I would recommend just sticking with a desktop if you wanna game. Specially if you wanna play Dead space 3, Borderlands 2, and really anything new. You are going to have to spend a lot on a laptop for gaming.

 

[skyrocket586]

I think the cheapest gaming laptop you can find that is new and can run most games will be up $1400-$2000 (base price, not really looking around deeply for discounts and deals.) which is the same as a rig. I would recommend just sticking with a desktop if you wanna game. Specially if you wanna play Dead space 3, Borderlands 2, and really anything new. You are going to have to spend a lot on a laptop for gaming.

Not sure I entirely agree. If you want to play them on full settings then yes, that'l be a fair bit but for one that can pass just fine on medium settings then $700 is easy to sit under. The Y480 could certainly play, although not maxed out, games like those you mentioned.

And from experience, being a laptop gamer myself, 15.6in is really as small as you can go comfortably. Even that is relatively small . . .

 

[runo]

So I've spent a fair amount of time mulling over how much I actually want to spend and when I'm making the purchase and it looks like I'm going to save up a little more to put more money towards both my desktop upgrades and my laptop purchase so I don't end up with mediocre rigs.

At this point I'm waiting until late November/early December to make the laptop purchase as a Christmas gift (BRB, high-fiving my future self) and I decided to make the leap from the Y480 to
the Y580 in its stead, which I am actually not ordering through NewEgg since Snipeye and some others' suggestions made me a believer in internet coupons for laptops since I managed to get a $1200+ laptop down to $850, shipped.




I'm really not sold on Ultrabooks -- they seem to be a gimmick if anything, quite frankly -- and from what reviews I've read and what user experience I hear of the Y580, it's really more up my alley for the games I want to play and the usages I have in mind for it. I'm only hesitant because of the resolution and screen type, but as it is it blows my current (prior to impending upgrades) desktop away so I think I'll be happy with my purchases.

The only things I need now are a quality laptop cooler and a mouse. I'm pretty sure I know what mouse I'm getting, so can anyone give me a recommendation or two for a good laptop cooler for a 15.6" laptop? It doesn't have to actually be 15.6" -- bigger is fine -- and I don't really care about price as long as it's not like, $60+. Even then, if it's worth the price, I'll buy it.

 

[DJ Wolf]

Don't know if you are willing to pay over 800 but, This is the laptop I got.
Asus A53SV-TH71

Brand: ASUS
Model: A53SV-TH71

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
CPU Type: Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.2GHz
Screen: 15.6"
Memory Size: 4GB DDR3
Hard Disk: 640GB
Optical Drive: DVD?R/RW
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Geforce GT 540M
Video Memory: 1GB
Communication: Gigabit LAN and WLAN
Dimensions: 15.12" x 10.12" x 1.4"
Weight: 5.72 lbs.

CPU Type: Intel Core i7
CPU Speed: 2670QM(2.20GHz)
CPU Support: 6MB L3 Cache
Max Turbo Frequency: 3.1 GHz

Screen Size: 15.6"
Wide Screen Support: Yes
Resolution: 1366 x 768

GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
Video Memory: Dedicated 1GB
Graphic Type: Dedicated Card
(Also Has Intel Graphics. It will automatically run programs with high demands on th NVIDIA card, and Low demand programs on the Intel card, so as to minimize power usage. You can also specify programs to run on the NVIDIA GPU by default.)

HDD: 640GB
HDD RPM: 5400rpm

Memory: 4GB
Memory Speed: DDR3 1333
Max Memory Supported: 8GB

LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN: 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN

USB: 2 x USB 2.0/1 x USB 3.0
Video Port: 1 x VGA
HDMI: 1 x HDMI
Audio Ports: 1 x Microphone jack; 1 x Headphone jack

Card Reader: Secure Digital (SD)/Memory Stick PRO/MultiMediaCard (MMC)/Memory Stick (MS)/SDHC (SD 2.0)
Webcam: 0.3MP

Battery: 6-cell lithium ion

Dimensions: 15.12" x 10.12" x 1.4"
Weight: 5.72 lbs.


I Bought it for $870 but I cant find that price anymore.
It has been Great for me. The battery life when playing TF2 is around 3 hours (Low Settings, maybe 1 1/2 on High).
I use this for everything, since I don't have a working desktop. It has Power4Gear so you can set performance specifications for different preferences; plus a keyboard shortcut to switch between those preferences.
The Speed is Great, I have only had minor problems with this, mostly just faulty hard drive, Which ASUS replaced in a week.

 

[skyrocket586]

I got myself a CM storm SF-19. Pretty nice. cools very well 2 140mm fans i think. build in USB hub, adjustable fan speed and of course, the best bit is the lights that change colour! it is rather noisy at full speed which is a bit of a downside...

 

[runo]

@skyrocket: I was looking at a couple units from CM and one of the ones I was eyeing is the [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-Configurable-R9-NBC-8PCK-GP/dp/B003ZMF27G]NotePal U3.[/ame]

It seems to have fairly solid reviews from users and professionals both, and while it's a bit bigger than the 15.6" chassis of the Y580, I really like the idea of three fans and a larger 'platform' for the laptop. Of course, this is coming from someone who has no real idea what to look for in a laptop cooler, but it SEEMS good...
EDIT: On second thought, that SF-19 looks amazing. I might have to pick that up in the stead of the U3.

@DJ Wolf: Very nice laptop! I still think I'm gonna stick to the Y580; I was able to get that down to $850 and the specs on it are mindblowing, but I'll have to look into that ASUS you mentioned too.

 

[skyrocket586]

haha, well the U3 doesn't look to bad, possibly a little on the flimsy side. worth noting that the fans are 80 mm compared to 140 mm. Just means that they have to spin faster (even more noise!) to move as much air as a 140 mm. The SF-19 can hold up to a 19" laptop (flip, just noticed the 19 in the name . . . derp) which is just massive really so no lack of large platform there. Apart from that its just personal preference really.

EDIT: Just noticed that the fans on the U3 are exposed at the back. not sure if that's really a problem but again, just something worth noting. (SF-19 is mesh covered top and bottom with little rubber foot thingy's that let the air get under)