Media's Guide to buying computers
#1
Never ever trust a store salesman.
#2
Laptops are not a "Gaming Platform" (People will argue that you can. But Seriously unless purpose built. Laptops ARE NOT.)
#3
Always ask your techie buddies before you go out and buy a PC.
#4
NEVER buy a gaming computer from a store. They are usually Stocked up and are often Old technology. Not to mention alot of them are what I call "DeCon" or Decontented. (AKA limited upgradability)
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Post up some specs. If I were you i'd return it and say it isnt what you expected.
Buy a Tower if you want a good gamer, Decent Gaming can be done on some laptops, but they are usually pretty pricey.
Most laptops use "Shared" Memory, which decreases performance substantially if you have say 512MB of Ram.
Another downfall to laptop gaming is that the processors are either power hogs or power savers. If you wanna game, your gonna choose a power hog, but you dont want to because then your battery life suffers when your in school.
Its a Balancing act.
Another downfall, HEAT. Laptops require constant ventilation when gaming, and often times many manufactures build their laptops with tight tolerances NOT intended for gaming, Depending on your laptop, it might overheat or get TOO hot (which in the long run, wears out your Batteries and wears out capacitors.
And the final reason why i dont recommend gaming on a laptop, Upgradability and Hardware issues.
Upgrading a laptop is trying to overclock a toaster. Its pointless and stupid. The motherboard has limited upgradability, and oftentimes, you dont even know what it supports because the manufacture wont tell you.
The only thing that can be done typically is RAM upgrades and Hard disc upgrades. Upgrading your Graphics card requires you to purchase special "Mobile" graphics cards, and many PC manufactures have proprietary designs. CPU upgrades can be performed to an extent, but at that point, its time for a new laptop.
Take it from me. My first "Gamer" was a Laptop... and it was miserable. I got a desktop and the issues went away. (until newer games came out where i had to upgrade)
Now that I'm done with that rant.
Heres to say good luck.
Never trust most salesman.
Many of them DO NOT know what they are talking about, and will just sell you a model based on price rather than specifications. There are however the few that do know, and will give useful advice.
Again, I'm gonna need some system specs to help you out.
