NYT: The New Breed of Gaming Laptops Get Serious 312
securitas writes "The New York Times' Seth Schiesel writes about hardcore gamers and the growing trend toward high-performance gaming laptops. Traditional enterprise computer manufacturers like Dell and HP are entering the gaming markets dominated by VoodooPC and Alienware, with the specialty high-end PC makers going the other way and breaking into corporate markets. There are some accompanying graphics and quotes from hardcore gamers about the Alienware Area 51m, Dell Inspiron XPS, and VoodooPC Envy m:750."
eMachines too... (Score:5, Informative)
However, let me tell you...my m6805 laptop is wonderful.
AMD Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz)
512DDR2700 (can upgrade to max of 2x1GB, one of which voids warranty, buried in case)
60GB 4200RPM (Probably upgrade to faster HD soon, this is the only downside)
ATI Radeon 9600 Mobile 64MB (9600 standard, same speeds, only 64MB)
15.4" Widescreen
DVD/CD-RW
10/100 LAN
802.11b/g
This thing works just as well as my desktop almost, except for load times. That's got an Athlon 2800+ with 512MB and a 9600XT. Halo I just have to turn down like one more setting on the laptop.
I'm honestly contemplating selling my desktop and upgrading my laptop more, it's that powerful.
Plus, the warranty is great. Battery died two days ago (don't know why, totally failed) I called it in shortly after that, and they overnighted it for free to me. So 24 hour turnaround on battery replacement.
Recommend (Score:5, Informative)
But for those that need me to come by and install a USB mouse for them I suggest, Alienware, hell yea it cost more... but worth every penny if you can't/won't/don't want to build your own rig...
That VoodooPC Envy m:750... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:They need to be easily upgradeable. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I don't know... (Score:5, Informative)
Low Brightness? Not a problem, unless I'm outside with the sun in my face or on the screen.
Low color quality? Good enough for me, I can't see the difference in my games versus a CRT, I've ditched the CRTs altogether, but then again, I'm not addicted to having 350,203,234,234^10 colors either. (Yes, I'm exaggerating)
We seriously game on our laptops because they're mobile, powerful and capable. Sure, we have slightly longer load times, but mine (eMachines 6805) gets ~3 hours normally, 1-1 1/2 gaming. And that's with a Desktop Replacement designed laptop.
Re:heavy and thick (Score:3, Informative)
Less than an inch thick, some come with 64MB VRam, most have battery life of 4 hours + (higher end with better batteries are 9 hr +).
Re:Pentium IV in a laptop. What a brilliant idea. (Score:2, Informative)
Sometimes you don't have a choice (Score:4, Informative)
It seems like a dirty cost-cutting measure, but there is one large advantage. My largest CS lab had 8 people in it. This meant the TA was able to provide individual assistance easily. My Microprocessors lab was a different story. To perform well you needed an oscilloscope. Scopes were limited, so the lab sections had about 25-30 students per section. I was often in the lab for 45 minutes before the TA could get around to checking my prelab so I could start on the lab itself. (Often the prelab involved a circuit you would tear apart during the lab, so working ahead was out of the question).
Anyway, I haven't been able to play the newer games for a year or so now. I even have problems with older games like Quake III. Due to the financial strains of the university and the internships I'm doing, a new desktop is a luxury I cannot afford. I would have loved the choice of a performance laptop when I was looking for one.
Plus, a laptop is sometimes more convenient. In the small kitchen of our dorm, four of my friends had a small LAN party at one table using their laptops and a switch. This would not have been possible with their desktops, as they would have had no room. Playing from the rooms was unacceptable; the network seemed designed to thwart gaming. So there are a few reasons people want to game from a laptop. Some people do not have the luxury of a desktop AND a laptop, and must use a laptop for both work and play.
Re:Monster laptop (Score:2, Informative)
Something small to game on- why not a Shuttle SFF? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:For Alienwares, do your research (Score:1, Informative)
Re:LAN parties (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Why game on a PC and not a console? (Score:2, Informative)
The following is the explanation of laptops. (Score:3, Informative)
In fact, that alienware laptop wasn't Sager's. It was Clevo's. Clevo is the name of a laptop manufacturer, probably the biggest one there is. Dell, HP, Compaq, IBM*, Sager, Alienware, Voodoo, and others all buy from clevo, stick in ram, a hard drive, and a logo and then sell for profit. Sager's model was cheaper than AW's because it was not as well known
Apple and IBM* are the only major companies who make their own laptops. Period.
*Some thinkpads are made by IBM and some are made by Clevo. Depends on the model.
Save *big* money, try a Sager instead. (Score:3, Informative)
http://pctorque.com/8790.php
kicks the pants off of any Alienware notebook and costs several hundreds (if not a thousand) less.
Though the gpu is not upgradeable, at least you have the option of not paying the Microsoft tax if you want to use one of the Linux Flavors.