Which laptop to buy for gaming?

ren3gade

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Feb 22, 2012
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I am looking to get a laptop soon that will be used for mainly gaming and some school work too.

I do not want to go over $1600.00

I am looking at MSI Gaming laptops at the moment.
http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=378
http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=375
http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=373

I am not wanting to buy something until I know I get the best choice for my money. Meaning I want something that will play games such as Garry's Mod, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Elder Scrolls Online, ect. ect. and I want long battery life, reliability, and the best brand possible. Something that will last me a long time and not cause me problems.

Thank you for the help!
 

Fulgurant

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Nov 29, 2012
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I don't mean to be flippant, but what's wrong with the rig in your signature? Do you really feel you need gaming capability on the go if you're still in school?

Personally, and based on my experience with gaming laptops in the past, I think you're almost always better off with a solid desktop and a cheap laptop for portable productivity.
 

ren3gade

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Feb 22, 2012
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I totally agree with you, I do. But I need a laptop for when I will be traveling back and forth from my apartment and to home and especially for long holidays when I stay at home. I do not want to be carrying my desktop back and forth all of the time :/
 

Fulgurant

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Nov 29, 2012
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Understood. The only reason I asked is that I fear any gaming laptop will disappoint you. You mentioned that you want "long battery life, reliability," and "the best choice for [your] money."

The first two items on that list are virtually unheard of among desktop-replacement and/or high-end gaming laptops. You might find a gaming-capable machine that'll give you decent battery life while you're web surfing -- and that may be enough for you -- but it's worth noting that heavy gaming and battery life aren't compatible. Likewise, the beefier the hardware crammed into a laptop chassis, the greater the heat, and thus the more heat stress. That's not a recipe for reliability.

Nor is a laptop upgradeable in any meaningful way. And of course we all know that portable hardware is far more expensive than comparably performing desktop hardware.

All of that said, if you really want to do the laptop -- if you understand the downsides, if all you want is a nominally portable web-browser type machine that can also be plugged in at home for some gaming action -- then more power to you. The following sites are excellent resources if you're interested in doing further research:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Buyer-s-Guide-Top-Notebooks-of-March-2013.92200.0.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/

As for the MSI models you've picked out, they all look pretty good, off the top of my head. The only bit of detail I can think to offer here is that the GTX 675m is roughly equivalent to an HD 5850, according to my trusty source for such comparisons, whereas the GTX 670mx is a little worse, closer to a desktop HD 6790. Both are nearly top-of-the-line in the mobile GPU space, obviously -- and so I'd expect that both can run most any current game at high settings -- but I think it's instructive to understand mobile hardware in terms of its desktop analogues; desktop-hardware reviews, after all, are much much easier to find on the internet.

It's not entirely clear to me what else is different between the two 17" models you've listed, but there must be something because they cost the same amount of money, despite the (small) difference between graphics' cards. It's also mildly interesting to me that the 15" model is only 0.5 lbs lighter than its larger cousins.

If it were me? I'd buy a second desktop for your apartment. Sorry for rambling; good luck to you.