Gaming/College Laptop

Moski91

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1. What is your budget?
About $1500 is my limit.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Probably 14-15.6 im prolly going to connect it to other displays when i go to my buddy's house.
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Not picky. Whatever looks good.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Portable.

5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 4hrs of non gaming. (college)

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Wow,Sc2,Lol,Masseffect 3, New counter strike coming out and Diablo 3

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Word processing.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
eh.....Perhaps 500gb? maybe less and ill get an external drive.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Dell or any website i can apply for credit so i can pay it up that way i can go a little more up in the budget maybe 1700
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3-4years.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVDROM
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Asus, Msi, Alienware open to other options
I know Alienware you pay more for the name etc but i like that they can fiance the laptop and you dont have to pay it all upfront.
13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I would like a laptop that can play the games listed above is not to heavy i can still carry around at school and fit on my desk to type notes but also be able to play when connected to a 22 inch display via hdmi if i ever want to play at a buddy house. I would rather want a website i can fiance so i can buy a better laptop. I have been looking everywhere but i need your help.
In a nutshell: Good battery, portability, reliability, and gaming. :D
I hope this can help people find their ideal notebook.
 
Solution
Neither of those games has been released yet. It's not really fair to ask anyone else to guess for you.

If playing on HIGH is that important to you and you want to be sure? You'll need to wait till the games are released and tested on that type of hardware you're looking at.

Or maybe find a Skyrim or D3 game forum and check with the people there. Let them make an educated guess for you.

Moski91

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Okay i see so lets just say dvi you know anything that will let me play it on a 22 inch not so 1080p i just want lets say DVI and I want a laptop that could maybe i could use for 4 hours just word processor for notes and gaming i will always have it plugged it so that doesn't really matter its not like im going to game in the middle of class lol. So Honestly I heard that Memory on the Gpu like 1.5 vs 3.0 gig only matters if your going to connect multiple displays on the computer. Is that true and what do i got to look at i saw the alienware m14x i like the size but it comes with standard 555m which im not sure if it can play Diablo 3 or the games i listed above on ultra .
Thanks for the info and for your guys timley replys ! Im still looking for a laptop lets say maybe 1600-1700 if i can do payments on it.

Thanks, Mo
 

jjb8675309

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as a grad student myself I actually just bought a dell d630 off ebay for 120 dollars, no student has a need for a 1500 dollar laptop save your money and get a used laptop for basic school use... otherwise build a cheap desktop for gaming a gaming laptop makes no sense for a poor college student imo
 

Moski91

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My uncle said he will buy the computer on his credit to make it easier for me to pay it off so about 1300 and i want to play Diablo 3 on somewhat high and the games listed above on ultra would a 555 or 560 be able to do that
 

Moski91

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I see and those are the graphics cards in my price range hmmmmmmmmm. So does anyone have a 14x or asus g74 Msi? and what games can they play on ultra. Thanks so much guys for the help. Just a little bit more digging
 

jjb8675309

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build a cheap gaming desktop and get a low end laptop for school you are not going to need a high end gaming laptop, absurd.. especially if you are begging your uncle for it that is a waste. the desktop and basic laptop combo will run you about half the price....

man with your tastes I hope you are not going for something like a communications degree... In all reality, get real kid, you gotta make the money before you spend it and that comes from a grad student who has been in school forever it seems...
 

Moski91

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Very funny I have a gaming desktop okay i cant talk it to college im going to live to a dorm its to heavy. Second I do photo shop for a job and i advertise i do custom work etc. So that is why I will need a good computer. I have saved up enough money for the laptop to buy it right now i just dont fell like using it all right now. Besides this is a investment since i make money from my business that i advertise. So before you go into speculation please understand and ask before you start talking :) Thanks.
 
To be fair to jjb8675309 he is giving you excellent advice.
Your gaming requirement is pretty stiff - ultra settings, something which laptops aren't the best choice. And your budget is enough to cover both competing requirements - powerful gaming and portable note-taking.
This is an especially good option if you want the best chance to play 2012/2013/2014 games on ultra settings.
A small form factor PC (LanBox type system) and a small, light, long battery-life notebook is a good match for dorm living.
The LanBox is a much better option for doing heavy grunt work in Photoshop and it's ability to use a high-end graphics card, and upgrade the graphics card is a much better match to top-end gaming.

Look over TechReports back-to-school system guide:
The Dorm PC and The Dorm PC's mobile sidekick.




 

Moski91

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I know well i guess i did emphasis on ultra and gaming. I know i just wont have the time for gaming i just wanted to keep doing work and im used to my desktop so i don't want it to be able to affect the performance since ive never owned a laptop anything over 1000. So i don't know a high laptop is like or what it can do. Let me restate my need I'm thankful for all your input and help. I do really like the m14x since its so small but i know alien-ware you really pay for the name is there anything around that size that i could take around almost anywhere and still give me good photo shop power and be able to game every once in a while. I just love the size on it but i know i could buy a better machine with the same price. Thanks so much for your help i did int think this forum was so awesome. So many people just want to help you out :)
 

jjb8675309

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have fun kid, firstly there is no money in advertising unless you are working for a very large firm, which I doubt you are if you are in college, lol and photoshop is not that demanding, you said you do not have the money and that you uncle will lend it to you, so you did not save up you are full of yit, whatever you need to justify it; I get it you wanna waste money on a toy and you are trying your best to justify it by any means but your means are very limited if you are a college student this is an absolutely horrible idea, pay off your loans first then worry about a 1500 dollar laptop, just dumb.

You gotta make that money before you spend it your mentality and expectations are all off...
 

Moski91

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Firstly, I don't have any loans to pay off ever heard of a full ride. I'm not here for your ******* life advice and don't jump into conclusions that im poor. Just because you had to work your ass off and still paying off your debt is not my problem. All i asked was simple question and people are trying to give me advice I think im old enough to know what to do. This is not a budget forum and financing this is a computer form i asked a simple question so please let it be pertained to the question or don't type at all. Thank you for everyone who is being optimistic and sharing good insight.
 

Moski91

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I see so do you think lets say for instance the m14x i like it because its small do you think at 1600 : 900 that it could run diablo 3 and skyrim on high. Those are my most games im wanting to play

But you could then upgrade to a little more and get the m17x with a 6870 but i have a gaming desktop at hom so i just wanted something portable that can play some games. like mainly skyrim and diablo 3