Recommendations for a gaming laptop

[Misuzu]

This is in response to my previous topic: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=106321.0

My family has decided to get a gaming laptop. We're willing to spend up to $1,000 or less on it. Unfortunately, we're all not very knowledgeable about computer specs and technical things, so we need some assistance in picking out a good laptop. We've been recommended some laptops, as you can see below. They all sound promising, but I thought I should get the opinion of fellow Avast members before we buy anything.

The main game we're buying the laptop for is The Sims 3 (I posted specs below for it) and all of it's add-ons (Expansion packs and stuff packs). The Sims 3 isn't supposed to be very demanding, despite that, my current laptop has been crashing to desktop and lagging horribly after installing an expansion pack. However, in general, we just want a good gaming laptop that can play most games without hardly any graphical, flickering or crashing problems etc...

Another thing that is important is that it doesn't overheat quickly. I hear gaming laptops do that frequently. Lastly, almost everyone we've talked to said that the most important thing that a gaming laptop should have is a "dedicated graphics card". Is this the GPU or a specific type of GPU?

All right, here's the specs of The Sims 3

PC System Requirements
OS: XP SP2 / Vista SP1 / Windows 7
CPU: For XP 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent; For Windows Vista and Windows 7 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
RAM: For XP 1 GB RAM / Windows Vista and Windows 7 1.5 GB RAM*
DISC DRIVE: DVD drive
Hard Drive: At least 3.5 GB** of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games.
Video: 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* For NVIDIA ION™ computers, the game requires at least 2.0 GB RAM.
** 9.6 GB of hard drive space if installing with The Sims 3.
Supported Video Cards: Nvidia GeForce 6 series or better, and all NVidia G, GT, GTS, and GTX video cards. ATI Radeon™ series card 9500 series or better, and all ATI X, X1, and HD video cards; Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA): GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series
Please note that the GeForce 6100 and 7100 cards are not supported.

Sims 3 isn't compatible with Windows 8 yet, I don't believe, that's why we're looking for a Windows 7 laptop.

Here's the specs for several computers we found/someone recommended to us.

Alienware
AMD FX 4100 Quad Core Processor
8.00 GB RAM
64 bit operating system
1 Terabyte space

^ I'm not sure if this is a laptop though. An acquaintance just sent me specs through email without specifically telling me.


Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 i7-3610QM GT640M-LE(2GB) 8GB 1TB Gaming Laptop Win7 209388U
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Y480-i7-3610QM-GT640M-LE-2GB-8GB-1TB-Gaming-Laptop-Win7-209388U-/160912995743?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item257729759f

IdeaPad Y480 Laptop - 20938RU
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=457&Code=20938RU&category_id=C7563337D3E07CC4B84607F2E57AE7FD#.UJWH1YY2jSj

The above two are the same aren't they? Just in case, I decided to post them anyway.

ASUS G74 Series G74SX-BBK11 Notebook Intel Core i7 2670QM(2.20GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230454

Some other laptops that might be worth considering?: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2020688,00.asp

Note: We're not necessarily going to be buying the same exact product shown in the links (in other words, we may search around for better prices etc...), it's just to show the specs.
___________________________________

So far, we like the lenovo laptop the best. According to my relative, even though it's heavy, it doesn't get hot as quickly as other gaming laptops. Is this a good idea? I hear lenovos have a lot of bloatware though...

Is any of the laptops we picked out any good? Or do you have any other suggestions?

Sorry for the long post.
Thanks in advance!
Best regards.
-Misuzu

[bob3160]

Here's my recommendation:

What ever laptop you decide to buy, this should prolong it's life. (Model and type is up to you)

[Misuzu]

^ Thanks for the reply!
I have a laptop fan, though I probably could use a better one. (My laptop fan makes loud grating noises when slight pressure is put on it)
So a laptop fan keep most gaming laptops cool despite how hot they supposedly get?

Also, is any of the laptops I listed in the first post fairly good? I hear Asus is a very good gaming laptop.

Thanks!
Any suggestions are always welcome!
-Misuzu

[bob3160]

^ Thanks for the reply!
I have a laptop fan, though I probably could use a better one. (My laptop fan makes loud grating noises when slight pressure is put on it)
So a laptop fan keep most gaming laptops cool despite how hot they supposedly get?

Also, is any of the laptops I listed in the first post fairly good? I hear Asus is a very good gaming laptop.

Thanks!
Any suggestions are always welcome!
-Misuzu

Since I'm not a gamer, I can't answer that Question. Sorry.
The fan helps to keep any laptop cooler and heat is the greatest killer of laptops.

[Chris Thomas]

If you want a gaming laptop.

You can buy one Alienware laptop

http://www.alienware.com/Landings/laptops.aspx

Samsungs Series 7 Gamer Laptop is also worth mentioning.

Review here

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/19/series-7-gamer-laptop-review

Or you can just buy a Dell XPS.

Sims 3 can even be played in a Dell inspiron laptop

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/performance-laptops-inspiron-r-special-edition?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

About Asus gaming laptops

You can check here http://rog.asus.com/

Lenovo laptops are now thinner. You will need a laptop cooler if you intend to play for long hours.

Some help here

Gaming laptops with 1080p screen under 1100$

http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/gaming-laptops-with-1080p-screen-under-1000-recommendations-summary/

[Charyb-0]

Any suggestions are always welcome!
-Misuzu

PlayStation.

1. Around $300.00. Much less than a gaming laptop.
2. Comes with controller
3. Always compatible. Backward compatibility - not certain if always backward compatible.
4. Blue-Ray disc player
5. Can overheat if vents are blocked. Less likely to overheat than a laptop.
6. Hooks up to TV. Large screen size. PC can do this too.
7. Console is not upgradeable (except hard drive?). Laptop is upgradeable but may still be limited.
8. I'm not certain if you can play 2 player mode with a laptop.

[Aventador]

PC gaming is dead and has been for a long time. I was an avid pc gamer till I bought an XBOX360. Upgrading GPU's every 6 months. Download the latest drivers just to gain more FPS. Tweaking your FSB and ram timings. Overclocking your CPU and GPU. It all gets old. Why buy a gaming laptop for $2000 when you can pick up an XBOX360 or a PS3 for cheaper and get more out of it. Never mind about a million more titles.

[Misuzu]

Hello.
Thanks everyone for your replies.

@Chris Thomas:
Thank you for your suggestions!

@Charyb and Aventador:
Thanks for the feedback and I agree. Consoles were made for video games, whereas computers were not. My family even owns a few consoles. We aren't avid pc or video gamers either. However, the few pc games we play (which usually are PC-exclusive or was on PC first), we play considerably. We're just looking for a good gaming computer so we can be fairly certain that the pc games that we want will work and work well. We decided to get our first gaming laptop (for on the go gaming ) because we've had difficulties with pc games in the past due to our "not so good" computers. We thought that if we're going to get a gaming computer (or laptop, in this case) we might as get one that plays the games great at higher settings.

That's the reason why we want a gaming laptop.
Sorry for about the long explanation haha. But it explains why we want a gaming computer. We're not avid gamers, just people who enjoys PC games.

So far we're thinking we want the Y480 Lenovo.
But is it true that it's full of bloatware?

Thanks everyone!
Best regards.
-Misuzu

[CraigB]

Here's my recommendation:

What ever laptop you decide to buy, this should prolong it's life. (Model and type is up to you)

These coolers are usless in most modern gaming rigs as there are no fans or vents underneath, all air is usually drawn in from the top and vented out the side or rear now day's

Misuzu I can thoroughly recommend the Asus ROG laptops " G74sx " as there build quality is excellent and the keyboards are rated as one of the best on any laptop but being a 17inch with a bit of weight to it you might not want to lug one of these beasts around to much ( you'll probably throw your back out )

Xbox's and PS3 are really the way to go for gaming but if your after portability then a laptop is definitely what you'll have to get

[Misuzu]

Here's my recommendation:

What ever laptop you decide to buy, this should prolong it's life. (Model and type is up to you)

These coolers are usless in most modern gaming rigs as there are no fans or vents underneath, all air is usually drawn in from the top and vented out the side or rear.

Is there anything that can help cool gaming laptops?

Misuzu I can thoroughly recommend the Asus ROG laptops " G74sx " as there build quality is excellent and the keyboards are rated as one of the best on any laptop but being a 17inch with a bit of weight to it you might not want to lug one of these beasts around to much ( you'll probably throw your back out )

Xbox's and PS3 are really the way to go for gaming but if your after portability then a laptop is definitely what you'll have to get

Thanks! I'll take a look at the Asus laptop!
We actually own some consoles (as I said above), but we just like some PC games and portability is a plus.

[Aventador]

Lol..................If I spent $2000 on a gaming laptop and it overheated I would demand my money back. Alienware comes with great cooling.

[CraigB]

Is there anything that can help cool gaming laptops?

Shouldn't be needed, as I mentioned most of the good gaming laptops now days don't have venting underneath anymore as it restricts the airflow.

I can run multiple programs together with my flight simulator and my G74sx barely gets warm

[Dch48]

As always, I would recommend an HP with an AMD APU processor of at least the A8 series. You do not need a discrete graphics card with an APU as it's built in graphics are discrete class. These laptops offer the best bang for the buck for the moderate gamer as you seem to be. I paid $599 for mine a year ago and it still will run any game out there at least medium settings. I play WoW, LOTRO, Skyrim, Rage, DiRT3, Dead Island and more with fluent graphics so it would easily run a SIMS game. From the game specs you gave, it looks like my 2005 single core XP machine could run the game. I recommend HP for another reason. Unlike makers like Toshiba, Sony, and maybe even others like ASUS and Alienware, the latest drivers from AMD can be installed on an HP laptop. With some other brands you are stuck with the drivers offered by the manufacturer which can wind up being years out of date since they rarely offer updates for machines more than a year old.

Contrary to a lot of FUD you will see on the net, HP laptops do NOT overheat. This one I have now never goes over 148ºF even after hours of full screen gaming. The older XP machine in my sig served me well for 6 years and also never overheated. It would reach CPU temps as high as 196ºF but that is still below the rated max. By the way, I have never used a cooling pad either. Laptops are designed to run at higher temps than their desktop counterparts with no ill effects.

[Misuzu]

Thanks for the input everyone! Sorry, I forgot about the HP AMD laptops you talked about Dch48. I'm going to check out the Asus and HP laptops mentioned.
We have a nice selection of laptops picked out now, thanks guys! I'm sure we'll be able to find one we like out of all these. 

Lastly, I was just curious, but is it true that Lenovo laptops are full of bloatware? I read that somewhere...

Thanks guys!
-Misuzu

[CraigB]

Unless you have ordered a custom built laptop/desktop they all come with additional rubbish ( bloatware ) installed, that why I'll alway's grab an oem windows disc from a computer seller/repair shop and do a clean install of the operating system, Asus ROG systems make this easyier by supplying the drivers disc with your purchase as well.