notebook computer buying guide Created 13 years ago2011-02-27 17:40:07 UTC by Captain Terror

looking to buy a new laptop computer, prob from best buy. I like best buy because of the replacement policy, and being able to get warranty service without shipping back to the manufacturer.

wat are the minimum specs I should look for in a decent, mid-range gaming machine? I realize a desktop would be far better/cheaper, but I need it to be a notebook.

any suggestions appreciated!

Better start: How much do you want to spend?

idk less than 1k if possible. I'm willing to sacrifice some power for a decent cost savings.

Less than 1k is a huge window. Can you come up with some more precise numbers?

What do you plan on using this for?

source mapping, and source games primarily, but I'd like to be able to play games like SCII and possibly blops on high settings smoothly.

like, does quadcore give u considerable 1up on general gaming and/or compiling source maps? how much ram is considered decent these days? also, I don't understand the new naming convention for nvidia.. are all there new cards faster than my ol' 9800 cuz they are a "higher" number? how boot ati? (I never understood how their model numbers translated to performance)

The problem is that gaming notebooks usually exceed 1000$.

it doesn't have to be top-of-the-line. if I could find something inn $500-$700 range I'd be happy. it doesn't have to be beast just decent enough..

Windows Vista.
Around $300
Works good for gaming

I don't know whether to laugh or be confused.

Anyway, here's something for you. I think it's affordable.

Do you want a notebook or a laptop!? Make up your damned mind already!

Hmm, I always figured they were two entirely different terms, my bad.

Man striker, extreme near miss on that edit block, mate.

There's a 2 minute difference between his post and mine. He wrote the comment and left the thread. I always double check.

Crollo, you ninja, you just edited your post in less than 60 seconds.

[EDIT] Captain Terror, as a general rule, you should always avoid integrated graphics solutions like Intel chips. Always go for dedicated solutions if you want a bit of gaming.
The integrated ones are humiliated even by ancient games.

My old school laptop ran source (not very well) back in 2004, and it was standard stock Toshiba craptop, so it shouldn't be hard to find what you're looking for since the editor takes up less resources than the game itself.

Still $1k is a pretty small amount for a laptop. You live in the states right?

A 800 dollar laptop could probably run any source game, honestly.

Striker: that machine looks nice but when i plug in the model number, all the sales sites say "unavailable". =( i like the "chiclet" keyboard and the specs are decent, but i definitley don't need the blu-ray player, which would for most people be a very nice option. =)

crollo: i just always thought they meant the same thing..

kraken: ya states. I found these doin a quick search for best buy gaming laptops. there are two right there that seem pretty beast (afaik) for around 1k.

Even that first one is extremely capable.