New Laptop

[Mezlo]

Re: New Laptop

The nice thing about this one is I'd have the option to add the SSD if the need arises. I agree that since I'd onlt be using this for FFXIV and surfing the net, I dont think it warrants the need for an SSD, especially since I'm pretty much computer inept.

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He showed me a quick demonstration of windows 8 and it looked pretty bad ass. Cid and Ray, is there something bad or some flaw to Windows 8?

[Raydeus]

Re: New Laptop

I would say get a normal hard drive. If you absolutely HAVE to get a SSD then I would use your SSD to boot the operating system and HDD for storing your games. Even then to be honest, it is really difficult justifying actually using an SSD at this moment of time over an HDD.

Getting an SSD for a laptop makes more sense than for a PC (although I got one for mine and I'm very happy with it XD ) because SSD are pretty much drop-proof. With an SSD if your laptop is hit by anything there's no chance your disk will be damaged, but with a regular HDD if your laptop is hit, moved, or rocked at the wrong moment it can get damaged and make you lose a variable amount of data. So it depends on the use you are giving the laptop, in some cases depending how critical your info is, using SSDs is actually the cheaper option.

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I just ran by Best Buy and saw this...

If there's a Windows 7 version of it and it's really cheap it would be a decent option.

[Firewind]

Re: New Laptop

Nice choice . I have no experience with Windows 8 though so I have no idea what to say about that.

[cidbahamut]

Re: New Laptop

Aside from the fact that it comes with Windows 8 I'd say that looks like a decent choice.

[Mezlo]

Re: New Laptop

I just ran by Best Buy and saw this...

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[Raydeus]

Re: New Laptop

To be fair most embedded graphics/sound chips tend to be garbage for several reasons. But while both Nvidia and Intel gained a reputation for "stability" and "compatibility" it was more due to proprietary tricks rather than real performance advantage. So yeah, except for some specific cases nvidia (graphics) and Intel (processors) are just overpriced and over-hyped pieces of meh hardware.

When it comes to raw power AMD (graphics and processors) are rarely behind and are usually cheaper than the equivalent models of the other brand. Although it's fair to say ATI graphics was far better before being purchased by AMD.

Now, for a laptop your options are limited since they are more expensive and give you less performance than a gaming rig. So my suggestion for getting a good price would be looking for a rig with a graphics chip one generation behind, for instance if you are getting AMD look for HD6970-ish for good performance and lower price (current gen are HD7000s), same with the processor, also make sure it has a 64-bit OS with at least 8GB ram. And also make sure it has good air flow and that has good compatible cooling pads available, which will be required if you ever want to do any seriuous gaming on your laptop.

I can't really suggest models or brands because my laptop experience is close to zero, I only repair family laptops (cause I'm the family's technician or something. orz )

[Firewind]

Re: New Laptop

I would say get a normal hard drive. If you absolutely HAVE to get a SSD then I would use your SSD to boot the operating system and HDD for storing your games. Even then to be honest, it is really difficult justifying actually using an SSD at this moment of time over an HDD.

Other than that, Cid posted some pretty nice baselines for a gaming laptop that will last for a few years.

But do remember that for the same price as a gaming quality laptop you can pretty much get a better gaming tower and a desktop replacement laptop which is always something to consider and what I did and recommend. All my day to day stuff is done on my laptop and all my gaming on my desktop. That said I won't deny the sheer convenience of having a mobile gaming quality computer. When I play games on my laptop outdoors in the summer, I do curse sometimes at the lack of games I can really play.

At the end of the day it's your choice and I won't deny how nice it is to have a gaming quality machine you can take anywhere. If you definitely want a laptop then what Cid said is very good advice.

[cidbahamut]

Re: New Laptop

I've had decent luck with nVidia, so I'd say it honestly depends on the individual model you're looking at, but then I'm not terribly familiar with their laptop cards. Actually I've not had overly much personal experience with gaming grade laptops in general, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. I think Armando has one so he might have more insight.

There's a few key components you'll want to scope out when shopping for a new machine:
CPU
Graphics Card
RAM

Those are the ones that are going to influence your performance the most.

These days RAM is dirt cheap so I wouldn't settle for anything under 4GB but shoot for 8GB when possible.

For graphics cards, I'd point you toward an nVidia Geforce 600m series model, but a 500m series would also be serviceable, though probably wouldn't last you as long as far as performance needs are concerned. I'm not familiar with Radeon cards.

I'd recommend you try to get an Intel CPU as the current generation of AMD processors aren't as good from what I've read. You'll want an i5 as your baseline but try to snag an i7 if you can.

One other thing to consider is the harddrive. Traditional harddrives are going to be cheaper and offer a lot of storage space. The other option is a solid state drive(SSD) which is wicked fast, but expensive, offers considerably less storage space and has some additional quirks for maintenance. If this is strictly a gaming machine and you don't mind doing a little research to make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot I'd strongly recommend a SSD. If this machine is going to be more general purpose but just has to be beefy enough to handle gaming or you don't want to worry about simple mistakes like defragmenting your SSD burning it out early I'd say just grab a normal harddrive and be done with it.

I don't really have a specific machine to point at and say "go buy that one", but hopefully what I've laid out will help you get your bearings and at least know what to look for as you search for a new machine.

[Mezlo]

So, it looks like I might have to get a new laptop... My current one works fine until I play ffxiv, then after like 5 mins the display goes dead. I was going to get it fixed, but the local computer fix it shop said he thought the repairs would be around $250, and it would only be guaranteed for 60 days, which is shit. My laptop was the top of the line gaming laptop when i bought it 6 years ago, and it's gotten A TON of use. After I explained the problem the tech thinks it the graphics chip, when the game heats up, it loses its contacts with the motherboard, and this is what causes the display to go out. The sound stays on, its just the display that goes. Or something similar to that, my "technical computer talk" is severly limited... He said they have a machine there that "reflows" or something flows the chip, heating it up and restoring all the connectors back to where they were and should restore the proper connections. But the fact that it would cost $250, the laptops 6 years old, and it's only guaranteed for 60 days is making me think to just buy a new one. He also mentioned that the video chip in my premium gaming laptop 6 years ago was shit. He said NVidea chips are shit and they always have issues. Did this guy know what he was talking about or do you guys have the same feelings about NVidea? Anyways, I just wanted to get some takes from you guys on this scenario. If I do get a laptop what graphics / performance would you recommend? I know I could goto BestBuy and I'd buy the overkill version. As far as gaming goes, I just play ffxiv on it.