Can someone help me find a good gaming laptop between $1000 and $2000?

best laptops for college and gaming 2012 image

Eli Lawd

I am looking for something rather specific, so I will just list as much information as I can.

The first thing is that I don't want it to be blatantly designed as a computer meant specifically for gaming and no other purpose. There are several reasons for this, most of them stemming from it being a college computer. First, I don't think my parents would be very happy with me getting a "Samsung Series 7 Gamer," or something similarly named. Second, it has to be able to reasonably accommodate practical things such as word processing, video editing, multimedia, and programming applications as I intend to major in computer science and be doing a lot of things along those lines. Therefore I also donât want it to be very flashy like some gaming computers are, and have a lot of features strictly for gaming such as red-glowing WASD keys.

Obviously, a "gaming laptop" is a bit silly because everyone knows that if you want to game you need a desktop. That said, I don't plan on spending too much time gaming, because, like I said, I'm going to be in college. Also, I can't exactly take a desktop to my classes, or anywhere else I want to study. So yes, it has to be a gaming laptop.

I don't want to do any computer building or modifying- I don't plan on making my own from scratch, and I donât plan on modifying it after I buy it. So I need to have exactly what I want straight out of the box. I donât really know how to, and I donât have the time to teach myself how.

Now let's talk about more performance based things. I am not really too worried about battery life, because I just don't see why someone wouldn't buy a perfectly good computer just because it can't run without a plug for 6 hours on end.honestly, 2-3 hours is just fine for me.

In terms of how powerful it is, I would be perfectly happy to be able to run any AAA game released in 2012 on medium graphics with 40 FPS. However, I want something that is going to be able to last me for a good 4 years at the minimum.

More specifically, I want something along these lines:
Processor: Something at least on par with Intel i5, hopefully something nicer but again I donât want to pay $3500... quad core would be nice, but duo is fine, I donât know too much about the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge stuff so I canât comment. It doesnât have to be Intel, something equivalent will do, but I prefer Intel for my processors.

Memory: I would like a laptop with 16 GB RAM, but as long as it has at least GB itâs fine.

Hard Drive: Honestly I donât care too much about this. Do I need 2 TB of hard drive space? No, but it would be nice. My last desktop was I believe a Dell XPS 630 with 1 TB of space in 2007, and it lasted me 5 years and I donât think I used half of it. So 1-2 TB is fine, I donât need to go overboard though if it ups the price.

Video Memory: Not too picky here but at least 1000 MB RAM would be good

Graphics/Video Card: I donât think I can settle for anything less than a high end nVidia GeForce because letâs be honest itâs the gold standard for gaming at the moment.

Optical Drive: These seem to be a lot less common on new laptops nowadays, so if it has one, great, but if not, it wonât be a dealbreaker.

Fans: I know some people are picky about loud fans, but personally I could care less. Just as long as it doesnât burst into flames Iâm fine.

OS: I canât decide between W7 and W8. I have heard that W8 is not so good for gaming, but I have also heard that people who say that are just uninformed. And I know that W8 has many ups and downs but for the most part the good outweighs the bad. So I would like to hear some more opinions.

For price range, anything between $1000-$2000 is fine. I think something closest to about $1500 would be best, but if the perfect computer happens to be $1950 thatâs no big deal. On the other hand, just because something is only $1200 doesnât mean itâs bad.

One final note is that I would like it to be built within the past year, though I assume that's a given.

I have looked through a lot of PC review guides online and have not yet been able to find what I'm looking for, so I figured that someone on this site might be able to provide me with some assistance.

So can anyone help me out? Thanks!
Just for those who are "Windows 7 is so much better Windows 8 is just for tablets" I assume that you also know that future versions of DirectX will not include Windows 7 support... however I don't know how much of an issue that is.

Answer
1st choice I would say alienware http://www.alienware.com. also you can have one built to your specs http://www.dell.com or http://www.hp.com. try http://www.newegg.com

Macbook pro mid 2012 or macbook air mid 2013 for college?

alex

I will be needing this for college this fall. Which one is best? I will need it for typing papers, research, watching movies, music, and some games. I also will like to know if the games on the mac app store is good for the macbook air?

Answer
They both work the same way, except one has an optical drive, and the other doesn't also if portablility is an primary, get the Air. But if you want more jam-packed into a laptop as in speed, memory and processing, as well as the ability to play DVDs and CDs, get the Pro (without Retina display).
Good luck

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Why is my 15 inch 2012 Macbook Pro abruptly shutting down when I launch iPhoto, and what can I do about it?

best laptops for college and gaming 2012 image

Skylark

Fortunately it's operating splendidly on all other applications, but this is still a nuisance. I'd just launched iPhoto and all was well at first, and then my laptop abruptly shut down. A gray screen appeared with a notice that my laptop had shut down because of a problem. It did automatically reboot and I clicked the button to report the problem. On the info screen along with the report it confirmed that iPhoto was the reason the laptop shut down. After it rebooted it worked normally. I'm a college student finalizing all my papers for the quarter, so I tend to mildly freak out when my laptop spazzes even though I do regularly save everything and back it up to Time Capsule.

I do have thousands of pictures in iPhoto - about 70GB worth in total on this laptop, but I still have plenty of space. Could it be crashing due to the size? What can I do to resolve the issue besides removing some of the photos?

Bonus Question ~ What's your favorite app? : )
If you're a Mac hater, that's perfectly fine, but please just skip the question instead of venting about Macs as some here are wont to do.
I am going to try to take my laptop to the Apple store over the weekend if I can't resolve the problem myself. It's currently 2:12 in the morning, so the tech support offices are not open. The beauty of Y!A is it's running 24-7.

Answer
I think Apple will be the most help for this. Call them.
But you can try this every now and then to just keep your Mac running as best as possible:
Restart your Mac.
As it starts up again, hold down COMMAND+OPTION+P+R (do it quick) and HOLD until you hear your mac start up again and chime, usually it will go to full brightness as well. It helps keep your mac fast!


My favourite app is a game GTA San Andreas its EPIC!

Whick is better for now, a Portable internet device or Laptop?

jon1234

Whick is better for now, a Portable internet device or Laptop? I'm going to college in mid 2012, this summer would it be best to get a portable device, or go ahead and get a laptop but with more features? We don't travel much so i'm thinking about getting the laptop plus it has big games(not a need for me though) and apps such as google earth, should I just wait for the laptop though?

Answer
Get a laptop. You'll be thankful you did.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Whick is better for now, a Portable internet device or Laptop?

best laptops for college and gaming 2012 image

jon1234

Whick is better for now, a Portable internet device or Laptop? I'm going to college in mid 2012, this summer would it be best to get a portable device, or go ahead and get a laptop but with more features? We don't travel much so i'm thinking about getting the laptop plus it has big games(not a need for me though) and apps such as google earth, should I just wait for the laptop though?

Answer
Get a laptop. You'll be thankful you did.

Are there going to be any new Alienware models by 2012?

xxAsufrexx

That's when I go off to college to Mississippi State and I wanted to take along a new alienware laptop that's under 1,400$ so a new model M11 I believe, came out recently but I would have to agree with everyone else on the official site and rate it negatively.

My question though: are they coming out with new models by 2012?

Answer
Screw alienware...it is only a hopped up Dell....because its made by them.....if you want a dell get a dell...it will save you money.laptops are cool and mobile I understand wanting one but first think of the uses you will need it for.Then you will know what to get.if it is just for school and not gaming you are wasting money.my suggestion is if you want a nice laptopp get a mac.Me i am against them for price reasons but they are good.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Is 2012 MacBook pro 13 inch worth it?

best laptops for college and gaming 2012 image

Frankie

I need a laptop for college. I am planning on purchasing the 13 inch MacBook pro i5. The new version of the MacBook consists of a USB 3.0. I can purchase the late 2011 model t best buy for 900 verse the 2012 version for 1200. Is it worth it?

Answer
Buy the $900 Macbook pro.
The new one has a few features, but you'll probably never use them. For example, the USB 3.0 port sounds impressive, but it would only be utilized if you had an external harddrive or flashdrive which supported 3.0. (I've never even seen one offered). If you really needed high speed ports, you could just use the Thunderbolt or Firewire ports on the 2011 model, and both are faster than 3.0. Other than that I think the only difference is a slightly larger harddrive and slightly faster graphics processing, but the ones on the 2011 model are pretty darn fast. Unless you're running extremely processor intensive applications such as playing computer games at the highest settings I doubt you'd see a difference.

Save the 300 bucks.

Why is my 15 inch 2012 Macbook Pro abruptly shutting down when I launch iPhoto, and what can I do about it?

Skylark

Fortunately it's operating splendidly on all other applications, but this is still a nuisance. I'd just launched iPhoto and all was well at first, and then my laptop abruptly shut down. A gray screen appeared with a notice that my laptop had shut down because of a problem. It did automatically reboot and I clicked the button to report the problem. On the info screen along with the report it confirmed that iPhoto was the reason the laptop shut down. After it rebooted it worked normally. I'm a college student finalizing all my papers for the quarter, so I tend to mildly freak out when my laptop spazzes even though I do regularly save everything and back it up to Time Capsule.

I do have thousands of pictures in iPhoto - about 70GB worth in total on this laptop, but I still have plenty of space. Could it be crashing due to the size? What can I do to resolve the issue besides removing some of the photos?

Bonus Question ~ What's your favorite app? : )
If you're a Mac hater, that's perfectly fine, but please just skip the question instead of venting about Macs as some here are wont to do.
I am going to try to take my laptop to the Apple store over the weekend if I can't resolve the problem myself. It's currently 2:12 in the morning, so the tech support offices are not open. The beauty of Y!A is it's running 24-7.

Answer
I think Apple will be the most help for this. Call them.
But you can try this every now and then to just keep your Mac running as best as possible:
Restart your Mac.
As it starts up again, hold down COMMAND+OPTION+P+R (do it quick) and HOLD until you hear your mac start up again and chime, usually it will go to full brightness as well. It helps keep your mac fast!


My favourite app is a game GTA San Andreas its EPIC!

Powered by Yahoo! Answers