Laptops

Gloryfool

Member
Jun 22, 2009
380
Hi guys,
As i know nothing about laptops im asking if any of you know.
Im looking at getting a laptop as i will be away alot for work.
Its gotta be able to ;
Play wow (doesnt matter if its low settings)
Play starcraft (new one)
have a webcam
a large screen (17")

doesnt matter if it hasnt got a huge HD 350g would be fine, ive been looking around but i dont know how well the ones ive seen will run games. My budget is about £500-£600.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190970

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180890

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180886

these are a couple ive seen, if anyone can help id be realy appreciative.

Glory
 

Croga

Says funny things =)
Sep 9, 2008
892
The Hellmouth
Glory;

With your requirements the main thing you should be looking at is the graphics card. Both WoW and Starcraft rely heavily on it (and on CPU and RAM but with the currently available laptops these should always be good enough).
If I look at the ones you're suggesting, both Acers are a no-go. Intel graphics just aren't good enough to run WoW at all, even at low settings (certainly when Cata arrives with even more graphic mayhem). The HP might but HP is generally too expensive for it's spec.

From Ebuyer, the http://www.ebuyer.com/product/238416 might be an interesting option for you. It's got one of the latest CPUs, a decent GPU from the current generation (albeit a slow one in it's generation).

There should be better offers out there though. You'll want to go for an ATi (/AMD) graphics card in the HD5### range, preferably HD56## or HD57##. Preferably with an Intel Core i3, i5 or Core2Duo processor, 2-4GB or RAM. You might also want to drop the webcam from the speclist as the built-in ones are usually crap and an external USB webcam costs next to nothing.
 

Soliel

Member
Jun 11, 2009
21
I allways used Nvidia in my notebooks, never had any issues wit hthem. Anything from Geforce 9600 onwards should do ok, or the Gforece 320 series and upwards.
 

Croga

Says funny things =)
Sep 9, 2008
892
The Hellmouth
I allways used Nvidia in my notebooks, never had any issues wit hthem. Anything from Geforce 9600 onwards should do ok, or the Gforece 320 series and upwards.

I agree with the no problems. At this moment, though, nVidia don't have any decent notebook graphics. Their main problem is that the cards that perform decently draw too much power and thus get too hot. At this moment I would definately recommend against using nVidia.
If you do, the Gf 350/360 or 435/445 would be the ones to go for. They come somewhere near the HG56## and HD57## performance. The 320 doesn't exist according to nVidia but the 325 and upwards should be comparable to the HD5470 in the Acer.
 
OP
G

Gloryfool

Member
Jun 22, 2009
380
Ive been warned off of the acer laptops as my bro has had 2 and they have both broken. im not a fan of dell, but i have been looking at the HP laptops which i have had a play with and look nice and easy to use. i like this one but not sure wether the pentium chip is better any advice plx croga. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190970
 

Soliel

Member
Jun 11, 2009
21
btw, gooing for an 17" display only makes it more expensive, and with a decent graphics card you can allways use a external monitor at home, and when not at home, 15" is still enough for most things.
 

Joy

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 26, 2005
10,227
15 inch is real iffy for WoW raiding, would not suggest doing that, I presume he wants a laptop for mostly that?
 

Soliel

Member
Jun 11, 2009
21
well, i guess he will mainly play wow when at home, and there he can use an external monitor, e.g. the one from the old comp ;)
 
OP
G

Gloryfool

Member
Jun 22, 2009
380
ill use my home comp when im home, but as my new job will involve me being away for a week at a time sometimes, i want something that i can do almost what my desktop can do.
(obviously not the same because that would cost to much)
 

Croga

Says funny things =)
Sep 9, 2008
892
The Hellmouth
I would strongly advise you not to go with less than core i3, inputting your specs in that site you end up with these options: http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1&ca35=Intel Core i3&store=5&cat=10&minprice=500&ca140=17

I don't fully agree with this. WoW really doesn't care much about the CPU as long as it's "enough". A Core2Duo is definately enough. I would definately advise *against* the AMD Turion though, it's the cheap AMD mobile processor which means it really isn't all that good (barely better then an Intel Atom which is barely fast enough to run Word/Excel).
I'd stick with the 17" for sure. I have just sold my notebook but damn, those 18.3" were all very much worth it. Also; the size of the screen doesn't add much to the cost. The GPU is the most important cost factor in this case.

Ive been warned off of the acer laptops as my bro has had 2 and they have both broken. im not a fan of dell, but i have been looking at the HP laptops which i have had a play with and look nice and easy to use. i like this one but not sure wether the pentium chip is better any advice plx croga. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190970

I must say that I see no reason to stay away from Acer. Of course there's a lot of "doomsday" stories about them but that's just because they sell so much more then any other brand. Percentage-wise they don't break down any more often according to the shop I bought mine (who are specialised in laptops of about 12 different brands). The only brand they would advise more then Acer was Lenovo because Lenovo's service is the best. The Lenovo laptops are, however, about twice the price of a comparable Acer.......
As said; the Turion is a no-go, I'd stay away from that one.
 

Joy

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 26, 2005
10,227
I don't fully agree with this. WoW really doesn't care much about the CPU as long as it's "enough".

This is just complete nonsense, I'm running a 4 Ghz Core i7, and my Radeon 5750 yawns during raiding, at least on desktops it's impossible to get your GPU maxed with normal high graphics. Mind you, this is changing in Cataclysm.

I'm also not sure how the balance is on laptops, but seeing how extreme the balance is on desktops, I highly suspect that with any decent nvidia/radeon card, your core i3 is going to be the limiting factor, always.

If you want the highest, best possible graphics in solo WoW, sure, spend more cash on the GPU, less on the CPU, but for raiding, it's CPU all the way.
 

Croga

Says funny things =)
Sep 9, 2008
892
The Hellmouth
This is just complete nonsense, I'm running a 4 Ghz Core i7, and my Radeon 5750 yawns during raiding, at least on desktops it's impossible to get your GPU maxed with normal high graphics. Mind you, this is changing in Cataclysm.
You keep saying that..... The Core i7 must really suck then..... :p My Core2Quad Q9600 yawns during raiding (mind you; I have set WoW to 4-core affinity, something it doesn't do automatically) whilst my Radeon 5850 is almost in full swing (replacing the 4850 with the 5850 meant I could increase graphics settings)
Really: My GPU fan is maxed out and looking for more whilst my CPU fan stays at the lowest possible setting.

Also remember that the GPUs in the laptops we're looking at aren't nearly comparable to your 5750 (the Mobile version of the 5870 has similar specs to your 5750; now imagine what the mobile 5430 is like........) ergo; the GPU is a *very* limiting factor. Go below a certain standard and you'll not be able to run WoW at all.
 

Ayu

You need help.
Staff member
Aug 26, 2005
15,256
I have the same experience as Joy. And even with affinities properly set WoW will never use 100% of your CPU even if you want it to so looking under the task manager and seeing your CPU only used at 50% capacity doesn't mean the game is not limited by the CPU. The only way to find that out is by overclocking and comparing FPS numbers or taxing your CPU (and only that) with another program while playing so the FPS drops are noticable.
 

Vessy

Puttin the slow in Onslow
Apr 13, 2009
585
I must say that I see no reason to stay away from Acer. Of course there's a lot of "doomsday" stories about them but that's just because they sell so much more then any other brand. Percentage-wise they don't break down any more often according to the shop I bought mine (who are specialised in laptops of about 12 different brands). The only brand they would advise more then Acer was Lenovo because Lenovo's service is the best. The Lenovo laptops are, however, about twice the price of a comparable Acer.......
As said; the Turion is a no-go, I'd stay away from that one.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

Salespersons will usually tell you that the computer they make the most money on is the best; one week it might be Acer, the next it might be some other brand.
 

Croga

Says funny things =)
Sep 9, 2008
892
The Hellmouth
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/
Salespersons will usually tell you that the computer they make the most money on is the best; one week it might be Acer, the next it might be some other brand.

heh, I've been a salesperson..... I know the stories.. I've MADE the stories..... hence why I don't talk to their salespeople about stuff like that :p Helpdesk hasn't got a clue which one makes them the most money.
Also:
http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/M...k-Out-These-Reliability-Ratings-First-493269/
http://www.resourcesforlife.com/docs/item2594
http://www.pcworld.com/article/123409-9/reliability_and_service_the_best_companies_to_buy_from.html

- Lies
- Damn lies
- Statistics
- Goddamn lies
- Reliability surveys
(apparently according to one of those links ;))