Gaming Is this a good gaming laptop?

[Deleted User]

Apart from Rydian's post about how "brand-name" companies simply assemble parts from companies like Sager and Clevo this thread otherwise filled up with a lot of garbage. I'll definitely be supporting you on the fact that a Mobility 5650 is a mid-range nVidia card capable of maybe medium graphics compared to a behemoth like a 5870 for recent games at high settings. Suffice to say, any of the laptop models except the 320M are CPU's that I'd recommend; the 330M and 5650. Originally, I felt like suggesting if you could find a 5650 to boot. I suppose though it really comes down to an aesthetic definition of what "very high" specs actually constitutes or what said user defines very high specs as in the mobile department while maintaining his afforability.

Objection: has no grounds for validation since we're discussing laptops, unless you happen to be replacing laptop/notebook GPU's in which case I feel sorry for your wallet since you'd most likely be spending just as much money on notebook upkeep as you would in just going out and getting a new notebook. As far as the nVidia / Radeon argument goes, Radeon is much more developed in the mobile-laptop department than compared to nVidia (Sans the recent Fermi architecture(460/470/480M, but even then the 480M's are only currently present on Sager/Clevo models) whereas the 460M is present on some higher end Asus laptops. nVidia, was more geared towards the desktop department for a long while, though both competitors are reaching towards a middle ground now.

Among my friends and experience most of the time it is the cheaper mobile notebooks from HP & Dell that I've noticed have the most problems. Whether this is due to improper care, design flaws regardless, it does seem to pay to purchase a more expensive, premium notebook computer from these companies. Upgraded warranty and support generally can come with upgraded parts and, for example when you select a laptop type at dell, you're usually given 3-4 chasis designs from which to further "customize" your assemblage.

 

[Berthenk]

If you really want my opinion, ALL acer's no matter what, suck.
They break 1 month after you buy them -.-
I had an old cheap $hit Asus before my acer. The Asus didn't have a graphics card and had the weakest processor in the world and only had 8 GB storage, 4 taken by Windows itself. I used the last 4 gigs to install counter-strike and it played with lag. But it played. And I kept that lappy for 2 years in perfect condition.

My acer Aspire 5536G is well, really bad. My sound card broke magically on its own in the first month. Right now, 9 months later after I bought it, the fan stops working. When I turn it on, it immediately reaches 60 + degrees celcius in like 5 minutes. Then it starts lagging and freezing Sofa King much, then eventually it burns and turns off unexpectedly and launches that Windows recovery start-up crap next time I open the laptop.

My entire family uses acer. My entire family complains. Even my acer MONITOR is horrible. My relative's acer (forgot which model, it cost $2100 and was AMAZING when we opened it) now can't handle Google Chrome browsing properly.

Acer=Cheap.
HP=My future spouse.

So, what did you guys do to those laptops so that they were so easily borked?

 

[EJames2100]

ATI HD 5650 Graphics Card with a Dedicated 1Gb Memeory.

That spec can play near enough any game out now on very high specs.

I call BS. The Mobility Radeon HD 5650 scores 609 on passmark, whereas a desktop card like the Radeon HD 5870 you'd want to get to play the latest games on high scores 2629 in the same benchmark.

I see.
I do see that I did exaggerate slightly however it is only the newest/most demanding games it will struggle with on high settings.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-...50.23697.0.html

While the 5650 is not the best card, it is generally more than adequate as you can see from the link.
If you can then grab a better card, but don't be surprised if it costs a lot more.

 

[Rock Raiyu]

If you want a gaming laptop, I'd get an Asus. If you can find a refurbished G60JX, it's like $800 and runs most,if not all games on medium-high settings. Even the newer games. My friend has it and is able to play emulate PS2 games on it at full speed. Nice bang for you buck.

 

[CarbonX13]

Acer=Cheap.
HP=My future spouse.
Really. Acer makes great laptops IMO, just know which ones to buy. They like to hide things behind other features, like my dad's 8hr battery Acer laptop has a weak ass CPU, but an exceptional graphic card. My friend has an Acer laptop, and hell it does everything it needs to, including running games at higher settings. All my friends complain about how cheap HP is. They look great, they run great for maybe a few months, then they fail on you. =/

QUOTE(Rock Raiyu @ Oct 19 2010, 11:35 AM) If you want a gaming laptop, I'd get an Asus. If you can find a refurbished G60JX, it's like $800 and runs most,if not all games on medium-high settings. Even the newer games. My friend has it and is able to play emulate PS2 games on it at full speed. Nice bang for you buck.

I'd agree with this, if it weren't for the fact that most ASUS laptops aren't that great in terms of specs. My friend bought an ASUS back in Taiwan this past spring for around $800 (new, not refurbished) at a computer sale, and he's able to run most games on high if not maximum settings. If you go with an ASUS, look up the specs and compare it to the price. You'll get a good bang for your buck if you find the right one.

 

[Originality]

From observation, the only problem with ASUS laptops is that for every great ASUS laptop, you get a dozen that suck in most areas. ASUS tends to be a bit like Dell - cutting corners when they can, and only going all out in their flagship models (like their RoG series).

Anyway, as Rydian quite rightly said, brands don't matter nearly as much as people think they do. Sure, HP may be more prone to bad design (it's the cost of all those luxury gimmicks such as a remote control in most models), but they still make some good laptops, probably because they tend to use the same parts as everybody else when making good laptops.

 

[Matthew]

Lol, I found another one.

Is this one better than the others?

HP Pavilion dv6-3011so:

AMD Turion II Dual Core P520
RAM 4GB 1333MHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650

I've got the dv6-3033sa

great laptop

had an older dv6 been treated terribly but still works well

 

[playallday]

.

 

[TheTwoR's]

If you really want my opinion, ALL acer's no matter what, suck.
They break 1 month after you buy them -.-
I had an old cheap $hit Asus before my acer. The Asus didn't have a graphics card and had the weakest processor in the world and only had 8 GB storage, 4 taken by Windows itself. I used the last 4 gigs to install counter-strike and it played with lag. But it played. And I kept that lappy for 2 years in perfect condition.

My acer Aspire 5536G is well, really bad. My sound card broke magically on its own in the first month. Right now, 9 months later after I bought it, the fan stops working. When I turn it on, it immediately reaches 60 + degrees celcius in like 5 minutes. Then it starts lagging and freezing Sofa King much, then eventually it burns and turns off unexpectedly and launches that Windows recovery start-up crap next time I open the laptop.

My entire family uses acer. My entire family complains. Even my acer MONITOR is horrible. My relative's acer (forgot which model, it cost $2100 and was AMAZING when we opened it) now can't handle Google Chrome browsing properly.

Acer=Cheap.
HP=My future spouse.

So, what did you guys do to those laptops so that they were so easily borked?

Nothing really. My laptop is usually on the table just one day the fan decided to die and now I can't use it UNLESS it's on the table otherwise it burns and even when it IS on the table, it lags cause of the heat.

My relative's lappy, the charger slot just started suiciding like a month after we got the laptop.

 

[Originality]

Dust: the worst enemy of all laptops.

 

[playallday]

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