gaming laptop

[Canihelpurass]

Hello, new here... just wondering if you guys have any idea, what would be a good gaming laptop.... mainly for games like quake 3, doom 4, or world of warcraft... would apple have anything to work those games rigth now? thanks and sorry for bothering you guys

[emax4]

Not a bother at all. To be honest I don't know of many gaming laptops out there, although they do exist (laptops by Alienware, is one example). The reason for this is that graphics for gaming usually require a dedicated graphics card. Laptops and most desktops use graphics that are from a chip on the processor itself or from a separate graphics chip.

Let's say you go to Wal Mart and buy a desktop computer. A low-end machine might have a Core2Duo processor on with a separate graphics chip on the motherboard. a mid-range machine may have an i5 or i7 processor that has graphics built in to the processor. In those cases, both sets of graphics may be adequate for low-end gaming and simple web browsing, videos, etc. A high-end model might have a separate graphics card, and having the graphics on a separate card usually means that the processor doesn't take video memory from the main memory or as much processor time. It also means that you can upgrade the graphics card to a higher model, but even with mid-range and low-end range machines, there should be extra slots on the board that allow you to add a separate video card.

With a laptop, no such slots exists, so you're limited to whatever graphics are on the chip inside. If you want to upgrade, choices are extremely limited, if existent at all. This is why you won't see too many gaming laptops out there. You can just go out and get a high-end laptop. I wouldn't go to Wal Mart though, because you can look around on the internet and find laptops costing $2000+.

[Geek King]

My current laptop is a higher-end Toshiba Satalite that I've liked quite well. I know Toshiba also recently introduced a line of laptops more geared for gaming. These will be fine for somewhat older games, and most MMOs, though you may need to tweak the graphics a bit to get better framerates. If you want to run all the newest games, including graphic-heavy shooters, expect to need an expensive laptop.

Also, for a laptop that will be used for gaming, invest in a good laptop tray, or cooling pad. Games tend to cause the laptop to run hot, and you don't want a hot laptop to turn itself off due to processor temp, or fry your legs. You need a good platform to set it on so it can breathe properly. Get a laptop that has a "leg" to raise it up off the surface it sits on, if possible. Mine has one built into the battery pack, for instance. Airflow is your friend with a gaming laptop.

[crashhelmet]

Best Buy's web site has a searchable option for gaming laptops. Hopefully this link works.

I was looking into this a while ago and started by googling recommended laptop video cards for gaming, and then finding what systems had them installed. other specs didn't matter to me, aside from the CPU, as RAM and HDDs are cheap to upgrade.

This is one site I like

In all honesty, I would stay away from Apple products unless you really REALLY REALLY need it for something that is only Apple compatible. You can buy the perfect PC laptop to suit your needs for under $1k, where the MacBook would cost you more than double.

CH