buying a laptop, looking for some advice - Off-Topic

#1 Edited by Eli (313 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

Hey, so I need a laptop for college, but preferably one that can run games decently for the next 3-5 years. I've narrowed it down to these two. Any pointers as to which I should pick? I'm a bit torn as of now, thanks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%2050001077%20600003982&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=32%7C34-216-022%5E34-216-022-TS%2C34-131-391%5E34-131-391-TS&percm=34-131-391%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24

P.S: Dumb question, but a BD-ROM would plays CDs/DVDs, right?

#2 Edited by StarFoxA (4922 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

Both of those look pretty decent for games, but have you considered building an equivalent/better computer for less money?

It looks like the first would be my choice (more RAM, looks like a better video card too based on VRAM, slightly smaller form factor, other than that they're pretty much identical), but it depends on if you want a higher resolution and the Blu-Ray capability (which the second laptop has), although with Steam and other digital distribution channels, I doubt you're going to be using an optical drive very often.

#3 Posted by Andorski (4157 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

No laptop is going to be able to run games decently in a 3-5 year life span, especially when laptops nowadays come with 1080p screens. Even with a ~$2000 gaming laptop you will have to sacrifice graphic settings and resolution in order to run more graphically intensive before you even hit the three year mark.

Also, speaking from experience (I had a Dell Inspiron 9200 17" that played games at max back in the day), it fucking sucks lugging around a gaming laptop around college. It's heavy due to all the hardware that's inside, and you will be forced to work near an outlet at all times. The latter might not seem bad, but know that there are a ton of other students looking for available outlets at all times. So I ask, is there a reason why you need a powerful laptop at school? With the money you are considering on spending to get the laptops your posted, you can build a good $700-800 rig and then spend the rest on a cheap laptop to do productivity work on.

#4 Edited by Eli (313 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

I need a computer for portability as I know I'll be moving around over the next year or two, but yeah, I'm actually planning to rebuild my desktop rig for home once I have a stable place to live and funds to do so. I honestly just want something for productivity and to run games at all for the next few years...and yes...I'd like a machine to play SimCity on between classes, DRM issues aside. I'm more than likely going to build a gaming PC once the next-gen consoles are out and (hopefully) components have dropped in price.

On the Samsung, though, is the BD drive really necessary (I know it is nice considering it has a 1080p screen)? And yes it will play my DVDs and CDs? Because I actually already own SC on disc.

#5 Edited by killacam (1132 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

@eli: Wait for Intel's Haswell chip. Word is that it will be released this summer, and boost laptop battery life by a ton (not to mention other benefits like a much better integrated graphics processor than the HD 4000).

#6 Edited by jdh5153 (695 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

MacBook Pro. (run Windows via BootCamp for games that aren't on the Mac...though Sim City is coming to Mac soon)

#7 Edited by Eli (313 posts) - 2 months, 8 days ago

@killacam: I haven't heard anything about that. Let me look into it. Regardless, I'm leaning heavily into the Toshiba I linked you guys to earlier. However, I'm seeing reports that say the Radeon HD 7870m is superior to the GTX 670m, is this true?

#8 Posted by ATrevelan (602 posts) - 2 months, 6 days ago

Both of those look great, but Windows 8 would be a deal-killer for me. I know it's probably not nearly as bad as everyone says it is, but I've become so enamored with 7 that I'd rather stick with my current machine than upgrade if it meant Win8 had to come along for the ride.