Gaming laptops - where's best?

[small256]

I'm looking to buy a laptop in September/October, but they're not something I've usually gone for on the premise of getting more for my money with a desktop. However, constraints on how much I can carry mean I'm going to have to go for a laptop.

I'm keen on getting Skyrim when it comes out (indeed it's the news of Skyrim that's prompted me to finally upgrade), so I'm after something that'll play it on highest settings.

But where should I begin? I'm really not laptop 'brand' savvy in the slightest, except knowing what to avoid. I've heard good things about Sager, but I really know very little about any of them.

So who's bad, who's good and who's god?

 

[MindoverMaster]

What is your budget? Price varies depending on what you need.

ASUS is God, man! Just an ASUS freak here. I have several of their boards and a laptop from them.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Dell/Alienware can also have good options depending on what you are looking for.

Asus tends to offer very good performance for your money and good build quality but lately they have also had the habit of using the cheapest LCD panels they can possibly find. If you don't care about screen quality they are still the way to go but if you want a desktop quality display you may want to look elsewhere (specifically the Dell XPS 15 w/ the optional 1080P display).

 

[EmmanuelD]

Definitely the best option for Alienware computers are games, but Sony Vaio is also a good choice ....

Mac are great but most games run on windows

No Acer, Hp, Compag, etc ...

 

[MindoverMaster]

You could always use bootcamp in OSX.

And Acer isn't that bad. It's just not the first I'd recommend.

 

[95BlackGA]

Definitely the best option for Alienware computers are games, but Sony Vaio is also a good choice ....

Mac are great but most games run on windows

No Acer, Hp, Compag, etc ...

Have you used any of the brands you suggested, or told the other person not to get? I would buy an Acer OR HP over Alientware any day of the week. Alienware is WAY overpriced for what you're getting.

I would get an ASUS laptop, definitely some of the top performers when it comes to power. For the same specs as an ASUS laptop, an Alienware laptop will run you $200+. I built an Alienware for comparison to the Asus G73SW-A1, and it was a whopping $400 more.

 

[MindoverMaster]

ASUS FTW. I got a refurbished ASUS UL80J for $430 off Newegg. Runs SC2 at medium.

 

[small256]

Sorry for my absence. Thanks to all for your replies.

I've actually not looked at Asus yet so I'll have a browse. I had an asus board in this machine until it popped. At least I think it was... it was a while ago.
I did check out Alienware briefly, before I realised I had sanity.

As far as budget goes, I'm not 100% sure yet, it really does depend how much I've got at the time, but I'd say around the £700 mark (google's telling me that's $1100).

Are there due to be any new tech releases before November? Processors or graphics cards maybe?

 

[GoodNews101]

AMD will be releasing new cpus in June and they look very promising and certainly not like their old offerings. I suggest looking at the Notebookreview.com forums as they have a forum for every major brand and some for the not-so-major brands. Their "What Notebook Should I Buy" forum would be a good resource for you.

 

[small256]

AMD will be releasing new cpus in June and they look very promising and certainly not like their old offerings. I suggest looking at the Notebookreview.com forums as they have a forum for every major brand and some for the not-so-major brands. Their "What Notebook Should I Buy" forum would be a good resource for you.

That's great, thanks very much.