31 réponses à ce sujet

[Dobyk]

Fellow DA nerds,

 

  I am in dire need to plan my next latop purchase, optimized to play DA:I. The thing is, I know next to nothing about computer specifications, video cards and the like (like, absolutely nothing), and I was wondering if there are people out there who could help me create a good laptop which can run DA:I (preferably on high settings), without setting itself on fire, and for a reasonable price (up to 1000 euro/1500 pounds? cheaper?). Since I'm finishing my higher education away from home, the only option for me is a laptop, because I just can't take a desktop PC with me when I have to fly every 3 months. Thus, I need to plan what laptop I could buy/build so I can save the money for it and hopefully play the game in a few months' time.

The only reference of what I've looked at so far I can give is this: http://www.chillblas...ing-Laptop.html

One of my best friends got this beauty and, as far as I can tell, it's pretty, pretty strong. I even learned laptops can have two videocards (I know, I'm quite pathetic). But this option is quite expensive, so I might have to look at something slightly cheaper maybe, yet I really don't know which websites are good/realiable, and what is the lowest amount of money I could spare for a good laptop.

So, if any of you guys and girls have any recommendations on what to build, or ready-made models to buy, I would really appreaciate the help xD

[katerinafm]

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure you can't really 'build' a laptop, but instead find one that's as close to your needs as possible.

 

Usually, gaming laptops are pretty expensive, as laptops are not normally built for gaming (that's why it's recommended to have a desktop to play games).

 

What I would do is, go to a shop I trust that sells computers, parts and laptops, and give them the recommended and minimum specs for DAI, and ask them to show you laptops that would be able to run it and start from there.

 

For gaming I wouldn't really aim at anything lower than 1000 euros. Even that price is pretty low, unfortunately.

[Timate]

She is right try to aim for the higher well recommended at least

[BadgerladDK]

Since you mention a price in pounds, are you buying in the UK?

 

If so, look at something like this: http://www.scan.co.u...idia-gtx-970m-3

 

If that's too rich for your blood, look at other options from MSI, they have a nice range of gaming laptops.

[naughty99]

What size laptop, 15" or 17"?

 

Do you prefer thin and portable or are you comfortable with large bulky desktop replacement?

 

If you want to run demanding games for the next few years, look for something with i7 quad core CPU (with model number ending in MQ, HQ or MX), and 980m or 970m graphics card. 

 

Here is a list of a few recent laptops with 970m and 980m (most of these would fit in your budget): https://docs.google....MHjQ/edit#gid=0

 

If you want something portable, I'd suggest

 

15" Gigabyte P35x v3 (20mm chassis, 980m 8GB VRAM): http://www.xoticpc.c...der-p-7620.html

 

15" Clevo P650Sx (24mm chassis, 980m 4GB): http://pcspecialist....ks/defiance-15/

 

17" Aorus X7 Pro (23mm chassis, 970m SLI 3GB): http://www.aorus.com/x7pro.aspx

[Dobyk]

Since you mention a price in pounds, are you buying in the UK?

 

If so, look at something like this: http://www.scan.co.u...idia-gtx-970m-3

 

If that's too rich for your blood, look at other options from MSI, they have a nice range of gaming laptops.

Hey, I will be going to the UK in a few months so I can order it there. But I'm trying to get the price down as much as possible, so I can work out the financial part.

 

 

 

What size laptop, 15" or 17"?

 

Do you prefer thin and portable or are you comfortable with large bulky desktop replacement?

 

If you want to run demanding games for the next few years, look for something with i7 quad core CPU (with model number ending in MQ, HQ or MX), and 980m or 970m graphics card.

 

Here is a list of a few recent laptops with 970m and 980m (most of these would fit in your budget): https://docs.google....MHjQ/edit#gid=0

 

If you want something portable, I'd suggest

 

Gigabyte P35x v3 (20mm chassis): http://www.xoticpc.c...der-p-7620.html

 

Clevo P650Sx (24mm chassis): http://pcspecialist....ks/defiance-15/

 

 

Thanks for the links, man! I don't like laptops that are too heavy, but if I'm aiming for a gaming class, I don't think I have much of a choice. Size is not a priority, but maybe 15" and not... too heavy. I will take a look at those links. I know about the CPU, but the rest of the stuff is a bit hazy in my head.

 

[naughty99]

Thanks for the links, man! I don't like laptops that are too heavy, but if I'm aiming for a gaming class, I don't think I have much of a choice. Size is not a priority, but maybe 15" and not... too heavy. I will take a look at those links. I know about the CPU, but the rest of the stuff is a bit hazy in my head.

 

Regarding the graphics cards, the 980m and 970m are a big leap forward compared to the previous generation of mobile graphics cards. They allow for much more power with better cooling even in a slim form factor notebook.

 

The 980m is faster than 99% of desktop cards currently on the market.

[L. Han]

Only thing I can really add to this is concerns of heat. Laptops can pack big punch, but as soon as heat starts to build up your laptop will either crash a lot, lose massive amounts of performance, or both. If at all possible, get ones that give lots of room to the components.

 

All and all though, desktops will always out perform laptops. As well as being much cheaper. Support, tweaks, and fixes are also way more easier on desktops as laptops often have their own set of drivers for the cards. It's a big hassle to get proper drivers for your laptop after a year or so, forcing you to use custom drivers or play with very awful performance.

 

 

Source: experience!

[Dobyk]

Regarding the graphics cards, the 980m and 970m are a big leap forward compared to the previous generation of mobile graphics cards. They allow for much more power with better cooling even in a slim form factor notebook.

 

The 980m is faster than 99% of desktop cards currently on the market.

 

Naughty, you are amazing. Thanks for all the info man
 

 

Only thing I can really add to this is concerns of heat. Laptops can pack big punch, but as soon as heat starts to build up your laptop will either crash a lot, lose massive amounts of performance, or both. If at all possible, get ones that give lots of room to the components.

 

All and all though, desktops will always out perform laptops. As well as being much cheaper. Support, tweaks, and fixes are also way more easier on desktops as laptops often have their own set of drivers for the cards. It's a big hassle to get proper drivers for your laptop after a year or so, forcing you to use custom drivers or play with very awful performance.

 

 

Source: experience!

Legal, I agree with you completely, it's just that at the moment I can't see if I will settle in one place for longer than a year, since I'm doing Masters and will need to get a job in the UK, so a laptop is just easier in the sense I can bring it to the UK and back home and have my DA:I with me at all times. Heat is a real concern, but I think there are some options regarding that. I think there was a cooling paste you could put? Also, ventillators? Maybe with regular cleaning it will survive xD

[Lukas Trevelyan]

Honestly just answer the OP's question. Some people don't have the luxury of space or a stable place to build a proper gaming rig. It's annoying whenever I talk about buying a laptop for my gaming needs and have people tell me the exact same thing I'm perfectly aware of.

Also OP I suggest you get an external fan thingie for your laptop because overheating is one of the laptop's worse problems. Good luck!  

[diagorias]

Naughty, you are amazing. Thanks for all the info man
 

 

Legal, I agree with you completely, it's just that at the moment I can't see if I will settle in one place for longer than a year, since I'm doing Masters and will need to get a job in the UK, so a laptop is just easier in the sense I can bring it to the UK and back home and have my DA:I with me at all times. Heat is a real concern, but I think there are some options regarding that. I think there was a cooling paste you could put? Also, ventillators? Maybe with regular cleaning it will survive xD

Yea, Naughty is right, the new laptop GPU's from Nvidia are a huge leap in specifically efficiency and power usage, so it might be an idea to look for those. Although on the other hand, with the new consoles being not all that powerful, you most likely won't need extremely powerful hardware to keep up.

 

Just make sure you get enough RAM memory (8 GB), since the consoles got these a lot (and an SSD reduces most loadtimes by quite a bit). And uhm, it would be advisable to go for a single GPU, even then the cooling is an issue.

 

Aside from that you got some nice stands, which you can connect to your laptop via USB and have some extra cooling which improves the stand of the laptop ánd greatly reduces heat problems. Like this for an example http://www.amazon.co...h/dp/B000W0D15O

[naughty99]

Also OP I suggest you get an external fan thingie for your laptop because overheating is one of the laptop's worse problems. Good luck!  

 

Yes, a good laptop cooler can make a difference in performance, especially in a cool room with air conditioning.

 

With something like a 980m, you'll be more limited by CPU throttling. Keeping it cool, and using ThrottleStop to overclock the CPU can allow you to exceed this but you can only go so far with the power supply shipping with your laptop.

[dch2404]

Legal, I agree with you completely, it's just that at the moment I can't see if I will settle in one place for longer than a year, since I'm doing Masters and will need to get a job in the UK, so a laptop is just easier in the sense I can bring it to the UK and back home and have my DA:I with me at all times. Heat is a real concern, but I think there are some options regarding that. I think there was a cooling paste you could put? Also, ventillators? Maybe with regular cleaning it will survive xD

 

You're thinking of desktops where you can apply cooling paste to the CPU. Don't open your laptop or you could void your warranty. Laptops are built to tight tolerances when it comes to heat and voltages so don't mess around with the insides. The two best products for dealing with heat is a can of compressed air to blow out the dust from the heatsink, and a cooling pad to prevent air from stagnating around the vents, something like this, but look for a better one. Also download CoreTemp and have it running startup in the tray so you can see what your CPU temperatures are. Since adopting the above practices, I've eliminated the need to return my laptops to replace the CPU cooler.

[naughty99]

Reapplying thermal paste to your laptop heatsinks is not too difficult. For some reason laptop manufacturers seem to often do a poor job with this.   

Some resellers like XoticPC or PCSpecialist will do it for you with a good quality thermal compound when you order a new laptop.

[Dobyk]

Yea, Naughty is right, the new laptop GPU's from Nvidia are a huge leap in specifically efficiency and power usage, so it might be an idea to look for those. Although on the other hand, with the new consoles being not all that powerful, you most likely won't need extremely powerful hardware to keep up.

 

Just make sure you get enough RAM memory (8 GB), since the consoles got these a lot (and an SSD reduces most loadtimes by quite a bit). And uhm, it would be advisable to go for a single GPU, even then the cooling is an issue.

 

Aside from that you got some nice stands, which you can connect to your laptop via USB and have some extra cooling which improves the stand of the laptop ánd greatly reduces heat problems. Like this for an example http://www.amazon.co...h/dp/B000W0D15O

 

 

I will probably get 16GB RAM, and yes, hopefully a fan is enough to help with the heat...

[hellbiter88]

Or you could go balls-to-the-wall and snag a laptop with the new 980m GPU

 

Edit: whoops i see someone got to this before me. carry on, carry on

[Revan Reborn]

Gaming laptops are an absolute waste of money. They aren't as good as their desktop counterparts and they cost more because they are smaller. If possible, unless you absolutely need a laptop, I would strong advise against it. You will end up potentially spending double, especially if you are trying to acquire the latest hardware currently on the market. DAI's system requirements aren't actually outrageous, so you don't need to go crazy to get max settings.

[hellbiter88]

Gaming laptops are an absolute waste of money. They aren't as good as their desktop counterparts and they cost more because they are smaller. If possible, unless you absolutely need a laptop, I would strong advise against it. You will end up potentially spending double, especially if you are trying to acquire the latest hardware currently on the market. DAI's system requirements aren't actually outrageous, so you don't need to go crazy to get max settings.

 

sure you do. you're no fun

[Chrom72]

Gaming laptops are an absolute waste of money. They aren't as good as their desktop counterparts and they cost more because they are smaller. If possible, unless you absolutely need a laptop, I would strong advise against it. You will end up potentially spending double, especially if you are trying to acquire the latest hardware currently on the market. DAI's system requirements aren't actually outrageous, so you don't need to go crazy to get max settings.

It's almost like the op explicitly says he's aware of these things and needs a laptop for personal travel reasons........

[Dobyk]

It's almost like the op explicitly says he's aware of these things and needs a laptop for personal travel reasons........

 

Yup, pretty much. I would go for desktop any day, but it's just that I won't be settled for another 3-5 years, so laptop is really the best option for me, even if it is expensive (hence I need to start planning the cost and how much money I need to save)   And I need a new laptop anyway. My lenovo did a wonderful job, and was actually quite good at running most games without bursting into flames, and it was dual core. I feel I'm psychologically ready to move onto quadra core

[naughty99]

Hey, I will be going to the UK in a few months so I can order it there. But I'm trying to get the price down as much as possible, so I can work out the financial part.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the links, man! I don't like laptops that are too heavy, but if I'm aiming for a gaming class, I don't think I have much of a choice. Size is not a priority, but maybe 15" and not... too heavy. I will take a look at those links. I know about the CPU, but the rest of the stuff is a bit hazy in my head.

 

The slim Gigabyte P35x v3 launches next week in most markets - someone in Korea was able to get their hands on one early - reporting well over 120fps in BF4 at 1080p and 80fps at 3k resolution with impressive temps (GPU at 72º C): 

 

[Original_Bars]

Rule number 1 of PC gaming.

 

Don't buy or try to build a gaming laptop, they're riddled with issues (overheating is a common one) and good motherboards are pretty much non-existant. Most Big GPU's don't fit in laptops either so you're often confined to mid range graphics or ridiculously overpriced high end GPU's.

 

Not to mention the PSU in a laptop is limited, so be careful when adding in your own GPU if you buy a stock one.

 

Plus when hardware breaks inside a laptop its a chore to get it fixed or swapped out. just build a tower pc (some nice micro towers as well nowadays).

benefits of a normal PC:

1) everything can be swapped out relatively easy
2) unless you go crazy good air based cooling is enough

3) Plenty of choice on what you'd like to fit in your tower, not just Small Form Factor or Low profile hardware.

4) better overclocking possibilities due to enchanced cooling and better motherboard support. 

 

 

I know you travel alot.. but any serious gamer will (or should) warn you about so called 'gaming laptops' expects issues and a shorter lifespan than any tower pc. 

[Bann Duncan]

Yup, pretty much. I would go for desktop any day, but it's just that I won't be settled for another 3-5 years, so laptop is really the best option for me, even if it is expensive (hence I need to start planning the cost and how much money I need to save)   And I need a new laptop anyway. My lenovo did a wonderful job, and was actually quite good at running most games without bursting into flames, and it was dual core. I feel I'm psychologically ready to move onto quadra core

 

Since you like and have used Lenovo, why not stick with them? (Your muscle memory will carry right over for the keyboard, etc.)

 

I remember the Y-series was pretty popular with gamers on a budget a year ago; unfortunately it doesn't seem to feature the option to add/switch GPU anymore, but still could be a good choice.

 

Oh and if any more of you want to flame the OP, fyi I game on a MacBook Pro.

[Original_Bars]

Honestly just answer the OP's question. Some people don't have the luxury of space or a stable place to build a proper gaming rig. It's annoying whenever I talk about buying a laptop for my gaming needs and have people tell me the exact same thing I'm perfectly aware of.

Also OP I suggest you get an external fan thingie for your laptop because overheating is one of the laptop's worse problems. Good luck!  

One of the most stupid things i read today, if there is one way to break your internal fans is by causing chop in the airflow.

 

notebook cooling pads/stands are good, but then again for a gaming laptop they don't work too well.

[Lukas Trevelyan]

One of the most stupid things i read today, if there is one way to break your internal fans is by causing chop in the airflow.

 

notebook cooling pads/stands are good, but then again for a gaming laptop they don't work too well.

 

I am genuinely confused.