Valsuelm Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Buy/build a desktop. Laptops are inferior to desktops for gaming in many ways, not the least of which is the inability to upgrade your graphics card. Really, unless you travel often and/or have a legitimate need to bring your computer places with you a desktop would serve you better. And if you have legitimate need and can afford it, a desktop and a laptop would serve you better than just a laptop. Desktops are superior to laptops in pretty much every way except portability.
ManifestedISO Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Always wanted an Alienware laptop, just for the alien LED logo. Too costly and too thick, but they sure look cool. Can you even get an IPS display on a laptop, I haven't checked their specs lately. Don't buy a desktop, unless you build your own, save 800 quid and get a PS4. All Stop. On Screen.
Humanoid Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Yeah, most brands carry a few IPS panel-equipped models, but often they're for the premium business/workstation oriented models towards the top of the range. The vast majority still carry awful 1366x768 TN panels, the lowest of the low. Perhaps ironically, the smaller displays are more likely to carry good quality screens with reasonable pixel density. With only a few exceptions, 15-17" laptops have the worst displays. A PS4 will save you money because there aren't any games to buy for it. L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G
Hurlshort Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 (edited) I have a GTX460M on my laptop and I've been very happy with the performance. It also has drivers available, in fact Battlefield 4 made me update recently and the game ran perfect with them. Edited February 25, 2014 by Hurlshot
JFSOCC Posted February 28, 2014 Author Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) Always wanted an Alienware laptop, just for the alien LED logo. Too costly and too thick, but they sure look cool. Can you even get an IPS display on a laptop, I haven't checked their specs lately. Don't buy a desktop, unless you build your own, save 800 quid and get a PS4. I paid 8k for an alienware in 2008. Don't, they're overpriced pieces of ****, customer support is hell, you'll end up with a broken machine and an empty wallet. Edited February 28, 2014 by JFSOCC Remember: Argue the point, not the person. Remain polite and constructive. Friendly forums have friendly debate. There's no shame in being wrong. If you don't have something to add, don't post for the sake of it. And don't be afraid to post thoughts you are uncertain about, that's what discussion is for.---Pet threads, everyone has them. I love imagining Gods, Monsters, Factions and Weapons.
Hurlshort Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Huh, I bought an Alienware desktop about 6 years ago, and its run like a dream. Paid about $2,500 for it. The only thing I've done to it is upgrade the RAM and video card, and it still plays everything on the high settings. Granted I'd never pay that much again, it was kind of like buying a new car instead of used. It is nice to do it the one time, but financially it doesn't make much sense. How the heck do you spend $8k on a computer? Was it lined with gold? 1
HoonDing Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Who still needs lap-top? I play Crysis 3 on my iPad. The ending of the words is ALMSIVI.
Blarghagh Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) I have a desktop replacement laptop and I've never really had any problems with it not being supported. I have to admit I don't know much about hardware. I've got a Nvidia Geforce GTX 570 M in it, I don't know how it compares to yours. On the other hand, I tend to have huge heat problems. I've been taught how to open it up, use compressed air to get rid of excess dust and apply new cooling paste and I have an external cooling stand but even then it becomes pretty hard to use during hot days. To be perfectly honest though, I think that's because the laptop was shoddily put together. It's got pretty good components, but the first time I opened it up one of the hard drives almost fell out because there was nothing holding it in place. It's what I get for buying cheap german computers. It's got 16 gigs RAM, a Core i7 2670QM, a 17'3" screen and a built in blu-ray player coupled with the aforementioned video card, and considering I bought it around two and half to three years ago for roughly €1250 so I don't feel like I got ripped off. If I bought it now I'd feel ripped off, but back then it was pretty high end for a low price. I could be wrong though, like I said my hardware knowledge is limited so who knows, maybe I got super ripped off. Edited February 28, 2014 by TrueNeutral
mkreku Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 No, you weren't. It's a solid machine. The CPU holds its own still and the GPU was high end when you bought it. 16 GB RAM is even today somewhat overkill. 1 Swedes, go to: Spel2, for the latest game reviews in swedish!
Zoraptor Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 How the heck do you spend $8k on a computer? Was it lined with gold? My dad spent that much on his laptop. Probably more, depending on what the exchange rate was. It is a nice bit of kit when it's working at least, has a battery life of several million years despite having desktop class processor and video card, SSD, weighs next to nothing, is barely thicker than a finger etc etc. It's not worth what he paid though, he'd have been far better off doing what I advised and getting a cheaper laptop, and a desktop if he really needed the power. Because 99% of the stuff he does is office productivity and a program that doesn't even use multiple cores properly yet. Plus, it's massively over engineered and has broken twice requiring specialist parts to be brought in from Japan or Taiwan or somewhere, taking weeks.
Hurlshort Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 I've never really understood the need to buy technology right when it comes out, either. Buy last year's stuff, it is still fast and much more affordable.
Zoraptor Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 And it's almost always more reliable as well, since it's had time to get the kinks worked out. There's nothing quite as bad as buying a computer and having it break multiple times, because even if it's under warrantee you still don't have the use of the thing or its data until it's fixed.
Humanoid Posted March 1, 2014 Posted March 1, 2014 486 desktops used to cost well in excess of $5000. I don't know for sure, but my dad's DX2/66 monochrome laptop might have cost a similar amount.... But yeah, the enemy of gaming laptops is physics, and short of external GPUs (an idea that's been floated a few times), it's not going to get any better for some time yet. L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G
ManifestedISO Posted March 1, 2014 Posted March 1, 2014 A cheaply-made German laptop ... those words together don't sound right. Not saying it isn't impossible, just a little implausible, according to the stereotype I have built in my mind. That much RAM and a blu-ray player from three years ago for only 1250 squiggly 'E' moneys seems like a good deal. All Stop. On Screen.
Humanoid Posted March 1, 2014 Posted March 1, 2014 Reads to me like a customised Clevo, likely branded a Schenker. So yeah, Taiwanese at heart, but 'finished' in Germany. L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G
greylord Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 There is an unlocked version of drivers for all Nvidia and Ati laptop cards, google it for god's sake. It's made by laptop communities, not official. As to not being as efficient, it's because the cooling system in laptops is just one small fan for both CPU and GPU. Of course it can't be as efficient as in PC where you have 2 fans on the video card alone and another medium one on CPU. Think, man. And who in their right mind buys laptops for gaming. I do. I travel a lot...so yes, I look at what the specs on my laptop is because it will be a gaming laptop. Luckily, over the past year or two have had NO trouble with games myself, at least current games. My problems lie with Win8 and legacy games. I have had major problems getting some of the older games to run on Win8.
Garryydde Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 There is an unlocked version of drivers for all Nvidia and Ati laptop cards, google it for god's sake. It's made by laptop communities, not official. As to not being as efficient, it's because the cooling system in laptops is just one small fan for both CPU and GPU. Of course it can't be as efficient as in PC where you have 2 fans on the video card alone and another medium one on CPU. Think, man. And who in their right mind buys laptops for gaming. I do. I travel a lot...so yes, I look at what the specs on my laptop is because it will be a gaming laptop. Luckily, over the past year or two have had NO trouble with games myself, at least current games. My problems lie with Win8 and legacy games. I have had major problems getting some of the older games to run on Win8. That's weird because my laptop running 8.1 runs older games perfectly. It's more likely a hardware issue than the OS. "I got my go go go go go go go go gadget flow" - Lupe Fiasco
Humanoid Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 Microsoft killed the WinXP mode feature of Win7 Pro, so it's that much harder now to run 16-bit executables - you'll have to set up a VM yourself. Other than that I don't think there's a massive difference in compatibility. L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G
greylord Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 Some of the games had tricks to get them running or fan patches for Win7. Can't get the original StarCraft to run in Win8, nor Dominion Wars, or some of the Civ games, and Warcraft 2 is very hard to get up and running. Diablo has the multicolor thing going...which had a fix in Win 7, but that fix was disabled in Win 8 and Win 8.1 so you can't fix it any more. Starfleet command also does not work anymore, no idea why as it did work with Win 7, but can't get it started with Win 8. I can't get the Lucasarts games to run for the most part, they had a patch to get them working under Win 7, but that doesn't work for Win 8, so no Xwing Alliance. However, it could also be a driver issue for some games. I was able to get Diablo to run on an HP computer with Win 8...but that computer is NOT a gaming laptop...so doesn't have the best card to play with and only about 6 RAM. I was also able to get one old Lucasarts game to run, Xwing vs. Tie Fighter of the Master CD. Overall, most o the other games I can't get running and don't know of anyone or fans that have made patches to do so...unlike Win 7 which had patches to get most of the older games running.
Blarghagh Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) I'm still on Windows 7 so I haven't tried solving problems in 8, but I'm a bit confused when you say you can't get WarCraft 2 up and running because that game runs like a dream on Dosbox. Unless you have one of the later battle.net editions that use windows installers... StarCraft should also run fine unless you're using a cracked version. Blizzard released a slightly updated version that doesn't need CDs anymore about a year back as long as you've got it on your battle.net account. I guess that means I'm not moving to Windows 8, ever. I play a lot of old games and I don't meet a lot that manage to beat me. The only old game that beat me was an old game called "Tanktics", not the actual strategy game but the puzzle game where you had to build tanks to beat obstacles by stacking tank parts. Although Theme Park World gave me a run for my money, costing me three days to get to work and only two days to actually go through all the content the game had to offer. Interestingly, a newer game has had me stumped forever. I have never managed to get Arkham Asylum to work, not on my current computer and not on the one before that. : / A cheaply-made German laptop ... those words together don't sound right. Not saying it isn't impossible, just a little implausible, according to the stereotype I have built in my mind. That much RAM and a blu-ray player from three years ago for only 1250 squiggly 'E' moneys seems like a good deal. Haha, I know it sounds wrong. I'd have written it off as a fluke if my girlfriend didn't have a laptop by the same brand that has some of the same problems. Good components, cheap, but haphazardly put together. I struggle to remember her exact hardware but I remember when looking for a laptop for her, other brands with the same capabilities cost about 400-500€ more. You get what you pay for even in Germany I guess. Reads to me like a customised Clevo, likely branded a Schenker. So yeah, Taiwanese at heart, but 'finished' in Germany. It's a Medion Erazer, the aforementioned laptop my girlfriend uses is a Medion Akoya. I don't know if it actually gets made in Germany, but the company does operate pretty much solely in Germany except that occassionally Aldi stores across Europe will sell their computers (I ordered it in, though). Edited March 4, 2014 by TrueNeutral
Blarghagh Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Oops Double Post, Sorry. Edited March 4, 2014 by TrueNeutral
Humanoid Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Oh Aldi here in Australia sell a ton of Medion branded stuff too, such that it's pretty much considered their house brand. I think the real relationship between the companies is a bit more complex than that, but such is their image. Not seen one in person, but I'd assume it's just OEM parts in a generic chassis. Edited March 4, 2014 by Humanoid L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G
greylord Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 I'm still on Windows 7 so I haven't tried solving problems in 8, but I'm a bit confused when you say you can't get WarCraft 2 up and running because that game runs like a dream on Dosbox. Unless you have one of the later battle.net editions that use windows installers... StarCraft should also run fine unless you're using a cracked version. Blizzard released a slightly updated version that doesn't need CDs anymore about a year back as long as you've got it on your battle.net account. I guess that means I'm not moving to Windows 8, ever. I play a lot of old games and I don't meet a lot that manage to beat me. The only old game that beat me was an old game called "Tanktics", not the actual strategy game but the puzzle game where you had to build tanks to beat obstacles by stacking tank parts. Although Theme Park World gave me a run for my money, costing me three days to get to work and only two days to actually go through all the content the game had to offer. Yep, I'm using the Newer Warcraft 2 version that uses the windows installers. I used to have the older version of Warcraft 2, but got rid of it since up until recently (even with Win 7) the Windows version worked fine and was easier for me in all ways. Now it installs, but doesn't play...even with the 8.1 update. I had no idea that Blizzard had released a new version of the original StarCraft on battle.net. Is it free? Or do I have to purchase a game I own on CD all over again? I've been trying to play off CD...and even with patches it doesn't run of Win 8. There doesn't seem to be any fan patches for it either...perhaps that's due to the battle.net thing you mentioned? The only SFC I've gotten working is SFC 3, but I think some interaction between my drivers and the vidcards is doing something weird...everything shows...but shows UPSIDE down in Win 8. The other SFC versions don't work for me on either of my Win 8 machines. Dominion Wars of course doesn't work on Win 8, did on Win 7. Same goes for Diablo (with fan patch, worked on all comps, not just one), and several other games from the early windows days (95-99) that I have.
Blarghagh Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 You should be able to download that version of StarCraft if you attach your old version of StarCraft to your Battle.net account via the CD Key.
mkreku Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 I'll just throw this in here for the poor dude with the 710M.. Aorus X7 Yours for only $2099! Swedes, go to: Spel2, for the latest game reviews in swedish!
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