Can I Purchase a Good Gaming Laptop or Do I Have to Build One?

I've been reading as much as I can on hardware components needed for a new rig, but feeling overwhelmed.

Do they make gaming laptops or do I have to have one built and who could do it?

I went to micro center and it was going to cost $2100 to have one builit. : (

What is this? "Everyone getting ripped off and lied to day"? Must be because its the holidays.

Im literally on the phone with someone in Australia right now telling them to take back the downgrade they just got lied into getting.

What are the specs for $2100?

Do you absolutely need a laptop?

MSI Asus Maingear and a couple other companies make decent gaming laptops, but theyre all about 2x the price for the performance you get compared to a desktop.

A few points...

1) A gaming desktop will definitely outperform a gaming laptop (by a decent margin) for the same amount of money, but obviously the laptop has the benefit of being mobile. You'll have to decide which is more important.

2) If you are not very comfortable with building computers I would avoid having any shop build it for you simply because many brands and stores will already sell computers with comparable specs without the fees and markups that come with "custom built" laptops.

3) Brands known for gaming laptops like alienware are often marked up simply because of the name, rarely are the specs worth the cost. Do not worry about the maker as much, and focus on the specs.

4) The 4 most important specs are, Graphics Card, Processor, RAM, and Screen size/Resolution.

5) Any model computer you are interested on buying, you should research the graphics card to see a review first, performance definitely varies and some are more suited for gaming than others, such as the Geforce GTX series compared to the standard GT series. (Radeon graphics cards are cheaper but often don't provide the same performance as Geforce but again research is key)

6) A model that is affordable will likely not have top of the line specs for everything, but you can get a good solid gaming laptop for about $750-1000 when they are on sale. You simply need to check on the deal sites everyday for updates. (I just helped a friend find a nice model he ordered over cyber monday.)

This monday, I build my own PC that included Z97k, i5-4690k, GTX 970 4GB, Win 7 64bit, SATA III 1TB harddisk and Thermaltek macho tower fan for processor... all this cost for me around 945e (near 1000USD). Monitor 1920x1080 rex, new case and 500W PSU already had.

I can recommend build for new pc than buy gaming laptop that cant run in max graphics and not so good fps and can be used 1-2 years. It come cheaper for you, when you buy all parts than buy already built PC.

I'm sorry guys I meant to say desktop. I have the money but not the knowledge or know how to build myself.

I live in columbus ohio and will do whatever I can to have it built if I have too and premade if possible

As I mentioned before, having a shop custom build any machine tends to come with fees and markups that really just aren't worth it. That said, a true gaming desktop is slightly more difficult to build and configure than a regular desktop especially when you start tinkering with overclocking and cooling systems to really maximize performance. Depending on how extreme your gaming habit is though, you may or may not actually need a true gaming desktop.

If you just need a desktop that can play games, which is what I think would be best for you, all you really need to do is find a desktop with good specs and just install a good graphics card. It might take a lil effort but trust me you'll save a lot of money that way.

Learn.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgwU-pPDzqA#t=430
That video is for an AMD, but he does a good job going over the rest of the build.
When you go Intel CPU, find a video on Intel CPU install as the CPU and fan install different, other than that the build is the same.

Really man, its not hard anymore.. everything only fits into its slot now really.. everything is keyed to fit only 1 way..
Spend a few hours watching youtube videos, figure out what CPU you want, go watch that install vids.

Building your own will cost you half of retail. Its a good skill to have seeing every 4 years you will want a new one.
Buying retail sucks as the most the parts are from the lowest bidder...
Better off when you build it yourself, then you know exactly what you are putting into it.

If you do decide that you have to buy retail.. read the specs, the fine print specs, not the big flash sticker specs..
Come home research internet for the model, find out exactly what parts are in, then run it by some forums.

https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2...e-can-i-run-it-upgrade-advice-threads.170564/

Read that as well. Its not hard to build one. I just made a list for a guy on here too.

Thats like $1000 less than your ptebuilt would be and is probably better. Switch the i5 for a 4690 or i7-4970 and get a 780 or 980 if you want to blow extra money.

https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2...desktop-intended-for-ps2-dayz-help-me.209644/

I would also say building your own isn't that hard. I've built two in the last 4 years. Besides the videos mentioned, both "PC Gamer" and "Maximum PC" magazines publish magazine-format how-to guides that explain the terminology, show sample builds, and give step-by-step instructions. The sample builds are useful because they give some of the logic involved in matching up components.

I have money I don't have the time or patience to build. Would you recommend this pre-built?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227591

No lol thats overpriced trash.

http://www.maingear.com/custom/computers/custom-desktops.php

Take your pick. If i had to buy a prebuilt id get the Shift. F131 looks good if you need something small.

Thanks for the link. I took a look at them. Is cyberpowerpc a quality brand as well?

I don't know if I should just buy a prebuilt with no additions and be done with it or consider certain component upgrades. I sometimes research things and never make a decision. I tend to want the "best" stuff in regards to electronics even though I am un-knowledgeable about needs.

I would be willing to spend $2500 for the best desktop I can get.

Well read my hardware guide. I focus on build quality first. Maingear appears to me to be one of the best in terms of their component selections for prebuilts.

If you dont want to learn how to build one, you should learn what makes a good one.

The PSU and motherboard brands are usually good indicators of overall quality. Its difficult to find a prebuilt with a Seasonic or other good PSU.

Buying now is also difficult. GM200 GPUs will be out soon. Broadwell too.

Personally in would at least wait for a 1080 or whatever they call the GM200 Geforce. It should be out soon. If you cant wait, id get a Haswell i7 and a 980 for under $2500 easily. You could upgrade a Shift if you got the big PSU option.

Oh yeah and get an APC UPS for your PC. Youll be happy you did the firdt time your power fails
Id get a BackUPS XS1300.

I have an MSI GT72 with a GTX 980m. I play this game and all others on max settings with no problem. The cheapest GT72 is about $2300. You might find a custom laptop vendor who will rip some stuff out to bring the price down to $2100. It's also the only GTX 980 with 8GB of ram.

If you want a desktop (and you should compared to a laptop) it sounds like you need a mid range prebuilt box with a graphics card upgrade, that way you minimise the worst of both worlds and its down to them to make sure its got a decent psu...and get warranty.

Many will tell you building is easy, and it is. Its a big electronic lego set but setting it up into a happy working system isnt always so simple. Thats why i think youd be better off with a prebuilt from a company that can add in an upgraded graphics card.

Basically the end product has to checkbox certain levels of some things for ps2, but not so much for other. Start with an intel quad core at least 3.5ghz, 4ghz+ if you can afford it (i5 perfect, i7 fine but waste of money), 16 gig ram (cheap 1600 stuff will do but do get 2x8s not 4x4), a GTX770 or R9 280x at very minimum (or newer+more expensive, 970s are ok too) and a decent name 550-700W psu with at least 40A (amps) on the +12V rail.

Oh and make sure it has front panel USB3, older inventory tend to have 2 at the front as 3 started coming in around the back. Anything sold as modern today should have front and back USB3 (with some extra USB2 thrown in around the back usually).

hth

The information to build a desktop is literally everywhere..... you can even watch 3294832482390490 videos on youtube for YOUR specific motherboard and components.... how would you not be willing to just watch a video to cut down the price by almost 50% on a bad *** pc?

My specs...
BenQ 22 inch monitor (1920-1080p) <-- last christmas on slickdeals.... i waited

750 watt corsair power supply <--- found this on ebay for cheap with a huge mail in rebate for 80 bucks.

ASUS slix geforce GTX 980 <--- baught this with my christmas bonus from work 3 days ago (but my mid tower did not fit it.. do not listen to anyone who says a mid tower is big enough unless the mid tower is almost a full tower because gtx 970 to 980 is huge.. same for the 970

p8z77-vlk motherboard - and this was a combo at micro center (they do shipping so its worth checking them out for processors since they have amazing deals with intel) and I got my i5-3570k with this for the small price of 200 bucks last holiday

corsair vengeance mechanical keyboard - no deal on that

mouse is the death adder for FPS - and i use naga for mmo/mobas

case recenly upgraded to full tower (vampire) from the mid tower cooler master due to it not having the space needed for the massive gtx 980.

120g ssd drive <--- store only windows on this and got good deal on last years cyber monday. its ok to store your favorite game as well to make it run a bit faster.

1tb hd <--- cheap

cd rom drive <---- super cheap

i spent 750 bucks for my pc in total... i did not buy all the parts right then and there... infact it was killing me for a long time having great pc components laying around my house with no use but little by little I baught these for amazing prices usually close to half off of the original or big rebates on them or with bundles. If price is a big deal for you then I suggest taking my route.. dont let it eat you up... take it slow.. find the good deals... ebay, new egg, amazon, and slickdeals.... try those sites out and buy what you need but just make sure whatever processor you buy you know your motherboard accepts the hardware putting into it.

Like I said before I make good money and it is of no concern. As well, I have clinical AD/HD and have zero patience and focus to build. I watched a video and it didn't seem too bad but wanting liquid cooling and all the bells and whistles I just see myself getting frustrated and messing it up.

I would love to just pay to have the best hardware and have it built for me.

Liquid cooling doesnt equal best hardware.

And if you want the best, do you already have a good monitor and peripherals? $2500 is about enough for a good LGA1150 i7, 16GB and a single nice GPU if you also need a monitor and peripherals(mouse, keyboard, UPS).

If you want quality though, $2500 for a whole setup isnt actually that much.

I'm learning that as I started to dive in and try and learn about hardware and price it out. I'll put some hardware together soon and would appreciate if I'm on the right track in a potential build.