Smaller gaming laptop < $2000

[Demure_Mcclure]

I'm looking at getting a small laptop 12"-13", more than likely a 13". I'm looking for something less than $2000, but closer to $1500-$1600 would be even better. The 2 laptops that I have been looking at are the Dell XPS M1330, and the Sony SZ series. Reliability is going to be important, and I have heard the Sony might not be so good for that.

Thanks for any help.

[PCJ]

The Dell 1330 is really your best option. Putting a decent video card into a 13" laptop is hard, which is why they are so expensive. For about $1800 you can get a Dell 1330 configured quite well.

[kent1146]

Dell XPS M1330.

It's cheaper, it's easier to find parts (extra charger, extra batteries, etc), those parts will be cheaper if you do need them. The Dell XPS M1330 can be configured with an LED-backlit screen (looks fantastic), has touch-sensitive media buttons, remote control, 2 headphone ports, HDMI out.

And you can buy great warranty / support on that laptop rather reasonably... a 3-year onsite next-day support w/accidental damage protection will take care of pretty much any problem with your laptop outside of the laptop getting stolen.

Unless there is some strong reason for you to buy a Sony SZ series, I'd recommend you go with the Dell XPS M1330. It's a f*ckin SWEET laptop.

[iamsostupid]

if you are going to be gaming, you pretty much have little choice but to find a laptop with a 8800M GTX and there aren't very many of them. they will be around $2000, and I don't know how 'small' they are going to be. The Sager NP5792 is the only one I can find and it has a 17" screen.

Seriously, though, we are at the end of the year. You don't want to buy a laptop right now. Intel's new chips will be in laptops by the end of January and will bring higher clocks and lower watts. Quad cores, also.

ATi's 3800 series Radeons will also be available for notebooks, and if you can wait until springtime, nvidia will have a new architecture for us. of course, no details on it yet.



of course you could go with an 8700GT or 8600GT if you want to play at low res/quality, but that's not me. a geforce go 7950 would be faster

[kent1146]

if you are going to be gaming, you pretty much have little choice but to find a laptop with a 8800M GTX

That's like saying that if you want desktop gaming, you pretty much have no choice other than to buy an nVidia 8800GTX... anything less is useless [/sarcasm]

Sometimes, when people want a gaming laptop, they want more "laptop" than they want "gaming". If I wanted something that was going to be stationary 95% of the time, and wanted the best gaming experience possible, I'd buy a desktop or a 17" laptop.

But sometimes, I want a laptop that moves around with me (people who travel for work, students that bring their laptops around everywhere) that ALSO HAPPENS to be able to play games on the side. You don't need a 17" DTR w/8800GTX in it for that to happen.


Seriously, though, we are at the end of the year. You don't want to buy a laptop right now. Intel's new chips will be in laptops by the end of January and will bring higher clocks and lower watts. Quad cores, also.

ATi's 3800 series Radeons will also be available for notebooks, and if you can wait until springtime, nvidia will have a new architecture for us. of course, no details on it yet.

Anybody who has been in computers for more than a few years will tell you to buy what you can afford when you need it, because you need it. There's always something great "just around the corner". You will never find a time when they "run out of ideas" and hardware is as good as it is going to get.

[WyldGoat]

I use the 8700GT and it works fine with games. I even use Vista! (And it still works great).

I'm not sure what you mean by low res/quality. Of course it won't be as fast as a desktop. It's a laptop. It moves around. You can't expect something the size of a full blown tower to be as good in a super cramped up space.

So if you want to have max res, max settings, etc, Go desktop. If you want a laptop that can play everything, with MED settings, put a good vid card, good ram, and your good to go. You might miss a few graphical sparks here and there, but you'll be able to play in an airport ;)

[PCJ]

Just to give you an idea, here's what a 8600GTS runs (other components are a 2.2GHz C2D and 2GB RAM):
Call of Duty 4 at 1440x900 high
Crysis at 960x600 medium or 1280x800 low-medium

[Demure_Mcclure]

Thanks for the input. Looks like the Dell is the way to go. Right now I travel a lot for work, but am actually going back to school in the spring which is why I wanted a more portable laptop.

How much of a difference is the better screen on the Dell? It is $300 which is a big increase in price.

[PCJ]

The backlighting is a bit more even. It's smaller. It will give you an increase in battery life that you probably wont notice. You make the call.

[kent1146]

I would totally go with the LED backlight. It's thinner, brighter, better color, battery lasts longer... all in all, a much better "screen", and one of the primary reasons to buy the M1330 over the Sony.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166419

If you're worried about the price, then I would shop on eBay for the laptop you want. Sellers are often reputable (but use common sense, of course), have stock-in-hand (you can have your laptop by Friday), and all warranties / ownership are both transferrable and upgradeable.

In any case, definitely go with the LED. That screen is hot sex.

[Demure_Mcclure]

After reading that forum, the fact that the price went from $150 for the LED to $300 is interesting. Maybe I should wait a while and see if they offer it as a free option like the one post said they did in Canada. I don't really need the laptop for the next 2 months.

[kent1146]

That's always an option. It certainly won't go up in price... and you always open up the opportunity for coupons / deals to come out.

[Demure_Mcclure]

How is the Dell 1420? Seems like it is pretty comparable to the 1330, no LCD monitor, but other than that it seems like you can get mostly the same stuff as the 1330 but for a few hundred dollars cheaper than the 1330. I know it is an inch larger, but for the price different it might be worth it for me.

[kent1146]

It's definitely an option. The only real difference is the size and form factor difference... but if you are price sensitive, then the 1420 may be a better chocie. It's always better to get a laptop with a standard chassis and upgraded parts, than to get a laptop with a slick chassis but mediocre parts.

[mjdart]

Look at these specs also comes in 14" besides the 15.4"
System Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)

Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate

Operating System Language: Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate US English

Display Panel: 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT

System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256MB Open GL)

Total memory: 4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)

Keyboards: Keyboard US English

Pointing Device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader

Hard Drive: 160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm

Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim

System expansion slots: PC Card Slot & Smart Card Slot

Card Reader: 4 in 1 Media Card Reader

Wireless cards: Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN (supporting Centrino Pro)

Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN

Battery: 9 cell Li-Ion Battery

Power cord : Country Pack North America

Language Pack: Language Pack US English

3 year depot 9x5 Next Business Day Warranty 41C9170

Wondering what it is - Lenovo ThinkPad T61p that video card is actually a decent gamer and that laptop is loaded. You can buy them new direct from Lenovo for ~ $1750 or new off Ebay ~ $1400
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[kpxgq]

dell/alienware makes a 15" with geforce 8800m