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Is buying a GAMING laptop worth the $$?

post #1 of 22
4/7/06 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 
I need someone to convince me that paying the extra money for a better mobile graphics card. As much as I'd like to play games on the road... is it really worth it?
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post #2 of 22
4/7/06 at 10:09am
Hell yeah. After my 9300, I'll never buy a laptop that doesn't have a great gaming card. Unless of course its ultra portable.. Such as a 12".

Another IMPORTANT thing to me now.. WIDESCREEN. I LOVE IT. Definitely can't go back to 4:3.
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post #3 of 22
4/7/06 at 10:36am
absolutley
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post #4 of 22
4/7/06 at 10:56am
if you have a great desktop that runs pc games great. I'd have to say no its not worth it. Simply because you could save 1.8 grand or more lol.

But games do look amazing on the laptop wide screen (like going from tv to hdtv with console systems)
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post #5 of 22
4/7/06 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
So if i have an awesome desktop already you wouldnt recommended getting a gaming laptop? maybe this makes sense. i'm still stuck on the idea.
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post #6 of 22
4/7/06 at 11:21am
The bottom line is even if you have a good gaming desktop, if you plan on wanting to play (the latest) games on your laptop at all you should get a gaming laptop. A laptop with only an integrated graphics chip is not going to run a lot of games, and give poor performance on others.

The nice thing about a gaming laptop, is when Lan time rolls around. Everyone is lugging in thier whole home setup, and you walk in with one case and everything you need.

If you're going to buy a laptop and are not on the tightest of budgets, why not put in just a little more money than the lower end systems and get something with a dedicated ATI or NVIDIA graphics module. Your system will be much more versatile for it.
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post #7 of 22
4/7/06 at 4:16pm
If you want one, get it. You only live once.
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post #8 of 22
4/7/06 at 4:31pm
eh, i end up having mine plugged in at my couch all the time. if u have a gaming rig already, id say nah, just get a uberportable
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post #9 of 22
4/7/06 at 6:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlesbo307
eh, i end up having mine plugged in at my couch all the time. if u have a gaming rig already, id say nah, just get a uberportable
You can get a dedicated graphics module that is low power also. The new X1800XT is actually a lot lower power consumption than the 7800GTX. The 7900GTX should be less power consumption than the 7800GTX also. They can also be underclocked to preserve power, not to mention a lot of laptops clock down the GPU's to save on battery automatically.

It really depends on what you're using it for though. If you want to game at all, you really should get a dedicated GPU from ATI or NVIDIA.
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post #10 of 22
4/8/06 at 7:14am
since your in a lappy forums, and its sager of all parts of the forum, then obviously yes.

-I'm dorming in college, so to me the less and more compact the stuff the better.
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post #11 of 22
4/8/06 at 11:57am
I really wash sager had mxm or whateever its called for changeable video cards.
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post #12 of 22
4/8/06 at 12:09pm
In my opinion, it is completely situational. If you game mostly at home and have a 'normal' schedule, and have plenty of time at home, then no. A gaming laptop is not worth the money.

However, if you go to lan parties, travel, or have a job from hell like mine... I work in detentions, but I've been promoted to a building inspector/consultant. So I'm home maybe... six days a month. Therefore, a gaming desktop is completely worthless to me, and paying four thousand dollars for a maxed out gaming laptop is a very good investment because I love to play games, I love to watch movies on the run, and I want a machine that can do anything I would possibly want a computer to do.

Sure, dragging a seventeen inch laptop is a pain in the neck, along with games, and the power brick that weighs what a laptop does, but I consider it very, very worth the extra money.
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post #13 of 22
4/8/06 at 5:49pm
I travel frequently with work and stay in many hotels around the country.

I find personally that the lure of gaming often outweighs the lure of leaving my room in search of whatever entertainment I may discover in some strange place. In the end, I figure I save enough money over the course of a year to pay for the laptop.

If that isn't justification and rationalization I don't know what is!! LOL
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post #14 of 22
4/8/06 at 6:44pm
If you can afford it, get it. If it works it can´t be a mistake. It´s luxury and you have real power always with you. Perfect for someone like you.... and yes, also think it´s better to stay in your hotel room and play than going outside, throwing your money away for crap and getting into troubles maybe.... Playing is always safe and enjoyable
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post #15 of 22
4/13/06 at 9:17am
Definately,

when you are in doubt think about this.. if you don't get a sager, unwise people will try to talk you into getting a Macbook.. those people think they are getting an amazing deal buying a laptop because "well I don't game I just need a laptop for thinks like surfing the web and stuff"... yea.. well newsflash.. when you got a Macbook you just paid the price of a 5720.. real wise.....

if you don't want to game on the go, you can buy a $499 dell and on every trip you take you will think about how cool it would be to play Battlefield 2 or Oblivion where you are at that moment..With a Sager all you can think is.. Damn.. this thing is a beast....

Now what might hurt your decision is, where do you plan to game on the go? having a gaming laptop does mean it should be somewhere with power.. because Battery life is not great..I do consider my own beast to be more of a portable desktop more than a laptop.. but I have been in my hotel all this week playing oblivion at ultra high quality.. so you can see why I made that leap.
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post #16 of 22
4/13/06 at 9:49am
Yeah, that is sad. A fully loaded macbookpro is the same price as a very well equipped 5720. I would much rather have the 5720.
If you want the best of both worlds I would go with the 5720, as with some tweaking you can get 3 hours of battery life. Get an additional battery and that makes it about 6 hours. It is smaller and a bit lighter than the 9750 and is also quieter. I take mine to school every day and it is great.

I agree about the lan parties... lol
I went to one about two weeks ago and it was hilarious....
All these people were draggin in all their stuff it took them so long.
I just walked in with a backpack and so did my brother (has a dellxps).
It was really funny because people asked if we would be able to game on laptops........ this was really funny because the most powerful desktop there was a pentium 4 with a 6800 gt.... our "little" laptops were way more powerful than all the other desktops.

--k1tty
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post #17 of 22
4/13/06 at 1:53pm
I was kind of shocked actually.. I live in a VERY small one horse town called Stuarts Draft(Menonite Country).. At our last Lan event I looked around me.. and there were a total of 5 Sager Laptops.. some 12 year old kid had a 9750 that was more pimped out than my own.. I had to show him how to harness it's true power.. but I found it impressive that every single gaming laptop at the event was a Sager.. the word is obviously out here.. but when I go to tech forums it seems people think that Acer, Mac and Dell are the only companies who make laptops.
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post #18 of 22
4/13/06 at 4:27pm
My laptop is my primary machine. I use it in my home office where my audio recording equipment is, on my coffee table in the family room for games and net, in my bedroom for movies (not what you think!) and at work for work related crap. In addition I have every application I use, whether it be linux or windows, at my fingertips everywhere I go.

The only desktop I have is a PVR. I have no need for desktops anymore.

I also can't find a wuxga, 17" screen for my desktops.
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post #19 of 22
4/13/06 at 4:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jertc
However, if you go to lan parties, travel, or have a job from hell like mine... I work in detentions, but I've been promoted to a building inspector/consultant. So I'm home maybe... six days a month. Therefore, a gaming desktop is completely worthless to me, and paying four thousand dollars for a maxed out gaming laptop is a very good investment because I love to play games, I love to watch movies on the run, and I want a machine that can do anything I would possibly want a computer to do.
There is a lot of advice here, and I agree with all of it. But I wanted to quote Jertc especially since this was my case. While I was over in Europe, I was on the road a lot for either conferences or other TDY events. Because I used gaming as a good stress relief and the fact that I am not much of a bar rat (no pun), I wanted to have a system that I could game with no matter where I was. I had tried the desktop move, but that wasn't worth the hassle and in some German hotels, there wasn't a lot of space for a desktop.

Thus the reason I got into gaming notebooks.

Now that I am back in the US - I don't travel at all (knock on wood). My needs have changed and thus I believe my buying patterns have as well. I picked up the CX7 (5720) to replace my "still missing" EX7 just so I had a good notebook, but since then, my purchases are based on my desktop.

You have to weigh what is your 75% solution. If you are always on the road - a gaming notebook rocks and makes a major difference. If you are always gaming at home, then there is a lot more you can do with your desktop rig.

Or… if you are rich - buy both!

Good luck with your choice!
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post #20 of 22
4/13/06 at 5:01pm
I follow the same logic as Ratmyr. I travel 6+ months a year and I love gaming to kill the idle time. I have built a nice home system (AMD 4400 X2, SLI 7800GT, 2 gig ram, VX922 19" monitor ...etc) and my Dell XPS M170 is due in tomorrow. I did get in on the good buy deal last week so well worth it to me to have my games with me. No Bar tab will pay for the system anyway.

Just up to your needs and wants .. more so the wants I bet.
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