A portable study/gaming laptop

Madals

Madals

Madals

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Joined
2 Aug 2010
Posts
141
Location
Sussex
So, here is the tall order. What makes a good portable/gaming laptop these days. I have spent so much time with desktops I am really out of anything that isn't trying to max dx11 games. Problem is, lugging an antec 900 round with a monitor isn't something I am cool with ;)

So, here is ideally what I would like:
i5 minimum.
nvidia or ati gpu
4gb RAM min
SSD
good resolution screen
15inch screen max
portable
A cool look (macbook pro design is awesome).
Ideally no more than £1200 although that may be pushing it. If over budget scrap the SSD.

My main aims for the system are:
Taking notes at uni
watching movies
playing games (dont require high settings, as long as it will run SC2 at some level).

I would be tempted with a macbook pro 13/15 inch - just not sure I want OSX :D
 
I have had a look at the m11x - the one thing that put me off was by the looks of the design it seems to be quite chunky for its size? It could just be my imagination but it looks out of proportion - or is it just the pictures?
 
Will see if I can find a store near to me.
On the other hand, is a 15inch not portable? Atm I have a 19inch desktop replacement so am out of it in regard to what is easy to take around...
 
If it's something you're gonna carry with you around, I'd stick to 14'' at the very max for portable system. Ideally, a 13''.

You should check out the HP Pavilion dv3-2310ea. It wont be able to match the m11x for graphical power (about 1/2), but according to netbookcheck, should play it on low. Not sure about battery life, but it should have switchable graphics, and over 4 hours battery for light work.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-4550.25536.0.html

EDIT : just saw the dv3-4050ea as well. the HD 5450 should perform better and cooler (40nm instead of 55nm tech), and is DX11, and with an i5. It's got a metal chassis apparently.

In a similar category, Samsung is bringing the QX310 this month or the next. Graphics power is about 1/2 the m11x, and good for low spec gaming. It's quite similar to the dv3, with a smart looking aluminum chassis.

One of the best ultra-portable machine atm is the Acer 3820TZG with a HD 5650, but it's not available in the UK.

The very best all rounder has to be the Sony Vaio Z, but way out of your budget.

In the semi-portable category, you have the Envy 14, but I would only go for one with the Radiance screen (900p screen). Would be quite heavy and bulky for uni (especially with the slice battery), and expensive if it gets nicked.
 
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Alienware's M11X is very portable and powerful enough to game at it's native resolution. It will handle Crysis and COD:MW2 and breeze through any HL2 engined games.

Just returned mine because it feels a bit too portable for me. Avoid the Core 2 Duo / Pentium models as their LV CPUs are too bloody weak for a gaming machine. Sure, they do give great battery life, but they're weedy as hell.

Don't be fooled by the pictures, it is very much a lappy you can sling in a satchel and forget about it. It's very well made, feels very rugged, but if you are averse to smaller laptops (13" I can handle, loved my Macbook's size) like netbooks (which I despise) then maybe give it a miss.

Just as a final point, the screen size bugged me a little too. The high resolution model (which I had) gave incredible detail, but on a screen that size doing more than one thing at once becomes strenuous unless you hook it up to an external monitor (which it has great connectivity for), but on a higher res monitor I'm dubious to how well the GPU's performance will scale.
 
I just bought a Lenovo Y460 which meets all your specs bar the SSD, I am not sure if the 1366x768 resolution is enough for you though. You will struggle to find high resolution panels in this size range though.

At half your budget you could easily chuck an SSD in there and still have money left over.

You get an i5, can chose the 425M Nvidia (Optimus) model or the AMD 5650 (Switchable Graphics) one, 14.1" LED screen, multi touch pad, 4GB RAM, webcam, etc etc. I think it has a cool look also :p

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5733&review=lenovo+ideapad+y460

It gets a good write up.
 
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