I'm a super oldschool, everything-must-be-wired, games-on-a-desktop guy so my knowlege and experience with laptops is very minimal. My gf is completing her graduate program and is going out of state for the summer for the internship. She wants a laptop that she can play games (TF2) on and I want to get her one. The desktop is too cumbersome to take and her current laptop is old poop that is due for an upgrade.
I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on what to get or what kind of features to look for. This computer doesn't necessarily have to be a "gaming laptop" (unless it does, let me know). I was hoping to spend 500-600 bucks. My main requirement is that it needs to get a minimum of 60fps no matter what. Even if she's in a 33 player pub with 12 players and 8 explosions on screen I expect the fps to stay at a constant, non-wavering 60 where I will lock it. It's ok for the graphics to be medium-low, but I don't want to have to run any highframe fps configs.
Does my price range realistically match my goals? Any suggestions? I don't know how much time I have to get this before she leaves so I honestly imagine just going to best buy or something and picking it up.
Thanks in advance.
I'm a super oldschool, everything-must-be-wired, games-on-a-desktop guy so my knowlege and experience with laptops is very minimal. My gf is completing her graduate program and is going out of state for the summer for the internship. She wants a laptop that she can play games (TF2) on and I want to get her one. The desktop is too cumbersome to take and her current laptop is old poop that is due for an upgrade.
I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on what to get or what kind of features to look for. This computer doesn't necessarily have to be a "gaming laptop" (unless it does, let me know). I was hoping to spend 500-600 bucks. My main requirement is that it needs to get a minimum of 60fps no matter what. Even if she's in a 33 player pub with 12 players and 8 explosions on screen I expect the fps to stay at a constant, non-wavering 60 where I will lock it. It's ok for the graphics to be medium-low, but I don't want to have to run any highframe fps configs.
Does my price range realistically match my goals? Any suggestions? I don't know how much time I have to get this before she leaves so I honestly imagine just going to best buy or something and picking it up.
Thanks in advance.
It's not possible. For 600 bucks you will be lucky to get 30 fps in a 33 man pub on a laptop. "Gaming laptops" are in the $1000+ range at minimum and in my experience they can barely handle tf2 as well. My friend got an Alienware after I told him not to, gets around 30 fps in pubs, and paid 1000 dollars. My suggestion is to just get a netbook and wait until she gets back to play games.
Edit: grammar
It's not possible. For 600 bucks you will be lucky to get 30 fps in a 33 man pub on a laptop. "Gaming laptops" are in the $1000+ range at minimum and in my experience they can barely handle tf2 as well. My friend got an Alienware after I told him not to, gets around 30 fps in pubs, and paid 1000 dollars. My suggestion is to just get a netbook and wait until she gets back to play games.
Edit: grammar
PaalsIt's not possible. For 600 bucks you will be lucky to get 30 fps in a 33 man pub on a laptop. "Gaming laptops" are in the $1000+ range at minimum and in my experience they can barely handle tf2 as well. My friend got an Alienware after I told him not to, gets around 30 fps in pubs, and paid 1000 dollars. My suggestion is to just get a netbook and wait until she gets back to play games.
Edit: grammar
I'm on a laptop right now and get 130 fps on pubs. Even better during comp matches.
[quote=Paals]It's not possible. For 600 bucks you will be lucky to get 30 fps in a 33 man pub on a laptop. "Gaming laptops" are in the $1000+ range at minimum and in my experience they can barely handle tf2 as well. My friend got an Alienware after I told him not to, gets around 30 fps in pubs, and paid 1000 dollars. My suggestion is to just get a netbook and wait until she gets back to play games.
Edit: grammar[/quote]
I'm on a laptop right now and get 130 fps on pubs. Even better during comp matches.
I used to play at 30-40 fps on a refurbished laptop I got for 400 4 years ago.
Slin and Urban were both playing on laptops at the Intel Lanfest, and they both had decent framerates.
I used to play at 30-40 fps on a refurbished laptop I got for 400 4 years ago.
Slin and Urban were both playing on laptops at the Intel Lanfest, and they both had decent framerates.
sulnPaalsIt's not possible. For 600 bucks you will be lucky to get 30 fps in a 33 man pub on a laptop. "Gaming laptops" are in the $1000+ range at minimum and in my experience they can barely handle tf2 as well. My friend got an Alienware after I told him not to, gets around 30 fps in pubs, and paid 1000 dollars. My suggestion is to just get a netbook and wait until she gets back to play games.
Edit: grammar
I'm on a laptop right now and get 130 fps on pubs. Even better during comp matches.
did you pay 600 dollars for it? What I am saying is that his expectations are high for 600$. You could get 60 fps with chris's max frames, but he does not want to do that.
EDIT: of course you would get higher fps in a comp match, there are less people, explosions etc., less strain on your cpu.
[quote=suln][quote=Paals]It's not possible. For 600 bucks you will be lucky to get 30 fps in a 33 man pub on a laptop. "Gaming laptops" are in the $1000+ range at minimum and in my experience they can barely handle tf2 as well. My friend got an Alienware after I told him not to, gets around 30 fps in pubs, and paid 1000 dollars. My suggestion is to just get a netbook and wait until she gets back to play games.
Edit: grammar[/quote]
I'm on a laptop right now and get 130 fps on pubs. Even better during comp matches.[/quote]
did you pay 600 dollars for it? What I am saying is that his expectations are high for 600$. You could get 60 fps with chris's max frames, but he does not want to do that.
EDIT: of course you would get higher fps in a comp match, there are less people, explosions etc., less strain on your cpu.
TF2 is a CPU heavy game, not a GPU heavy game. Anything with an i5 or i7 (not mobile) will more than likely be good enough.
I don't think that'll fit your price range though.
TF2 is a CPU heavy game, not a GPU heavy game. Anything with an i5 or i7 (not mobile) will more than likely be good enough.
I don't think that'll fit your price range though.
If you just need the laptop to play TF2, just get one with a good processor (say quad-core i5, which may even be overkill, especially with an fps config). TF2 will run perfectly fine with integrated graphics.
If you just need the laptop to play TF2, just get one with a good processor (say quad-core i5, which may even be overkill, especially with an fps config). TF2 will run perfectly fine with integrated graphics.
tl;dr JaguarFiend
tf2 can run on laptops, they don't have to be $600 either
tl;dr JaguarFiend
tf2 can run on laptops, they don't have to be $600 either
Thanks for the replies. Breaking my price range by about $100 shows me these results on Best Buy. Discounting the tiny 14" and less screens, do any of these look like what I may want?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=cabcat0500000%23%23-1%23%23-1~~cabcat0502000%23%23-1%23%23-1~~f1043%7C%7C47616d696e6720536572696573~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~nf1221%7C%7C24363030202d20243639392e3939&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&ks=960&usc=abcat0500000&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&list=y&iht=n&st=processingtime%3A%3E1900-01-01&gf=y
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215660 stretches your budget reallllly far but has a quad and 640m, plenty enough
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215660 stretches your budget reallllly far but has a quad and 640m, plenty enough
JaguarFiendI'm a super oldschool, everything-must-be-wired, games-on-a-desktop guy so my knowlege and experience with laptops is very minimal. My gf is completing her graduate program and is going out of state for the summer for the internship. She wants a laptop that she can play games (TF2) on and I want to get her one. The desktop is too cumbersome to take and her current laptop is old poop that is due for an upgrade.
I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on what to get or what kind of features to look for. This computer doesn't necessarily have to be a "gaming laptop" (unless it does, let me know). I was hoping to spend 500-600 bucks. My main requirement is that it needs to get a minimum of 60fps no matter what. Even if she's in a 33 player pub with 12 players and 8 explosions on screen I expect the fps to stay at a constant, non-wavering 60 where I will lock it. It's ok for the graphics to be medium-low, but I don't want to have to run any highframe fps configs.
Does my price range realistically match my goals? Any suggestions? I don't know how much time I have to get this before she leaves so I honestly imagine just going to best buy or something and picking it up.
Thanks in advance.
I dunno about gaming laptops but I play on my MacBook Pro which, with max frames and settings at low(hardly looks worse than normal) I can run at 200+ fps. I know u can get a refurbished one for like 600-700$ I think. the trackpad i also use for tf2 and its ok once u get used to the mouse accel
[quote=JaguarFiend]I'm a super oldschool, everything-must-be-wired, games-on-a-desktop guy so my knowlege and experience with laptops is very minimal. My gf is completing her graduate program and is going out of state for the summer for the internship. She wants a laptop that she can play games (TF2) on and I want to get her one. The desktop is too cumbersome to take and her current laptop is old poop that is due for an upgrade.
I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on what to get or what kind of features to look for. This computer doesn't necessarily have to be a "gaming laptop" (unless it does, let me know). I was hoping to spend 500-600 bucks. My main requirement is that it needs to get a minimum of 60fps no matter what. Even if she's in a 33 player pub with 12 players and 8 explosions on screen I expect the fps to stay at a constant, non-wavering 60 where I will lock it. It's ok for the graphics to be medium-low, but I don't want to have to run any highframe fps configs.
Does my price range realistically match my goals? Any suggestions? I don't know how much time I have to get this before she leaves so I honestly imagine just going to best buy or something and picking it up.
Thanks in advance.[/quote]
I dunno about gaming laptops but I play on my MacBook Pro which, with max frames and settings at low(hardly looks worse than normal) I can run at 200+ fps. I know u can get a refurbished one for like 600-700$ I think. the trackpad i also use for tf2 and its ok once u get used to the mouse accel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215660
This should do the trick for $100 past your budget. It'll probably play on med-high settings at 60fps locked. Its processor is equal to that of a desktop I5 so it's pretty strong. The gpu isn't strong but for tf2 it doesn't matter, still better than integrated graphics.
EDIT: Kibbles ninja'd me ;_; BTW this laptop is actually very decent so if this is temporary then maybe you should get something worse. Not sure though.
TF2 is a CPU heavy game, not a GPU heavy game. Anything with an i5 or i7 (not mobile) will more than likely be good enough.
I don't think that'll fit your price range though.
That's not true and he's asking for laptop advice not desktop. An i5 or i7 would kill tf2 especially on desktops.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215660
This should do the trick for $100 past your budget. It'll probably play on med-high settings at 60fps locked. Its processor is equal to that of a desktop I5 so it's pretty strong. The gpu isn't strong but for tf2 it doesn't matter, still better than integrated graphics.
EDIT: Kibbles ninja'd me ;_; BTW this laptop is actually very decent so if this is temporary then maybe you should get something worse. Not sure though.
[quote]TF2 is a CPU heavy game, not a GPU heavy game. Anything with an i5 or i7 (not mobile) will more than likely be good enough.
I don't think that'll fit your price range though.[/quote]
That's not true and he's asking for laptop advice not desktop. An i5 or i7 would kill tf2 especially on desktops.
Bought one at Best Buy 710 after taxes... HP Pavillion m6 - 1035dx Entertainment PC I play every thing and anything I wanted so far. Skyrim, battlefield 3, TF2, Crysis, Call of Duty BO2... About the only game that lags on max settings is Skyrim and BF3.
AMD Radeon HD7660G
Quad Core
600gig hard drive
6 gigs of DDR3 Ram
About only downfall so far is sometimes the USB ports die but a quick restart fixes it (only die after laptop gets over heated) It does heat up quickly, Sims 3 has over heated my laptop many of times. But buy a little fan docking station so the laptop stays at a nice level. TF2 is running at a constant 120frames (dips a little when Engies are galore in pubs)
Bought one at Best Buy 710 after taxes... HP Pavillion m6 - 1035dx Entertainment PC I play every thing and anything I wanted so far. Skyrim, battlefield 3, TF2, Crysis, Call of Duty BO2... About the only game that lags on max settings is Skyrim and BF3.
AMD Radeon HD7660G
Quad Core
600gig hard drive
6 gigs of DDR3 Ram
About only downfall so far is sometimes the USB ports die but a quick restart fixes it (only die after laptop gets over heated) It does heat up quickly, Sims 3 has over heated my laptop many of times. But buy a little fan docking station so the laptop stays at a nice level. TF2 is running at a constant 120frames (dips a little when Engies are galore in pubs)
-Update-
I ended up breaking my budget by $100 and getting this laptop:
lenovo G780 Metal (59359250) Notebook Intel Core i7 3632QM(2.20GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory DDR3 1600 1TB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312432
Success! The game runs even during massive on-screen battles in full pubs at a steady 60fps where I locked it. A few times I've had the game flicker a few fps below that (say to 56) but it seems to be pretty random and doesn't correspond to tons of things happening on screen. I may be able to get away with a higher fps lock and possibly higher graphics settings. For now I turned everything down as low as I could but I left the current DX version. The resolution is also set to native, which is real high res so the game still looks surprisingly good even at minimum graphics detail. Only if you really stare can you see that some circles are actually pentagons and stuff like that.
Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread and offering advice!
-Update-
I ended up breaking my budget by $100 and getting this laptop:
lenovo G780 Metal (59359250) Notebook Intel Core i7 3632QM(2.20GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory DDR3 1600 1TB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312432
Success! The game runs even during massive on-screen battles in full pubs at a steady 60fps where I locked it. A few times I've had the game flicker a few fps below that (say to 56) but it seems to be pretty random and doesn't correspond to tons of things happening on screen. I may be able to get away with a higher fps lock and possibly higher graphics settings. For now I turned everything down as low as I could but I left the current DX version. The resolution is also set to native, which is real high res so the game still looks surprisingly good even at minimum graphics detail. Only if you really stare can you see that some circles are actually pentagons and stuff like that.
Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread and offering advice!