I'm Thinking Of Buying A Gaming Laptop

But I need to know which model I should get. I won't pretend to know a whole lot about computers. I'm just looking for a laptop that's fairly powerful and can handle extended periods of Team Fortress 2 and not encounter any major malfunctions like my family's Mac >_<

So you need a Core i3 or i5 processor (or a 3-core AMD Phenom), 4 gigs of RAM and a decent graphics chipset - I'd recommend Geforce GT 540 M or GT 435 M, Radeon HD 5870 or at least 5730. I'm going for an Asus N 52 DA, but I'm on a budget.

You probably don't want to hear this, but I'd recommend against it. Unless you're living in some cramped quarters or travel frequently, you're better off sticking with a tower. The key reason being is that most laptop batteries don't tend to last long, especially when you're playing cpu/gpu intensive games, and upgrading some models can be either a pain in the ass or outright impossible due to the new parts not fitting (though some laptops are starting to get a little bit better with that issue).

Depends on what he wants to play. You can play some games just fine on a laptop, but if he wants to keep it for playing future games, then yes, a tower is best for gaming for it's ability to upgrade much easier than a notebook.

Point - my main gaming PC is a tower, but I decided to have something capable of gaming when out on holidays etc. And yes, it's better to have an easily upgradable stationary PC.

I just thought that you might be a student and need something to keep in the dorm during the school year and then pick up and take home for summer.

Yes, that's pretty much it.

No. Just no. I did the same thing for the same reason and it wasn't worth it.

If you plan on unplugging it and taking it to class I'd say get a laptop, if it's going to stay in your dorm all the time its probably best to get a tower.

I'd recommend the laptop. The problem is to get a proper laptop. The advantage the tower has is that it is cheap compared to raw horsepower, and it is easier to get something with decent build quality.
I'd recommend to avoid lowend gfx cards at all costs, i had such a laptop. Really handy laptop, but it was really annoying that it choked. Stay above the x6xx series for ati cards at the least, i have no idea on the nvidia system in contrast.

Personally, I'd recommend the Tower. They tend to be cheaper, and in the long run you save even more money since you can just upgrade individual components rather than needing to get an entirely new computer like you will eventually have to with a laptop. I got Sovereign for 1000-1500 (don't remember exactly) AUD last year, and he hasn't let me down once. Crysis 2 on max, something which would have cost a fair bit more if I wanted it with a laptop.

Hey KSPAM I'm in the same situation as you and I use a laptop that's able to game adequately (TF 2 with pretty much no lag aside from the fact that loading each map takes a while longer than my tower- oh and steam can occasionally be a bitch but I think that's more my connection here rather than the laptop)

Mine is a Toshiba Satellite A300 3070MB RAM 2.4GHz dual core. I can't remember the price (I got it quite a while back) but it shouldn't be too expensive.

Power isn't the issue when planning on getting a gaming laptop at all. If you're going to be playing for a long period, plug the thing in. The problem is heat. I have a laptop that would theoretically make an awesome gaming laptop, but if I run it at its full potential, it overheats and turns off after at most 45 minutes.

So always pug it in? Sounds reasonable.

I was thinking one of those new Alienware laptops, but they seem expensive. What do?

I have an Asus, but I can't find the model number. Still, it cost less than $1000, has graphics that are good enough to play Fallout New Vegas on medium graphics setings (while crashing every hour or so, but I don't think the problem is graphics card related and it stopped after a while). It also has some air holes on one of its sides, which reduces overheating. It does go through power fairly quickly though, so keep it plugged in while playing. And to those of you recommending taking a Tower to college, a PC takes a lot of space in a car, and car space is a commodity to a college student.

lrrose: My old laptop could play new vegas at medium, that is not a benchmark statement. I would recommend something like 1600x1200 smooth 60 fps on a game like Mass Effect 1 or 2 for "minimum".

^Does Team Fortress 2 have significantly better graphics than New Vegas?

New Vegas crashing is just New Vegas crashing. It does it all of the time, though only in the early game (for me, at least). Nothing to do with your graphics card.

^Thought so, but this thread isn't about my misunderstanding of graphics cards.

I bought an Asus G50v back when they were on sale at Bestbuy. Pretty good machine, even today, for what I game with. Runs New Vegas fine, Bad Company 2 runs decent, as well.

However, as mentioned over and over, if you want to upgrade something later on, a desktop rig is better for that. I think Asus is using some proprietary connector on their nVidia GS 9800M card, so I can't simply swap in a more modern 380M and be done with it... ...Or So I Heard.

It spends most of its time on my desk, though. Only goes mobile once a week or so. I like the form factor, enough that my next laptop will be an Asus, most likely.

So does anyone have any other recommendations for regular laptops that can handle extensive gaming?

I recently got a Lenovo Thinkpad t510 with i5 and it's worked really well running all of the games I have, plus it has a really good-quality keyboard and is very sturdy. A friend has an Alienware laptop and likes it, but it's pretty bulky and is hella expensive, so you might be better off getting an Asus or Lenovo.

Alienwares, especially those 11 inch ones, are pretty much bricks.

Toshiba has a Qosmio line, it's pretty solid, but the color may not appeal.

If you get a high-end laptop, be very wary of heat. I had a high-end laptop that I used during college — it was pretty dead for the last year, and died completely not long after I graduated. (This is a significant issue for a compsci major...)

I'd recommend looking into one of those cooling pad things, but if you do, make sure it's the kind with a separate power source, not using USB or something. Yeah, that makes it useless for travel, but drawing power from the laptop in order to cool the laptop often generates more waste heat than the fans cool down.

Well, even if it does use USB, you can get a separate USB power supply. I found that easier than getting a fan that wasn't USB.