Guild Wars 2

Hey

I’m currently looking into upgrading my laptop, I currently own a Lenovo Z580 i7 with a GTX630 Graphics card & Seagate Hybrid 7200 SSD harddrive.

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the Alienware 17, 4G GTX980 model but the price just seems very steep at £1500.00.

I’m not expecting to spend pennies I’d just appreciate someone who could suggest something similar in spec but at a smaller price. OR just to put me straight and point out If I want this level of perfomance I’ll have to fork out for the Alienware laptop.

Any and all responses welcome, thanks to anyone that response in advance.

Regards,

Woah, that’s a lot of cash for a laptop oO

First things first: Is the laptop a must? Because for that kind of money, you could get an amazing desktop PC and a laptop to carry around to uni or work or whatever on top of it.

That said, what is this laptop for, exactly? Only GW2 (probably not)? Other games, too? If so, which ones, and in what way do you play them (highest settings, for hours on end, modded to hell and back…)? How long is this laptop supposed to last?
Because there are very few scenarios which justify buying an Alienware laptop (ridiculously overpriced, imo), and knowing a little more about what you intend to do with said laptop might point a helpful soul into the right direction.

What do you want to do with the laptop? Just gaming? Using it for school/university?

Ahhh… Delgan, gaming laptops and all are great, but I would avoid them like the plague. All that power and heat in a box is just asking for trouble. My GPU started giving up on the fight half-way through to the end of the warranty, and it went unbearable right after it. That small form factor just… kills it so much faster. That, coupled with the inability to swap out parts reliably, tinker with it, and whatnot, made it a waste for me. The laptop GPU, that is.
If you need it for work, get a laptop without a GPU (i.e. an ultrabook). Nowadays, Intel processors have great graphics, so you will be able to run laggy GW2 on it. For gaming – why not a desktop?

Thanks for all the responses!

I’m going to be using the laptop for a range of things, I travel alot and spend little time in one place but when I play my games I don’t like compromising on anything – which results in a hefty cost but imo a worthwile result.

Now the cooling issues brought up are addressed in the alienware laptop with some impressive cooling gear built in not to mention 3year guarentee when bought directly through Dell (basically if I drop it, I pay / part packs up on me they repair or replace).

I’m also wanting something future proof to some extent, the only games I currently play are GW2 & Borderlands PRESEQ – both play alright on my current laptop.

Upgrade is really to set me up for the future.

You guys know any specifc models or brands that provide decent gaming laptops of a high spec?

getting a pretty decent performance from my lenovo y510.
Grab the sli model if u can.
and u can find it pretty cheap.

Hi Delgan,

First off, I know most (semi-)hardcore violently flinch at even the mention of gaming on a laptop and I do understand why. Price/quality-wise, it’s madness because you need to shell out nearly twice as much cash for a machine that is not nearly as good. But, if your lifestyle requires laptop gaming, and you’re able and willing to accept the price hike – then all those arguments become obsolete. My lifestyle was a lot like yours in my last job, so I do understand where you’re coming from.

Having said that – and I know it’s been asked before, but worth repeating in imo: bearing in mind that you could get a solid gaming desktop (fully upgradeable) + a decent working laptop for about the same price… is a gaming laptop definitely, without a doubt, the only option for you?

If it is, then an Alienware is definitely is one of the priciest options out there, but they’re so darn pretty! ;-) Asus, Acer and MSI make gaming laptops too, but I’ve never owned one. I did have an Alienware laptop a couple of years back and loved it. The reason I bit the bullet and forked out the extra cash was because I could still somewhat influence the specs (e.g. pick my own graphics card and processor). None of the other gaming laptops I looked at let me do that. Also, Dell’s customer service contract was more extended than any other manufacturer’s at the time. Problem was, a couple of years of game play was all I got before I was struggling to get to 20fps in open world and boss events – well… they were a great time for me to get a cuppa while my screen froze for 10mins in a blur of bright light.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, no matter what top-of-the-line beast of a machine you buy now, whatever you spend is likely what you’ll be spending again (if not a bit more) in about 2yrs time, maybe 3 on the outset. Since you won’t be able to upgrade just your processor or graphics card like on a desktop, you’ll need to replace your entire machine when you start to notice it’s no longer handling the game(s) as well.

I mention this especially because you said you’re wanting to get something to set you up for the future – don’t underestimate how fast that ‘future’ can come rolling around when you’re a laptop gamer.

Have you already checked online for gaming laptop reviews? I recently came across this one: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/laptop/3467286/14-best-gaming-laptops-2015-uk/

There must be more out there…

Asus has some great laptops for gaming. I have one that is about 6 years old, and it still runs GW2 fairly well. I can’t go highest graphics of course, but I do get medium/low settings, which I am ok with. Plus it does have a few upgrade options. (RAM, CPU, GPU)

If you are looking for a powerful gaming laptop ~$1500 USD is about the average price, although you might be able to find a deal somewhere.

Check out this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NVV2B98/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/176-8560944-6655261?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=02KYWY37ZSPGWXNW2W4K&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687502&pf_rd_i=B00NWE9RPA
It’s a great laptop, but it is spendy.

I’m running a basic A10 with 8G of RAM with a Radeon 8610 grapics card. GW2 runs fine at medium-high graphics settings and for screen shots I can still bring it all the way up. For PVP I drop it to the lowest graphics settings just to be certain lag doesn’t play a role in my loss.

I might have some problems when HoT hits but I’m more than happy with is now.

Long years ago I bought a DELL XPS gaming laptop (back when you could configure your options when ordering from them). I think it was $4K … and it lasted me about 4 years after which I gave it to a niece because it was about as good as her desktop. It was a heavy beast, more a portable computer than a laptop, but I could plug peripherals into it and use it as my WoW machine on the go. For cooling I put it on this neat telescoping x-shaped rack I bought at Best Buy, with that on top of a flat fan.

It did fine, just had the video fry once and warranty covered a guy coming to my house to replace that.

A thousand a year seemed ok to me (back then a good desktop was around $2K and might need replacing in 2 years), though eventually my needs changed and I went to pure desktop use with a tablet for internet while traveling. Nowadays I don’t think I could deal with laptop limitations on my MMO’s.

The main thing is that laptops do keep getting more powerful, but so do desktops. At some point laptops may match what a desktop can do and be as comfortable to use. For now, be ready to spend big bucks to get comparable performance, and even bigger bucks to get something that will last long enough to make it worth the purchase.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-15-6-Inch-Laptop-59406636/dp/B00HIY8VLQ

My only input: If you’re planning on using the laptop as something you’d actually want to travel with, you may want to just steer clear of the Alienware. I have the 14" Alienware and can tell you a few things about it. One, it is LOUD with the fan going – like jet engine loud, turn up your music to max volume to drown it out loud. Two, it is very, very heavy – like 6 or 7 pounds for the 14" one. Three, it is great for gaming, as I get no lag, although the graphics obviously aren’t as good as a gaming tower.

I haven’t researched laptops recently, but I thought you should get some Alienware info from an owner of one. I hope that helps in some way. Also make sure your CPU is capable, and that the CPU or video card is not where you have to rest your hand. I had tried to use an HP laptop prior to my Alienware and I almost got burns from the heat coming off of it. GW2 is intensive and will tax any laptop – cooling is going to be really important.

i have an asus with a GTX860m and my pal has one with a GTX850m. both laptops run the game well.

I use a refurbished Asus G750 I picked up for around $850ish (after rebates, etc.) about a 6-12 months ago and it works pretty darned well.

I’ll throw in that I used to play GW2 on a Dell Insperion 1500 back in the day so you don’t need to to much to actually run the game.

I will also say that you can get better or equivalent to Alienwere for usually quite a kitteneaper. I’ve always like MSI so take a look at their MSI GP series. The mid range retails for around $1000 USD.

Gigabyte is another good one with the P37X and P35K v3 and range in price from 1400USD to 3000USD

I looked at Alienware a couple years ago. Ten minutes of internet research was enough to scare me away. Waaaaayyy too many scary stories about horrible customer service. I’m pretty sure Alienware is better at advertising than actually building and selling quality computers for a good price.

I’ve read pretty good things about Asus, but I don’t own an Asus myself.

I’ve been playing GW2 on an old MacBook Pro (Intel HD 3000 graphics) for the last year. No issues but obviously I have to turn the settings way down to get a decent frame rate. Apple laptops are spendy but I’ve never had a problem with one and they last forever in my experience.

I don’t know if they do laptops but I was nearly 100% satisfied with the CyberPower PC I bought (and am using now). It would be 100% if they hadn’t left a paper disk inside the unopenable fan casing on the liquid cooler fan, which occasionally starts buzzing and rattling like a dying insect. Also when ordering I had a shipping date, when receiving order confirmation that got bumped 2 weeks or so and I was trying to get it before TESO came out … barely did get it in time.

But the computer itself is very nice, they were communicative in email, and I got to choose most all my components and case. If they do laptops, I’d consider them a trustworthy source.

If you or anyone else are still looking for a gaming laptop, try Eurocom X8. Go to their site and build your own laptop. The prices jump up and down depending on your currency every few minutes. It turned out to be cheaper than what Asus offered me, however it might be different at your region.