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NYT: The New Breed of Gaming Laptops Get Serious
securitas writes "The New York Times' Seth Schiesel writes about hardcore gamers and the growing trend toward high-performance gaming laptops. Traditional enterprise computer manufacturers like Dell and HP are entering the gaming markets dominated by VoodooPC and Alienware, with the specialty high-end PC makers going the other way and breaking into corporate markets. There are some accompanying graphics and quotes from hardcore gamers about the Alienware Area 51m, Dell Inspiron XPS, and VoodooPC Envy m:750."
I don't know how many people really game on their laptops or if they just want that ability, but I know that the only time I would use it would be on long car trips.
But How often do you need to be in that kind of situation to buy a gaming laptop? I have a desktop PC specifically for gaming (among other things) and a laptop for remote work in the library. Is the high latency/low brightness/low color quality of the laptop screens really a good idea for gaming?
I don't know, I always keep my laptop strictly for work and my desktop for everything else. I don't know anyone who would seriously game on their laptop.
I am defenseless. Use your button. Mod me down with all of your hatred.
Laptops need to be able to have video cards that are easily upgradeable for they to really give desktops a run for their money. With a laptop, you've essentially made a commitment to a particular level of video card power for the life of the laptop. I don't like the idea of replacing a $2000 laptop every 18 months for cutting-edge gaming performance.
We really need a common standard for laptop video cards.
Help me understand why gaming on a PC that costs $3000-$4000 makes more sense than gaming on a $200 console?
To the topic, I can see if you want to game on an airplane you would need a laptop or some console that doesn't exist today, but isn't a great deal of excitement in games these days all about interconnected gaming with the First Person Shooters?
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
Shane M. Kluskowski, 16, leaned over the row of empty caffeine drink bottles that separated him from Victor and said that he was washing dishes 20 hours a week at a nearby diner to pay off his own $2,100 laptop.
"It's the best investment ever," Shane declared. "I am going to keep it for the rest of my life, probably, because I won't be able to afford another one."
Thats what I said about my 266mhz K6 laptop I bought in 1998....
I think every geek felt that way once, when the world was shiny and new.
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
but if I were a teen today I don't think my parents would buy me a $3199 laptop for playing games. linky
Yeah, this is probably off-topic... (Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn! Meshugganah brats... *grumble*)
PS If your kid is saying "It works as good as a normal computer" perhaps games shouldn't be a priority. I'm just sayin'.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
Which of course leads to my other rant: I wish they would design PCs so the average joe could upgrade them without having to open the case. Aside from taking away business from companys that upgrade PCs, is there any reason why CPUs, video cards/network cards/etc (except the motherboard of course) couldn't just be encased in plastic modules so that Joe Schmo could just plug them right in (something along the lines of the old video game cartridge)? (Something like the slot1 pentium cpus) This would require drastic changes to the ATX layoug, but it seems like it would be a good thing in the long run.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Subject says it all. It isn't fun to move a desktop around
please excuse my apathy
Did anyone notice if battery life is mentioned in that article? Because if it is, I couldn't find it. While a laptop is nice and portable, is a laptop with a one hour battery life really practical? Unless you're hardcore for the LAN parties, I don't think this is really useful. For the $2000+ you spend on a gaming notebook that, with the exception of the Alienware (I think you can upgrade the video chipset), you're stuck with what you buy. At least with a $2000 desktop, you can change out parts in three years when it becomes obsolete.
Ever since their inception laptops have been marketed to the business sector where the purchasing price is less relevant than the total cost of ownership. In a nutshell, most companies would rather pay more to buy a laptop that has solid hardware support than pay to hire someone who was capable of doing that job. Upgrades for laptops have typically been either proprietory and limited - memory and network, or via pccard which is still limited.
Many personal users, especially gamers, have held the opposing view - buying the best machine that their cash can buy and supporting the machine themselves. Many machines have been given new leases of life through CPU, memory, sound- and graphics- card upgrades. Desktop PCs architecture is incredibly open.
I wonder if the manufacturers will cater to this new breeed of laptop buyers. Will we see upgradable graphics cards? How about an upgradeable motherboard? Will there eventually be a range of components from different manufacturers that could be used to build a completely custom laptop?
I guess that it's time for a new standard. Desktop PCs have had the AT and ATX standards to help ensure physical interoperability between components. Newer standards (FlexATX, MicroATX etc) have helped spawn smaller desktops.
AFAIK, no such standard exists for laptops. Yet.
I'm a Q3er and I'm still running my P3-600 with a Geforce2 GTS and after a lot of time spent tweaking the game, I can keep my FPS above 100FPS at 8x6 with pretty good detail, and I can still beat people with the LATEST hardware. You can't tell me that you need the absolute fastest hardware to be able to play a game; it's the gamer, not the machine. I'm not even thinking about upgrading (just because after I outgrow q3 I won't game anymore).
You could have a Porsche and Rick Mears will still own you with a Cavalier.
I recently replaced the battery on my brother's PowerBook. Apple's supposedly top-notch hardware failing less than six months from purchase.
Shit happens. And then is when you wish for good support. (My international warranty was honored, but had to wait weeks while they imported the battery)
As any traveller will tell you, a portable gadget is only as reliable as its durability. When you're talking about a $2000+ gadget that weighs anywhere between 5 to 13 pounds, is constructed of weak plastic, silicon, and an LCD screen that costs half of the entire system alone, people are very, very wary of actually using a system such as this for its intended purpose. Hardcore gaming while travelling.
Why is everyone here obsessed with getting the top of the range laptop to play games. It is really not needed. My laptop that is a year old costs less than 1900 euro , has a pentium 4 mobile 2.2 with 640Mb RAM and a GeForce4 420 Go and is 2.7Kg (6 pounds.... I think). This is easily good enough to play all the 3D games out there. You dont need 150 FPS because it is a LCD screen. Having a 3.6GHz HT Pentium 4 in a laptop will get really hot really quick. Then in a years time you will have a heavy hot brick of a laptop that is still fast but not very. Plus you battery life means that you can not really play away from a power socket anyway.
...its all entertainment)
On the other side it is your money and you can do what you want with it. (Beer, bedroom companions, laptops
Check out this months issue of Maximum PC for pretty good reviews on all those laptops. According to them the Dell is quite the machine.
Until the day laptop graphic parts become superior, I am 100% on the desktop.
Can't imagine the temperature issue of a graphics card inside a laptop.
astroturfing n. The use of paid shills to create the impression of a popular movement, through means like letters to newspapers from soi-disant `concerned citizens', paid opinion pieces, and the formation of grass-roots lobbying groups that are actually funded by a PR group (astroturf is fake grass; hence the term). This term became common among hackers after it came to light in early 1998 that Microsoft had attempted to use such tactics to forestall the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust action against the company.
This backfired horribly, angering a number of state attorneys-general enough to induce them to go public with plans to join the Federal suit. It also set anybody defending Microsoft on the net for the accusation "You're just astroturfing!".
Methinks slashdot needs to be more careful about who gets moderated up in these discussions. Of course if parent poster is not guilty, let them prove it.
Liberty.
Unless you're fine with blowing that much money, take a step back and think of convenience vs. necessity.
For you it may not make sense. For some people who have high disposable incomes but not much living space (like those in NYC), a high power laptop capable of gaming is a fantastic option. Saving $1500 is nothing compared to not having a huge desk (with a massive 21" CRT and a huge tower) eating up a huge chunk of your space. Since you're going to buy a $2000 laptop anyway, adding another $1000 to make it a kick-ass gaming system is not a big deal.
-- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.
Then again, I'm not the type of person to bitch if mp3's have "degraded sound quality" in comparison to cd's. If I can hear the band and they sound good, then I'm happy. If I can see your head explode as I fire the lightning gun, then I'm happy.
I'm a college student. Even with the brightness all the way up, bluetooth and 802.11 enabled, I can still make it through the day taking notes and playing games in between classes. The battery life isn't bad at all, but I don't think that's such the big deal for the kids buying these laptops (or, more accurately in most cases, having these laptops bought for them). I think it's just easier to lug around a 12 pound laptop than it is to lug around your 21" Flat Screen CRT and Antec Mega-Tower with 30 pounds of water-cooling equipment in it. These kids aren't going out to Bryant Park to play Everquest, they're not gaming on the bus. They're bringing their computer with them to friend's houses, home to visit the parents, to the library, all places where they most likely will have easy access to 110VAC.
You used to have a really crappy sig, but then I stole it.
That really sounds more petulant than anything else. Do you really look down on people because they don't have the same motivation that you do?
What would you say to someone who DOES enjoy games, but learned Java in 3 months while TEACHING 15 hours a semester? Would you acknowledge that person as superior and redouble your efforts to exceed him?
If you do something right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
Good. I don't think we want some of these people breeding anyway. Especially that guy who said he'd trade his Mustang for it. I'm serious! :)
Ah am not a crook! (\(-__-)/)
I recently bought a fujitsu N5010 for a desktop replacement. It's got a radeon 9600 mobility chip with 64mb of vram. Sure...it doesn't beat a desktop, but considering the type of work I do and the games I play, it fit the bill. This computer has a screen to die for. It's a 600:1 contrast ratio...bring on full sun. No problem. For more folks, raw speed is irrelevant now. I would have preferred a centrino or amd based system so I could have had better battery life, but once I saw this screen....I had to have this one. The screen on this laptop beats anything I've ever seen. Sony's x-Brte is probably very similar. FWIW, I have a very small desk space (dining table) and I need to put a computer away very frequently to use the space for other things. So ten pound laptop is just fine. Portablity isn't everything. Getting rid of cables, separate monitors and the abilty to put it up at the end of the day, out weigh the power of a desktop. Probably not only for me, but for quite a few other folks too. The market for these kind of machines has got to be growing as people discover that they don't need uber power in order to process words. A tidy desk is qutie a triumph!