High Performance Gaming Laptops On A Budget?

Cory Tunney writes "In my quest to find a gaming laptop that will fulfill my gaming fantasies, but not kick me in the wallet at the same time, I've come across many options. Alienware is out of the question, as are companies like VooDooPC, but out of the rough comes companies less known but with impressive hardware. Sager seems to have won over a pretty large group of fans, and iBuyPower also seems to put out a decent amount of bang for the buck. However, when it comes down to it, I am still left with several options and I do not know what road to travel. So here's the jist of it - a system with a price tag around $2,000, a high-end video card (Radeon or the equivalent NVidia) and a system with an AMD would be a plus, but I will not rule out Intel if they can offer similar performance. So, Slashdot readers, what systems can you recommend?"

Comments

Re:Dunno if this counts

[joeljkp]

I also purchased a 5150, but I got mine last fall for $2k (student discount):

• 3.06 Ghz Mobile Pentium 4
• 15" UXGA LCD
• 512 MB RAM
• 60 GB HD
• 64 MB nVidia GeForce FX Go5200

I enjoy using it, but I would not recommend it for a hardcore gaming system. The go5200 is essentially a "value" chip, and performs worse than the older ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 (although it has DX9 support). What they don't tell you is that the chip is 50% underclocked and hardcoded that way. Look on rojakpot.com for a review.

Of course it counts.

[Anonymous Coward]

two words: DELL REFURBISHED.

9 times out of 10 this is the best deal on desktops and laptops anywhere, especially when you consider the quality of what you're getting (I'm sorry, but Dell is better than most of these fly-by-nite operations by a long shot). The inventory changes almost daily, so if they don't have what you want, try again the next day.

That being said, I *have* had a Dell refurbished part fail on me, four months after purchase. Of course I thought "well, you can't get something for nothing..". However, after a quick chat with customer service they had a replacement on my doorstep two days later, with a RMA and a box for the old part. I'm so happy about this that I'm writing this post.

PC Torque

[Rinisari]

PC Torque has about the best customer service in the laptop industry. They sell both Sager and Acer notebooks. I got a Sager 5680 from them a year ago and it has been the most solid machine I've ever owned (and I've owned A LOT of machines, from Macs to store-boughts to homebrew). You aren't going to find a better place to discuss laptops than NotebookForums.com.