brickboy

Looking for a new gaming laptop for my lad. The one I'm looking at is an Acer with Intel Core i3 2.2GHz, 6GB of RAM, and nVidia GT520 1GB graphics, is that powerful enough to play games like the new Star Wars: the Old Republic, Medieval 2 Total War, Shogun 2 Total War?

Any advice gratefully received, I'm clueless on graphics card capabilities ...

cheers, Craig

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Hi there have look at this,this will help

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.43104.0.html


Jura

FurballPhil

I`m currently using an ACER.. It`s an Aspire 5742G
2.5ghz i5
1GB GeForce GT420M
4GB Memory... Blah Blah Blah...

I thought especially being i5 and having 1GB Graffix Card that it would also be a great gaming laptop.... It does play every high Graphic game.. UNTIL..
It Overheats and shuts off......
I`ve since looked on the net to see why, and it seems that all ACER laptops of this kind of spec suffer from overheating when playing games...
So, I wouldn`t reccomend anyone buying an ACER if it`s gaming you`re after.....

However, I`ve just bought my son a new laptop, he`s gaming mad...
It`s this one http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/asus-n5...28458-pdt.html

ASUS N55SF-S2276V
Intel Core i5 2.4ghz
6GB DDR3 Memory
2GB GeForce GT555
640GB Hardrive
BlueRay Combo Drive/Writer
Loads More Too........... £699.99

It`s played all his games flawlessly and with Graffix Set at highest settings

So, if you`re budget is around this price, it`s perfect..

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

If someone is gaming mad really you should be lookin at a desktop rather than a laptop imo. You can obviously get a far superior spec for less money.

P1Fanatic

Better off getting them a PS3 or Xbox 360. Graphics will never be as good as current spec PC but thats not the be all and end all of gaming especially when playing online which is what its all about these days. Far cheaper in the long run. Tesco had a 160gb PS3 for £157 when I was in there yesterday!!

CREWJ

In a word: No

Check this link for what graphics card you will need;

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ce,3018-7.html

For instance you will need at least a discrete 7800 for Star Wars and that's on bare minimum specs. The 520 mobile is even lower than that. These days you would want at least a 550 for modern games to play on low settings.

Also for gaming laptops aren't the best, desktops are far superior. They will overheat after prolonged use so I'd get him a cool pad too. Worked for me in the past.

Galifrey

iTrader: (3)

If that runs the latest games on high detail I have no idea why I am running a 4.2ghz watercooled machine with a GTX580, because even that struggles at times.

But seriously, does he really NEED a laptop? If not, get a decent desktop for similar money, it will be MUCH better.

Laptops have major issues with GFX chip's coming unseated due to the heat they generate and modern lead free solder, which is why so many companies do reballing on the chips on ebay. You have to make sure they are well ventilated and stick them on a base cooler if you are gaming a lot to avoid this.

FurballPhil

Yes, he plays Black Ops, MW3, F1 2011, Brink, Dirt 3, Really is a capable Laptop.... So, far he`s not had a problem...

I`m gutted as mine is Poop, mine is on a cooler pad and still struggles... I`m tempted to sell mine and buy the same as my sons..

CREWJ

To be honest that's a very similar spec to a £1000 Alienware laptop.

An0n0m0us

What's the budget? I had a Dell xps 17 with i7 quad core GT 555 3gb video card 8gb ram etc and it ran the latest games on full details with no issues. Only concern was when the graphics card was being heavily used the heat it generated was ridiculous with fans blowing on full blast.

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

Whats your budget ?

I agree with what someone said above, if its for gaming then it has to be a desktop. If he's dead set on a laptop then ideally you want a laptop wwith dual GPU's, Alienware M17X or similar, you can pick them up for reasonable prices on the Dell outlet site with the RGB LED screen.

BlkKnight

I imported an Acer Timelinex 3820TG which is fairly OK for gaming (German spec has a better gfx than UK spec). Was about £550

How about this

http://www.computeruniverse.net/prod...nkk-w7hp64.asp

Based on the ATI 6850M

Cammy5106

iTrader: (3)

You want a Alienware M11X

I bought one for going offshore, it does everything even plays games like F1 2010 and Call of Duty Black ops seamless, a fair bit of coin to put out tho mine was just over £700 as I upgraded it slightly and bought the additional dell external CD drive too as it does not have one on the laptop.

Cammy5106

iTrader: (3)

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-m...ingsAndReviews

That's the one I bought but with more memory and so on.

My mate took a shot when I was offshore I when we got back he bought one instantly he just got the base one and it still plays all the games no bother

BlkKnight

Are the M11X's based on the GT 335m 540m?

They are slow compared to the 6850m's

Cammy5106

iTrader: (3)

No idea mate but mine is not slow I know that much, it plays all my games no problems the games I have installed on it are,

Mafia 2
Call of duty modern warfare
Black ops
FIFA 2010
F1 2010
Portal 2
Battlefield bad coy 2
Assassins creed 2
Brink
Batman arkham asylum
Dirt 3
Resident evil 5
Metro 2033
Sniper ghost warrior
Mass effect 2

They all run no bother, the only one I think sometimes takes a while on loading is F1 2010 but it's still not long and it's a 11" laptop so if you ask me that's fairly amazing!

Littleted

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddeta...3SV-SX635V-6GB

Won't go wrong with that

I have the g73 which is now the 74 great kit

Galifrey

iTrader: (3)

Sure he can play them, but he cannot use all the top GFX settings with that machine, and nowhere near maximum detail at a constant 60fps, the minimum required for smooth performance on a 60hz display.

He will be turning off v-sync (sheering results) Decent anti aliasing (jagged edges) as a minimum, unless he is scaling back his resolution.

I have been building high spec gaming PC's for many years, and laptops don't even come close for the money, better to buy a decent PC and a netbook for when anything other than gaming is required.

If a laptop is really a must, get a reballed Alienware from NDC

http://www.ndc.co.uk/browse-Alienware_by_Dell-37.html

They reball the GFX chips with leaded solder so they last longer.

If you want a warranty for full 12 months, these are pretty good as well.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=LT-046-MS