So you fancy racing fast cars, hitting drug dealers with baseball bats and taking arrows to your knee, do you? Sounds like you've been bitten by the gaming bug. Sadly though, your underpowered little netbook isn't up to playing these glossy new games -- what you need is a proper gaming laptop. But exactly what do you need to look out for when splashing your cash? Well, let me tell you.
When choosing a gaming laptop, your first concern should always be the graphics processing unit -- or GPU to me and you. The faster this component is, the better your games will run.
If a laptop has 'integrated graphics' -- where the graphics card is built into the motherboard -- it isn't going to offer you much power because it shares the system memory (although the more recent Intel Ivy Bridge models have extra juice for tasks like photo editing). So look out for 'dedicated graphics' when shopping, which is an add-on graphics card with its own processing and memory.
The two main GPU names to look out for are Nvidia and AMD. The specific model names and numbers within these brands change frequently, so it can be nigh on impossible to keep up unless you're a dedicated geek. As a general rule, the higher model numbers within a product series deliver better performance.
The amount of memory (VRAM) allocated to the graphics card isn't the most important factor, so don't rely solely on this element of the specification. Other meaningful clues as to a GPU's performance can be found by looking at the number of pixel shaders and the memory bandwidth.
If that level of detail causes sweaty nightmares then try and find reviews -- like ours -- that run the latest games on each machine and report how well it coped. As a rule of thumb, any game that runs over 25-30 frames per second is considered playable.
If you want your games playing at a decent frame rate and would like to see them looking stunningly crisp then you'll need to shop at the pricier bracket. Special image effects such as anti-aliasing or anisotropic filtering will help make the picture better but are more demanding of your card. If you don't care how the game looks and you just want to "pwn some n00bs" then you can switch the detail down to its minimum to get the best frame rates out of lower-end cards.
Once you've got your graphics card sorted, you'll need to consider the laptop's CPU. Generally speaking, this will dictate the overall speed of your computer, whether you're gaming, browsing the web or editing crude objects into images of your friends. A fast CPU can bring out the best in a fast graphics card, so if you've got the cash, look out for the best CPU you can find -- an Intel Core i5 or ideally an i7 will suffice.
Screen resolution is another important consideration. Generally speaking, games look better at a higher resolution, although playing at a high res demands more graphics processing power and can slow your games down. Personally, I wouldn't go for any resolution below 1,600x900 pixels. If you're serious about your gaming, you'll need to choose a laptop with a Full HD resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels.
It's dangerous to go laptop hunting alone, so to help you on your noble quest, I've gathered together a bunch of my top gaming computer picks. Have a browse of these and our other laptop reviews and leave any questions in the comments below, on our Facebook page or hit me up on Twitter @BatteryHQ.
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coolmech 10 August, 2010 08:55
nice laptops and cheap prices
Anonymous 21 September, 2010 20:33
Any laptops out there with the following type of specs..
core i5
nvidia graphics chip with around 100 cuda cores
7-8 hr battery life
no more than 13.3 inch screen
ddr 3 memory above 1066Mhz
doesn't look like a painted brick
Anonymous 22 September, 2010 11:38
To anonymous - If you would consider buying from Germany, there's the Acer Timeline X 3820tg. This thing has a i5 450m @ 2.4 ghz, 4GB DDR3 Ram, ATI 5650 card (1GB Mem), 640 GB HD, 13.3" screen, 1.8kg, 8hr battery (manufacturer listed). Not available in UK wth this GPU config. Can be bought for 750 Euro's + Shipping. Comes to about £700. I'd like to get this for myself, it comes with a german keyboard, but you can get a UK board for the 3810 from Ebay for around £10, and its the same layout.
type in "Acer 3820tg 5650" to your browser for video gaming shots of popular games.
Anonymous 22 September, 2010 12:12
My post above mentioned the price as 750 Euro's. I meant to say 850 Euro's.
Anonymous 17 November, 2010 14:06
To anon above - thanks for the tipoff about the Acer. Looks really good for the price. I'm selling my rig for a laptop because I'm going abroad for a year and can't take it with me. (Ironically I'm going to Austria, so the German keyboard layout suits me fine too.)
Anonymous 18 December, 2010 21:38
Anyone know a good gaming Desktop/Laptop For FSX to work on Full Settings
lisaroy1 24 January, 2011 10:10
I need some help in picking up a new Gaming Laptop.
Thanks i got many options here and within my budget only.
I am a fan of Gaming Laptops so always go for top gaming laptops
Anonymous 19 February, 2011 04:42
I need a good laptop to project live stream programs and fast processing. Not really for gaming though. Please help me choose a good laptop for presentations and video projection with VGA connection.
Anonymous 19 February, 2011 04:49
Please help me find a good laptop for projecting live streaming programs and video presentations. I dont want it for gaming but with a good graphics card and speed and memory at reasonably price. Thankyou so much
Anonymous 3 June, 2011 06:57
The m17x is too big and m11x is too small you want the m14x or the m15x they're much better in seize and just as good in proformance
anonymous 13 June, 2011 22:31
can anyone suggest a gaming laptop old or new for under 450 pounds
Anonymous 27 June, 2011 20:32
Hi. What is the best 15/16" screen laptop for around £800, mainly for online gaming use, but with a bit of internet browsing and photo & music stuff thrown in?
I have looked at the Toshiba Satellite P750-114 and Samsung RF511, which appear to have decent specifications, but most of the expert reviews are snobby about specific brands and rubbish everything else. So not sure if these are genuinely as mediocre as the reviews suggest?
It should look reasonable too.
Thanks.
Joops
anonymous 18 September, 2011 17:00
also this laptop is great
http://thegamepreview.blogspot.com/p/gaming-computers.html
anonymous 24 November, 2011 19:31
anybody wanting a cheap professional gaming laptop for £700 pound witch specs of i7 processor , navidia geforce 555m , 8gb ram and a 500gb hardrive ..... You need the nSpire 2760 black edditon , i personally recomend it to enybody who is look to game ! :)
anonymous 18 May, 2012 10:26
Also check the fans because overheating can be a big problem with laptops when gaming.
anonymous 11 July, 2012 20:43
no ROG? REALLY??? no ROG ??
anonymous 11 July, 2012 20:44
no ALIENWARE? what kind of top is this? c'mooon CNET...
anonymous 11 July, 2012 21:26
Alienware are very good....But you do pay loads for the name. And yes i did have 1 but Dell sell them now so the XPS just as good but less Money
DAG.COM.2012
anonymous 11 July, 2012 22:54
M11x is amazing, yeah small screen, but hey if it can run bf3 i aint gonna complain. shame that its been pulled now. but if the M11x is this good then the M14x would be great for a reasonable price. alienware should be up on this list considering that they are around the same prices as the ones already in it
schilltastic41 12 July, 2012 06:36
I know there is an Acer laptop that has Bang and Olufsen speakers attached to it. I have not been really locate it at stores, but does anyone know if its a good gaming laptop?
anonymous 12 July, 2012 09:25
ASUS ROG are in my opinion, the best balance between looks and performance! I know there are way better custom made laptops, but they are hideous!!!
anonymous 12 July, 2012 12:13
ASUS all the way ppl. Probably the best performance and price out there along with great service and warrentys!!
anonymous 12 July, 2012 12:54
Alienware...nuff said!!!
Cameron Seid 12 July, 2012 17:09
I'm glad CNET did not recommend an Alienware? Why? Alienware is literally the WORST computer manufacturer there is. Don't let the pretty lights fool you. Alienwares are huge ripoffs. Their coolign is bad, and they overheat ALL. THE. TIME. The hardware they put into alienwares is either underkill or extreme overkill, it's never the perfect balance. And worst of all, they OVERPRICE THE F*CK OUT OF IT. If you want a gaming laptop, the only two good choices you have are ASUS or Sager. If you want a good gaming desktop, the only, ONLY option is to build one. I built my computer's and I'm about to build one for a friend. It's not hard. I'm fifteen, you don't have to be a robot to do it.
anonymous 31 July, 2012 14:33
Goozide saytet male 700sale pishe ridi baw
anonymous 9 August, 2012 10:05
nice collection ....
anonymous 10 October, 2012 14:58
I would like to get the best lap-top with Core I 5 processor under $250.00
anonymous 5 November, 2012 16:09
Er, why would anyone consider buying an acer for gaming purposes? Acers fall apart when you're only using them for everyday important use, they'd probably last half the time if that if you use them for gaming
there are better looking, cheaper laptops out there
anonymous 10 December, 2012 16:28
Dell bought out Alienware. Enough said
anonymous 25 January, 2013 22:00
can you recommend gaming laptop for around £500