Ask Engadget: Best gaming laptop for under $1,500?
By Darren Murph 
posted June 26th 2009 1:44AM
posted June 26th 2009 1:44AM
Believe it, vaquero -- you just happened upon this week's episode of Ask Engadget, the only time of the week where you get the opportunity to bestow your wealth of gadget knowledge onto a fellow reader in need. Given the open-mindedness of Niko here, we couldn't help but pass on his inquiry:"What's the best gaming laptop for under 1,500 bucks? I had my eye on the P7805u (Gateway), but it seems Best Buy has run out for the time being. Also, as a secondary question, I like the specs on brands such as iBUYPOWER and CyberPower and the like, but are they reliable? I'm a little worried about buying labels that aren't huge like Dell, Gateway, etc. Thanks!"So, make sure those of you who've avoided the big boys chime in here -- who knows, maybe it's actually better to snag a machine from a lesser-known label. After you've contributed, feel free to send in your own question to ask at engadget dawt com.
If you have a budget of $1500 for a school laptop, why bother with a netbook? You can get a decent laptop from Dell for $700-$800 with a full sized keyboard and in some cases, a number pad as well. From there you can get other things to go with it like a decent bag to carry it in, a mouse, external hard drive and or thumb drive, and some decent software for classes like Office. I dont understand the appeal of a netbook for class other than the battery life.
I do agree though that you can have a much better gaming rig with a desktop, but I think the original poster was looking for something portable and convenient. If you want to take your machine everywhere, then finding a good laptop for games is a good idea. But if all you are looking for is something to take over to a LAN party once a month, maybe look into building a small pc in a Shuttle box, or a vendor that sells them, like Falcon Northwest.
One thing that anybody looking for a gaming laptop should consider is budgeting for a good mouse to go with it. Gaming with the touch pad is just a waste of time. I personally use the Logitech G5 which you can get for less than $65. Its a wired mouse, but gaming with wireless mice is sort of hit or miss in my experience.
I second the G5 I bought one on sale a while ago and have loved it. I actually prefer it to the G9.
I like my Gateway 7811 FX. but those of you eyeing the new one beware. There are a few catches wit the 7808 vs the 7811. here's a brief overview at my site!
http://www.warbeef.net/content/barack-obama-solves-gaming-crisis
I wanted that one, but right after it came out, it disappeared. There were none around except for on eBay. People caught on quick on the good deal.
gaming laptop: oxymoron
Gateway® P-7805u FX
Core 2 Duo Processor 2.26 Ghz
4096MB 1066MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS Graphics card
Its $1300 and I have been using it to play the latest games at high res and high fps. I definitely recommend this laptop for gaming purposes.
HP HDX 18, its the good stuff.
Go for the lenovo ideapad y330 with ATI graphics.
Looks sexy and runs world in conflict, half life 2, prince of persia(all), blaaaa.... at superb frame rates.
I have been using my Dell XPS 1530 for the last year in Baghad Iraq. This machine has played everything that I have thrown at it. FarCry 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, you name it. I upgraded the Hard Drive to 320 WD Scorpio, 4GB low latency Memory, Still under $1400.00
It has everything you need, 15.4" High-gloss screen, 8600G 256MB (I use RivaTuner to over-clock the GPU), DVD-RW (DL) Slot-loading, Bluetooth, plenty of USB, Firewire, nice big key-board.
It is thin,durable and light-weight, all aluminum case, add the 9 cell (like I have) and it will play 5 hours of video.
well im pretty sure the base asus g51 will be round $1500 and the specs r damn good so maybe give tht a try
Have to give my vote to the Asus G50Vt from Best Buy. Normally, I avoid the big yellow box as much as I can, but $950 for this thing was too good to pass up. Its done fine by me!
I'm a bit biased since I'm typing this post on my Gateway 7085, but you'd be hard pressed to beat the specs of this laptop for the price, $1,150 YMMV. If you have the extra $200 to spend over the Asus G50, go with the Gateway!
nVidia 9800 GTS w/ 1GB RAM
320GB HD
Intel P8400
4GB RAM
17" Screen
e-Sata Input
HDMI Output
Built In WebCam
And best of all, you can turn off the lights!
best buy editon of the asus G51 im very impressed 999.00
has a gtx 260 with 1 gb memory built in
I have an Hp Dv4 SE that run games like a charm and i got it for 899. Crysis is Fully playable on the lowest setting and The Orange Box plays with no lag whatsoever. P.S This is with 3 gb of ram and a 2.0gb processor.
so best buy has a simplified version of the new asus g51 laptop. Nvidia GTX 260m has a gig of dedicated ddr3 memory and it is only 999.99 before tax and stuff. heres the link:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366651&st=G51&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218092150636
just bought an asus g51 notebook at best buy 999.00 great price
I'd love to honestly know what the f*** is up with all these "gaming" laptops with such amazing GPUs tied to such low resolution LCDs like 1366x768 and 1440x900.
It makes me rage.
Agree, 1200 or 1080 is a MUST in the first place, first thing I look at !
Agree, 1200 or 1080 is a MUST in the first place, first thing I look
at !
Actually, you can get this HP HDX18t for well under $1500, and it is an unbeatable deal right now ! :
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) - For 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M
640GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (320GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M - For DDR3 Memory
18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
No TV Tuner w/remote control
Full Size Backlit Keyboard