Ask Engadget: Best ultraportable laptop for gaming?
By Darren Murph 
posted August 27th 2009 9:03PM
posted August 27th 2009 9:03PM
"I am looking for a 12- or 13-inch ultraportable that can also play modern games at a reasonable level, for less than $1,000. I know the brainiacs out there can help me out. Love the site, thanks!"We know for sure that Dell's Studio XPS 13 has the guts to pull off a few modern titles, but we know there are far more options out there than that. So, who here has a super small laptop with a discrete GPU worth bragging about? Don't hold back now, vaquero.
macbook pro 13 inch; if you sell all that free junk you get after rebate price comes to be 917 :)
sad u have no idea what your laptop cant do.
Yes, and we know what great games there are for the Mac.... about as many intelligent comments as you've made.
@TDOGDFW
Did you mean: "about as many as intelligent comments you've made." ?
I love my Mac... but not for gaming.
*Dual boots Windows 7*
Now, where were we?
its not about the OS as much as it is about the graphics capability
@Mmmm: So in other words, get a Mac, release they aren't for gaming, cry, get Windows like you should have in the first place.
Yeah, definitely get the Studio XPS 13. I have it, and I play Prince of Persia, Fallout 3, and a couple of other recent titles. It won't pull off new games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, but I have a feeling you're just looing to do some moderate gaming.
Oh, and I'm just replying to this comment because it really did not give good advice.
The new MacBook Pro 13" works for gaming if you bootcamp Windows with it. I've been able to play L4D, TF2, CS:S, etc at high settings with no problems. Of course, it's not the best bang for the buck if you're interested solely gaming (especially once you pay for Windows). But if you want the whole experience, it's a great computer.
Playing Arkham Asylum on my 13" Macbook Pro right now (via boot camp, of course). Looks perfect, plays perfect, and I don't have to live with a crappy OS when I turn it off....
LOL James.
At the lowest settings, I'm sure.
Set reasonable expectations for someone, dude. Your 9400m isn't a magic wand that can play anything that's thrown at it.
Can you run PhysX on it? I sure as Hell can with HybridSLI! ;D
Actually, Wilzer, I'm running it at 1900x1200, with all settings at their highest, including PhysX at High...
""PhysX at High"
WTF? I'll just leave it there for the LAWLZ!
@WIlzer: Yup. Maybe you've been running it at normal (or off) so you wouldn't know. Try buying a computer that doesn't suck to see how the game really plays...
Here's my take on what's going on in these comments,
yes Apple products seem to get mentioned more then they should in Ask Engadget articles, but for once please quit down ranking everyone for with without a alternative product to recommend
The $999 Macbook fits the budget, has a 9400M graphics chip, and a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor
The other popular suggestions I see are the Vaio SR and the Studio XPS 13
the Vaio with the Radeon GPU is not sub-$1000 and neither is the Studio XPS with the GeForce 9500M
that said, the base Studio XPS has the advatage of more RAM and a few smaller quirks, so it remains the only other option, but you can Google it and there are plenty of complaints of heat issues which may have you lean towards the Macbook
Because the Macbook will ultimately solve the gaming issue! Right, I see! Except, the heat issue is over-exaggerated and the 9400m is reality.
http://www.cpu3d.com/media/image/g/9971/i/19167/physx_sli.jpg
James, take a look. Does it should a Low-Medium-High setting, you idiot?
You have no idea what you're talking about.
@JohnTitor
Uh... if you add the cost of purchasing Windows on the Mac, it is no longer sub-$1000 and based on your argument should also be disqualified. So your argument just failed.
James you are so full of shit. I just installed the AA demo on my MBP 15" and i can barley get 13 - 15fps with the graphics turned to medium. Stop spreading your lies, you make us mac users look bad.
Thanks, link. I mean, all our laptops have limitations... I just hate when someone is asking for advice on a laptop and a person comes along and outright lies!!!
And for what reason? We're trying to help this guy out!
Don't feed the troll guys. It has already been established James is full of shit, so just move on and ignore the idiot.
Hey James, a freakin setting screen doesn't mean jack (not to mention you already contradicted yourself by stating you were playing at 1920x1200). The only way for you to actually prove this would be to take a video of you playing the game on your macbook with an fps counter with the settings applied. And you can't prove it even if you tried, because it is impossible.
what the... i just recommend the laptop i use and all you guys flame? ... engadget didnt clarify which game they just said what do you think is the best and all of a sudden mac vs pc -_- ;; and the only game i use my mac for is Starcraft; it runs it just fine :)
What about the Asus F6Ve-B1? It can be found on Google Shopping for around 1k and look at the specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 2.66GHz, 4GB DDR2 800MHz SDRAM, 320GB HD, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 512MB, 13.3" WXGA, DVD Super Multi, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n, Webcam, Bluetooth, Windows Vista Home Premium, 6 Cell Battery, carrying case, optical mouse, recover DVD, driver CD
Well, I've the 13" Aluminium MacBook ... it runs Unreal Tournament 3 fairly well on the 9400M. It can enable PhysiX too. So the polycarbonate macbook may it the bill!
Low down
1. Install bootcamp within Mac OS 10.5 / 10.6
2. I've got Win7 RC installed on the NTFS partition. The RC will run for a few more months ($0. You can then snag an OEM copy for cheap when you buy some additional h/w like a hard drive or something over the next few months)
3. Game on!
Pros:
1. Sleek machine + usual Mac benefits
2. Sleek machine + usual Win7 benefits
Caveats:
1. If you want *only* gaming, then you may not care about the 'mac benefits' and you may find an optimal alternative ... that's why it's good there are multiple folks chiming in
2. I've not tried newer games to find if they choke the 9400M ... I use my xbox 360 for gaming (mostly)
PS: I'm not a mac fanboy - hardly with 6 win machines and 1 mac. Choice = good, I just love the fluid union of s/w and h/w on the mac ... I've not had any of my Dell and Sony laptops come out of sleep in under 3 seconds! I haven't "shutdown" or hibernated the macbook in 5 months now ... I was impresses. Of course, like any s/w, Mac has it's share of problems too ... screw what the fanboys say.
sure, macbook pro,
you can cook up a pizza pocket with that when you're running the game, LOL
Sony's SR model has a ATI 4570, which should be enough to handle any game on the market in at least medium settings. It's also got a really nice design, and doesn't attract fingerprints like the glossy XPS.
I hope you weren't replying to me... I wasn't talking about macs :/
Yep, I just purchased the SR430, and it's a dream. The 4570 is quite a bit better than the 9500M [my friend has a loaded XPS 13, and I got higher FPS in every game we played at the same settings (L4D, COD4)].
The battery life is pretty good (3.5hrs or so while browsing and listening to music), it's not very loud or hot, and it looks really sleek.
It's overall way better than the Dell imho
I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a sec.
Does the Sony have a backlit keyboard, and a Hybrid SLI setup that will help your battery last for five hours?
No, but it has the split keyboard which is way nicer, and I don't want hybrid SLI, as it is the cause of the shitty graphics performance!
@Wiizer
Are you comparing this to the XPS?? To answer your question, no... but it also doesn't have a flawed design that blocks the air vent whenever the LCD screen is open. I find your posts awfully defensive of the XPS... chill out, it's okay if you don't have the best laptop...
rokusky, I could care less if my posts a re offensive to you. You're not the say-all end-all of this discussion. Gaming performance is nice on the XPS, but there are perks to having HybridSLI, and I'm just asking some of the differences between mine and his Sony since I don't own one.
Totally agree on the Vaio SR430.....awesome laptop, great screen and the ATI4570 destroys the 9400m, is significantly better than 9500 and runs cool compared to XPS13. Fingerprints smears on XPS are annoying, otherwise they are nice. Right now you can get $100 rebate on Vaio and free extra six cell battery, travel charger and case from Sony. Yeah it's the priciest, but factor the rebate and free stuff and really not bad at all. Great form factor.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html
Benchmarks on this say something different about the graphics cards, but it all depends on how you config, and the Vaio's more expensive.
A MacBook will play some modern games at reasonable framerates, and is $999 and has a 13 inch screen...
the 9400m is an old ass GPU, it was decent 3 years ago yes
and you can put windows on the mac via boot camp so you can play games for both OS.
Wait for GT300 Chipset to go moble, rather than the GTS/X XXXM or 9xxxM that are just rebadges or slight improvements.
I dont read about ATI chips =/
anything with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4300 or up will be good. but you will have a hard time finding one in a 13". you might want to wait for the 5000 series all together.
sorry i don't read about nVidia chips :P
Studio XPS 13 is garbage, don't do it. Great specs ruined by poor airflow.
The URL for the second one is http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366615&type=product&id=1218092150740
@Mjayhunt none of your recommends are for sub $1000.
Sorry, but you just lost the game.
SERIOUSLY? sponsored by verizon?! there goes the non biased opinion... :/
Just get a netbook on a plan with Verizon. You won't have time for games with all the coverage you'll be getting.
Please tell me you're kidding. This is simply asking for an opinion. It's not like it's an award or a contest. The "sponsored by Verizon" sign is just there so Engadget actually makes money. And it's about an ultraportable gaming computer! Verizon doesn't sell any of those.
Um? Have you seen who owns Engadget? Did you think this is just a small website connected to other blogs with non biased opinions. Go watch some fox news, they are not owned or sponsored by anymore :-)
wow, ease up people, have a sense of humour. sheesh!
I would've had a sense of humor....
That is, if you had been joking.
Don't use the word "seriously" if you're not, you know, being serious.