Where to buy gaming laptop with Windows 7?

powernoodle

powernoodle

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My 16y old son is wanting to buy a gaming laptop with Windows 7.

A brief back story. He bought a Lenovo with Win8 and it kept crashing. Lenovo wanted to charge him $ for software support, and he figured out that he hates Win8, so he bought a copy of Win 7 to install. The machine wouldn't let him install Win7, so he returned the laptop.

He is willing to spend $1,000, and is looking for the most gaming performance for the dollar. Buying from a legit vendor with good CS is high on my list.

What about CyberPowerPC? Alienware seems a little too spendy for the performance you get - at least compared to that Lenovo he had. Any other ideas? Thanks. You guys rock. :thumbup:
 
I'll ask the obvious question.

Does he require a laptop? Desktops are just straight up superior when it comes to gaming hands down. You could buy a very nice set up for a grand, especially if you feel like putting it together yourself, which is easy given the amount of walk through resources available.

Honestly, Lenovo has the market as far as I'm concerned on powerful laptops for good prices. I would put Asus as second. I run a Windows 7 desktop for a play toy, and a Macbook Pro for a laptop, so there's that. Picked up a Dell XPS M1530 in 2008 when it was around $1200. Did a fine job of gaming, but it just didn't last.

Edit: And I would say stay away from Alienware. Cool name, cool designs, but that's it. They were better prior to their buyout a few years back.
 
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Thanks, TWP. We have considered a desktop + laptop/netbook, but for now a gaming laptop seems to fit his overall needs the best. I do like the desktop + laptop idea though, for the reasons you stated.
 
For gameing go with a desktop any day but if you have to go with a laptop your going to need about $1800 to $2000
A high end Toshiba, hp or ausu we'll do fine for gameing just keep in mind the price you we'll have to pay.


ZTD
 
A month or so ago I was in the hunt for a new laptop to replace the HP with Vista and absolutely did not want Windows 8. I found a few that seemed to be priced a bit above "normal prices" and then found that HP is making Windows 7 machines again to satisfy the new demand. I suspect businesses are having to replace XP machines that Microsoft is no longer supporting with updates and so forth. Go to the HP website. As is normal, they offer multiple options and I believe you can customize with a better graphics/video card. I have been very satisfied with my new laptop.

Added: They also sell desktops and you can customize during the selection process. Takes longer to get the machine, but probably worth it.

All that said, my desk top has had a graphics card issue and I am still dealing with that. I also discovered that I have "insurance" to cover the old laptop that died (mother board issue). So, I am starting that process even though I have already replaced it. I can always use another laptop.

I sometimes get my pooters worked on by the GeekSquad at Best Buy. They told me that with laptops, the two better brand machines based on repairs are made by Acus and HP.
 
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I've always hear good of Alien brand. I believe they are a branch of dell. Not sure if it's in the price range though; they are worth checking out.
 
powernoodle said:
Thanks, TWP. We have considered a desktop + laptop/netbook, but for now a gaming laptop seems to fit his overall needs the best. I do like the desktop + laptop idea though, for the reasons you stated.
Click to expand...

1000 bucks gets you a pretty high end computer. I just put one together for that much. i7 4790k (this CPU was released on June 25, 2014), 16 gigs of ddr3, 240gig ssd, 770 gtx with 4 gigs of video ram, all in one cpu water cooler, z97n-wifi mini itx motherboard, small form factor case.
 
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I would go desktop and a cheap laptop or even a decent tablet, I use a tablet for internet browsing and a desktop for everything else. I love me some computer games and I assembled my first real gaming PC last year and I don't regret it, ~$850 (mind you, I bought several parts on sale) running all the latest games on the highest settings, had a $2000 laptop before, it was alright, but I doubt I'd buy another. Also building your own requires you to develop a better understanding of what things do and it's always good to know how your machines work. Plus, you can upgrade it later unlike a laptop or Mac where, when it gets old, it's just, "get a new one". As far as windows 8 is concerned, I hated it when I started too, it takes some getting used to, I'm still not quite there, but it beats Mac OS which I absolutely loathe. You can probably still buy copies of windows 7 for $$$$ but he may be able to transfer his old HD into the new computer if he already has Windows 7. One word of warning though, online gaming over WiFi SUCKS definitely go with a good PCI Express adapter if connecting directly to the modem isn't an option.

If going the laptop route, stay away from HP, just my opinion but I've never had anything HP that was worth what I paid for it.
 
ZeroTurnDude said:
For gameing go with a desktop any day but if you have to go with a laptop your going to need about $1800 to $2000
A high end Toshiba, hp or ausu we'll do fine for gameing just keep in mind the price you we'll have to pay.


ZTD
Click to expand...
Bullshit.
You need no more than $1500 to get a laptop capable of handling most games at ultra. I paid $1300 for my cyberpowerpc 17.3in laptop and it runs flawlessly. The MSIGT70 is what most custom computer companies use for their laptop chassis and cyberpowerpc is no exception. With my $1300 I got
Nvidia gtx770m
2.4GHz i7 4th gen quad core
8 gb of RAM (upgradeable up to 32gb)
64 bit Win7
1tb 7200rpm HDD (with another slot for another HDD, or SSD.
+ all the other stuff you get with a MSI GT70

With these specs the computer will be able to handle most modern games at ultra. If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to email me. mneel41@gmail.com
(will post pictures)


Edit to add: Don't get Alienware. You don't get much for the price. It's a ripoff.
 
Ok, now for some pics.
Big Ole HD 1080p 17 inch screen




The best keyboard you can get on a laptop. The palm rest is aluminum.




Which is back-lit



You get a total of 8 soft touch keys.

From left to right
1) user programmable key. 2) Quick Media app launch. 3) hyperfan (keeps the internals cool. Hottest I've been able to get it is 70°C) 4) back-lit keyboard power switch)



Right side left to right

5)User programmable key. 6)airplane mode. 7) turn off display. 8) DVD drive eject.



LCD lid. (cyberpowerpc lights up) it's plastic construction, but it's a rigged quality plastic.



This computer is ports galore.
Backside ports. Left to right
1) Kensington lock. 2) power input. 3)ethernet. 4 VGA. 5) Not entirely sure, actually. 6) HDMI




Left side ports
1&2) USB 3.0. 3)multicard reader. 4) USB 3.0 5) audio and mic jacks




Right side
1) DVD drive 2&3) USB 2.0



And here it is running multiple stressful games simultaneously and barely breaking a sweat. All while staying below 50°C (not that impressive since they're not actually being played, but it's hard to play multiple games simultaneously.)




And it's just plain badass. I'm a 16 year old too. And I was in the same predicament. Couldn't get a desktop, because I don't have space in my room for it and I needed a laptop for school. This computer has yet to let me down in any way. And it is an attention grabber. Just please for the love of God, don't let him let anyone at school touch it. Assume that everyone's an idiot and they don't care about your expensive things and you'll be fine. Everyone at my high school knows about my "hands off, or die" policy.

Edit to add: She's heavy. 8lbs on the computer and 2lbs on the power brick. And you better be prepared to carry that brick with you everywhere. I can get 4 hours max on a charge (not gaming) Only 1 hour straight when I am gaming. Build time for me was a little under a month. And make sure to get a case. I got a $5 from Newegg and it's actually been a very good case. I'd highly recommend it.
 
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This seems to be the case I have. I assume the company got bought out because the badging on mine is ProHT, but it looks the exact same.

http://m.newegg.com/Product?itemNumber=N82E16834972040


And also, when it comes to cyberpower. If you don't need it immediately I'd recommend waiting until a sale is going on. I got mine $100 off with some free upgrades.

And is the Lenovo you're talking about the 500, or 510? Funny thing, I was originally going to get that, but the 770m strayed me off of it. Took me a long time to save for it and I had to sell a lot of knives. Totally worth it though.
 
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Both me and a close buddy did the whole gaming laptop back in highschool at his age. I highly recommend not going down that route unless he has too, it's a PITA to tote around the laptop, accessories, etc. Original plan was to use it for high school/college as well but when the laptops weigh around 10lb's by themselves and you still have to carry extra batteries and probably the power adapter for a bare minimum setup the weight and space it takes up add up very fast. If you want to do a lan party it's easier than a full size desktop but still quite bulky as accessories add weight and bulk quite fast. Than you run into the poor price/performance of the laptops compared to desktops, heat issues if you are unlucky due to the small space and high temps these run at, loud fans, etc. It's really not worth it in my opinion.

If LAN parties are an option your son wants to leave open, I recommend a small micro atx mobo and case, or lan party pc and appropriate mobo for it and base your build around that. Than buy a duffle bag and keep the box for the monitor and make sure it can fit the desktop + monitor in there and make sure there is enough room to cram keyboard/mouse and other stuff in it. Setup will take a few minutes and you get a lot more bang for your buck, especially if you build it. Than just pick up a cheap laptop to use on the go, something that is low power, good battery life, relatively light so it's actually worth carrying around whether you think you need it or not instead of having to plan ahead.

Even a cheap $200 chromebook will get you good battery life, do youtube, limited video support (convert it to a format that works), and otherwise be good enough to kill time. If more horsepower is needed and real time isn't a necessity you can always remote desktop your gaming computer, this goes for other cheap laptops too and not just the chromebook which I used as an example as their freaking cheap and leave more money to build the gaming desktop.

I did the whole gaming laptop thing at 16, regretted it and then eventually built my gaming computer in college. Nice perk to the gaming computer being a desktop is rebuilding/upgrading it every couple years is cheap if I ever feel the urge too. That computer is now paired up with a cheap chromebook for college, and killing time on the go as it will give me 7+ hours of real world use so I don't feel the need to bring the power adapter or anything in addition to it. As a side note carrying everything to actually game on a laptop also gets annoying quite fast from my experience even if you have the room to carry it all and don't mind the added weight. Don't expect your son to listen to this, as I know I wouldn't have at that age and still would have done the same thing but I figure I chime in on my experience with doing the same thing (and my friend who came to the same conclusion and did practically the same thing latter on as well but with a netbook instead).
 
High-school kids backpacks already weigh forty pounds, two pounds of charger isn't much of a difference. And an 8 pound computer + mouse isn't ungodly to carry around. Especially less than 30 feet between classes on a high school campus.

And 8 pounds is A LOT by today's standards. This thing only weighs this much because MSI made it to be a "mobile desktop." And I assure you that overheating isn't an issue with modern laptops. It is ungodly loud though when you activate hyperfan. But it's quiet if you leave it off. (heat still won't get higher the 70°C) At least it's quiet enough that my English teacher didn't know I was doing other stuff. (don't do that powernoodle's son)
 
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I use my laptops for a good many things; gaming though, is generally not one of them. I have an Alienware MX series laptop that runs well; but, a little warm. It does okay with gaming; but doesn't give me the performance of my desktop rig. I built my rig for ~$550±$50 last year off of an old terminal server workstation and was able to max out the board with my investment. 2x 3.16gHz quad core Xenon processors, 32gb fully buffered DIMM memory (not the best for gaming; but it works just fine for me), 2gb nVidia GTX550Ti. I run all of my games on the highest settings and have yet to see a crash. You can get more modern options prebuilt for a price to match; or, build your own for much less most times. As far as the operating system of the old laptop, Windows 8 and 8.1 use a different partition format than Windows 7. You have to wipe the existing GPT partition and recreate a new MBR partition table to host the Win7 OS. Found that out while working on a family member's Win8 laptop. Good luck making your decision and I hope the resultant platform performs adequately.
 
Is the reason he wants a gaming laptop because space is at a premium?

If not, you can build a desktop that is a lot more powerful than a laptop for a lot less money, and still have a small footprint. I'm running my new computer on a small form factor case. The motherboard measures just about 6 inches by 6 inches; it is a mini ITX motherboard. The case is as small as possible but can still use a full length video card and standard ATX powersupply. The actual case is 8 inches tall, 9.5 inches wide, and 15.6 inches deep. It is that deep because many full size video cards are 12-13 inches long. The remaining space in depth is used to house an all in one watercooling set up that includes a radiator, push fan, pull fan, and a water line housing the waterblock that connects to the CPU.

EDIT: Here is a video that shows the case. You can see the physical dimensions better in video than you could reading dimensional specs in words. [video=youtube;YlW6hw0WUpw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlW6hw0WUpw[/video]

The computer is minimalist. It has all I need and nothing I don't. It has a video card, cpu, SSD, motherboard, and powersupply. The only other bit of hardware that takes up space is my LCD monitor.

I run Windows 7 because I do game a little here and there. I run 1920 x 1080 with all settings maxed out on a 23inch wide screen. I could run 1440p, but do not like running non-native resolutions.

If space isn't at a premium, there is no reason to get a laptop and spend more for "less." If his idea is to game in the free time he has in school, what's that gonna amount to? 30 min sessions? Maybe an hour session max? Not worth it. Gaming laptops can never achieve the same performance as a desktop because they are limited physically by size. I refer back to my description of video card sizes.

Yes, you can get smaller video cards but they are gimped in comparison. If a reference board 770 GTX is ~13 inches long, there's not much any manufacturer can do.
 
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TotalDbag said:
High-school kids backpacks already weigh forty pounds, two pounds of charger isn't much of a difference. And an 8 pound computer + mouse isn't ungodly to carry around. Especially less than 30 feet between classes on a high school campus.

And 8 pounds is A LOT by today's standards. This thing only weighs this much because MSI made it to be a "mobile desktop." And I assure you that overheating isn't an issue with modern laptops. It is ungodly loud though when you activate hyperfan. But it's quiet if you leave it off. (heat still won't get higher the 70°C) At least it's quiet enough that my English teacher didn't know I was doing other stuff. (don't do that powernoodle's son)
Click to expand...

I wish that was true for me. My senior year each class for periods 1-4 were on the opposite side of the campus at a pretty large school, periods 5/6 were at a different school a little over a mile away which I walked to as the alternative was to take the bus which took longer and be crammed into a tightly packed bus that smell bad and had no AC. And yeah the backpack weight is a bit on the money, mine weighed 50+ pounds back then before the laptop, space was a luxury I didn't have though as I didn't have the time to use my locker to store my books and had to lug them to the other campus over a mile away during lunch. I didn't have a car, so walking was what I did.

Weight wise on paper when you're dealing with such weight it seems like nothing. But if you start trimming off the fat on what your carrying you will notice that those 2 pounds for the charger plus accessories make a world in difference in comfort in terms of weight and space it take up. I used to have the same mentality of "It's and extra 20lbs, I'm strong screw it I carry it" but after awhile you get tired of that and start to appreciate lighter setups.

Be happy overheating isn't an issue, I've had issues with mine doing that. Or more precisely I should say Dell did such a crappy job at making a laptop they used a solder with a low melting point so the solder where you plugged in the power adapter (next to the CPU) would heat it up over time and weaken and loosen the power adapter connection. And on top of that it didn't have adequate cooling to begin with so the fan worked overtime and was quite loud and obnoxious. Not to mention it was capable of heating up the plastic underneath the CPU to the point where it would burn you if you decided to touch it for more than a few seconds.

I don't have much faith in modern prebuilt PC's either having recently taken apart a few of them and being less than impressed, especially with a new HP computer a family member bought which I can only conclude the thing was designed to fail after a few years due to how bad it takes care of heat dissipation (I don't even want to discuss that desktop, a picture will explain it better and I don't have access to that computer). There are good products out there but also bad so research it first before purchasing is my new mentality if you have to buy pre-built.
 
That's why build it yourself. These days, I think having the knowledge to build and trouble shoot a PC at least on an elementary level is an important skill to have considering how technological society has become. I rank it as highly as knowing how to swim or shooting a firearm.
 
As a reformed gamer.... Get a desktop.

The most important component of online 3d gaming (besides a low latency adequate wired broadband connection of course) is the computer graphics card. Laptops are hopelessly outgunned on this front. They can not keep up with the thermal and power dissipation requirements. You can cram a hot CPU into a laptop but you cant cram a hot GPU into a laptop. Science: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7287/analyzing-the-price-of-mobility-desktops-vs-laptops/3

After that it is the hard disk. Get a fast solid state disk. Then the memory. Get enough fast memory. Then get comfortable keyboards, mice, and screens.

Really though does he even need a laptop? If the school has computers for writing essays on he would probably get by just fine with a desktop + tablet(cheaper!)/smartphone
 
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