Decent Low-mid gaming laptop

[Papahyooie]

Hi everyone! I was just hoping to maybe get some opinions/reviews on a good (read: usable)
gaming laptop for under a grand US. I find I dont get to play at home very often anymore, as i work nights as a dispatcher and sit around alot, then come home and sleep all day. I can play games at work though till the phones ring, and so im looking into getting a laptop. Im selling both my current laptop and desktop for a total of about $900 so i want to find a good laptop for under $1000. It really doesnt have to be anything special as my current laptop is AMD64x2 with ATI x1200 (toshiba a215) so it just needs to play games better than that. I'd hope to get performace like my current desktop (which is pretty old, but decent, can see it on the left) or maybe slightly under. I play wow, LOTRBFME, oblivion (which makes my current laptop bleeds out its ears) and a few others. I play crysis on my desktop (believe it or not) so id at least like the laptop to play it on low settings if possible but its not a requirement. Im looking at a few models:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Notebooks-_-MSI-_-34152073

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Notebooks-_-MSI-_-34152073

So does anyone know how these things work out? Can i expect as good performance out of a 9500m or 9600m than i get with my 7900gs? (also had a x1900xt there at one point, how would that compare?) And also, I love Asus, and number two is way cheaper, could invest the rest back into a better desktop later on, but how is the performance difference between a 9500mgt and a 9600mgt? Im really not familiar with laptop graphics, but i would assume the 9500m has ddr2 ram which my old 8500gt in my desktop had that and my 7900 with ddr3 blew it out of the water. Also could i buy the asus and then spend the extra 3-400 bucks on a way better graphics card (can these be upgraded easily? easily being a relative term, im not afraid to crack it open in the least bit, ive done quite a bit of desktop modding, jsut not laptops, though i have taken apart/fixed a few, even soldered on a couple)

So in short, should i go for number one, number two (possibly with better graphics, id assume 8800mgtx or something would be better) or does anyone know about a better sub 1000$ (preferrably sub 900$) gaming laptop? Also what kind of performance would these two or any others) get in, say, crysis?

I know thats a lot, but ive been researching and finding little to nothing.

EDIT: oh yea, and id like to stay nvidia, but its not necessary. Im very impressed with how well my little toshiba handles WoW even with its x1200. So im subject to persuasion.

 

[1Kurgan1]

the 9600m isn't the same as the 9600's that come in desktops as far as I know. Nvidia has a tricky name setup. Anyways here's 2 better options at the same price, both with 9800M GS's which will get the gaming done no problem.

Asus - $899

and

Asus - $949

The difference betwee nthe 2 is the 1st one has a much cooler looking case and the second ones case is blah, but has a better processor. So all up to you save $50 and get a cooler case or spend $50 and get a better proc.

 

[Papahyooie]

OMG those are sexy! I actually like #2's case better. Im partially blue colorblind so i love bright blues. And 2.2ghz proc 9800m and x64 OS! Yea def going for one of those over the two I named.
And i know the 9600m doesnt equal a desktop 9600 but i wasnt sure how they compared to my desktop's 7900 or x1900xt. But im sure a 9800m will beat a 7900 right? AND I even get to stick with Asus! I love Asus ever since i got my P5N mobo. Those should even blow my desktop out of the water if i'm not mistaken.

 

[1Kurgan1]

I would say the 9600m's would be on par with those older cards. But that 9800m will blow those old cards out of the water. And Asus is a great brand name, I know if I was going for a cheap laptop those 2 would be high on my list. Hard to beat that kinda performance for the price.

 

[Papahyooie]

For real, im seeing $2k and up laptops with similar specs (of course with the higher cache processors and such, and maybe 9800m GT instead of GS.) Thanks so much for showing me those, probably going to pick up the blue one next week!

 

[1Kurgan1]

Also you might get lucky, if you want to try this.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=289425

The 9800GT and GS really arent too far apart in performance. The 9800GT is only a G92 where as the 9800GS is a G94, but has less shaders.

 

[SCARed]

the 9600M GT is roughly a desktop 8600GTS. and the 9800M GS is nothing but a desktop 9600GT clocked a little lower.

i guess, the 9800M GS should perfomr at least on par with the 7900GS. most likely it's perfoming better quite a bit.

btw: these prices are totally awesome. we over here in germany have to pay at least 1200 bucks for stuff like that.

 

[3870x2]

If you can find one with a 9800 M GTX, you are doing very well. Ive had hands on one with crysis, and it performed pretty well.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Won't be a 9800GTX laptop under $1000 though.

i guess, the 9800M GS should perfomr at least on par with the 7900GS. most likely it's perfoming better quite a bit.

A 7900GS would run close with a 8600GT, that 9800GS will be quiet a bit faster.

 

[3870x2]

Expand your horizons :
http://www.buy.com/prod/toshiba-qos...uo-processor-4gb-ram/q/loc/101/210565972.html

1kurgan1, you were spot-on.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Those Toshbias are pretty nice, I was thinking about one for tax season, but I bought a car.

 

[Blacksniper87]

hmmm thw only problwm with the asus laptops is the battery life. For some reason it always seems to be sub par

 

[1Kurgan1]

When looking at a performance (gaming) laptop, battery life is really not what anyone should be looking for. I would just call it a portable desktop (granted these aren't quiet at that level), but still you get the point.

 

[Xazax]

If you want a gaming laptop for $1000, there is no other like this

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

Handdown THE best LAPTOP one can buy, the 9800m GTS is basically a moblie varient of the 9600GT, the 9800m GS IS NOT a 9600GT clocked slower, it is actually a 48 shader varient, much like the new 9600GSO that are 48 shaders.

Not only that but the battery life you can get 2-3 Hours on it GAMING or watching movies! that insane for a gaming laptop. 4GB of DDR3 and a 7200RPM HDD makes it speedy laptop almost a mobile desktop.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9173262&type=product&id=1218044029168

here is another right up your alley that is good.

But still i say if your looking to spend 1000 i almost see it stupid to buy anything else besides that, simply because price/performance it is unmatched.

Also WastedSlayer, on these forums. has the older variety of that same laptop for $1000 i would contact him.

 

[Papahyooie]

@3870X2 My friend has a qosmio and its cool, but waaay too flashy for me, and they're more expensive for less hardware. I looove my toshiba i have now and i would buy tohsiba again, but i cant pass up those asus'es. I also dont like the flames on the qosmios and the colors are way too loud. Gimme black with accents any day. As for the gateway Xazax thats like the same computer as 1Kugen1 listed but $200 more expensive. AND though i will buy ASUS and toshibas all day, i will NEVER buy gateSh!% ever again. Had one piece of trash from them already. As for battery life, meh who cares. If i want power, then im willing to give it power, so screw batteries. I figure I'd get in big trouble if i was playing crysis going down the road in my car, which is about the only place i dont have an outlet... shoot, even the park has power outlets.

One question im still curious about though. If i were to want say the 9800mgtx later on, could they be upgraded? I know they're discrete cards but is there some kind of standard that they follow like desktops, so that you can slip one out, hook up the heatsink to the knew one and slide it in?

 

[Xazax]

Its not same, i would never ever risk a BIOs flash on a laptop it fails you bricked a $1000, im not sure what gateshit you bought but the Gateway FX P-7805u is defently not junk. Just because you buy one of the products doesn't mean all there products are like that. You need to stick to the WELL reviewed products.

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3373


"We can't say with a straight face that anyone actually needs a gaming notebook, but if you're in the market and you don't want to break the bank the P-7811 is our current pick for best overall value. "

"We've had a lot of good things to say about the P-7811, and on paper there's plenty to like. Clearly performance is also good, and for the price there simply aren't any other laptops that can seriously compete right now. "

Thats the review for the older version, the newer updated version has addressed these problems as well as Nvidia's drivers.

 

[1Kurgan1]

The gateway is defineatly the best choice under $1500. It was another laptop I was looking at, problem is, it's over $1000, which I thought you were looking under. Another issue is the new screens don't do 1900x1200. There was someone with one up in the For Sale section that had the 9800 GTS and a 1900x1200 screen for around $1000, I think.

 

[Papahyooie]

yea, im willing to spend a little over 1k, but i def dont want to go over 1100. Most of the budget for this is coming from selling my current desktop, so thats whats up with that. And I know one product isnt definitive, but every gateway ive seen so far (mine and two friends) have been terrible, and worse, overpriced. But it doesnt matter cause like i said I cant justify over 1100$. And like i said earlier I absolutely love my ASUS motherboard, so i think i'll go with those, most likely. Hopefully I'll make the sale on the desktop tomorrow, so wish me luck! Thanks everyone!