Help in building a new laptop
Hey guys, I'm starting to build laptop to replace my old one. However, I am a beginner so basically I don't what parts to look into/buy. My budget is $1000 and it will basically be a gaming laptop. So I want to be able to play Vindi on pretty high settings with around 50-60 fps and I guess the same for other modern games. I don't play much right now, just Dota, League, and Minecraft.
I would like to build a desktop, but I'm not sure if my room at home as an ethernet plugin and I do travel from campus to home from time to time.
Any help is appreciated, thanks!
November 26, 2013
11 Comments • Newest first
@Burning: Ah, okay thank you so much!
[quote=boom2121]9. Nothing too heavy, 10 lbs or less would be good
10. 15"-16"
11. Sort of. If it needs to be plugged in all the time then not really. For games like vindictus and league, I noticed there is a drop in fops if it isn't plugged in
12. Current one is old and likes to freeze/crash a lot, kinda slow with games now. Not very often; once every couple of months[/quote]
Anything over 6 lbs is very heavy and is in the weight category of "desktop replacement." The best $1000 will get you is a Lenovo Y500 anyways which is a midrange gaming laptop. Any configuration will hit your target performance with the games you want to play; there's very little difference between the GeForce GT750M and GT755M and you are locked in with the quad-core i7 and 8 GB of RAM. If none of this makes sense, you better start asking Google the right questions.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/
You may benefit more from a desktop if you want more performance for better value. However, I don't have enough information from you on the feasibility of that option.
[quote=boom2121]I would like to build a desktop, but I'm not sure if my room at home as an ethernet plugin and I do travel from campus to home from time to time.
Any help is appreciated, thanks![/quote]
Even if your house doesn't have ethernet, desktops can go wireless.
USB adapter http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN722N-Wireless-Adapter-Detachable/dp/B002WBX9C6
Internal PCI adapter http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B007GMPZ0A
[quote=boom2121]I hear having a SSD is preferred nowadays, so having one would be nice. Essentially it has to play vindictus with 40-60 GPS on high settings, and vindictus seems to be very gpu intensive.[/quote]
SSDs don't improve game performance. SSDs improve boot times and load times, but they will not increase FPS in games or decrease network lag.
Compared to modern games, Vindictus is not GPU intensive because it is using an older version of the Source engine. Current generation integrated graphics will run Vindictus at a solid 60 FPS on a mix of Medium and High settings.
[quote=Burning]Answer as many questions as you are willing. The information you provide will narrow down the potential computers I look at.
What country/state do you live in?
What is your budget?
Would you like to save money or do you want to spend as much of your budget as possible?
Can you order online? If you cannot order online, what stores are around you?
How much hard drive space do you want?
What games do you play or want to play?
Are there any games you play or want to play? List them.
What other programs do you use?
Do you have a preferred laptop weight?
Do you have a preferred screen size?
Is battery life important?
Why do you need a laptop? To where and how often will it be moved?
Mention any other special requests you may have. Be detailed.[/quote]
1. USA/VA
2. $1000
3. As much as possible to get the best results
4. Yes I can order online
5. Hmm, I guess 500 GB+
6. Vindictus, Dota, League of Legends, Maplestory, and Minecraft. And just any newer games my friends might want to play
7. See above
8. Not much, just things like steam, raidcall, iTunes, a few engineering programs
9. Nothing too heavy, 10 lbs or less would be good
10. 15"-16"
11. Sort of. If it needs to be plugged in all the time then not really. For games like vindictus and league, I noticed there is a drop in fops if it isn't plugged in
12. Current one is old and likes to freeze/crash a lot, kinda slow with games now. Not very often; once every couple of months
I hear having a SSD is preferred nowadays, so having one would be nice. Essentially it has to play vindictus with 40-60 GPS on high settings, and vindictus seems to be very gpu intensive.
[quote=boom2121]I'm not sure if my room at home as an ethernet plugin and I do travel from campus to home from time to time.[/quote]
Virtually all commercial laptops come with built-in wireless.
Edit- lol, I missed the switch from laptop to desktop.
Agreed, wireless on desktops is easy.
Answer as many questions as you are willing. The information you provide will narrow down the potential computers I look at.
What country/state do you live in?
What is your budget?
Would you like to save money or do you want to spend as much of your budget as possible?
Can you order online? If you cannot order online, what stores are around you?
How much hard drive space do you want?
What games do you play or want to play?
Are there any games you play or want to play? List them.
What other programs do you use?
Do you have a preferred laptop weight?
Do you have a preferred screen size?
Is battery life important?
Why do you need a laptop? To where and how often will it be moved?
Mention any other special requests you may have. Be detailed.
[quote=Caeg]Do you have a preferred screen size, thickness, and hard drive size?[/quote]
No, no, eh..not really, the one I have now came with 500 GB and I've only used ~150GB in 4 years.
[quote=boom2121]Ohhh, okay good to know. Well then any suggestions on what laptop I should be getting?[/quote]
Do you have a preferred screen size, thickness, and hard drive size?
Ohhh, okay good to know. Well then any suggestions on what laptop I should be getting?
Laptops are harder to build than desktops b/c they don't really provide you that much unless they're expensive but gl
Almost impossible as the average laptop uses all dedicated components, cases are designed for specific motherboards, even between identical model numbers from the same manufacturer I have seen 2 different screens with different motherboard connectors and screen connectors, and a totally different case to accommodate this. Then drive housings vary in location, so do USB ports and battery connections. In effect you would need to buy a specific manufacturer's components all through to guarantee it would fit together and run. At the cost of replacement parts, this would probably double or triple the cost compared to buying a machine.
I also know there's barebones laptops, but you're basically better off buying a nice laptop on sale
There is one of those really nice Lenovo laptops I think linustechtips did a review on...real nice. I'ma find it for ya
E: Something like [url=http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-59388313-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00F0RC4VQ/r3f=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1384106347&sr=1-1&keywords=Lenovo+y510p]this[/url]