Several new laptops geared towards gaming are currently hitting store shelves. Find out what to look out for, so you don't spend a small fortune on the wrong configuration.
17-inch gaming laptops
The beasts of the notebook world, when splurging for the 17-inch monsters you should max out on the specs, lest your $3-4K investment become outdated in six months.
Opt for the fastest possible processor—right now, Intel's Core 2 Duo Extreme—and at least 2GB of RAM. Going north of 2GB is a good idea only if you’re running the x64 version of Windows Vista. The top mobile graphics solution right now is Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GTX in an SLI configuration—that is, two GPUs running in tandem.
Dell's XPS M1730 is an impressive example of what can be done in this space, although Alienware, VoodooPC and others offer compelling models. Look to spend around $4,000 for a machine that's completely tricked out.
15.4-inch gaming laptops
Mid-sized gaming laptops are usually purchased with two roles in mind. They need to have the hardware necessary to play the latest games, but also function as traditional mainstream laptops, and not the battery-draining monsters in the 17-inch space.
Look for a mid-tier Nvidia or ATI graphics card like the GeForce 7000 (or even the 8400) or the Radeon X1200 families. You won’t be able to play on the highest settings, but you’ll actually be able to use the battery. The most important attribute when shopping for 15.4-inch is discrete graphics; many games won’t even start without a dedicated GPU.
The most impressive new 15.4-inch gaming laptop may be Alienware’s Area-51 m15x, which utilizes a dual-GPU system that allows you to switch to integrated graphics to take full advantage of the battery.
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