The search continues… I kept looking at visitors’ keywords and “gaming laptop” keep showing up every now and then.
Clearly once they landed here, they were shown this post: http://sys-talk.com/computer/gaming-laptop/
It’s a bit out-dated now, since it was written in December 2008.

So let me update my blog post for this year’s edition.

An initial fair warning before reading on: you won’t find gaming laptop recommendations here, so if you’re looking for those please look elsewhere. If you are a hardcore gamer, hungry to swallow all those next-gen games with your future laptop and got money to burn, please stay awhile and read below. If you are a casual gamer, well this blog post is written especially for you.

The Basics

Okay, here goes… the basics are still the same as previous years.

If you are interested in playing HD (hi-def) movies with blue-ray quality, playing next-gen games with medium graphical settings and more, look for dedicated mobile graphics (discrete GPU) on your laptop.
Look for the nvidia or ATi logo stickers. That’s almost always guarantees that you are looking at a laptop with discrete GPU. Intel has their GMA offerings but I haven’t seen any review that recommends it for gaming (yet).

Processors and memory (RAM) also come into play here, but not as significant as the GPU IMHO. So you should do some research on those mobile GPU numbers on the internet. Check out: guru3d.com, tomshardware.com and anandtech.com for reviews and benchmarks.

But, if you are only into casual games then you needn’t concern about the GPU, as even the integrated graphics on most netbooks should be sufficient for you (without the 3D acceleration, of course).

And that’s it… for the basics. Now let’s get down to business…

All about the Money

Yes, this is for you hardcore gamers…

Yes, of course if you have a lot of cash to burn US$1,600-2,500 for ONE decent-level to uber-level gaming laptop… go for it…

But personally I won’t. Why?

Because I can simply get more bang for the buck and get an high-level to uber-elite-level desktop gaming PC, plus several different gaming consoles with the same amount of money.

I don’t need to do you the math… as I can get a US$700-1,000 desktop PC that can play next-gen games with high to ultra graphical settings, and not to mention bigger screens with the rest of the money, or even an extra GPU for SLI or CrossFire.

Okay, sure you might argue that you are an out-of-town or overseas student,
buying desktop PC will be a burden once you have to move out of your apartment.

“Mobile” as in Mobile AND Portable

Your gaming laptop won’t be as mobile, since most of you gamers opt for bigger screens most of the times. Well, mobile gaming devices are getting better and better…take a look at the options nowadays:

iPads (yes, a pretty decent gaming device it is),

Android tablets (old-school game consoles emulators popping up recently,
you can play your old SNES games, PSX games, and more).

Of course, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android smartphone owners get to play 3D games too nowadays.

Next-gen consoles got slimmer versions too. Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim, Sony Playstation 3 Slim already released. Wii Slim confirmed.

So why not? You have a lot of options here and now.

But still… if you have to have A Gaming Laptop that bad

I’d get an Alienware laptop (yes, that laptop picture above). Too bad, it’s hard to find one here in this country. So we have to stick with the other brands like ASUS ROG line (the picture on the left), this is my second choice after Alienware’s.

But if you are on a budget, hmmm… and willing to play with medium to low settings on your favorite game than get a decent desktop PC, I won’t stop you.

Of course I’m not saying that the brands not mentioned on this blog post aren’t good enough, no. I’m just sharing my personal taste and choice here.

Disclaimers: all brand names, logos, pictures, trademarks, business names and copyrights are owned by their own respective owners. This blog post is written as a personal note and never intended to be used as an endorsement, a review or buying recommendations.

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