So, I'm in the market for a new laptop and looking for opinions for where else I could look.

I'm basically looking to replace my current computer because it won't let me play civ 5 on larger map sizes or with decent graphics (okay, it's too big too, and it overheats too easily even with a cooling pad, and I keep having to delete fluff because of HD is full).

I don't want anything larger than a 14inch screen, and I've been limiting my search to systems with at least 6gb of memory. my budget's around $700 before tax -- and obviously want the best processor I can get for my money.

What I'm looking at right now is this:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/...6f1d9b55f8441a75404f1en02

It's not at the top of my price range, but I can't seem to find anything which actually gives me better specs without going outside of it. But, I hate bestbuy and futureshop, and want to avoid them if I can. Neither canadacomputers nor tigerdirect seems able to do any better than this though. Any other thoughts on where I could look?

-Fooglmog
Guy with no clue.

The one thing that ad doesn't say anything about it the graphics processor. This is just from past experience (as i have an older Acer Aspire), the 3D graphics are crap. You probably want to find something with ATI or nVidia on board. I couldn't find specs on that exact model, but its something you should probably inquire about before buying.

In all honesty, I think you may have a hard time finding a decent gaming machine for ~$700

You can make a decent gaming desktop for $700... laptop... good luck..

Would I be better off with this then?

http://www.futureshop.ca/...e55188f8f1ef56e44b92een02

It's a slightly less capable processor, but it has a half-gig of dedicated video memory.

-Fooglmog
Guy with no clue.

Here are my problems with the laptop you selected:

Brand: Acer (I've had bad experiences with this brand)
Hard Drive: 5400 rpm (this is kind of slow and you really would prob want a hard drive with more speed, I'd recommend nothing less than 7k rpm)
Graphics: Integrated (You really don't want integrated graphics if you want to play games and such. You'd see much better performance with a laptop with a dedicated gpu)
Battery: The battery that comes with this laptop is weak you'd need to upgrade for sure.

---------------

I find that Dell usually has some good prices, and if you don't mind refurbished sometimes you can get a steal on a really good laptop for the buck.

http://www.dell.com/...cid=56134&lid=1448296

Make sure you don't get "integrated graphics" if you want to play games. You really need a dedicated graphics gpu if you want good game play.

And I agree with detmer, unless you need to be mobile with gaming go with a desktop. They are also easy to upgrade every once in a while rather than buying a whole new system when you need more power. I used to be a PC gamer and I always built my own desk tops then would just upgrade a few parts in it for a few years before I had to actually build a complete system. For gaming best way to go is desktop unless you need to be mobile for some reason.

Heh, I should have known that if I came to AT for tech advice I'd mostly just got told "that's not good enough".

What I'm looking to do is replace my current laptop. I don't play games a whole lot, but when I do it's often during down-time away from my house. It wouldn't be a big deal if I couldn't play games during that time, but it would be nice.

Regardless, though, I expect my current laptop to die in the relatively near future. And with how little time I spend playing games, I don't think the economics of buying a dirt cheap lap-top to carry around and then a decent gaming desk-top make sense.

For the sake of comparison, my current system runs a T3200, 3gb ram and integrated graphics. It labours some to do it, but it pretty much runs what I ask it to -- the exception being civ 5 on bigger maps.

-Fooglmog
Guy with no clue.

your last laptop has widescreen which sux0rs on 14 inch screen.

this http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834215206

or

this http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834230185

or if you can get 200 bucks more to budget then this http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834157831

Min and recommended specs for Civ 5: http://www.joystiq.com/...em-requirements-revealed/

You'll have to look into whether that nVidia gpu is better or worse. I suspect it will be better than your current setup though.

integrated graphics

in cpu, best to worst:

llano
zacate/brazos
sandybridge

its hard to call the nvidia ion style solutions integrated but theres no reason to be buying them anyway

basically if you dont get a graphics card then you should really go amd not intel, but with civ 5 that could be an issue with the weaker cpu

not sure exactly where its cpu bound but you can always turn graphics down, its a bit harder to make a map smaller during the game

Foog:
http://civmodding.wordpress.com/

i consider that mod essential to make Civ5 even worth playing :p
it balances things properly and fixes many of the glaring holes in the AI.

problem is that it doesn't work on Macs or multiplayer (no mods do)

where do you play? I always put together one good gaming computer with the goal being to run the newest Civ game as smooth as butter on a large map with awesome terrain options. That's almost always a desktop for me :p So I echo what Detmer+Req said.

getting a gaming-level laptop is FAR more expensive than a desktop with the same specs (as I'm sure you know), so consider building yourself a simple gaming desktop (which I know qz and I will be happy to help you price out :p) rather than relying on laptops.

Anyway, looking at that specific laptop:
You have an integrated graphics card, which means it will take RAM from your motherboard rather than having dedicated RAM. That's a problem :p
Civ5 on a large map + running Vista or 7 will take at least 4 GB of RAM (my Civ5 runs around 2.2GB on a "large" map with 11 civs, 23 city states, Windows takes over a gig at the best of times). On a laptop, running sustained gaming-level applications on an integrated video card is going to heat the crap out of that laptop, making it have a shorter life and creating performance issues with it. You'll likely need to turn down the graphic options, maybe turn off combat animations.

I'd suggest looking for laptops with dedicated video memory if you're in the mobile-gaming market, but if you're able to -> try to pick look for good components and build yourself something nice for christmas :)

hit me up if you'd like to chat further :p

bummer. i don't have anything to say about gaming PCs anymore.

Almost thou convinceth me...

-Fooglmog
Guy with no clue.

I dont know if this helps, as it also has an integrated graphics card, but I've been very happy with my HP dm1z. It runs at about the same price as your other choices new. Granted, I haven't done much gaming on it since I got it, but it might be worthwhile looking into (especially with customizing it to have extra RAM on hp's site. When purchasing it off of hp.com, I believe if it's not completely satisfactory for any reason, you can send it back anytime within 30 days.

Desktop! Dual HD6990's!

/me runs

Buy.com sometimes has some good deals, too. They're worth looking into, imo.

do you work for HP?

hmm, maybe i do have something to say... not that i really keep up with the hardware, but i'm thinking $1,500 for a new gaming laptop minimum price. but since it only has to play Civ 5, i could be wrong.

apparently qz doesn't need radiator during winter.

Foog I wouldn't worry so much about the RAM. Looking on http://www.newegg.ca there's 8GB kits (2x4GB) of decent memory for $40.

Of course, if you happen to find a laptop with AMD graphics on the cpu (A-series) be aware that faster memory leads to tangible performance increases with them more so than Intels gimped integrated solution.

wow ok

"Hey guys. I need a laptop to play this game on it. My current laptop can sort of play the game, but it's really really old. I only have $700."

"If all you have is $700 you should get a desktop instead"

"I don't want a desktop. My laptop now can sort of run the game and it's quite old. Any new laptop would be a big improvement. I don't game very often, it's mainly just to pass the time. It needs to be a laptop."

"I think you should get a desktop. They're better for gaming."

"Guys, I don't want a desktop."

"Here is a list of gaming laptops that are great. They range from $1200 - $2000"

God I love AT.

Nope. I've had Asus, Apple, Dell, and Lenovo laptops, and so far I've been happiest with HP laptops in terms of value to dollar. ::shrugs::

newegg.com

that is all

http://www.newegg.com/...C34-152-279^34-152-279-TS

That is what newegg has for 14 inch, at least 6gb ram, and dedicated video card requirements.

go for HP AMD Vision Quadcore 6gb Ram with 1 gb ATI radeon dedicated graphics

civ 5 is running smooth with it :)

My opinion is probably not of interest, but still: get a real computer, with a 22-24+ screen ;)

http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834158183

http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834131220

too bad those are out of stock.

laptops ftl

wait there is civ 5?

http://www.civilization5.com/

I didnt read everything and im not even sure if you've found what you want. But ive had great experience at laptop depot and memory express.

you can buy the same computer from tigerdirect for half price.

At that price point you cant expect the best graphics but if you computer is really old then its a good upgrade for you.

If you have more money

http://www.alienware.com/....aspx?ref=FeaturedSystems

he has tight budget so no alienwares.

http://configure.us.dell.com/...odel_id=alienware-m17x-r3

save for a bit,,

just do it

you wont regret it!

he would need to over double his budget and doubt it happens.

http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834157948

is on sale for 600 atm, only 4 gb of ram but that is easy to upgrade cheaply and I doubt it would be the bottleneck in this sort of system.

http://www.pcmag.com/...le2/0,2817,2388455,00.asp

Not sure what the HP Pavillion DV7-6163us would cost you in Canada, but I have one and it makes for a nice laptop. It's a larger/heavier laptop than most of what's been shown here, but I don't believe the extra size disappoints. If you're not into serious gaming, but want a solid performance for significantly less cost, then this might be a good candidate.

The Beats Audio system really does not disappoint. I had the system going full blast from the front door playing halloween music and you could mostly hear it just fine at the front of the driveway where we were handing out candy.

As the reviews say, you get a lot of the perks of the systems one step above the Pavillion DV7-6163us, but you pay much less.