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Frosstbyte · 08-22-2007, 03:17 PM

I did what you are about to do, and I have regretted it virtually ever second since then.

I would implore you to buy a 13" MacBook for your mobile computing needs (internet+word processing, I would imagine). If you have some anti-Mac fetish, obviously you can get a Dell or whatever, but I think that the Mac laptops are without a doubt the best laptops on the market at the moment. Then put the rest of your money towards building and/or buying a desktop PC for gaming. Upgrading a laptop's core components is costly and/or impossible so even if you get a bleeding edge rig right now, in a few years you will be dying to improve something (probably your video card) and not have a good way to do so. A desktop is much more flexible and versitile and you are unlikely to have any of the performance issues which plague gaming laptops.

I spent $4k on a gaming laptop from Voodoo and it is, without a doubt, the worst purchase of my life. Laptops are too small and too cramped to effectively deal with the significant heat output that high end gaming components create. I think you will save yourself tons of headache and pain if you buy a bare bones laptop for schooling and a desktop for gaming. If you really need your gaming machine to be portable, consider investing in a small form computer like the Falcon Northwest Fragbox. If you're serious about gaming, you're likely to have an external monitor, mouse and keyboard anyway, and with a Fragbox or similar system you can do all the hot-swapping of components that laptops make difficult or impossible.

My laptop in less than two years of use has fried 1 RAM stick, all my USB ports, my hard drive and done some damage to my motherboard. Your mileage may vary.

08-22-2007, 03:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Frosstbyte Winter is Coming Location: The North	I did what you are about to do, and I have regretted it virtually ever second since then. I would implore you to buy a 13" MacBook for your mobile computing needs (internet+word processing, I would imagine). If you have some anti-Mac fetish, obviously you can get a Dell or whatever, but I think that the Mac laptops are without a doubt the best laptops on the market at the moment. Then put the rest of your money towards building and/or buying a desktop PC for gaming. Upgrading a laptop's core components is costly and/or impossible so even if you get a bleeding edge rig right now, in a few years you will be dying to improve something (probably your video card) and not have a good way to do so. A desktop is much more flexible and versitile and you are unlikely to have any of the performance issues which plague gaming laptops. I spent $4k on a gaming laptop from Voodoo and it is, without a doubt, the worst purchase of my life. Laptops are too small and too cramped to effectively deal with the significant heat output that high end gaming components create. I think you will save yourself tons of headache and pain if you buy a bare bones laptop for schooling and a desktop for gaming. If you really need your gaming machine to be portable, consider investing in a small form computer like the Falcon Northwest Fragbox. If you're serious about gaming, you're likely to have an external monitor, mouse and keyboard anyway, and with a Fragbox or similar system you can do all the hot-swapping of components that laptops make difficult or impossible. My laptop in less than two years of use has fried 1 RAM stick, all my USB ports, my hard drive and done some damage to my motherboard. Your mileage may vary.