I was hoping to wait it out until the Old Republic came out, but I kind of need a laptop now.  I'm already gaming on a kick ass desktop, I just need this laptop for work, but I want to buy one capable of playing MMOs, mainly SWtOR. 

So, any ideas what would be the best to get that would still be good enough to play a game like SWtOR?  I know it is still unknown the minimum spec for the game, but we do know the engine (Hero Engine) so that should give us some indication of its specs prior to being told, right?

 Have a look at alienware

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668231.php

i got this laptop a few months ago, and it runs EVE online at max settings with 0 lag. Its got 4gb of RAM, a great GPU and a decent CPU. For the price i find it hard to find a better deal.

Originally posted by Tommy211

 Have a look at alienware

Alienware is overpriced for what you get, that gateway is a nice option.

Here's a decent one from IBuyPower

It comes with a GTX 280 and you can customize it.

You can even get an SSD.

With the T9800 processor and a 7200 RPM HD, it's about $2,400.

 Or try our ASUS N90SV-A2 18.4 inch Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Blu-ray Combo notebook

Alienware make top quality laptops. I prefer desktop for gaming, considering I hate working on laptops. And battery power can be a hassle depending on your make and etc.

i have a toshiba qosmio x305. i bought it on sale for a total of $1,350. there are different options for it. some come with dual 200gb hard-drives. mine came with them. it also has 4gb of ddr3, and i run it on 64-bit vista. it's been a solid laptop so far.

Thanks for the info all, I'l start looking through the recomendation.

Since Dell bought Alienware, in Europe the prices have gone up and the quality have dropped through the floor.

I wouldn't touch anything that Dell has a hand in.

actually the new alienware/dell M17x is very fairly priced.  im in the market for one too. going to buy one as soon as the 'free windows 7 upgrade' takes place.

here are, in my opinion(which is pretty much fact) the best laptops for the money at a couple different price ranges.

Now if you are dead set on certain screen sizes , resolutions or w/e this can change.

1. ~$2000. For $1874 you can get a beast of a machine , M17x from dell/alienware. your going to be on a waiting list but, even after upgrading the processer and hard drive a tad from the base package,  it was still a bit under 2k and a monster.

2. ~$1500. Sager Np8662. this is my favorite 15" laptop out there right now and probable the one im going to buy. The base package is VERY nice,  just upgrade to 4gb of ddr3 memory,  the HD to the 320GB 7200 rpm and you are getting a very nice machine that will run any game at high settings for the near future, very upgradable in the future, and still humming along 5 years from now most likely.

3. ~Sub $1000. the best  you can get under 1k

- ASUS G50VT for $850 is a very good deal

-Sager NP2098 for $777 and can pick and choose updgreae (id just bump up the cpu)
-MSI EX625-227US $750, a steal for that. (was on sale for $699 last week :/

 I would keep an eye out for the new Latitude Z Gaming laptop that has not yet released. The good news is I can configure and place orders on them already.

latitude series is for business use no?

the only specs ive seen for the upcoming z series is certainly more for business than gameing.

 I like the Asus G50V. I actually own one and it really is a nice laptop. Battery life not much but, its good for gaming.

I would buy it again.

 I would however avoid Dell and HP like the plague. We have a pc repair department and it is just disgusting how many come in.

The real kicker is they always have the same thing wrong. Dell- Bad RAM slot causing constant BSOD. HP- Fried itself.

I bought a Dell XPS M series laptop a couple of years ago and it handled all the games pretty well but after about 6 months I started to have issues with the display. Dell came out and serviced it and things were fine for another 6 months and the same thing again and again they came out and serviced it and yes you guess it the same thing happened again a few months later.

Some would take this as an indication to never buy Dell again but actually most gaming laptops tend to have a lot of stuff crammed into them and as result they overheat easily and failures on all laptops are higher than desktops let alone high end laptops. At the time I bought my Dell they hadn't acquired Alienware yet and I liked the alienware products but their warranty was ship it back to them and they fix it where with Dell they came out and fixed it at my house.

The upshot of it is that Dell replaced my laptop with a brand new updated XPS M1710 one and it has been running fine with out any issues at all.

The problem with a problem isn't that it happens because every company and product out there is going to fail the issue is does the company stand behind their product and get it fixed for you? And at least for me Dell took care of it and the XPS M1710 is a great gaming laptop.

 Its not that they stand behind it. Its simply they planned for it, decidied against a better design, raise the price and  factor in the many repair orders.

I have spoken with Dell CS. They throw things out like 65% of DIMM slot A will fail. Solution: Extended warranty.

Thats crappy.

Or they do this little number: Your motherboard is fried but, you are still under the 'extended warranty'. For a mere $200-$350, they replace the motherboard with a 'upgraded' one. This time they moved the capacitor away from the palm rest.

You are right though. Things break, esp laptops. Some companies do it better then others though.

Though it makes me money, I am very sick of seeing Dell laptops broken in my shop. The warranty did them little good

Originally posted by m240gulf

I was hoping to wait it out until the Old Republic came out, but I kind of need a laptop now.  I'm already gaming on a kick ass desktop, I just need this laptop for work, but I want to buy one capable of playing MMOs, mainly SWtOR. 

So, any ideas what would be the best to get that would still be good enough to play a game like SWtOR?  I know it is still unknown the minimum spec for the game, but we do know the engine (Hero Engine) so that should give us some indication of its specs prior to being told, right?

Laptops are not for gaming...  *sigh*

Unless you spend $1,300+

Originally posted by adrianemery

Since Dell bought Alienware, in Europe the prices have gone up and the quality have dropped through the floor.

I wouldn't touch anything that Dell has a hand in.

LOL ^^ ....

As if Dell sells crap. Whatever issues arise, Dell will take care of them. Laptops are a different breed, you don't fix or repair them yourselves. So ALWAYS chose from a company that backs up their products.  ie: Dell

---

Originally posted by Phelcher

 
Laptops are not for gaming...  *sigh*
 

---

people alwasy say this... *sigh*

(but its not true)

the truth is, you get a better computer for the money as a desktop. everyone knows that. but he didn't ask for a desktop, he asked for a gaming LAPTOP. and there are VERY good gaming laptops out there, and prices are getting better and better all the time.

Originally posted by Phelcher

Originally posted by adrianemery

Since Dell bought Alienware, in Europe the prices have gone up and the quality have dropped through the floor.

I wouldn't touch anything that Dell has a hand in.

 

LOL ^^ ....

As if Dell sells crap. Whatever issues arise, Dell will take care of them. Laptops are a different breed, you don't fix or repair them yourselves. So ALWAYS chose from a company that backs up their products.  ie: Dell

 

Yeah i think so too. Ive never had any problems with my Dell desktop. But i know of three companies right off hand that use them just for the reason you gave....service. Im not a fan of laptops but if i were to get one it would be a Dell or Alienware.

Originally posted by NegativeJoe

 

---

Originally posted by Phelcher

 
Laptops are not for gaming...  *sigh*
 

---

 

people alwasy say this... *sigh*

(but its not true)

the truth is, you get a better computer for the money as a desktop. everyone knows that. but he didn't ask for a desktop, he asked for a gaming LAPTOP. and there are VERY good gaming laptops out there, and prices are getting better and better all the time.

 

 

I understand desktops are king of the hill as far as gaming machines....I did mention I had a kick ass desktop, I just need a laptop for work, mainly because of travel.  If I could travel with my desktop, then laptop would be out of the question.  I'm just looking for an alternative for traveling, hence the need for a laptop .

In my research on what to get, I keep coming across what seems to be something new in recent history; desktop replacements.  It seems a lot of people are getting gaming laptops to replace their desktops because it takes up less space.  I would never go this route, I can't see myself replacing a desktop for a laptop.  I enjoy building my own desktops too much, especially upgrading them with the newest technology I can afford at the time.

Laptops are not cheap though, I built an i7 with SLI EVGA-GTX285's and tons of bells and whistles. for roughly $1,500 and I'm looking at laptops in $1,500 range.  For the same price I'm probably going to get a third less power with a laptop, but even at a third less power it looks like it's going to be a beast still.  That is pretty impressive for a laptop, not like the old days where laptops could barely run Word or Excel.

My bigger worry now is how long will my new laptop stay relevent as far as gaming is concerned.  MMOs, once released, change very little so I should be ok there, but outside MMOs I might have to replace the laptop with a new machine in probably two or three years.  Unlike a desktop where I could update every four years or so, as long as I could keep up with updating component like RAM, CPU, etc...

Edit: Typos...haha, I'm typing on a crappy work Mac...this is why I need a laptop for work!

The Gateway P-7805u that tvalentine linked is still a great deal btw.. It's $100 more than it was a couple months ago but I like the price/performance you get. It's basically a $1500 or $1600 laptop with a lower resolution screen (1440x900) to cut back price but to me the 1440x900 screen is actually a good thing.. this means your native resolution is actually low enough to run games very well. You need a beast of a laptop to run at a native resolution of 1920x1200 and running at below native resolution loses all of your image quality.

Ok, just saw these ASUS laptops on Newegg that seem like really good deals, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220543.. looks like a really good system for the price. The next step up from it is on sale for $1300 too http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220529, with a slightly faster CPU larger HD and Blu-Ray, and the $800 model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220520 if you're still looking.

Originally posted by noquarter

The Gateway P-7805u that tvalentine linked is still a great deal btw.. It's $100 more than it was a couple months ago but I like the price/performance you get. It's basically a $1500 or $1600 laptop with a lower resolution screen (1440x900) to cut back price but to me the 1440x900 screen is actually a good thing.. this means your native resolution is actually low enough to run games very well. You need a beast of a laptop to run at a native resolution of 1920x1200 and running at below native resolution loses all of your image quality.

err my laptop (the one i linked) has a 1920x1200 resolution not 1440x900. I think you misread it
 

EDIT: went back to double check and the site shows 1440x900...... thats really wierd because the one i have goes up to 1920x1200 ..... i must have a different version .... with the same specs lol, i dunno i'm confused.