f13.net forums - gaming laptop opinions sought

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July 22, 2025, 11:33:41 AM

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Hey, does anyone play mmog's on a laptop? I am thinking about getting a spare laptop (second-hand) for the house and was wondering if anyone had opinions about things to look for... like what video cards are good, what models and manufacturers to look for, that kind of thing. Also, what is the performance like on wireless? How about wireless with multiple users?

Games I play are things like WoW, CoH, some BF1942. Mostly I would play these on my desktop, but there are times when things like watching Shrek 2 with the kids for the umpteenth time means I could be doing something else if I only had a portable machine.

Thanks! I knew I could count on you all for opinions.

Basically, if you want to use a laptop for gaming, forget about a used one unless you don't want to play anything but older games. The one I have now does an adequate job of gaming, after I plug it into the docking station so I have a standard monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I have an older one that I used to use for websurfing from the couch during TV commercials, but it was ancient (I bought it from Sanya for $150 bucks almost 3 years ago, I forget what the processor was but it was no more than a 300MHz P2).

In general, you want what you want for any gaming system: Fast processor, lots of memory, and a decent video card. Don't count on using the built-in screen or input devices, and stay away from NVidia graphics systems, their mobile chipsets invariably suck.

--Dave

HP Compaq nc6000 plays WoW like a champ. Video is a Mobility Radeon 9600.

This works for me, and they're fairly inexpensive:

eMachines M6809

Gateway acquired eMachines and the last version they made was the M6811. Even fairly early vesions of this line (M6805) had a Radeon 9600, and they can be had cheaply.

Quote from: edlavallee

I've played quite a few MMORPGs on my Toshiba 5105 including EQ (what I originally bought it for), Earth & Beyond, FFXI, CoH, Guild Wars, and now WoW. I never tried EQ2 on it cause that game doesn't support GeForce4 MX chips so it probably wouldn't work on my laptop (GeForce4 Go 440). My laptop has a 1.8 GHz P4 with the previously mentioned GF4 Go 440 and 512 MB RAM and the performance is basically what you would get with a desktop machine with the same CPU and a GF4 MX or GF3 Ti200 which is to say it's playable but not great (except for Guild Wars, that game runs great on it for some reason). But I don't use it as my primary gaming machine so it's fine for my needs.

For video chipsets you might want to avoid the GeForce4 Go like I have since that's really only a DX7 chipset and newer games like EQ2 are starting to stop supporting something that old though it'll still be awhile before it's completely obsolete since so many fricking cards with the GF4 MX chip have been sold (even HL2 and DOOM3 support it). Moving up to the GeForceFX Go line, you might want to avoid the 5100 since it has a gimpy memory bus (here's a chart with the different FX Go's compared). I don't have any personal experience with the ATI Radeon Mobility chips but based on what I know of their desktop chips you probably want to avoid the 9000 and go with an 9200 on up.

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Also, what is the performance like on wireless? How about wireless with multiple users?

Never played online games on a wireless network so I can't really comment on this other than to say that most MMOs use very little bandwidth so it's mostly latency issues you have to worry about.

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Games I play are things like WoW, CoH, some BF1942. Mostly I would play these on my desktop, but there are times when things like watching Shrek 2 with the kids for the umpteenth time means I could be doing something else if I only had a portable machine.

Thanks! I knew I could count on you all for opinions.

You should be able to find a used laptop than can play WoW and CoH adequately since I can play those on mine and its over 2 years old now. BF1942 may be a bit trickier depending on how much of a framerate freak you are. One recommendation I have is to get a laptop with at least 512 MB RAM. Some of the older MMOs will work fine at 256 MB RAM but newer ones like CoH and WoW will definitely start swapping if you have only 256 MB and and that's going to hurt your performance a lot.

I've played online games on a wireless network. If you've got a half decent signal (on a relatively unpoluated hub) you'll get decent speeds. Now, if you're going to go down for an uber raid or UT DM I'd plug into the good ol' Cat-5, but just cruisn' around your normal MMO you can just go wireless I'm sure.

Although try it at a busy hub with 10.8 billion users and you might encounter some problems.

As much as I dislike Dell as a company and for their desktops, I bought an Inspiron 8600 customized upward over a year ago. It has held up beyond my expectations and is still good. Including the $250 rebate when I bought it in Oct '03, it was $2100 or so; 1.4Ghz P4 Centrino, 512 MB RAM (Just upgraded to 1GB, this laptop model, it's easy) 128MB GeForce4 Go, and a 60GB 7200RPM (yes, 7200!) hard drive - and a 1680x1050 widescreen native resolution. It's a great laptop and you can't get much better for the price even over a year later. I heartily reccommend checking out Dell's page and seeing what you can customize. They do good stuff with laptops.

I'm running an Inspiron 8600 with a 1.7ghz Centrino and the fat ATI card they're offering. I too can vouch for how awesome Dell is. Particularly that line.

Quote from: edlavallee

Also, what is the performance like on wireless? How about wireless with multiple users?

I've got a 802.11g setup at home (due to not be able to run cables around the house) between the DSL modem/router and my PC in another room about 5-6 metres from the router with 1 concrete wall in the way. Its fine. Ping time between PC and router is minute (like 1-2ms), and speeds are good - I've rarely got below 'Excellent' signal strength and 45+ MBps speed.

My fiancee often uses the wireless from her laptop for websurfing and the like, once again no probs at all.

As long as you take the necessary security standards (set up an SSID, dont set your wireless to broadcast 'Hello, Im here', only allow specified MAC addresses), I'd recommend wireless easily.

EDIT: This is with various types of gaming - mmorpgs, fpses, rtses. All good.

I'm a little biased toward Dell. You really can't go wrong, especially if you watch http://www.fatwallet.com/forums for promos and coupons.

As you may know, just about every laptop in the world is made from the core components of a small group of resellers. I have heard good things about these guys:

http://pctorque.com/

They make a line of laptops called Sager. Same exact core parts as Alienware but with a different shell. Incredible bang for the buck with some really cranked up specs (especially if you don't mind the bottom of your laptop feeling like the Chernobyl reactor)[/url]

Some of my WoW /played is on a Mac PB (a 2 year old PB with 64M ATI card and 512Meg RAM, 1GHZ G4), and a good portion of that time it's plugged into a 23" flat screen... ...plays like a charm at 1680x1050, though I did have to toggle some of the other video settings down...

Thanks for all your input. One final question:

Should I be concerned about some of the second hand laptops I see on auction places like eBay? Or, better yet, what should I be concerned about?

Thanks again!

You would obviously need to be concerned about getting scammed. There are many reputable sellers on E-bay, but I would feel uncomfortable with risking 1-2 thousand dollars.

Ebay laptops also may not carry a transferable warranty/service plan.

Finally, if there is a problem and you need to do a return, your mileage will vary as to the treatment you get.

Many of the laptops you see on there are from resellers who stock up inventory when there is a crazy promo or price mistake from a place like Dell.

I would never buy a used laptop machine, or any other "portable" hardware type unless it was (a) a screaming deal and (b) guaranteed not to be a scam of some sort...

Quote from: naum

I'm doing WoW on a one year old PB. Over a 802.11B. Works OK mostly, dogs at times. I feel like I have the wrists of an 80 year old though.