The best gaming laptops for your money?
By that, we mean the laptops that offer the best gaming performance at a given price. Why would you want that, you ask?
Because you want the laptop that offers the best gaming performance and the best features possible for your hard-earned money, right?
If you have the time to do research… but who does in this busy world?
Reading detailed gaming laptop reviews and specs is a lot of fun. However, most of us don’t have the time to do that and just want the answers. In other words, what you want to know is:
“What’s the best gaming laptop for my budget?”
So if you don’t have the time to do the research, or just don’t care to do it, don’t worry. We’ll come to your help with this article and we’ll give you the answers to your questions.
The Alienware M17x, the best gaming laptop for $1900.
About Gaming laptops:
Gaming laptops are equipped with more powerful than average video cards, in order to offer the best gaming experience possible.
On the downside, those powerful video cards draw more power, so gaming laptops tend to have lower battery life than the average laptop.
They also tend to be heavier, due to the additional cooling required for the more powerful video card(s).
A few reminders:
We’ll use this opportunity to remind you that this article is only a guideline for the prices we’ve seen on July 5th 2012. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you read this article:
This specific article on the best gaming laptops have ten (10) price ceilings for the recommended laptops: $430, $500, $600, $700, $850, $950, $1250, $1500, $1900 and $2500. We may also suggest some alternatives to my main recommendations, for reasons that we’ll explain.
This list is based on the best U.S. prices from NewEgg, Amazon or the manufacturer’s website. Prices and availability change everyday. We can’t keep up with accurate pricing everyday, but we’ll suggest to you great laptops that you won’t regret buying.
All prices are based on new laptops prices, no refurbished or open box laptops are listed; they might be a good deal, but they come with trade offs, such as missing accessories, higher failure rate, limited return policy, limited warranty, limited availability, etc.
When we compare two laptops, we’ll use the brand name as indicators. When we compare two laptops with the same brand name, we’ll use the model as indicators.
Summary
Click on any of these links to jump to the price point that interests you. Alternatively, scroll down to see them all, in this order.
- The Best Gaming Laptops For Your Money:
$430
$500
$600
$700
$830
$950
$1250
$1500
$1900
$2500
- Personalize your laptop with a skin:
Personalize your laptop with a skin
- Upgrade the RAM, the hard drive or the sound card:
Upgrade the RAM
Upgrade the hard drive to a larger/faster hard drive or to a SSD
Upgrade the sound quality with a dedicated USB sound card
Best Gaming laptop for ~$430
About the Asus A53Z-AS61:
Pros:
Decent ATI Radeon HD 6520G integrated video card considering the price. Allows for majority of recent games to be playable at the lowest settings.
One USB 3.0 port, something rare on very low-cost laptops.
Numpad: Very useful for spreadsheets.
ASUS 1 Year Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) that covers accidental drops, spills, power surges, and fire damage.
Reliable: ASUS ranks amongst the top brands (often #1) when it comes to reliability.
SRS Premium Speakers
Low cost: Only $430
Large 750GB hard drive
Cons:
Average 1366 x 768 screen resolution.
Glossy screen: Forget about using this laptop in direct sunlight.
Average battery life. Expect about 3-4 hours of web browsing.
5,400rpm hard drive is slower than a 7,200rpm hard drive.
Ideal for:
Gamers on a very tight budget looking for playable frame rates in low to medium settings for most recent games. Will play older games perfectly well. Demanding games such as Metro 2033, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, The Witcher 2, etc. may be unplayable even at the lowest settings at the native resolution.
To avoid for:
Someone who wants playable frame rates in the highest possible graphics settings.
Someone who want to plug in their laptop to play video games on their 1080p HDTV.
Someone who’s traveling a lot and who wants an highly-portable, lightweight laptop to carry around all day.
Someone who wants a very long battery life.
Click here to go back up to the summary
Specifications:
Components
Asus A53Z-AS61
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU
AMD A6-3420M Quad-Core 1.5GHz-2.4GHz Turbo
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
15.6″ 1366 x 768 LED backlight
Yes: 640 x 480
AMD Radeon 6520G
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
4GB DDR3 1333MHz
2 Slot, maximum 8GB
Storage
750GB Hard Drive running at 5,400RPM
Optical Drive
DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
SRS® Premium Surround Sound™
Altec Lansing speakers
Integrated microphone
Networking
LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
802.11b/g/n Wifi
Ports
5-in-1 Card Reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
2 x USB 2.0
1x USB 3.0
LAN
VGA Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
15.12″ x 10.12″ x 1.4″
5.72lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
6-cell Li-Ion
~3-4 hours
Click here to go back up to the summary
Best Gaming laptop for ~$500
$500 – Lenovo IdeaPad Z575 (12992PU)
About the Lenovo IdeaPad Z575 (12992PU):
Pros:
Decent ATI Radeon HD 6550M 1GB dedicated video card considering the price. Allows for majority of recent games to be playable at low or medium settings.
6GB of RAM, as opposed to 4GB for most laptops in this price range.
Four USB 2.0 ports, including one that’s a combo USB 2.0/E-SATA port, which allows for much faster transfer rates than USB 2.0.
Numpad: Very useful for spreadsheets.
Five-in-one card reader
Low cost for a laptop with a dedicated video card
Cons:
Average 1366 x 768 screen resolution.
No USB 3.0 port, but you do get an E-SATA port.
Glossy screen: Forget about using this laptop in direct sunlight.
Average battery life. Expect about 3-4 hours of web browsing.
5,400rpm hard drive is slower than a 7,200rpm hard drive.
Ideal for:
Gamers on a very tight budget looking for playable frame rates in low to medium settings for most recent games. Will play older games perfectly well. Demanding games such as Metro 2033, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, The Witcher 2, etc. may be unplayable even at the lowest settings at the native resolution.
To avoid for:
Someone who wants playable frame rates in the highest possible graphics settings.
Someone who want to plug in their laptop to play video games on their 1080p HDTV.
Someone who’s traveling a lot and who wants an highly-portable, lightweight laptop to carry around all day.
Someone who wants a very long battery life.
Click here to go back up to the summary
Specifications:
Components
Lenovo IdeaPad Z575 (12992PU)
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU
AMD A6-3420M Quad-Core 1.5GHz-2.4GHz Turbo
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
15.6″ 1366 x 768 LED backlight
Yes: 640 x 480
AMD Radeon 6650M 1GB
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
6GB (1x4GB + 1x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
2 Slot, maximum 8GB
Storage
500GB Hard Drive running at 5,400RPM
Optical Drive
DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
2 x 2W speakers
Integrated microphone
Networking
LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
802.11b/g/n Wifi
Ports
5-in-1 Card Reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
4 x USB 2.0, one that’s a combo USB 2.0/E-SATA port
LAN
VGA Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
14.8″ x 9.8″ x 1.4″
5.73lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
6-cell Li-Ion
~3-4 hours
Click here to go back up to the summary
Compared to similar laptops:
Vs. the ~$430 Recommended Laptop (Asus A53Z-AS61):
Compared to the Asus, the Lenovo offers higher gaming performance, thanks to the dedicated video card.
Advantages of the Asus
Costs less ($430 vs the Lenovo at $500)
Larger storage (750GB vs the Lenovo’s 500GB)
Higher sound quality (SRS Premium Sound vs the Lenovo’s Generic sound)
One USB 3.0 port, while the Lenovo has none, although it does have a combo USB 2.0/E-SATA port.
Disadvantages of the Asus
Less powerful video card (AMD Radeon 6520G vs the Lenovo’s Radeon HD 6650M 1GB)
Less RAM (4GB vs the Lenovo’s 6GB)
Click here to go back up to the summary
Best Gaming Laptop for ~$600
$600 – Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602
About the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602:
Pros:
A powerful video card (Geforce GT 630M 1GB) considering the price range. Allows for majority of recent games to be playable at medium to high settings with AA off.
Great processing power, with the Core i5-2450M 2.5-3.1GHz Turbo Dual-Core + Hyper-Threading, considering the price.
One free RAM slot, allowing you to easily add a 4GB stick to get a total of 8GB.
One USB 3.0 port
Bluetooth 4.0+HS
All-in-one card reader
Numpad: Very useful for spreadsheets.
Cons:
Average 1366 x 768 screen resolution.
5,400rpm hard drive, slower than a 7,200rpm hard drive.
Glossy screen: Forget about using this laptop in direct sunlight.
Average battery life. Expect about 3.5-4.5 hours of web browsing.
Ideal for:
Budget gamers looking for playable frame rates in medium to high settings for the majority of recent games. Will play older games perfectly.
To avoid for:
Someone who wants to watch movies with others on this laptop.
Someone who wants playable frame rates in highest possible graphics settings.
Someone who’s traveling a lot and who wants an highly-portable, lightweight laptop to carry around all day.
Someone who needs a laptop with a long battery life.
Click here to go back up to the summary
Specifications:
Components
Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU
Core i5-2450M 2.5-3.1GHz Turbo Dual-Core + Hyper-Threading
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
15.6″ 1366 x 768 LED backlight, glossy
Yes
Geforce GT 630M 2GB
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
2 Slots, maximum 8GB
Storage
500GB Hard Drive running at 5400RPM
Optical Drive
DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
Two stereo speakers
Integrated microphone
Networking
LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 4.0+HS
Ports
All-in-1 Card Reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
1 x USB 3.0
2 x USB 2.0
VGA Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
15″ x 9.96″ x 0.99″-1.30″
5.74lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
6-cell Li-Ion
~3.5-4.5 hours
Click here to go back up to the summary
Compared to similar laptops:
Vs. the ~$500 Recommended Laptop (Lenovo IdeaPad Z575 (12992PU)):
Compared to the Lenovo, the Acer offers considerably higher performance.
Advantages of the Lenovo
Costs less ($500 vs the Acer at $600)
More RAM (6GB vs the Acer’s 4GB)
Higher sound quality (SRS Premium Sound vs the Acer’s Generic sound)
Disadvantages of the Lenovo
Much less powerful video card (AMD Radeon 6650M 1GB vs the Acer’s Geforce GT 630M 2GB)
Much less powerful CPU (AMD A6-3420M vs the Acer’s Intel Core i5-2450M)
No USB 3.0 port vs the Acer’s one USB 3.0 port.
Lighter and more portable gaming laptop:
The $646 – MSI X460DX-008US is an highly portable alternative, weighting only 4.3lbs and measuring 13.35″ x 9.43″ x 1.0″. It offers pretty good gaming performance, with the Intel Core i3-2310M Dual-Core + Hyper-Threading 2.1 GHz CPU, the Geforce GT 540M 1GB video card and a fast 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. It also features 2x USB 3.0 ports and a good battery life with 5-6 hours of web browsing.
V.S. the $600 main recommendation, it offers slightly lower performance, due to its slower CPU, but it still offers great performance, especially when you consider its superior portability and longer battery life.
Click here to go back up to the summary
Best gaming laptop for ~$700
None
There’s currently a gap at the $700 price point, with no laptop offering performance that’s clearly superior to the $600 recommendation. This is why there’s no main recommendation.
However, here are two alternatives that have some pros that may interest you.
1- 17.3″ Gaming laptop
The $650 – Acer Aspire V3-771G-6650 is similar to the $600 recommendation, the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602, it’s pretty much just a larger version of it, with a 17.3″ screen instead of 15.6″.
Pros:
Larger screen (17.3″ vs 15.6″ for the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602 ) with an higher resolution (1600 x 900 vs the V3-571G-6602′s 1366 x 768)
2x USB 3.0 port vs one USB 3.0 on the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602
Cons:
The higher resolution screen is more demanding on the video card, so the gaming performance at 1600 x 900 will be lower compared to what you would get on the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602 at 1366 x 768.
Slightly lower battery (~2.5-3 hours vs 3-4 hours on the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602), due to the larger screen.
Heavier and less portable (7.05lbs and 16.33″ x 10.83″ x 1.22″-1.36″ vs 5.74lbs and 15″ x 9.96″ x 0.99″-1.30″ for the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602)
Higher cost ($650 vs $600 for the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602 )
2- HP refurbished laptop with higher performance and great features!
The $690 – HP Pavilion dv6-6047cl refurbished offers great gaming performance for its price, as well as great features. Its main downside? It’s a refurbished laptop, which means that it may show signs of light usage, it’s less reliable than a brand new laptop and it comes with a 3 months warranty instead of one year.
I personally bought two refurbished laptops (HP G73 and SAMSUNG Series 7 NP700Z5B-W01UB) in the last year and had no problem with them. If you don’t mind a refurbished laptop, the $690 – HP Pavilion dv6-6047cl refurbished is an amazing deal considering what it offers for the price!
Pros:
Powerful Radeon HD 6770M 1GB video card, which is a good 30% faster than the Geforce GT 630M featured in the $630 recommended laptop.
Powerful Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.0-2.9GHz Turbo Quad-Core + Hyper-threading CPU
8GB of RAM
Large 1TB hard drive, 5,400rpm though.
Blu-ray reader/DVD Burner drive
Fingerprint reader
Beats Audio sound system, with a dedicated sub woofer.
2 x USB 3.0
Bluetooth
Numpad
All-in-one card reader
Cons:
Refurbished: It may show signs of light usage, it’s less reliable than a brand new laptop and it comes with a 3 months warranty instead of one year. You might want to add the 2-year extended warranty for $89.99.
5,400rpm hard drive, slower than a 7,200rpm hard drive.
Glossy screen: Forget about using this laptop in direct sunlight.
Average battery life. Expect about 3.5-4.5 hours of web browsing.
Higher cost ($690 vs $600 for the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602 )
Click here to go back up to the summary
Best Gaming Laptop for ~$830
$830 – Acer Aspire V3-771G-9875
About the Acer Aspire V3-771G-9875:
Pros:
Powerful NVIDIA Geforce GT 650M 2GB allows for majority of recent games to be playable at medium or high settings with AA turned off.
Powerful and efficient 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processor: Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3-3.3GHz Turbo Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading
Large 17.3″ screen with a 1600 x 900 resolution.
Large 750GB hard drive, with one free drive bay, allowing you to easily add a second hard drive or a SSD.
6GB of RAM instead of average 4GB. It has four RAM slots, allowing you to upgrade all the way to 32GB, or easily get 14GB or 24GB if you add a 8GB (2x4GB) kit or a 16GB (2x8GB) kit. Do note that Windows 7 Home Premium limits you to a maximum of 16GB of RAM though, so you’ll have to upgrade to Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate if you want more than 16GB of RAM
Two USB 3.0 ports
1280 x 1024 webcam
Numpad: Very useful for spreadsheets.
Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
Cons:
Glossy screen: Forget about using this laptop in direct sunlight.
Average battery life. Expect about 2.5-4 hours of web browsing.
5,400rpm hard drive, slower than a 7,200rpm hard drive.
Ideal for:
Gamers looking for playable frame rates in medium/high settings with AA off for the majority of recent games. Will play older games perfectly.
To avoid for:
Someone who wants to watch movies with others with this laptop.
Someone who wants playable frame rates in highest possible graphics settings.
Someone who’s traveling a lot and who wants an highly-portable, lightweight laptop to carry around all day.
Someone who needs a laptop with a long battery life.
Click here to go back up to the summary
Specifications:
Components
Acer Aspire V3-771G-9875
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3-3.3GHz Turbo Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
17.3″ 1600 x 900 LED backlight, glossy
Yes: 1280 x 1024
Nvidia Geforce GT 650M 2GB
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
6GB (1x4GB + 1x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
4 Slots, maximum 32GB (With W7 Pro or Ultimate, 16GB w/ HP)
Storage
750GB Hard Drive running at 5400RPM
2nd drive bay that’s free if you want a 2nd HDD or a SSD
Optical Drive
DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
Dolby® Home Theater® v4 audio
Two stereo speakers
Integrated microphone
Networking
LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
Ports
All-in-1 Card Reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
2x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0
LAN
VGA Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
16.33″ x 10.83″ x 1.22″-1.36″
7.05lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
6-cell Li-ion Battery
~2.5-4 hours
Click here to go back up to the summary
Best Gaming Laptop for ~$950
$950 – ASUS N56VZ-ES71
About the Asus N56VZ-ES71:
Pros:
Powerful NVIDIA Geforce GT 650M 2GB allows for majority of recent games to be playable at high settings with AA turned off.
Powerful and efficient 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processor: Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3-3.3GHz Turbo Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading
ASUS 1 Year Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) that covers accidental drops, spills, power surges, and fire damage.
Reliable: ASUS ranks amongst the top brands (often #1) when it comes to reliability.
2 seconds quick resume from sleep.
Great sound system: Bang & Olufsen ICEpower
Four USB 3.0 ports!
Numpad
Matte screen
Cons:
Average 1366 x 768 screen resolution
Average battery life. Expect about 3-4 hours of web browsing.
5,400rpm hard drive that’s slower than a 7,200rpm model.
Ideal for:
Someone on a decent budget who wants to play video games and needs the portability of a laptop (Otherwise, a desktop Gaming PC offers a LOT more performance for the same price.)
Someone who wants to use their laptop outside in the sunlight, thanks to the matte screen.
To avoid for:
Someone who wants playable frame rates at the highest settings for most games.
Click here to go back up to the summary
Specifications:
Components
Asus N56VZ-ES71
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7-3610M Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading 2.3-3.3 GHz Turbo
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
15.6″ 1366 x 768 LED backlight, anti-glare (matte)
Yes: 1280 x 720
Nvidia Geforce GT 650M 2GB
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
4GB DDR3
2 Slots, maximum 8GB
Storage
500GB Hard Drive running at 5400RPM
Optical Drive
DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
Bang & Olufsen Speakers
Integrated Microphone
Networking
LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth
Ports
3-in-1 Card Reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
4 x USB 3.0
LAN
VGA Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
14.96″ x 10.03″ x 1.07-1.34″
5.95lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
6 cell Lithium Ion
~3-4 hours
Click here to go back up to the summary
Compared to similar laptops:
Vs. ~$830 Recommended Laptop (Acer Aspire V3-771G-9875):
Compared to the Acer, the Asus offers higher gaming performance, due to the less demanding screen resolution, has a better sound system, is more reliable, has a better warranty and finally, it’s more portable thanks to its smaller dimensions and lower weight.
Advantages of the Acer
Costs less ($830 vs the ASUS at $950)
Higher resolution screen (1600 x 900 vs 1366 x 768)
More RAM (6GB vs 4GB) and support for more RAM (4 RAM slots vs 2 RAM slots)
Hard drive with an higher capacity (750GB vs 500GB) and features a 2nd drive bay.
Disadvantages of the Acer
Less reliable than the ASUS laptop.
The higher resolution screen is more demanding on the video card, so the gaming performance at 1600 x 900 will be lower compared to what you would get on the ASUS at 1366 x 768.
No accidental warranty.
Larger and heavier than the ASUS.
Lower battery life (2.5-3.5 vs 3-4 hours)
Inferior sound system
Less USB 3.0 ports (4 vs 2 for the Acer)
Less features, similar performance, way more portable, customizable:
If you prefer portability over features, the $969 – Sager NP6110 (with the processor upgraded to the Intel i7-3610QM and with Windows 7 Home Premium selected) is a fantastic choice. Equipped with the exact same processor and video card as the much larger and heavier Asus, you can get the much smaller and lighter Sager at a similar price at the cost of a couple features.
Advantages of the Sager
Much lighter (3.97lbs vs the Asus at 5.95lbs)
Much smaller (11.30″ x 8.15″ x 0.50″-1.46″ vs the Asus at 14.96″ x 10.03″ x 1.07-1.34″)
More RAM (8GB vs the Asus’s 4GB)
Ability to customize through XoticPC
Disadvantages of the Sager
Less USB ports (3x vs the Asus’s 4x)
Less USB 3.0 ports (1x vs the Asus’s 2x)
Build time
No accidental warranty
Less reliable
No optical drive
Upgrades to consider for the Sager NP6110 (equipped with Intel i7-3610QM)
These are options that weren’t included in the price above, but that are to consider for additional performance or features.
Upgrading the RAM to 16GB (+$180). While it will not provide additional gaming performance, it’s an easy way to future-proof your laptop and will allow you to run tons of programs at the same time with no/less slowdowns. A good idea if you plan on using your laptop for high-end audio/photo/video/3D work.
Upgrading the stock 500GB 7200RPM to a SSD, such as the Samsung 830 series or Crucial M4 C400, both of which offer excellent performance AND excellent reliability. This will result in the OS, programs and games loading much faster, as well as making your system more responsive.
Upgrading thermal compound. (+$25) Upgrading thermal compound leads to a cooler laptop increasing its longevity and lowering noise levels.
Upgrading Warranty. Upgrading warranty if you can afford it is always a good choice considering the price of this laptop.
Upgrading the Backup software. (+$35) Backups are crucial and a software that makes it easy is always useful
Upgrading the Wireless Network Adapter to the “Intel® Advanced-N 6235 – 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth” (+$25), for improved wireless throughput and improved range.
Fairly light and portable, backlit keyboard and great battery life:
The $942 – Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S09US offers a nice balance of performance, portability, great battery life, a matte screen and a backlit keyboard, making it an excellent alternative for someone who wants a gaming laptop that’s fairly portable/light, has a great battery life and can be used for work or school.
I use a slightly different model with a more powerful CPU, a less powerful video card but no backlit keyboard. I use it for both work on the website (I love going out to cafes and the like, so portability and a long battery life is a must for me). image editing and gaming, and I simply love it.
The combination of portability, the 1600 x 900 resolution, good performance and long battery life strikes the perfect balance for me. It also looks very nice and is fairly solid. If you looking for that same kind of balance, with a backlit keyboard on top of that, I highly recommend the $942 – Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S09US.
Advantages of the Samsung
Lighter (5.04lbs vs the Asus at 5.95lbs)
Smaller (14.2″ x 9.3″ x 0.94″ vs the Asus at 14.96″ x 10.03″ x 1.07-1.34″)
Much longer battery life, at 6-8 hours vs 3-4 hours for the Asus.
More RAM (8GB vs the Asus’s 6GB)
Backlit keyboard
Higher resolution screen, at 1600 x 900 vs 1366 x 768 for the Asus.
Intel Wi-Di (Wireless Display) allows you to connect an external display/HDTV wirelessly, with a separately sold $92 – Netgear PUSH2TV HD PTV2000 1080P Adapter for Wireless Display receiver.
If you register your laptop on Samsung’s website, which takes about 5 minutes, you get a free 3 months warranty extension.
Matte screen, meaning you can use your laptop outside.
Disadvantages of the Samsung
Less USB ports (3x vs the Asus’s 4x) and only two of those are USB 3.0 ports.
Less powerful video card (Radeon HD 6750M 1GB vs the ASUS Geforce GT 650M 2GB), still powerful enough to run most games at medium/high at 1600 x 900.
Less powerful CPU: Intel Core i5-2450M 2.5-3.1GHz Dual-Core + Hyper-Threading vs the ASUS Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3-3.3GHz Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading
The higher resolution screen is more demanding on the video card, so the gaming performance at 1600 x 900 will be quite lower compared to what you would get on the ASUS at 1366 x 768.
No accidental warranty like with ASUS.
No easy access to the hard drive bay, you have to remove the bottom part of the laptop to upgrade the hard drive.
4 of the 8GB of RAM is soldered onboard, meaning that you can only upgrade the 4GB stick to a 8GB stick, for a maximum of 12GB of RAM.
If you want the same laptop, but with a more powerful Intel Core i7-2675QM 2.2-3.1GHz Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading CPU, but without the backlit keyboard, consider the $1147 – Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0AUS
If you want a quad-core Intel CPU and the backlit keyboard, consider the $1265 – Samsung NP700Z5A-S03US
Click here to go back up to the summary
Best Gaming Laptop for ~$1250
$1249 – Prostar P151EM
About the Prostar P151EM:
Note: The price represents the laptop configured with the Intel Core i7-3610QM as CPU and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit as the OS.
Pros:
Anti-glare screen
Powerful NVIDIA Geforce GTX 670M 1GB allows for majority of recent games to be playable at max settings with AA turned off.
Powerful and efficient Ivy Bridge processor (Intel Core i7-3610QM) (with Hyper-Threading)
Numpad: Very useful for spreadsheets.
Bluetooth
Three USB 3.0 port.
8GB of RAM
Choice of OS ($1170 without OS if you already have a copy of Windows 7 64-bit)
Can be configured to your tastes.
No pre-installed bloatware
Cons:
Limited battery life: Expect 3-4 hours of web browsing time.
Somewhat heavy at 6.83 pounds.
Wait time for custom building. Can be rushed for a fee.
Ideal for:
Someone who wants a capable gaming laptop to play video games and who needs the portability of a laptop (Otherwise, a desktop Gaming PC offers a LOT more performance for the same price.)
Someone who wants to use their laptop outside in the sunlight.
To avoid for:
Someone who’s traveling a lot and who wants an highly-portable, lightweight laptop to carry around all day.
Someone who needs a laptop with a long battery life.
Upgrades to consider for the Prostar P151EM
These are options that weren’t included in the price above, but that are to consider for additional performance or features.
Upgrading the RAM to 16GB (+$60). While it will not provide additional gaming performance, it’s an easy way to future-proof your laptop and will allow you to run tons of programs at the same time with no/less slowdowns. A good idea if you plan on using your laptop for high-end audio/photo/video/3D work.
Upgrading the stock 500GB 7200RPM to a SSD, such as the Samsung 830 series or Crucial M4 C400, both of which offer excellent performance AND excellent reliability. This will result in the OS, programs and games loading much faster, as well as making your system more responsive. You can also choose to go with a SSD as your main drive and add a HDD as your 2nd drive to have more storage capacity.
Upgrading thermal compound. (+$35) Upgrading thermal compound leads to a cooler laptop increasing its longevity and lowering noise levels.
Upgrading to 6X Blu-Ray reader. (+$80) Must have for Blu-Ray viewing. Alternatively, if you don’t need/want an optical drive, you use it as a third drive bay to add more storage.
Upgrading Warranty. Upgrading warranty if you can afford it is always a good choice considering the price of this laptop.
Upgrading the Wireless Network Adapter to the “Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 – 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (Includes 3rd Antenna)” (+$35), for improved wireless throughput and improved range.
Rushed Build Time: If you want your laptop faster, you can get it “rushed” for $40.
Upgrades that are not recommended for the Prostar P151EM
These are upgrades that are not recommended, for reasons explained below:
Upgrading the CPU to anything higher than the Intel Core i7-3610QM. An additional $160 for a mere .3ghz is simply not worth the cost at this price range. You might as well go with the $1500 laptop instead.
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Specifications:
Components
Prostar P151EM
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OR No OS
CPU
Intel Core i7-3610QM Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading 2.3-3.3 GHz Turbo
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
15.6″ 1920 x 1080 LED backlight, Anti-glare
Yes: 1600 x 1200
Nvidia Geforce GTX 670M 1.5GB dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
4 Slots, maximum 32GB (W7 HP limits you to 16GB though)
Storage
640GB Hard Drive running at 5,400RPM
Optical Drive
8x DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
Onkyo Built-in Speakers
THX TruStudio Pro
Integrated Microphone
Networking
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 2.1
Ports
9-in-1 Card reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
3 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0
LAN
DVI Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
14.80″ x 10.08″ x 1.38-1.69″
6.83lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
8 cell
~3-4 hours
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Compared to similar laptops:
Vs. ~$950 Recommended Laptop (Asus N56VZ-ES71):
While the processors are identical, the improvement seen with the Prostar is mainly through the more powerful video card. However, this comes at the cost of price, weight and portability.
Advantages of the Asus
Costs less ($950 vs the Prostar at $1250)
Lighter (5.95lbs vs the Prostar at 6.83lbs)
Much thinner ( 1.07-1.34“ vs the Prostar at 1.77″)
Disadvantages of the Asus
Lower display resolution (1366×768 vs the Prostar at 1920×1080)
Less RAM (4GB vs the Prostar’s 8GB)
Less powerful video card (Nvidia Geforce GTX 650M 2GB vs the Prostar’s Nvidia Geforce GTX 670M 1.5GB)
Less performance, more portable, costs less:
If you can’t wait for Prostar to build your laptop or aren’t interested in a custom built laptop, the $1199 – MSI G Series GE60 0ND-042US is a great alternative.
Advantages of the G Series
Costs less ($1199 vs the Prostar at $1249)
More storage (750GB vs the Prostar’s 500GB)
Much lighter (5.28lbs vs the Prostar at 6.8lbs)
Ready to ship
Disadvantages of the G Series
Less powerful video card (Nvidia Geforce GTX 660M 2GB vs the Prostar’s Nvidia Geforce GTX 670M 1.5GB)
Cannot be customized.
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Best gaming laptop for $1500
$1530 – Malibal Lotus P150EM SE
About the Malibal Lotus P150EM SE
Note: The price represents the laptop configured with the Radeon HD 7970M 2GB as the Video Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit as the OS and the $50 discount option checked.
Pros:
Anti-glare screen.
Powerful Radeon HD 7970M 2GB allows for almost ALL recent games to be playable at max settings.
Powerful and efficient Ivy Bridge processor (Intel Core i7-3610QM) (with Hyper-Threading)
Fast 500GB 7200RPM hard drive.
Numpad: Very useful for spreadsheets.
Two USB 3.0 port.
Bluetooth
8GB of RAM
Choice of OS ($1449 without OS if you already have a copy of Windows 7 64-bit)
Can be configured to your tastes.
Backlit keyboard
Free carrying case
Fingerprint reader
Cons:
Limited battery life: Expect 3-4 hours of web browsing time.
Heavy, 6.83 pounds.
Wait time for custom building.
Ideal for:
Someone who wants a capable gaming laptop to play video games and who needs the portability of a laptop (Otherwise, a desktop Gaming PC offers a LOT more performance for the same price.)
Someone who wants their laptop outside in the sunlight.
To avoid for:
Someone who’s traveling a lot and who wants a highly-portable, lightweight laptop to carry around all day.
Someone who needs a laptop with a long battery life.
Upgrades to consider for the Malibal
These are options that weren’t included in the price above, but that are to consider for additional performance or features.
Upgrading the CPU to the Intel Core i7-3720QM ($160 for +300MHz).
Upgrading the RAM to 16GB (+$40). While it will not provide additional gaming performance, it’s an easy way to future-proof your laptop and will allow you to run tons of programs at the same time with no/less slowdowns. A good idea if you plan on using your laptop for high-end audio/photo/video/3D work.
Upgrading the stock 500GB 7200RPM to a SSD, such as the Samsung 830 series or Crucial M4 C400, both of which offer excellent performance AND excellent reliability. This will result in the OS, programs and games loading much faster, as well as making your system more responsive. You can also choose to go with a SSD as your main drive and add a HDD as your 2nd drive to have more storage capacity.
Upgrading to 6X Blu-Ray reader. (+$80) Must have for Blu-Ray viewing. Alternatively, if you don’t need/want an optical drive, you use it as a third drive bay to add more storage.
Upgrading thermal compound. (+$35) Upgrading thermal compound leads to a cooler laptop increasing its longevity and lowering noise levels.
Upgrading Warranty. Upgrading warranty if you can afford it is always a good choice considering the price of this laptop.
Upgrading the Wireless Network Adapter to the “Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 – 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (Includes 3rd Antenna)” (+$70), for improved wireless throughput and improved range.
Upgrades that are not recommended for the Malibal
These are upgrades that are not recommended, for reasons explained below:
“Upgrading” the video card to the Nvidia Geforce GTX 675M 2GB. The Nvidia Geforce GTX 675M 2GB is basically a 580M, but with slightly higher clocks.
Getting a 2nd hard drive to use RAID 0. Get a SSD instead, you’ll get a much higher performance boost, without the higher failure risk inherent with RAID 0.
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Specifications:
Components
Malibal Lotus P150EM SE
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OR No OS (-$80)
CPU
Intel Core i7-3610QM Quad-Core + Hyper-Threading 2.3-3.3 GHz Turbo
Screen
Webcam
Video Card
15.6″ 1920 x 1080 LED backlight, Anti-glare
Yes: 1600 x 1200
AMD Radeon HD 7970 2GB dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
RAM
Slots/Max RAM
8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz
4 Slots, maximum 32GB
Storage
500GB Hard Drive running at 7200RPM
Optical Drive
8x DVD/CD Burner DVD±R/RW
Audio
Onkyo Built-in Speakers
THX TrustStudio Pro
Built-in Microphone
Networking
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 3.0
Ports
9-in-1 Card reader
Headphone and Microphone 3.5mm jacks
3 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0
LAN
DVI Output
HDMI Output
Dimensions
Weight
14.80″ x 10.08″ x 1.38-1.69″
6.83lbs
Battery Size
Battery Life
8 cell
~3-4 hours
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Compared to similar laptops:</s