I have a Toshiba Satellite and it blows, I dropped it and broke the screen, so now I'm going to get it fixed and give it to someone else for school.

Anyway I'm in the market for a good gaming laptop but I don't want to spend 2,000 on an Alienware or some shit. What are some good affordable options?

It has to be a laptop due to work.

8/13/2008 2:20:35 PM

I get some damn fine framerates on my Lenovo T61p. If you tend to drop your laptops, that would be the brand to go with.

8/13/2008 2:44:39 PM

^ agreed

Roll Cage:


Go with an R series if you want to save some dough. They are practically the same internal components as the T series, just designed a little thicker (minus high-end graphics).

[Edited on August 13, 2008 at 3:17 PM. Reason : advice]

8/13/2008 3:16:31 PM

^ Yep. I customized and got the nVidia Quadro FX 570M. 3GB of RAM, and 100 GB 7200 rpm HD. Grand total after tax was $1300.

Plus you get the ThinkVantage suite, including Rescue and Recovery, which is wholly unparalleled in the system-backup arena.

It's going to be a very slow process, but people are going to start seeing Thinkpads in a much more versatile light. Mine is proof of life that they make sweet gaming machines nowadays.

8/13/2008 7:30:29 PM

my 14.1" HP pavilion dv2700 has a 2.5ghz c2d T9300, 4gb of RAM, a 200gb 7200rpm hard drive (with perpendicular recording), and a geforce 8400m gs and was just over $900 after taxes and shipping (and it came with an expresscard tv tuner, high capacity battery, bluetooth, wireless-n, and webcam)

the only thing i wish it had was an 8400m gt instead

8/13/2008 7:35:19 PM

why did you choose the slightly smaller screen?

i wish the HP i just got had the roll cage in it, but oh well, maybe next time.

didn't see anything on lenovo's website that jumped out at me.

i do believe that thinkpads are sweet though.

[Edited on August 13, 2008 at 7:51 PM. Reason : when will HP have led screens?]

8/13/2008 7:43:59 PM

Other cool things about the Thinkpad: motion-sensor in the hard drive (pulls the pins away to prevent damage) and the matte-finish TFT 15 inch monitor.

^^ Those are good specs, and probably right around where hkrock should be looking. I might suggest 3 GB versus 4GB of RAM if it means savings. I've read (but honestly not experiences) that the jump from 3 to 4 enters the law of diminishing returns territory.

8/13/2008 7:53:06 PM

wyloch what model thinkpad did you get?

i'm trying to price one out.

[Edited on August 13, 2008 at 7:55 PM. Reason : oh yeah....]

8/13/2008 7:55:29 PM

Quote :

"motion-sensor in the hard drive (pulls the pins away to prevent damage)"

It's not IN the harddrive, it's just a 2D accelerometer on the motherboard. And it lifts the spindle arm and cuts power to the drive.

8/13/2008 7:55:36 PM

Quote :

"It's not IN the harddrive, it's just a 2D accelerometer on the motherboard. And it lifts the spindle arm and cuts power to the drive."

Ah. Thanks for the clarification.

^^ A T61p, but under the employee purchase program (my father) and on tax free weekend. To get the same machine I did I think was closer to 1700.

Less if you go equivalent specs but in the R series rather than the T...it'll just be a thicker machine.

[Edited on August 13, 2008 at 8:05 PM. Reason : ]

8/13/2008 8:02:23 PM

i think i'll get a thinkpad w700, the quad core extreme proc, with a wacom digitizer is just too hot.

plus the separate number pad.

8/13/2008 8:30:33 PM

Yeah I hadn't even thought about things like ruggedness, good point though I do have to fly with this a lot.

8/13/2008 10:59:18 PM