Finding the Right Gaming Laptop

Let’s say you’re an avid gaming fan and you just can’t bear to be apart from your desktop gaming rig. But let’s say you’re often on the move a lot and you want to be able to carry your rig everywhere you go. But carrying around a desktop tower, keyboard, monitor and mouse just isn’t in the cards. So how can you have all the gaming power you want at your fingertips without having to carry around the beast you use at home?

The solution is to invest in a gaming laptop. Just think of it as a portable gaming solution – you get to have the most powerful processors and video graphics in a package that’s easier to carry around than your gaming tower. With a gaming laptop, you can do nearly all of the things that you would be able to do with your desktop gaming rig without having to lug a colossal tower around.

The first thing to consider when buying a gaming laptop is how big you want it to be. Gaming laptops range from 15″ models that are convenient for carrying around to 18″ models that offer the largest screens and the best video graphics cards available. Laptops are generally referred to by the size of their screens, so keep this in mind when choosing one. Also keep in mind how often you plan on carrying around your gaming laptop before choosing a size. Most 17″ and above laptops are considered “desktop replacements” and thanks to their size and weight, these models aren’t recommended for constant carrying around.

Processing power is a big concern when it comes to gaming laptops. In order to play the latest games at the fastest settings available, there has to be enough processing power to handle such strong demands. Processors such as Intel’s Core 2 Extreme and Mobile Core i7 are designed to address the needs of gamers and other power users, with multiple processing cores and the ability to overclock for added processing power.

Gaming laptops come with powerful graphics solutions from companies such as ATI and nVidia that help bring out the best in video game graphics. Unlike the graphics chipsets found in most mundane laptops, gaming laptops have “dedicated” graphics cards that are connected to the laptop’s motherboard via a slot. These cards are not merely chips soldered onto the motherboard, like the “integrated” graphics cards. Since dedicated graphics cards come with their own faster memory chips, they don’tt have to rely solely on the computer’s installed memory, making them perform faster and better than integrated graphics solutions.

When it comes to system memory, gaming laptops are able to accommodate gobs of it. Most laptops are now able to hold and use up to 8GB of system memory, although some laptops can only use 6.8GB thanks to chipset limitations. Most companies will supply their gaming laptops with 2GB of RAM at the minimum, with options to upgrade during the order process.

These systems can put a hurt on your wallet. $1500 is the minimum price you should expect when buying a gaming laptop. When it comes to custom made laptops, the sky – and your bank account – is the limit, with systems coming in at $2500 and beyond. So whether you want an affordable system that can handle all of your current games, or if you want a system that can make others weep, you should be able to find exactly what you want.

Matthew Kerridge is a fan of consumer electronics. If you would like further information about gaming laptops or are searching for a reputable gaming laptop retailer please visit http://www.ebuyer.com

Tags: Computer Gaming, finding the right gaming laptop, gaming laptop, laptop gaming

Category: Computer Gaming, Laptops