| Gaming laptops are becoming more and more popular | | | | important display, native resolution and sound quality. |
| with the computer buying public. Once a true gamer | | | | Obviously, you want the best display so check the |
| wouldn't dream of buying a laptop for gaming, but | | | | actual quality of the images on your laptop. Is there |
| now that laptop performances have increased a | | | | any glare? Are the colors brilliant and true? Are the |
| hundred fold since the first laptops came on the | | | | images sharp and clear? Many gamers now go with |
| market, even some die-hard gamers are switching | | | | bigger displays of 17, 18 or even 20 inches and look |
| over to the other side. | | | | for a system that gives HD playback. Note if you |
| Even so, many gamers still favor Desktop PCs for | | | | have 1080p display which will give you true High |
| gaming, mainly because they're cheaper but mostly | | | | Definition. Many high end laptops come with WUXGA |
| because PCs are much easier to upgrade. Notebook | | | | (Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics) 1920x1200 |
| computers are not very suitable for upgrading so | | | | with 16:10 screen aspect ratio. |
| your system can go out of date very quickly. | | | | Sound is also important in gaming so you want the |
| Regardless, if you're in the market for a gaming | | | | best speakers and sound quality. Many systems are |
| laptop, there seems to be new systems coming on | | | | now sporting HD or Blu-ray Drives so this is |
| stream almost daily. So you shouldn't have a problem | | | | something to check for if you want superior viewing |
| finding a laptop that will meet your needs, as long as | | | | visuals and sound. |
| you keep a few factors in mind. | | | | Hard Drive |
| Here are four major features you should check | | | | Since games, videos, music... all take up a lot of |
| before buying your gaming laptop: | | | | space, most gamers go with as large a hard drive as |
| Graphics Card | | | | they can afford. At least 200GB of space, and many |
| Since your gaming system will be handling heavy | | | | go for even more up to 1 TB terabyte of space. |
| visuals, graphics and 3D video you need a very | | | | Solid State Drives are not yet common in gaming |
| robust video card that can get the job done. Many | | | | laptops but it is something to consider since these |
| recent laptops now sport dual graphics with either | | | | can last longer because you have no moving parts |
| SLI technology (NVIDIA) or CrossFire technology | | | | like you have in a hard drive. Higher end gaming |
| (ATI). Regardless, you should check to see if you | | | | laptops now have Solid State Drives but cost is still |
| have at least 512MB of video RAM, many now have | | | | an issue. |
| 1 Gig of RAM or more. Most gamers go with NVIDIA | | | | Also remember to check the speed of your hard |
| GeForce 8800M, 9800M and ATI Radeon HD3870 or | | | | drive, 7200 RPM is faster than a 5400 RPM system. |
| higher ones as they hit the market. | | | | Since top performance is your ultimate goal, getting |
| Some recent laptops now sport 3 GPUs such as the | | | | the fastest hard drive speed is essential. For this |
| Toshiba Qosimo X305-Q708 which has a couple of | | | | reason many gamers go with a SATA hard drive(s) |
| GeForce 9800M GTS cards via SLI configuration, plus | | | | which gives the best performance. |
| it also has a GeForce 9400M for quieter operation. | | | | There are a few other things you might want to |
| Processor | | | | check out when buying a gaming laptop. One being |
| You need a powerful processor to perform all those | | | | style and looks; most of the higher end laptops will |
| applications with ease, we now have dual-core | | | | have plenty of style and pizazz. If the style and flash |
| processors in most gaming laptops. Higher end models | | | | of your rig is important to you, than it is something |
| now sport quad-core processors which will deliver | | | | to consider when buying your system. Perhaps, |
| more than enough power to handle most games. You | | | | another less shadow and more important issue is |
| should get at least 2GHz processing speed, and many | | | | warranty. Does your spectacular looking rig have a |
| processors go higher such as the Intel Core2 | | | | good warranty should things go south? The more |
| Extreme X9000 processor which has 2.8GHz. Keep in | | | | expensive the rig, the more you should check the |
| mind, some systems can be overclocked, such as the | | | | warranty, even buying an extended warranty for |
| Asus W90Vp-X1, at an amazing 3.28GHz. | | | | your brand new gaming laptop. Years of happy |
| Display | | | | worry-free gaming should be your ultimate goal. |
| Another consideration for a gaming laptop is the all | | | | |