Cheap Gaming Laptops

Gaming laptops have become more and more popular in recent years, the advances in technology not enable the laptop to be a serious gaming machine. Whereas in recent times if you where to attend a LAN party you'd need to cart around your desktop gaming PC to be able to play at a decent FPS and actually stand a chance of staying alive.

Gaming laptops have evolved, big time. Quad core gaming laptops are no longer just a pipe dream and they're quite affordable too, obviously not as cheap as a Dual core but not too far out of reach for most gamers either, just a bit more saving and that kind of power is in your hands. Here's some advice if you're looking through all the cheap gaming laptops available and are not sure what you might need for the best performance. Screen size: You'll need something that isn't too small and isn't too large and heavy to cart around so I'd recommend going for a 17" screen, if you don't mind the extra weight then sure go for a 19" but definitely don't go lower than a 17" as it will effect your gaming experience.

Display quality: Resolution is one of the main things to consider here, the higher the resolution, generally the better the quality. If you're going to be using the laptop outside then make sure you don't buy a gaming laptop with a shiny screen as it will reflect everything and you'll be squinting like a lunatic!

Graphics card: This is the graphics powerhouse, the part that renders all those amazing 2d and 3d graphics. The speed of the graphics card is measured in MHZ, the higher the number the better. You also need to take into consideration the amount of memory, again the higher the better and this is measured in MB. When looking at the amount of memory you also need to look at the speed of the memory, this is measured in MHZ, again the higher the number the better. If you're unsure about the graphics card just do a search for the make and model and look for some reviews.

The Disk drive: When looking at the drive you must consider the speed of the drive as well as the size. The speed is measured in RPM, the higher the better. Their are other factors to consider like how much buffer the disk has but generally go for a faster RPM disk i.e. 7200 RPM over a 4200 RPM disk as this will load your games a lot faster. When it comes to the size of the disk just go for the largest you can afford, you'll need over 80GB otherwise you'll have to keep deleting and loading back on your favorite games. Another thing to think about is the type of disk interface. There are three main types: SATA and PATA and ATA, go for the SATA as it's a lot faster.

CPU speed: Again, the faster the better. If you can afford a Quad core then go for it otherwise stick with a Dual core as most games don't support Quad core yet, however, they will start to as time goes by, it's currently July 2009 as I write this. The speed of the CPU is measured in MHZ, higher is better. You'll need at least a 2.7GHZ laptop to play the latest games at a decent FPS (frames per second).

RAM is crucial in the overall speed of your laptop and crucially your gaming experience. You will need 2GB or more, preferably 4GB will do the job nicely. DDR or DDR2 RAM is the type to go for as this is the faster type that is installed in laptops.

So to sum up you need to look at the following things: The screen size and the resolution of the display, whether or not it's shiny or matt. The graphics card, how much memory it has and how fast is the memory and how fast is the memory card itself. The disk drive, how fast in RPM is it and does it have enough space to hold all your games, movies and music. The disk drive interface, you have one option really, SATA, anything else is old school and too slow. As for CPU a Dual core will do the job nicely at the moment and should really be above 2.7GHZ. When it comes to RAM you'll need at least 2GB, especially if you're running Vista, as with everything else, the more the better, and the faster the better.