alienware_area_51_m15x_m17x gaming_laptopThe difference of core strengths between a laptop and a desktop is rapidly closing to make gaming experience every bit as satisfying as what you expect from a full size desktop tower at home. Additionally you get the portability, connectivity and versatility of a laptop that also has mind blowing graphics and atmosphere enhancing audio to make modern gaming fully immersive. You’ll get Several Cores of Processors (!) running at gigahertzs of frequency with gigs of RAM, Dual Video Cards with 1GB+ video RAM, 20+ inches of display, terabytes of HDD. You don’t need to compromise on the peripherals either. You’ll get a webcam, microphone, multi-card reader, USB Port, a decent pair of webcams. On any mid to high end gaming laptops you’ll find Blu-Ray disc driver, e-SATA Port, HDMI Ports. You can select any laptop within your budget from our list of top 10 gaming laptops but you should look for these things when buying a gaming laptop.

1. Processor

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor are a standard in gaming laptops. Look for a processor with larger cache like the Intel Core 2 Duo Q9550 (2.83Ghz 6MB Cache) or Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 Processor clocking at 2.8 GHz with 6MB cache. If you can afford you can also get a top notch Intel® Core™2 Quad processor Q9550 2.83GHz, 12MB Cache, 1333MHz. However, a modest 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor will be able to handle most next gen games.

2. Video Card

The video controller fuels the dynamic lighting, explosions, landscapes and action sequences making modern games so fun to play. The standard video cards for desktops are large enough to fit into a laptop but as the technology progresses they have made even a 512MB or a 1GB video card fit into a laptop. Recently we are seeing some laptops come fitted even with a dual video card. Nvidia’s SLI Technology utilizes the full power of two video cards at the same time. Though there are only a few games like Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3 that utilizes the power of dual cards now but there will be more games in the future that’ll need them to render their heavy graphics. For standard gaming system look for tried and tested performers like Nvidia GeForce 8800M, 9800M or ATI Radeon HD 3870.

3. Display

For the immersive gaming experience look for bigger screens with higher resolution. Nowadays 20+ inch screens are available but if you take my advice don’t go for screen more than 18 inch because then you have to compromise on the portability of the laptop. On the other hand, a screen less than 18 inch won’t give you the perfect gaming experience as you’d want. Also look for true HD resolution screen of 1920 X 1080 p for better details. You can also watch full HD movies without rescaling on your laptop.
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4. RAM

The RAM is also necessary to load the games executing files. 4GB DDR2 RAM is a standard for gaming laptops these days. Any current game these days don’t need more RAM than that but if you have some money to burn and want to be prepared for the upcoming games, you might get yourself more RAM. You can also go for DDR3 RAMs : they cost more and provide faster speeds.

5. Hard Disk

Current games can occupy as much as 15GB space on your HDD. If you are going to store lots of movies, music, and pictures in your hard drive you need more space. Standard gaming laptops come with 500GB Storage space and you can also get colossus TB drives within your budget. Make sure that that the hard drive rotation speed is 7200 rpm to ensure fast data transfer speeds. If you want extreme performance you can also opt for the SSD drives but their cost will be substantially heavy compared to the gain in performance.
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6. Sound Card

In the old days of gaming this wasn’t that much important but the game companies are now high definition sound along with the high definition graphics. So, if you don’t get a dedicated sound card like those from Creative, you’ll be deprived of the best quality sound. However they aren’t very important. If you don’t have the money, the integrated sound card will do it for you.

7. Keyboard

Every gamer knows about the importance of a keyboard for extreme gaming. Before buying a gaming computer check if the keyboard is comfortable to you. Also check that there is a separate number pad for the games that need a number pad to play with. Check the position of the arrow keys to suit your gaming style.

8. Warranty

You can always go with the 1 year manufacturer warranty to save some money but you can take a look at some extended warranty options with in-home services for those lazy gamers like you. Err! did I say lazy! Actally, I meant to say really busy gamers playing games the whole day and night. They are too busy to step out of the house to take the machine for repairs or surf the net for answers.
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9. Accessories

A good Mouse is the most important accessory for gaming. If you want my advice, don’t go for the wireless mice or keyboard. After all, you don’t want to mess up with your gameplay because of a dead battery inside your dying mouse!

10. WiFi

You can enjoy the whole fun of online gaming wirelessly through your laptop. Every laptop these days comes with a built in WiFi. Just make sure they are fast enough to handle the gaming needs.

Enough for today. Happy gaming!