Gaming Laptops: Asus G-Series vs. Alienware

claytonh4

I'm wanting to get a new laptop soon for heavy duty gaming, and practical uses. I plan on taking it to college with me and use it for work and play so I don't need to get a console and a computer. (2 birds one stone) So I need help deciding which is best. I play big games like Fallout 3/NV, Skyrim, Oblivion, Microsoft Flight Simulator, etc. preferably with mods (that is for the Fallout, Skyrim kinda stuff). Price is relatively important but not make or break, and I know it's shallow but I freakin' love the look of Alienware and the backlit keyboard, etc. So if it's really borderline, that could be a deciding factor.
Thanks!

wuliheron

I recommend the Steam hardware forums for any kind of video game hardware advice. However, Alienware tends to be overpriced and the Asus G-series has a great reputation. These days though prices and quality can change so fast even from month to month that, again, your best bet is to consult a website dedicated to hardware.

claytonh4

Thanks for the advice!
I'll check out some of those forums.

Greg Bernhardt

I have the G74S and love it. Great machine!

moouers

http://store.razerzone.com/store/raz...dium=midbanner

The price is a bit crazy (though not as bad as Alienware), but it's a relatively light machine, looks awesome, and has good specs. Gaming + portability = expensive!

I have an HP DV6 and it's great. Long battery life, good screen and performance (I can play every game out, though not on max settings, of course) and it was only $600. The Asus G7x line is great, as others have mentioned, though it can be pretty heavy if you're wanting it to be a portable system as well. If you're not hiking uphill 3 miles every day, I don't really see how it can be too much of a problem.

ThinkToday

You could get a Asus G75 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+1...&skuId=5176239 , which is pretty good, but a bit heavy and not at the level or cost of an Alien. However, I'd consider a good light weight laptop for school and a desktop for gaming. In the end, you can get a decent laptop for school and a desktop for gaming at a comparable or cheaper price then good Alien systems. Every time I go to Alien and start a build I get to $2k without even loading it up. On the other hand, I can go to Best Buy and spend $300-500 for an i3/i5 processor laptop such as http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+1...&skuId=5043709 and go to http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...lock,3160.html and build the spec "Enthusiast" Newegg PC for <$1250 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...lock,3160.html IMO, this path gives you the advantage of an upgradeable (video, ram, drive, etc.) desktop PC to meet future gaming needs, which you wouldn't have with a laptop. Lets face it, the top of the line laptop you buy today will be a dog inside a year, whereas a desktop you can keep upgrading as money permits.

btw, not pushing Best Buy, just easy links

rorix_bw

With a gaming laptop I feel the most important consideration is heat. I strongly advise you get some kind of "cooling mat" to sit the machine on. If you play heavily, you will have heat problems.

Someone mentioned the Razer gaming laptop. Looking at the specs I see it has a very weak graphics card. Actually it has two. An intel integrated chip for mobile mode, and an weak Nvidia for when running off mains power. Neither of them are particularly strong. It is fairly portable (home to school) and arguably mobile (play on bus) - the weight is fairly low and reviews say it does not need additional cooling in mobile mode.

Alienware is a higher spec than the Razer. I know they're OK with heat if you have a cooling mat. I regard them as portable but not in anyway mobile.

I have zero experience with the Asus.

warunasanja77

My choice is
ASUS G75VW-DS72 17.3" Core i7-3610QM/16GB DDR3/256GB SSD/NVIDIA GTX 670M LAPTOP
✔16GB DDR3 ✔256GB SSD
But the price is 2149$.

claytonh4

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I ended up going with the ASUS G75VW DS71, in fact, it's what I'm typing on right now haha. I was able to get a pretty good price- $1600 on ExCaliberPC.com and so far it's AWESOME!! I've started playing Fallout New Vegas at ultra high graphics, and it looks amazing, no lag, and the load times are light speed! So hopefully I'll download some more games soon and some mods because it works like a champ! Far better than my last desktop!
Thanks again!

claytonh4

By the way, to those of you who mentioned heat problems with gaming laptops, so far I've had no problems- I haven't even heard the fans at all yet and very comfortable cool to the touch. ASUS knows their stuff putting the fans facing outwards on the back side of the computer!