I need to buy a laptop for college next year, as a computer of my own will be necessary. I love the original Rome Total War, so I want to get RTW 2 to play during any free time I might have next year. Anyone know of or own a good laptop around $1000 (preferably less) which will be capable of playing RTW 2? The recommended specs are here. I will be doing some research of my own in hope of finding a laptop fitting my wants, but any pointers would be nice.
On a side note, if anyone has experience with external hard drives, headsets, and other accessories, that would be nice too, as I would like to get an external hard drive, mouse, and headset as well.
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Where do you live? Assuming you live in the United States, you can find a laptop with much better specs than indicated on the Website with much less money.
It all depends on what you want.
Do you want a portable laptop (1) or a destop replacement (2)?
If (1), you should get a 15 inch laptop with slick design; if (2) you should get a 17 inch laptop.
Do you want a laptop mostly for gaming (3) or you consider working with it (4)?
If (3) you should consider a laptop with a good graphics card; if (4) you should consider some stronger CPU box with medium GPU power.
Do you need lots of storage? If you do indeed, you should take a laptop with the largest HHD you can find within your price range (7200 RPM preferebly); if not, you should find some nice one with an SSD.
Finally, a side comment. When I started college I bought a laptop for gaming (Skyrim at the time), however, I lost interest in the game and become more devoted to study. If I could go back in time, I would chose a MacBook Air back then. Not saying you should get a Mac if you are not familiar or you don't like OSX, but you should consider, at least, a good thin ultrabook that you can carry around all the time, preferebly 13 inch (14 max).
Again, not critizing your choice, just some advice
Where do you live? Assuming you live in the United States, you can find a laptop with much better specs than indicated on the Website with much less money.
That's really good news. I haven't started looking yet, as I still need to finish a few end of the year projects. I would rather over-budget for it than under-budget. This will also mean I have more rent money for next year
Do you want a portable laptop (1) or a destop replacement (2)?
If (1), you should get a 15 inch laptop with slick design; if (2) you should get a 17 inch laptop.
Portable, I'm also pretty sure my laptop case (my brother got my brothers and I each one awhile back knowing we'd need them eventually) can only hold a 15 inch.
Do you want a laptop mostly for gaming (3) or you consider working with it (4)?
If (3) you should consider a laptop with a good graphics card; if (4) you should consider some stronger CPU box with medium GPU power.
I would want one more for work, but I do not want to have lag issues, so a little of both but leaning towards 4.
Do you need lots of storage? If you do indeed, you should take a laptop with the largest HHD you can find within your price range (7200 RPM preferebly); if not, you should find some nice one with an SSD.
I don't presume I'll need a lot of storage, and I also plan to get an external hard drive, so that should lighten the load.
Finally, a side comment. When I started college I bought a laptop for gaming (Skyrim at the time), however, I lost interest in the game and become more devoted to study. If I could go back in time, I would chose a MacBook Air back then. Not saying you should get a Mac if you are not familiar or you don't like OSX, but you should consider, at least, a good thin ultrabook that you can carry around all the time, preferebly 13 inch (14 max).
Again, not critizing your choice, just some advice
Sorry, I have no intention to get a Mac. I could still easily play Rome or other games with a smaller laptop though, right?
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Haven't played anything but EDH and casual for over a year
There are a few customizable laptop companies out there, but honestly I would recommend you get a Dell over them. The reason I say that is that even with the annoying nature of Dell products (they make updates hard, if you can wipe the hard drive they supply and reinstall a clean version of windows, not their version), their repair support was always amazing for me and my XPS laptop from them lasted me a good 6 years, despite several potential system destroying problems. It's still sitting in my basement right now and it still works, too, despite most of the parts have been swapped out. I've had customized computers from a couple of those gaming computer companies and without fail within two years there is a system crashing problem (bad motherboard, bad power supply, etc).
There are a few customizable laptop companies out there, but honestly I would recommend you get a Dell over them. The reason I say that is that even with the annoying nature of Dell products (they make updates hard, if you can wipe the hard drive they supply and reinstall a clean version of windows, not their version), their repair support was always amazing for me and my XPS laptop from them lasted me a good 6 years, despite several potential system destroying problems. It's still sitting in my basement right now and it still works, too, despite most of the parts have been swapped out. I've had customized computers from a couple of those gaming computer companies and without fail within two years there is a system crashing problem (bad motherboard, bad power supply, etc).
I was thinking about getting a Lenovo, which is what my brothers have. Dell was second on the list. Would you consider Alienware on par with Dell since they are owned by Dell?
How would I go about wiping the hard drive? The only ways I know of are Delete system 32 and wipe a magnet over the thing itself lol.
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I have a Lenovo y510 with both video cards. It cost about $950 on sale and is quite good. It pushes out a ton of hot air though so a cooling pad is a good idea with it.
All the Dell Gaming computers are now Alienware, which I don't really like because they're overpriced. A good service plan from Dell makes up for it.
When I say 'wipe' the hard drive, I mean format it and reinstall. The biggest problem with dell laptops is that they install their own version of windows full of their junk software, and it means the regular video card updates won't work. There are forums dedicated to dell patches, but you're probably better off just formatting it and installing a clean version of windows.
As far as laptop brands go, I have had a Toshiba for 4 years, and the only problem I've really encountered is that it overheats sometimes because the fan is clogged with my cats' hair (which has been true of every laptop I've owned, and is not really a fault of the maker).
HP and Dell I've had extremely bad experiences with. My HP had a hard drive failure less than 6 months into owning it, and getting a replacement hard drive from HP was like pulling teeth. They were way more interested in trying to sell me an extended warranty than actually fixing my problem.
Dells I haven't had as much problem with as HP, but I've owned fewer of them. I still wouldn't recommend it, though wiping and starting fresh with a Dell machine is a passable way to go.
Toshiba makes a hardy machine though, and it'll be cheaper than Alienware/Macbook for similar specs by a good margin.
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On a side note, if anyone has experience with external hard drives, headsets, and other accessories, that would be nice too, as I would like to get an external hard drive, mouse, and headset as well.
It all depends on what you want.
Do you want a portable laptop (1) or a destop replacement (2)?
If (1), you should get a 15 inch laptop with slick design; if (2) you should get a 17 inch laptop.
Do you want a laptop mostly for gaming (3) or you consider working with it (4)?
If (3) you should consider a laptop with a good graphics card; if (4) you should consider some stronger CPU box with medium GPU power.
Do you need lots of storage? If you do indeed, you should take a laptop with the largest HHD you can find within your price range (7200 RPM preferebly); if not, you should find some nice one with an SSD.
Finally, a side comment. When I started college I bought a laptop for gaming (Skyrim at the time), however, I lost interest in the game and become more devoted to study. If I could go back in time, I would chose a MacBook Air back then. Not saying you should get a Mac if you are not familiar or you don't like OSX, but you should consider, at least, a good thin ultrabook that you can carry around all the time, preferebly 13 inch (14 max).
Again, not critizing your choice, just some advice
That's really good news. I haven't started looking yet, as I still need to finish a few end of the year projects. I would rather over-budget for it than under-budget. This will also mean I have more rent money for next year
Portable, I'm also pretty sure my laptop case (my brother got my brothers and I each one awhile back knowing we'd need them eventually) can only hold a 15 inch.
I would want one more for work, but I do not want to have lag issues, so a little of both but leaning towards 4.
I don't presume I'll need a lot of storage, and I also plan to get an external hard drive, so that should lighten the load.
Sorry, I have no intention to get a Mac. I could still easily play Rome or other games with a smaller laptop though, right?
Due to the need for a video card, Gaming laptops are often a bit bigger and heavier than normal laptops. Here is a selection from Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100025325 4022&IsNodeId=1&name=$750 - $1000
There are a few customizable laptop companies out there, but honestly I would recommend you get a Dell over them. The reason I say that is that even with the annoying nature of Dell products (they make updates hard, if you can wipe the hard drive they supply and reinstall a clean version of windows, not their version), their repair support was always amazing for me and my XPS laptop from them lasted me a good 6 years, despite several potential system destroying problems. It's still sitting in my basement right now and it still works, too, despite most of the parts have been swapped out. I've had customized computers from a couple of those gaming computer companies and without fail within two years there is a system crashing problem (bad motherboard, bad power supply, etc).
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I was thinking about getting a Lenovo, which is what my brothers have. Dell was second on the list. Would you consider Alienware on par with Dell since they are owned by Dell?
How would I go about wiping the hard drive? The only ways I know of are Delete system 32 and wipe a magnet over the thing itself lol.
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-59385820-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00F32ZBN6
That's what I got, though I got it locally rather than from Aamazon. There's lots of sales on them if you look around.
My only complaint about it is no SSD.
When I say 'wipe' the hard drive, I mean format it and reinstall. The biggest problem with dell laptops is that they install their own version of windows full of their junk software, and it means the regular video card updates won't work. There are forums dedicated to dell patches, but you're probably better off just formatting it and installing a clean version of windows.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
HP and Dell I've had extremely bad experiences with. My HP had a hard drive failure less than 6 months into owning it, and getting a replacement hard drive from HP was like pulling teeth. They were way more interested in trying to sell me an extended warranty than actually fixing my problem.
Dells I haven't had as much problem with as HP, but I've owned fewer of them. I still wouldn't recommend it, though wiping and starting fresh with a Dell machine is a passable way to go.
Toshiba makes a hardy machine though, and it'll be cheaper than Alienware/Macbook for similar specs by a good margin.
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