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The LAN Party's New Weapon Of Choice
Gone are the days when you would have been laughed at if you walked into an
all-night LAN party carrying your trusty laptop and expecting to hang with the
giant computer towers standing at everyone’s feet. The gaming laptop computers
of today sport huge, crisp LCD screens, cutting-edge video cards and full-size
keyboards. Not only can these gaming laptop computers hang with the standard
clunky computer tower, but they can also be ordered fully custom to meet the
exact specifications of any gamer.
{mosgoogle}Since there are so many customizable components in these laptops, a standard
practice has been to create what some call a “system builder.” This is the page
where you get to add and subtract components through drop-down menus in order to
create the best gaming laptop computer for your needs and your budget. This type
of page can be overwhelming to someone just starting the gaming laptop shopping
process, but it is very manageable if you take it just one component at a time.
The Gaming Laptop GPU
 This is the heart of a gaming laptop computer. The GPU (graphics processing
unit) is a component that will make or break your gaming experience. If your GPU
isn’t up to snuff, your games won’t play.
Without getting into specific models since they change all the time, the key
is that the graphics card not share resources with the computer. A gaming laptop
video card must have its own memory on board. Generally speaking, standard
off-the-shelf laptops will not have this feature. The two current makers of
laptop video cards are nVIDIA and ATI.
{mospagebreak}
Without the Screen, You Don’t Have Much
What good is a gaming laptop without a screen that can actually render your
games? Now certainly, you can connect an external monitor, but if you can’t
actually play on your gaming laptop without that external monitor, then your
laptop isn’t all that mobile.
{mosgoogle}While the technology and terminology for LCDs (liquid crystal displays) could
take up an entire article in itself, there are a few key points to keep in mind
when choosing from available LCD options for your new gaming laptop computer:
native resolution, aspect ratio, rise and fall time, contrast, viewing angle,
and size.
Native Resolution
The native resolution is simply the setting at
which your screen will render the clearest images. Since games are constantly in
motion, slightly soft edges may not bother most gamers, but keep in mind that
while this is your gaming laptop, you will likely also use it for other things
like surfing the Internet. If the resolution isn’t comfortable, you aren’t going
to enjoy using it.
Aspect Ratio
As you probably know, a movie theater screen and a TV
screen have different proportions. Likewise, there are widescreen format gaming
laptops and there are laptops that have a standard aspect ratio –- like that of
a TV. A widescreen format gaming laptop (a 16:10 ratio) has advantages and
disadvantages. Many games today do not have a widescreen mode. This means that
the game may stretch across the screen and become distorted or you may run it
with black bars that fill in the sides. There are ways to get around this, but
if you want an out of the box perfect experience, the widescreen format may not
be for you. {mospagebreak}
That said, a widescreen LCD does offer plenty of screen real estate for web
surfing and other type of computer activities, and a game played in a wide
format setting offers an expansive field of view. For this reason, there are
some very loyal widescreen-loving gamers out there.
{mosgoogle}Do your best to find a balance between current and future technology and what
your computer habits are beyond gaming. Even with its limitations, the
widescreen format is found on most of the best gaming laptop computers.
Rise and Fall
The phrase ‘rise and fall time’ is used to describe how
fast the LCD can respond to changes. In the past, LCDs have been plagued with
the inability to render images as fast as computer games can spit them out. This
presents a major problem for laptop gamers because if they can’t see the images
properly, they can’t play the game properly. This lag can mean the difference
between playing to win and barely playing.
Fortunately, gaming laptop LCDs have come a long way and they are only
getting better. While once it was impossible to game on a laptop screen, the
gaming laptop LCDs of today offer 25 milliseconds or less rise and fall time
while generally off-the-shelf laptops have 40 milliseconds or less rise and fall
time.
Contrast
If a gaming laptop LCD has poor contrast, that means that
the black areas aren’t quite as black as they should be and the white areas
aren’t quite as white. This is important to a laptop gamer because you have to
see the game properly -– as it was intended to be seen -– in order to compete
effectively. Look for a contrast ratio of 400:1 or higher in a custom gaming
laptop computer. {mospagebreak}
Viewing Angle
{mosgoogle}This is an often-overlooked LCD feature, but it must be
considered if you are building a gaming laptop computer. Many high quality LCDs
on the market are difficult to see clearly at any angle other than straight on
and at the right height. This can be a big drawback to gaming on a LCD screen
because a screen with poor viewing angles won’t allow others to watch the screen
as you play and also hurts your view when doing something as simple as adjusting
your seating, which can require you to then adjust to position of your laptop
screen to see it properly again.
But gaming on a laptop does not mean that you are doomed to have poor viewing
angles. There are LCDs on the market that have amazing viewing angles –- up to
120 degrees. These screens not only allow gaming onlookers, but they also allow
you to use that giant, crisp screen to do things like play movies and even make
presentations.
Size. In a gaming laptop computer, size is everything. Most gaming
laptops are large, robust pieces of electronics. Having a machine of this
stature means you also get to have a large screen. The best gaming laptop
computer LCD screens out there are at least 15 inches. A crowd favorite is a 17
inch widescreen (even with the challenges that widescreens present). Largr 19
inch laptop screens are just starting to be talked about with consumers
expecting to see 19 inch or even large models on the market in the near future.
The best way to really get a feel for what laptop LCDs are all about is to
take a trip to a local box store and play with the LCDs on the display laptops
while keeping in mind what you have read here. While these laptops are not
custom gaming laptops, you can see what the sizes really look like, what
different resolutions look like, and what the viewing angles truly are so you
can start to develop your own preferences. {mospagebreak}
The RAM – What Type and How Much?
The RAM (random access memory) found in laptops is called SODIMM (small
outline dual inline memory module). The RAM is responsible for your processing
power. If you are shopping for a custom gaming laptop, you will generally be
offered DDR2 RAM with the choice of how much you want in your computer. Most
high-end games being released today need 1GB of RAM for optimum, lag-free game
play. Some people are going with 2GB to ensure that they can run multiple
applications along with the game and not experience any slow down in response
time. This is a large investment and you want to be able to use this gaming
laptop for some time in the future. Most custom laptops are user upgradeable,
but this should be left up to professionals.
{mosgoogle}The CPU – Not Just Mobile Technology
The CPUs (central processing units) found in many custom gaming laptops are
identical to those found in desktops. These chips require a great deal of
cooling power, which in turn can make your laptop louder than light weight,
lower power ultra portables when the fans kick on and it can become somewhat
warm to the touch. Don’t be alarmed by this -– it is normal. And with these
desktop processors comes screaming power! Don’t waste your money on the latest
CPU release that likely has an inflated price tag (and that price will likely
come down before long). Stick with a current CPU speed that is offered by a
reputable custom gaming laptop reseller, and you really can’t go wrong.
The Gaming Laptop Hard Drive
This is the final component to consider when building a gaming laptop. Laptop
hard drives come in a variety of speeds and capacities ranging from 4200 to 7200
RPMs and 40 to over 100 GBs. For the most part, this is user preference.
Whenever possible, go for a 7200 RPM hard drive, but if you need a capacity not
offered in this speed, it’s okay to go for the 5400 RPM drive. Take a look at
your current computer, and buy your capacity based on this. Also keep in mind
that with many custom gaming laptop manufacturers, you have the ability to
upgrade or add another hard drive at a later date.
At the end of the day, gaming laptop computers are all about power. Don’t
expect a twelve-pound notebook with a desktop processor, numerous fans, a giant
heatsink, and independent video card to last on battery power all that long. But
do make sure to enjoy the jawdrops that you’ll get as you walk into your regular
LAN party location with your new, screaming-fast gaming laptop computer. Crack
that puppy open, fire it up, and stand clear of the drool as you take on your
favorite game with fellow gamers gathered around to take in the action. Gaming
is not just for desktops anymore! This article was sponsored by
PC Torque. If you're in
the market for a kick ass laptop to take to the next LAN party, give them a
shout. |
