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<\/p>\nA gaming laptop is on the wish list of almost every gamer out there, and for good reason. A small all-in-one package that allows gamers to move around between home LANs without lugging around an entire PC; there is little wonder why such devices are so desirable.<\/p>\n
They have previously been out of reach for all but the very wealthy, and while this is still the case on the high-end of the market, lesser known companies are starting to wake up to the demand for such a device.<\/p>\n
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Mecer P170HM<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Gaming laptop issues<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Price has always been the main barrier between gaming laptops and the masses. High-end models from the likes of Asus, Alienware and MSI have always commanded extreme price tags, though the difficulty in cramming a full power system into a portable body has somewhat justified this. Regardless, most gamers simply cannot afford the R20,000+ price tag of high-end gaming laptops.<\/p>\n Then the next main issue; there is very little in terms of an upgrade path for a laptop. Upgrading lesser components such as the RAM and hard drive has always been fairly easy, but high performance orientated components such as the CPU and GPU are often not able to upgrade to more powerful technology. Laptops which support upgrading of performance components are few and far between, and require a high level of technical knowledge to upgrade. There is also a high risk that the laptop will be rendered a paperweight as upgrading forces it to run components that are out of spec.<\/p>\n What gamers need from a gaming laptop<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As with desktop PCs, the two most important aspects of a system for gamers are the CPU and GPU. While laptop CPUs have similar naming schemes to their desktop counterparts, they are less powerful as they have to work within a lower power envelope. That being said, one of the current high-end CPUs that is more than powerful enough for most gamers’ needs is the Core i7-2630QM Quad Core CPU running at 2.0GHz with turbo functions. This CPU is found in most mid- to high-end laptops and should last for a good two years.<\/p>\n The GPU is more complicated as the range is relatively wide, though useful websites such as Notebookcheck.net<\/a> list the entire range of available laptop graphics cards and rank them in order of relative power. For most gamers needs, GPUs as fast or faster than the GT540M from Nvidia should provide adequate power for at least a year and a half of gaming at medium levels. Gamers should note that like desktop hardware, getting a higher-end card will increase the useable lifespan of the laptop.<\/p>\n Lenovo-Y570<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Laptop manufacturers – consider budget systems<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n While the more well known brands still cater to the high end market, “budget” brands are putting together systems that provide gamers with adequate performance for medium quality gaming.<\/p>\n Mecer: <\/strong>Mecer is often overlooked by gamers as just another brand that provides low-cost office solutions. The reality is that the company offers one of the best bang-for-buck gaming laptop solutions in the country. Their P170HM Gaming notebook can be customised to the customer’s budget, and offers an impressive specification level for the price. Sporting an Nvidia GT460M GPU, Core i7 2630QM Quad Core and 8GB of RAM, the laptop is more than powerful enough to play the latest games at medium to high settings, and should continue on for at least one and a half years to come. All of this at a price under R12,000.<\/p>\n Lenovo:<\/strong> Lenovo have been doing big things in the hardware industry over the last few years. Following the success of the Y560 notebook, a device aimed at budget oriented gamers, the company has now released the Y570. Featuring the same quad core processor as the Mecer unit, the Y570 also features the recently launched Nvidia GT555M graphics card, a budget powerhouse in every sense of the word. Rounding off the deal with 6GBs of RAM and a 750GB hard drive, the Y570 can be had for just under R9,500 locally.<\/p>\n Razer Blade<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n These are just two examples of locally available powerhouse systems from lesser known gaming laptop brands that will serve gamers for a fair amount of time. with a bit of searching, more gems can be found. When you consider that both of these machines offer similar or better spec levels when compared to the recently announced Razer Blade<\/a>, which will likely retail for double the Y570’s local price, you start to wonder how the more expensive brands sell gaming laptops at all.<\/p>\n Gaming laptops will always be more expensive than their desktop brethren due to limitations of technology and the costs involved in developing a mobile workstation. However, the more budget orientated units are bordering on affordably for a large percentage of the gaming population, and in future we might just see an increase in laptops at local LAN events.<\/p>\n![](\"\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lenovo_Y570_868823964.jpg\")
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