Inexpensive laptop for gaming. How to choose a gaming laptop: models, parameters, prices

The question of which laptop is best to buy for gaming has been asked by gamers for many years.

The difficulty is that new models are coming out and what was previously considered the most powerful can no longer be considered so today.

The reason for this conclusion is very simple - all modern games are written for Windows (all kinds of chess and balls do not count, we take into account games like GTA 5, NFS and the like).

But the problem is that if the computer is designed for the same MacOS, installing Windows on it will be very problematic.

On the official Apple website it is written that to use Windows programs There is a program on Mac Boot Camp.

There are installation instructions there. But even in this case, no one is immune from compatibility problems.

Until this time, all the games were going just fine, and the picture was, as they say, delicious. Now everything has changed. The same goes for others similar systems.

Frequency

The fact is that the minimum processor frequency today for a gaming device is 2.4 GHz.

Majority modern games It only works normally at this frequency. It is logical that the higher the frequency, the higher the performance will be.

This can be clearly seen in the following graph.

Figure 4 shows the results of testing the same game with different meanings processor frequencies.

Again, the main parameter here was the number of frames per second. And the lines different colors shows what the fps value was at different screen resolutions.

At a resolution of 2160p the difference is not so great, but at 1080p it is already quite noticeable.

Since most modern laptops have a resolution of no more than 1080p, it is obvious that for a good gaming laptop the processor frequency must be at least 3 GHz.

This is absolutely enough for games that are still awaiting release.

Advice: The minimum processor frequency must be 3 GHz.

Number of cores

Obviously, the computer’s performance also depends on the number of processor cores - the more there are, the faster information will be processed.

The principle here is very simple - all information is evenly distributed between the cores and they all process it.

But if we have already determined that the minimum processor frequency should be 3 GHz, then the criterion for the number of cores automatically disappears.

The fact is that processors with such a frequency simply cannot have few cores - from 4 to 8.

It's more important to look at the processor manufacturer and core architecture. As for the first, let's say right away - AMD processors are not suitable for games. You need to choose Intel.

This can be clearly seen in the following graph.

As you can see, here they took processors from Intel and AMD with different numbers of cores and launched GTA game 5.

As a result, more frames per second were recorded when working with Intel processors.

As for the architecture, the following graph shows that the optimal architecture models today for Intel processors are Broadwell, Skylake and Haswell, which were released in the last 3 years.

Hence the following selection criterion.

Advice: Best processor architectureBroadwell, SkylakeorHaswell.

Criterion No. 3. RAM

As you know, games usually require large quantity files and data that relate to locations, objects, maps, saves and everything else. RAM is responsible for all this.

Accordingly, the heavier the game, the more data it needs to load and normal operation, the more she needs RAM.

Of course, modern games require quite a lot of memory, but not as much as manufacturers offer.

For example, let's take a few heavy games and let's see what their RAM requirements are to run at maximum settings:

1. Crysis 3 – 8 GB.
2. Battlefield 4 – 8 GB.
3. Assassin's Creed 4 – 4 GB.
4. Need for Speed ​​2015 – 8 GB.

The same picture is with other heavy games of our time. 8 GB is enough for the toy to work smoothly without any freezes.

Yes, it’s possible that in a year or two something very demanding will come out and more gigabytes will be needed, so we’ll take it with a reserve.

Criterion No. 4. Video card

As for the video card, here we will consider the most important and central parameter - the size of the video memory.

This parameter determines how much graphic information the device can store.

For example, if in a game you need to load some textures to go to the next level, then they will be loaded through this very memory.

The higher the resolution of the laptop, the more video memory it will need.

In most cases, one gigabyte of video memory is enough.

But to determine the ideal amount of video memory, you need to look again at the maximum requirements for today's heaviest games.

After reading these requirements, you can see the following picture:

1. Crysis 3 – 4 GB.
2. Battlefield 4 – 4 GB.
3. Assassin's Creed 4 – 2 GB.
4. Need for Speed ​​2015 – 4 GB.

From this we can draw a very simple conclusion - a modern gaming laptop requires 4 GB of video memory.

All other parameters related to the video card simply cannot be low with a large amount of video memory. Hence the next criterion.

Advice: You need at least 4 GB of video memory.

It doesn’t matter which model of video card will be installed in the laptop, the main thing is that it has at least 4 GB of memory.

Criterion No. 5. Hard disk capacity

Most of the games that were listed above require at least 30 GB of hard drive space free space.

But of course, we will have not just one game, but 10-20 games, so we need to multiply 30 GB by at least 10, the result will be 300 GB.

If you take it with a reserve, it will be approximately 500 GB. This will be our next criterion.

Advice: The minimum storage capacity must be 500 GB.

Yes, manufacturers today offer more, but so far there’s simply no point in it.

Even if you install the 10 heaviest games and add a ton of movies, it will still be very problematic to fill even 1 TB.

Additionally, there is a common myth that storage capacity somehow affects performance.

This is due to the fact that supposedly the more information on the computer, the slower it will work. This is not true.

All information that is on the drive is processed by the processor, and the faster it does this, the more productive the laptop will be. And this pattern does not change even after years of using the device.

But we have already determined above that the minimum processor frequency should be 3 GHz. So, this is quite enough for calm work with a large number of gigabytes of information.

Types of hard drives

The ideal option for a gaming laptop is an SSD drive. The arguments for such a bold statement are as follows:

1. SSD drives are 100 times faster than the same ones HDD drives. These are not just words. Other hard drives need to spin up to access data, but SSDs have the ability to get it instantly. And all because SSDs have no moving parts.
2. SSD drives have higher throughput, and significantly more. This means that this type of drive will be able to handle more megabytes every second.
3. SSD drives have much higher I/O performance. This parameter characterizes how many operations the device can process. It is related to the previous one.
   Bandwidth means how many operations can generally fall on hard drive, and I/O performance means how many of those operations it can handle.
4. SSDs have much faster response times. This means that they react faster when an operation comes to them for processing. Accordingly, they can process this very operation much faster.

All these parameters are shown in the figure below.

As you can see, in all three parameters, SSDs are two or three heads higher than their HDD counterparts. SSDs have other benefits as well.

For example, due to their one-piece construction, they are much more reliable.

They are absolutely not susceptible to falls, scratches, mechanical damage and, ultimately, shocks. Fact: the shock resistance of any SSD drive is at least 1000 g/0.5 ms.

This basically means that you can throw it against a wall and drop it on the asphalt and absolutely nothing will happen to it. In general, the next criterion is obvious.

Advice: The laptop must haveSSDdrive.

Interestingly, the combination of an SSD drive and less RAM than described above is less powerful processor than described above can also give impressive results.

Even with 5 GB of RAM and a 2.4 GHz processor frequency, you can easily play the same Crysis 3 or NFS.

On the other hand, with the parameters described above, you can sacrifice the dream of an SSD and take a model with an HDD.

Criterion No. 6. Opening hours

As you know, operating time depends on the battery.

Of course, most of the time the laptop will work from a regular outlet, but from time to time the gamer will have to take it with him on trips or there will be some problems with the power supply.

For such cases, you need a laptop to have an excellent battery. Since games require a lot of computer resources, the battery must be very powerful.

Taking into account all the above parameters, maximum time Battery life can be 9 hours.

But for a gaming laptop, 4 hours is quite enough - it still gets boring to play games and sometimes you need to rest. Therefore, the next criterion is obvious.

Advice: The required minimum battery life is 4 hours.

In any case, you will have to buy another battery, because even if it is stated that the battery will work for at least 10 hours, under average load it will work for about 7-8, and in games - 4-5.

Therefore, in practice, the same battery for 4 hours will last for at most 2 hours.

Advice: For a gaming laptop, be sure to buy a second battery, and a more powerful one than the one already built into it.

Criterion No. 7. Weight and dimensions

Of course, no gamer wants to carry 10-20 kg on himself, even in a briefcase. The heaviest laptop today is the Dell XPS M2010, which weighs 8.3 kg.

There are also secret military developments from Philips, which, according to some experts, weigh up to 9 kg. Of course, it’s not very convenient to carry such a colossus on yourself.

Therefore, it is optimal for the laptop to weigh up to 4 kg.

Such a weight will not harm the human body, and if you constantly carry such a device with you, a person will even stop noticing it.

Interestingly, all other parameters in the Dell XPS M2010 were very high level at the time of publication of this creation.

As for the size of a gaming laptop, the considerations are the same - it’s absolutely inconvenient to carry a too wide colossus with you.

Therefore, it is optimal that the length of the device is not more than 500 mm and the width is 40 mm.

Most experts agree on this. This size allows the laptop to have a diagonal of 17.3 inches. Hence another criterion.

Although, of course, someone may want to buy themselves something big and impressive. Therefore, this parameter can also be considered optional.

Criterion No. 8. Connectors and drives

For some heavy games, in particular GTA 5, the manufacturer requires that the computer have a DVD drive.

This is done with the expectation that the user will still buy the official game on disk and will only use it, and will not download everything on the Internet from torrents.

Of course, the reality is that now everything can be found on the Internet and various games can be downloaded for free.

But manufacturers are moving forward and, quite possibly, a game will be released in 2017 that will be impossible to break.

Fifa 14 came out a few years ago and for a long time not a single person called a “cracker” (who makes cracks for the game, that is, files that allow you to bypass the protection) could hack it.

Even teams of specialists have made attempts, in particular skidrow, Razor, Reloaded and others.

Usually all versions of FIFA break a month after release, but here 5 months passed and only after that a crack appeared on the skidrow website.

And now all new versions of the football simulator no longer break so easily, and at least three months pass between the release of the game for sale and the release of the crack.

In general, it is becoming increasingly difficult for crackers to crack new games, so you should always have a DVD drive and several thousand for a new game.

The same applies to other connectors and communications.

For example, a laptop must have an input for an HDMI cable, because if you want to connect your computer to a TV, you can do this using an HDMI cable.

As a last resort, you can connect the TV via a VGA connector, but it is better to still have HDMI. In addition, you always want to show a powerful laptop to friends and play something together.

Therefore, the computer must have several connectors for USB devices, such as joysticks and gamepads. Optimal quantity USB connectors equals 4.

This conclusion can be drawn from the fact that most games in the collective participation mode are designed for such a maximum number of people.

For example, the same Fifa has five positions - one for the keyboard and 4 for gamepads.

Advice: Must be present 4USBconnector and preferablyHDMI.

Criterion No. 9. Brand

In the case of laptops, you should not skimp on buying a laptop from a well-known brand. The advantages of such a purchase are obvious.

Firstly, a well-known brand has its own service centers, most likely in your city or a large locality nearest to you.

The situation here is almost the same as with phones - there are well-known brands that sell their products at high prices, and there are Chinese brands that have the same parameters but sell cheaper.

But the problem is that products of famous brands can be repaired in any city, but in order to repair a representative of our socialist brother, you need to send him directly to China.

You may not have to send laptops directly to the manufacturer, but it will still be easier and faster for technicians to repair well-known brands.

And secondly, many years of experience prove the reliability of a particular brand.

But cheap China is still something new for us and not yet fully tested.

Based on this, we can select a list of brands that enjoy the greatest authority among users. These include the following brands:

• Asus;
• Toshiba;
• Apple;
• Dell;
• Lenovo;
• Acer;

Advice: Choose manufacturers -Asus, Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, AcerorHP (Applewe excluded from the very beginning due to difficulties in adapting games to the OS).

First place - HP ZBook 17

Based on all the characteristics described above, one single winner was chosen for the title of the best gaming laptop on the market.

It was the HP ZBook 17. You can buy it for $5,500 or approximately 380,000 rubles.

In Russia it can be purchased at the HP brand store. It has different configurations, but the most powerful of them has the following characteristics:

• CPU Intel Core i7 s maximum frequency 4 GHz, 4 cores and Haswell architecture;
• 32 GB of RAM (can be purchased with 8 GB, it will be half the price);
• two hard drives– one 256 GB SSD (it is better to install the main games on it) and another 1 TB HDD;
• There is DVD drive(no HDMI);
• screen diagonal is 17.3 inches, maximum resolution is 1920x1080;
• video memory – 8 GB;
• 4 USB ports – 3 for USB0 and 1 for USB 2.0;
• dimensions – 41.6x27.2;
• pre-installed Windows 7;
• weight – 3.5 kg.

The manufacturer gives it a 3-year warranty.

As you can see, we still had to sacrifice something, in particular, an HDMI connector and a 500 GB SSD drive. But the very fact that there is an SSD here at all is a huge plus.

And its battery is weak - for 4.5 hours. But still, you can’t find anything better on the market today.

It is worth saying that due to such a powerful graphics core The HP ZBook 17 is perfect not only for gamers, but also for everyone who is in one way or another connected with graphics, in particular, designers, artists and developers.

In addition, the huge advantage of this device is that it is available in the CIS. Some modern powerful laptops can only be bought in America or China.

Second place - Fujitsu CELSIUS H920

If we sacrifice several selection criteria, in particular the last one, then the winner will be the Fujitsu CELSIUS H920. It is very difficult to buy it.

Within the CIS it is available only in a few stores. A real exclusive!

Although it costs about 3,000 dollars or 200,000 rubles, which is very good. This monster has the following characteristics:

• Intel Core i7 processor with a frequency of 3 GHz, 4 cores, but Ivy Bridge architecture;
• 16 GB of RAM;
• pre-installed Windows 7;
• screen with a diagonal of 17.3 inches and a resolution of 1920x1080;
• 4 GB video memory;
• SSD disk 512 GB;
• Blu-ray drive;
• 4 USB ports – 1 for USB0 and 3 for USB 2.0;
• battery for 9 hours.

In principle, due to a pure SSD drive, this model could beat our today's winner, even despite the outdated processor architecture, if it had more RAM.

But still, the HP ZBook 17 is better.

But the Japanese Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 also has its advantages. In particular, it is a more durable battery.

If the winner of our today's competition can only be played for 2 hours, then the Japanese will definitely last 4.

In any case, all modern games and even those that will be released in the next 2-3 years will work very well on both the Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 and the HP ZBook 17.

By the way, it is interesting that the Japanese was released in 2012, so the outdated kernel is not particularly surprising.

But the fact that this laptop has been holding the brand name for 3 years is quite impressive!

Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 takes second place in the race for the title of best gaming laptop

8/25/17 1:00 PM

The times when developers of gaming hits universally and specifically specified that they do not guarantee operation on laptops are long gone. Today on sale you can find many truly powerful, productive laptops that are practically in no way inferior to their desktop counterparts. But at the same time, the advantages of such devices are obvious - they are compact, you can take them with you on the road, on vacation, or to the country. All you have to do is choose the right laptop, and we will help you in this difficult matter.

In case you want to game and not deal with clock speeds or gigabytes of RAM, here are some ready-made solutions. Want to delve deeper? Read our detailed guide below.

Ready solutions

Budget gaming laptop

If you are going to play some turn-based strategies, isometric RPGs or quests, then an inexpensive laptop with not the most top-end parameters will be quite suitable: 6 GB RAM, Intel Core i3 or i5 processor, 500 GB HDD... Game hits will run on such models, but on low settings.

Powerful mid-price laptop

If you want to really comfortably play most of the latest modern games at high settings with 40-60 fps, then you will have to focus on more powerful models: Intel Core i3/i5 or similar, RAM from 8 GB, preferably with an SSD.

The most advanced gaming laptop

If you prefer to keep up with the times and play the latest gaming hits at the highest ultra-settings so that the fps does not drop below 50-60 even in the most special-effects scenes, then choose everything to the maximum and nothing for yourself don't refuse. Intel Core i7 or equivalent, 32 GB RAM... And fasten your seat belts!

Well, now we’ll tell you in more detail about what you need to look for when choosing a gaming laptop.

Why do you need a gaming laptop?

First of all, decide what games you are choosing a laptop for. If you are going to play turn-based strategies, old-fashioned RPGs or quests, then a standard machine with average performance parameters is quite suitable. But if you want to try all the latest hits, then you’ll have to focus on truly gaming laptops.

Display: the bigger the better

Gaming laptops come with screen sizes 15-18 inches. It is clear that to get the full experience of spectacular modern games you need a larger screen. In this sense, laptops, of course, lose to their desktop counterparts, which can be equipped with even wider and large monitors. However, the screen size 17.3 inches with support optimal resolution Full HD 1920x1080 pixels in a laptop is also quite enough to get beautiful picture in games and immersion in virtual reality. There are even more powerful models that support resolutions up to Quad HD (2560×1440 pixels) and 4K (3840×2160 pixels).

Theoretically, it is better to choose a screen matrix in the IPS format - viewing angles are better there. But TN matrices on powerful gaming laptops are also very, very high quality - they have decent color rendition and good viewing angles, and the response time is lower than that of IPS.

Processor: at least 4 cores!

RAM: expandable

Like the processor, random access memory (RAM) is fundamentally important for the performance of the entire system - why more applications you launch, the larger its volume is required. And for a modern gamer, it’s not enough just to play - you need to simultaneously launch the game, stream, have high-quality communication with teammates... Therefore, the minimum amount of RAM in gaming laptops should be 8 GB, and better - 16 or 32 GB DDR4 format. Most models have a slot for installing an additional memory module - even if you purchased a laptop with 8 GB of memory, you can always increase this amount later.

Video card: not built-in!

The video card, of course, is especially important for gaming laptops, since it is directly responsible for displaying high-quality and detailed images on the screen. If a model has a built-in video card, then consider it not a gaming laptop - in terms of its parameters, it is significantly inferior to discrete, that is, independent, full-fledged models. You will be able to comfortably play the same turn-based strategies and quests, but you will be forced to immediately forget about the latest hits.

You need to focus on the names of video cards - NVIDIA GeForce GTX or AMD Radeon. Even stripped-down mobile versions of the GeForce 940 M and higher allow you to run many modern games, and now all-wheel drive video cards of the GTX 1050-GTX 1080 series are being installed in gaming laptops, which are in no way inferior to their desktop counterparts. The main thing is that they have at least 2, and preferably 4-8 GB of DDR5 memory.

Some models support SLI or CrossFire technologies, allowing two video cards to work in the system at once and effectively combine their power. There are few such gaming laptops, and they are more expensive, but if you have enough money, buy models with two GTX 1080 with 8 GB of memory on board. So you get a real combine for any games, but at the same time compact and portable. U AMD typical video cards for gaming laptops are AMD Radeon R9/AMD FirePro models.

Hard drive: there is never too much space!

Modern popular video games take up a lot of space and weigh tens of gigabytes. Therefore, even 500 GB will not be enough for a serious gamer hard drive— it’s better to take models from 1-2 TB, which are the overwhelming majority in this segment today. If this is not enough, you can buy more external hard disk. Also today, more and more often, gaming laptops are equipped with a regular hard drive and a solid-state drive (SSD) at the same time - and this option is better than the standard one. After all, the SSD, on which the operating system is usually installed, may be smaller in volume and more expensive, but it uses flash memory and processes information faster by reading data.

Dimensions: weighty power

It is clear that everyone wants to have the most compact, light and thin laptop possible - such compactness, in fact, is their advantage. However, in the case of modern gaming laptops, you need to be prepared for the fact that most of them will weigh almost twice as much as usual, namely 4-6 kg. A powerful video card (or even two), a serious cooling system, a large hard drive (plus an SSD drive), a large display - all this simply cannot weigh lightly.

Peripherals and Applications

It is advisable to select appropriate accessories for a powerful gaming laptop - gaming mice, gamepads, joysticks, headsets, speakers. For example, from the Trust GTX series, which we wrote about recently. It’s great if manufacturers equip their models with a very comfortable, truly gaming keyboard with backlighting - as, for example, in gaming laptops from MSI.

Don't underestimate the presence of built-in applications. In many models from the same MSI, for example, very useful program Dragon Center, which, among other things, allows you to adjust the fan speed, monitor the temperature of the processor and video card, and at the same time the consumption of RAM. There is also a program Nanimic 2, with which you can change sound scheme, depending on whether you play a shooter, strategy, racing, role-playing game, just listen to music or watch a movie.

Naturally, a gaming laptop should have the most popular ports for connecting with other media devices, for example, for playing a movie or playing a game on big screen— we are primarily talking about HDMI, DisplayPort and USB Type-C. Having a DVD drive is also an advantage - games today are sold not only digitally, but also in beautiful boxes that are so nice to give to friends. And, of course, you need to pay attention to the battery capacity and battery life of the laptop. But in any case, keep in mind that playing modern games without connecting to electrical network you can do it for a couple of hours maximum.

Many of us love computer games, but not everyone manages to enjoy them without compromise. So that there are no fuzzy graphics, partial screen mode, jerky gameplay or problems with launching the game. And it's all about the hardware that modern games require. Of course, a real gamer will confidently say (and partly be right) that no, even the best, gaming laptop can compare with a gaming computer, but then you can’t stuff a desktop into your bag and enjoy your favorite game anywhere, wherever you are .

Minimum requirements for gaming laptops

When planning to buy a good gaming laptop, you need to keep in mind that the name “gaming laptop” does not suit every device. Entering the mobile version market GeForce video cards Pascal immediately swept the winners of gaming laptop ratings of previous years off the pedestals: indeed, the new video cards have become not only faster, but also cooler. And for laptops, lower power consumption and lower power consumption are critical. So the choice at the moment can be described simply: do you need a fairly budget laptop with the ability to play comfortably without the need to turn the quality to the maximum? Look towards models with GTX 1050 and “fresh” i 5-i 7 processors. Is something faster? Here it’s worth thinking about the GTX 1060 or 1070, which will perfectly reveal their capabilities with Intel Core i 7 older models. Well, at the top, undoubtedly, are the GTX 1080 and even laptops with video cards combined in SLI.

However, do not forget that AMD clearly wants to shake the former monopoly of Intel and Nvidia in the gaming market. Even though laptops based on Ryzen and RX are still exotic, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on new products on the market.

The main thing is not to forget about high-quality cooling: in games more difficult than Klondike and Minesweeper, the quality of cooling of the processor and video card is crucial for a laptop. You should not choose either overly noisy models that can tire your ears after just an hour of playing, nor those where, for the sake of compactness, the cooling system drives the processor to the brink of throttling even with fresh thermal paste and no dust in the fans.

And, of course, there are no extra watt-hours in the battery: if 50-60 watt-hours are still acceptable for “lower” gaming models, then even 80 won’t seem like a lot for top-end models.

So, which gaming laptops offered to Russian game lovers at the end of 2017 - beginning of 2018 are considered the best?

Gaming laptops are, frankly, bad. No matter how cool they are endowed with hardware, truly good gaming laptops simply do not exist. Any desktop PC for the same money will be many times more productive and, most importantly, more reliable.

Banality...

Modern gaming video card for a desktop computer it looks like this:

This is far from latest model, there are now better video cards, but that’s not the point. See how big it is? It is thicker than the body of the laptop itself and is equipped with a WindForce cooling system with three fans to dissipate heat. How can such a large component be crammed into a laptop case? It's complicated technical problem, which is not always solved in the most effective way by laptop manufacturers. Hence the performance is lower and the price is higher. Moreover, as statistics show, powerful gaming laptops are most often repaired in service centers, and the most common breakdown is the video card. This component simply overheats, partly due to dust in the case. This is why we do not recommend choosing a laptop for gaming. But if you can’t be convinced, then let’s figure it out...

Which laptops are best for gaming?

Modern games are optimized in such a way that most of the processed information is assigned to the video card resource. Hence, A video card is the first criterion for choosing a gaming laptop. Next – processor, RAM, hard drive.

Important: start choosing based on the characteristics of the video adapter, and then select components (usually you don’t have to select them, this is not desktop computer), which would reveal the potential of this video card. Manufacturers almost always select the right hardware to unlock the potential of a video card, so don’t worry too much about in this case It’s not worth it, but the principle, so that you understand, is exactly this.

In general, the criteria for a gaming laptop are as follows:

1. Discrete video card (and only discrete);
2. Quad-core processor with a minimum frequency of 2.2 GHz;
3. RAM capacity from 4 GB (although this is often not enough);
4. Hard drive HDD, it is highly DESIRABLE that this be SSD drive(they are much faster).

Any laptop that meets these criteria can already be with a stretch call it gaming. It will “run” any modern game, but not at maximum settings, at minimum settings – for sure, at medium settings – probably.

These criteria list the MINIMUM requirements for laptops that can handle games, but real gaming models are much more powerful, but also more expensive.

Gaming laptop models

We're not going far. The manufacturer MSI has been producing such gadgets for quite a long time and is one of the successful models MSI GS70 2OD Stealth.

Specifications:

1. Quad-core Intel Core i7-4700HQ (2.4 GG);
2. 8 GB RAM;
3. SSD drive;
4. Discrete graphics card nVidia GeForce GTX 765M.

What is the latest sensational gaming innovation? It seems like Far-Cry 4. So this game is on maximum settings this laptop will go without any “brakes”.

Costs MSI GS70 2OD Stealth depending on the store, 1500-1600 dollars, but this is not even close to the limit. This model- a solid “middle peasant” among gaming laptops and new games that will be released over the next year will noticeably “slow down” on this laptop. You will have to at least lower the graphics settings in the game so that you can comfortably enjoy the gameplay.

Another gaming laptop for the same money.

Its characteristics:

1. Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor with a frequency of 2.5 GHz;
2. 16 GB RAM;
3. nVidia GeForce GTX 860M video card with 4 GB memory;
4. Hybrid SSHD hard drive.

It’s difficult to say whether this model is better in performance than the first, but it definitely deserves the title of gaming. And in general, almost any laptop for $1500-2000 will be a gaming laptop, unless it’s a MacBook.

Should you buy laptops for gaming?

We have already started talking about the disadvantages of these gadgets. But despite all this, sometimes there is simply no alternative. If you often have to move from place to place or you need a laptop for work, and at the same time you are an ardent fan of games, you most likely need a gaming gadget.

Otherwise, if you compare a gaming laptop with an office laptop, which is equipped with very weak hardware, then the latter will win in reliability. Statistically, weak office laptops break down much less often - they heat up little, so all components work longer. Another question is that on such models it will not be possible not only to play, but also to work comfortably, say, with Autocad programs and others that require the performance of a video card.

BUT! Buying a laptop just for gaming is blasphemy.

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Look for a good car to comfortably play GTA, Assassin's Creed Origins, The Witcher 3 or another equally exciting game? Then you've come to the right place! A few years ago, gamers were advised to buy a desktop computer. Today everything has changed. Laptops can handle demanding toys too. Naturally, Not just any laptop is suitable for gaming. It must have a powerful processor, good video card, many gigabytes of RAM, and that's the minimum. How to find the coolest Gemeir laptop? The easiest way is to trust the advertising and promises of manufacturers and sellers. There is a slightly more complicated path, but it is guaranteed to give the expected result. You have to sit down and figure out all the technical nuances yourself. We are ready to make your path easier and have prepared some tips for choosing a gaming laptop. We also selected the best gaming laptops of 2018.

Before you go looking for a gaming machine, be very clear about what you want from her. Are these the newest games at the highest settings? Maybe medium settings will be enough for you? Or are you generally a fan of games released in 2015? In all these cases it is necessary different laptops, and their prices will naturally be different. It’s also better to decide on a budget right away. It is often better to save up for a couple of months than to save money and not get any pleasure from the games, and such technology is not a cheap pleasure.

The large E-catalog resource, which presents offers from hundreds of stores, will help you navigate the price - you can buy a laptop with a gaming modification at the most favorable price. A lot of filters will help you quickly and easily find a model with the desired characteristics. Now it remains to understand what these characteristics should be.

Let's not pull the cat by the tail - let's go over the main parameters that you should pay attention to when choosing a gaming laptop.

Video card

This year at CES, leading processor manufacturers Intel and AMD showed new products. These are stones with powerful built-in video cards. They showed that in the near future there will be a need for discrete video cards will no longer be necessary, but the new processors have not yet entered mass production and remain very expensive, so you will have to choose a machine with a discrete video card.

Best in terms of performance, energy efficiency and compactness - video cards fromNVIDIA. Previously, laptops came with stripped-down versions, but now they use the same video cards as in desktop computers.

The GeForce GTX 10x0 series is worth a look:

• video card GeForce GTX 1050– the very minimum for the game, will allow you to run most modern games at medium settings, on FullHD (30-70 fps, depending on the game). You need to take the 4 GB version. The 2 GB version is not suitable for games;
• GeForce GTX 1050Ti It will be faster, allow you to set high settings, and cost more. The maximum video memory here is 4 GB. Not bad for today, but if you take a laptop with an eye on the next few years, you might regret it a little later;
• GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB is the optimal solution for today. There will be enough resources here for the next couple of years. There is a version with 3 GB, but it’s not worth considering seriously;
• GeForce GTX 1070– an even more powerful solution that will easily run all games at maximum settings;
• GeForce GTX 1080– a solution for those who want to play with 4K resolution. Such a laptop will not be cheap, to put it mildly.

These same video cards are available with the console Max-Q. They are more economical, compact, but also slower.

You can also find laptops with processors from AMD and AMD video cards Radeon R9/AMD FirePro. These are weaker and cheaper solutions. Stripped down NVIDIA video cards GTX 970-980 is already the last generation, but if you are an undemanding gamer, then you can use these options.

CPU

In the eternal battle Intel vs.AMD In terms of performance, Intel wins, so gamers don’t even think much about the processor - onlyIntel. The best solution for a gaming laptop is 4-core processors IntelCorei5 andIntelCorei7. Can reveal all the capabilities of a GTX 1050/1060-level video card Core processor i5 (7300HQ version) or new Core i7 (8550U and 8650U). For more powerful video cards, take the i7-7700HQ processor, and if you decide to use two video cards in your laptop at once, then it is better to look towards the i7-7820HK.

Processors from AMD are inferior in performance, although they are cheaper.

RAM

Minimum for a gaming laptop – 8 GB. Many gamers will not agree with this and will say that in 2018 the minimum increased to 16 GB. And they will be right. Today there are games that simply won’t launch or will launch with big problems, if there is only 8 GB under the hood. There will be more such games in the future. But it's not all bad!

You can take a cheaper laptop with 8 GB and expandable RAM. When the existing stock becomes clearly insufficient, you can purchase another 8 GB of memory. By the way, it will be even cheaper than immediately buying a 16 GB laptop. It will be possible to sell all existing memory modules and buy more modern and faster ones instead. When counting on such a feat, do not forget to check the model’s characteristics for the maximum amount of memory and frequency it is designed for.

Anyone who is looking to the future and has a tidy sum in reserve can immediately look towards laptops with 32 GB of RAM.

Storage system

It just so happens that so far the top choice for gaming laptops is a combination of a hard drive (HDD) and a solid-state drive (SSD). The latter works many times faster, but its volume is usually 128-256 GB. Install on SSD operating system. The main data set, incl. games and movies will have to be stored on the HDD, its volume can reach 1 TB. For some, even this is not enough, and they buy an external hard drive of 1-2 TB.

Laptops with 512 GB SSD are appearing on sale. They are more productive, compact, but more expensive.

Screen

The diagonal in gaming laptops fluctuates from 15 to 18 inches. On a smaller display, you won't be able to see all the details, so the entire gaming experience will be spoiled. There are two types of matrices: IPS andTN. The first ones are more expensive, but they can boast wide angle review. No matter where you look, the colors will be the same. A laptop with a TN matrix is ​​not always as bad as you might think. Yes, the viewing angles are reduced, but it costs less, today there are very good models being produced, and even if one person is sitting in front of the screen, then what difference does it make? However, IPS with anti-glare coating is still the best choice.

Minimum resolution for comfortable gaming– 1920*1080 (Full HD). With a higher resolution, you can get an even clearer picture, so if your finances allow (since you will need a more powerful hardware), take a model with Quad HD (2560*1440) and 4K (3840*2160).

It is important that the screen supports a frame rate of at least 60 Hz, preferably 120 Hz, in the most expensive models this parameter starts at 144 Hz.

Battery

Battery capacity is not so important for a gamer, because hardly anyone expects to play for a long time away from a power outlet. Of course, it’s nice to play when there’s a power outage at home, but even the most durable models are unlikely to provide more than 1-1.5 hours of battery life in game mode. It is fair to demand from a laptop that it has enough charge to survive and turn it off during a power outage. Most models are capable of this. Less capacious battery, by the way, reduces the cost of the device, so if you save on something, it’s only on the battery.

Weight and ergonomics

Gaming laptops can be divided into two types: compact and thin, weighing 2-3 kg, and heavy, weighing up to 6 kg. The former, of course, are more convenient, but they have slightly slower video cards, and you will have to pay more attention to cooling. The plump companions already have a powerful cooling system, which, by the way, weighs a lot. It is very difficult to check the effectiveness of the latter - read reviews of the models you are interested in.

Externally, a laptop may look laconic and modest. There are models made in a metal case. There are devices that show their power and main purpose in all their appearance. It's about taste and color.

Make sure that the vent and most ports are not located on the same side as where you will be holding the mouse. A DVD/Blu-Ray drive is desirable, since many films and games are still distributed on discs. If everything suits you, but the laptop only has Blu-Ray, then buy an external drive. USB ports Type-C, USB 3.0 and HDMI are everywhere, sometimes Thunderbolt and DisplayPort may be needed.

A backlit keyboard, a fingerprint scanner for secure access, and high-quality speakers will be a pleasant addition to a gaming laptop.

As for prices, the cheapest gaming laptop costs about 50 thousand rubles, medium models will cost from 70 thousand, and top models will cost more than 110 thousand.

There is ongoing debate online about which is better, a gaming laptop or a full-fledged gaming PC. At the same cost, the PC will be more powerful, but the main advantage of a laptop is mobility. A laptop can be as powerful as a desktop option. Many argue that the cost of both options is approximately the same. Hundreds of pages on the Internet are written about this.

Best Gaming Laptops 2018

First, we note that each model comes in different configurations, and prices by region can vary greatly, so our rating is more for informational purposes so that you can navigate the existing offer.

DELL G3 15 3579

One of the most interesting offers on the market. Even the weakest modification will cope with its tasks perfectly, and the price is adequate. The RAM can be expanded up to 32 GB and there is a Thunderbolt port. The screen is of high quality, and you can’t tell from its appearance that this is a gaming device, so you can take it with you to work without revealing your preferences. Serious shortcomings the model does not have, and if you take into account the price-quality ratio, then it is one of the best solutions at the moment. For 50 thousand you get a very good gaming horse, and for 65 thousand you get the best modification with a fingerprint scanner.

MSI GL72M 7REX

Another model that has the right to be considered the best inexpensive gaming laptop. It is difficult to find a cheaper laptop with the same parameters of video card, processor, memory and screen. Let's add here good cooling. The disadvantage is that the design is not very convenient for upgrading.

Acer Predator Helios 500 (PH517-51-99PH)

Power, power, power! The dream of all gamers. Words are superfluous here. The productivity reserve will be enough for the next few years. They used pleasant-to-touch plastic and a quiet and powerful cooling system. It is possible to expand the RAM up to 64 GB. Users say that they expected more from the sound, but they wouldn’t dare call it bad or of poor quality.

MSI GT75VR 7RF Titan Pro

The best video card, a good supply of RAM expandable up to 64 GB, an excellent screen, processor, cooling system - this laptop can be considered a standard. There is nothing to complain about. The dimensions of such a beast cannot be compact, so 4.5 kg will have to be tolerated.

DELL G5 15 5587

Compactness, autonomy, convenience, style, waterproof keyboard, sophisticated cooling system, power - all these are one hundred percent advantages of the model. Users say the screen could be better.

Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH317-51)

The model received a matte IPS screen with backlighting, quite large and juicy. There is no optical drive. There is a slot for expanding RAM, but the maximum that can be used is 32 GB. The appearance of the laptop is strict, but with a twist. The plastic used is of high quality, we are pleased with the powerful speakers and good system cooling. Autonomy here is also excellent: the manufacturer talks about 7 hours, in fact the maximum is 5.5 hours, which is still not bad. The keyboard backlight is only red. This device is one of the most inexpensive gaming laptops on the market, and at the same time it maintains an excellent balance of price and quality.

Xiaomi Mi Gaming Laptop

The laptop comes in a wide variety of configurations. Only the screen characteristics, weight and set of ports remain unchanged. The screen is matte, received LED backlight, there is no optical drive. The keyboard is backlit, the case is metal, all the necessary ports are in place. In gentle mode without power, the device will last 6.5 hours – that’s what the manufacturer says. Users like the high-quality IPS screen, good cooling system, and stylish design. Among the shortcomings: there is no Thunderbolt port, there are no Russian letters, and the fan is quite noisy at high speeds. Overall, a very, very good gaming laptop. The cost depends greatly on the filling. Lower and upper limits are indicated. In the middle there remains a modification with 8 GB of RAM and Core i7 for 86,000 rubles.

DELL INSPIRON 7577

A modification sufficient for games costs about 70 thousand, and for 95 thousand you will get the very best. The model impresses with its compactness, stylish design, thoughtful lighting, and high-quality cooling system. The model is easy to upgrade, there is a free memory slot, so you can get as much as 32 GB of RAM. The machine is powerful, some modifications have a fingerprint scanner. There are practically no downsides, if you don’t take into account the not very capacious battery. Some people find fault with the sound and screen, but they are more than worth the price here.

Lenovo Legion Y520

The simplest modification for 47,000 rubles is suitable for undemanding gamers who play last year’s games, since 6 GB of RAM and 2 GB of video memory are clearly not enough for anything serious. A version with 8 GB of RAM with a GTX 1050 Ti and 4 GB with Core i5 will cost 72,000, and the most advanced version will cost almost 90,000 rubles. The advantages of the model include the screen, full-size keyboard, and good cooling. Even in its far from the most sophisticated modification, the device works quickly.

ASUS TUF Gaming FX504GD

The version with 2 GB of RAM is not recommended for purchase, so in total the price starts from 53,000-55,000, but for this money you can find a version with 12 GB of RAM, which is why the model ended up in our rating. Pros include ergonomics, volume, keyboard. Cons: weak battery and not a very good camera.

HP OMEN 15-ax200

For 48,000 you can sell a laptop with 2 GB of video memory. With 4 GB of video memory, the model costs from 52,000 rubles, which is very good, considering its compactness, ergonomics, performance, good sound, relative quietness and good autonomy. We get a very good inexpensive gaming laptop.