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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Viewing Angle. 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.
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.
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment