# Need a laptop for ~$1000-1200 that can play games well.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [January 24, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469 "2012-01-24T03:06:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469/1 "2012-01-24T03:06:08Z")
Getting rid of my new MacBook Pro because I want to be able to play games when I’m on travel on the built in Intel graphics chip just isn’t letting that happen. So I figure I need a windows laptop that has a discrete graphics card with, what, 512? 1GB video ram? I’m not to smart on this.
Important things that I’m not terribly flexible on:
13 inch screen, MAYBE 14. For me portability in my carryon is more important than a large screen.
Decent battery life.
Other than that I don’t care.
I’ve poked around best buy but they have a whole lot of stuff and I’m not sure what to get and feel like I may be able to get a laptop from some online vendor for a lot cheaper that is more capable.
Can anyone try to point a brother in the right direction?
FYI I’m not looking for super awesome mega graphics, but would prefer something near Xbox 360 caliber at least.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469/2 "2012-01-24T03:29:53Z")
Dell or Lenovo.
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### Author:  [@Xandroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xandroid)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469/3 "2012-01-24T03:40:37Z")
You should look for something with a dedicated graphics card (the more powerful the better) that doesn’t share system and graphics memory. I like using [newegg](http://www.newegg.com/)’s advanced search options to filter results and find the best product.
$1,200 should be more than enough for a competent gaming laptop–I purchased a decent Toshiba laptop last year for around around $800. If I was purchasing right now, for myself, I would go with ASUS.
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### Author:  [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469/4 "2012-01-24T03:58:55Z")
Will the Intel Core i5 play games alright? Pretty big price difference between the i5 and i7.
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### Author:  [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469/5 "2012-01-24T04:07:24Z")
Dell has a 14 inch Alienware gaming laptop which starts at $1100 ([here’s a review](http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/alienware-m14x/4505-3121_7-34646494.html)), but if you wait till the refurbished Alienware laptops go on sale, which happens from time to time, you can get a pretty good deal.
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### Author:  [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-laptop-for-1000-1200-that-can-play-games-well/610469/6 "2012-01-24T04:25:31Z")
UPDATE:
Spousal unit pulled an 11th hour veto and rejected the idea of me selling the MacBook because she likes it.:eek:
She doesn’t even use it…
So much for gaming on the go.
I guess the thread can be locked unless it would be useful for someone else.
Thanks guys!