Is your laptop game enough?

By: Raghav Kapoor

A quick look at the Alienware M17x, MSI GT640, and Asus G51J gaming notebooks

Alienware M17X - The 17-inch gaming monster

MSI GT640 - Core i7 powered 15.6-inch gaming machine

The gaming industry has made its mark on youngsters and elders alike. Gaming has for long been a source of entertainment for many people, be it console gaming i.e. on the PS2, PS3, Xbox or be it gaming on your own desktop or a laptop, people have enjoyed playing games which range across a number of genres like arcade, action, simulation, strategy, etc.

Right from the time the first desktop computer was launched there was a demand for games which started off as 4-bit versions with characters made out of blocks and the background music a single monotone. As time went by, more innovations came to the fore front and the trend of playing computer games also started to grow and with it the quality of games also improved. But as desktop computers were stationary, there was a need to have portable computers on which all the work including gaming could be done effortlessly and anywhere. Thus came in focus the concept of ‘portability in gaming.’

Portability in gaming is a concept that has been around for some time. There has been a steady demand for portable gaming consoles. From the days of handheld systems to PSP Slims this trend continues and will remain till time immortal. All the computer manufacturing companies are cashing in on this and churning out top end PSP’s and XBox’s. Same holds true for gaming laptops which are growing in demand day by day. The surge in demand for gaming laptops is a result of a preference among consumers for so called “all in one” devices.

Thanks to the advances of technology and subsequent use of high end microprocessors and graphics hardware in laptops, the demand for laptops has sky rocketed. With such kind of innovations available, the market for gaming computers has seen a steady rise, which has been useful not just for gamers, but for other computer users as well who want the best hardware.

As gaming laptops are one of the most performance-driven computers in the consumer market, so without doubt, they are considered power-hungry devices, in terms of computing performance, power consumption, and the components being used in these devices.  

These components therefore play a vital role in making a gaming laptop. And what are these components like? Let’s have a look.

What to look for in a gaming laptop

The first important component to look for is the graphics-processing unit. This is considered to be the heart of any gaming computer. Some hardcore gamers use specific high end GPU’s for optimum performance. Look for gaming laptops that have dedicated GPU's made by NVIDIA or ATI.

The other most important component required for gaming is large amount of memory, or RAM. Most games being launched now-a-days require a minimum of 2GB RAM but for future proofing I personally believe one should have at least 3GB RAM.

Another aspect to consider is the screen resolution and ratio. I personally would prefer a widescreen display with a high resolution. For gamers a 17-inch display would be quite sufficient, until and unless one wants a behemoth with an 18-inch screen. .

Today’s games require a lot of space for installation purposes which means loads of hard disk space. I would personally suggest a hard disk with more than 250GB of storage space. Also, a 7400rpm SATA HDD is preferred over a 5400rpm HDD.

Another component to consider is the processor. Currently a dual core processor is at least required for optimum running of the games. Users can now avail of quad-core processors that have four processor cores each capable of processing huge amount of data simultaneously thereby improving performance.

A look at some Gaming laptops

1. Alienware M17x

Billed by Alienware as “the most powerful laptop in the universe,” the M17x is simply an amazing piece of hardware. Comprising of the latest in hardware, this laptop surely has all what it takes to be the numero uno gaming laptop. With all this comes a hefty price tag, but it is worth it.

Spec sheet:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad QX9300 2.53 GHz
OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Video Card: Dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M, 2GB running SLI
LCD: 17-inch Wide UXGA 1920×1200 (at 1200p) resolution display
Memory: 4GB dual channel DDR3
Hard drive: 1TB total (2x 500GB 7,200 RPM)

As seen from the above specs, it is a very powerful machine. So the price you pay for it is justified.

The overall appearance of the laptop is amazing. The aluminum case looks very nice. Alienware also went all out with the stuff that’s required to make is just outstanding and the thing that I am talking about is lighting. They’ve put LEDs under the keyboard, behind the speaker grill, and underneath the touch strip above the keyboard which gives it a rich feel.

2. MSI GT640

MSI has just announced a new 15.4″ gaming laptop called MSI GT640. Under its skin lies a capable quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 4GB DDR3 RAM, a Blu-ray drive and up to 500GB HDD.

Graphic card is the brain of a gaming laptop, so MSI packs an NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M video card with 1GB VRAM. 

Other features include HDMI and VGA out, Wifi, 7.1-channel audio output, stereo speakers, 4-in-1 memory card reader, 2MP webcam and two USB ports. OS platform for MSI is windows 7. Price and release date has not been revealed as yet.

3. Asus G51J-SZ028V 3D Vision Gaming Laptop

In a few week’s time, Asus is launching a limited edition notebook from the Republic of Gamers series. G51J is offering a "true" stereo 3D gaming experience since it comes bundled with a pair of 3D Vision glasses.

Spec wise, the gaming laptop boasts a 1.6 GHz Core i7 720QM processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 640GB hard drive, a GeForce GTX 260M 1GB graphics card, and a Blu-ray drive as a standard feature.

Display front is handled by a 15.4" LED-backlit LCD with a 120Hz refresh, sporting a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Altec Lansing speakers are standard on the G51J for some serious gaming experience. Dimensions are 395 x 277 x 44 mm and the laptop weighs 7.7 pounds. The Asus G51J-SZ028V will run on Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit and is expected to become available in late November. Price has not been revealed as yet.