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Ask HN: 13" laptop for gaming under $1k?

3 points by sahaj ↗ HN
this question was asked earlier on engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/27/ask-engadget-best-ultraportable-laptop-for-gaming/) and i felt like no one really answered the question. the conversation was drowned out by apple vs non-apple folks. so i thought maybe i should ask the question here since the community is more hacked-minded. thanks in advance.

4 comments

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0ffworlder
Depends on how much gaming[spore vs crysis]. Is a 9400 good enough? Then the $999 white macbook would work. Or a dell for a bit less.
profquail
It really depends on what level of gaming you expect to do. Most of the laptops I've seen that are under 13" (Apple included) either have integrated graphics or a low-end discrete GPU (like an nVidia GeForce 8400M or 9300M).

If the laptop has a discrete GPU as an option, it usually adds $50-$100 to the price, which may push it over the top of your budget.

If you just want to occasionally play some games, but you're not trying to play Crysis on maximum settings, go with something like the Dell XPS M1330. It's an older model, but you should be able to find one with good specs (including a discrete GPU, the 8400M) for under $1k.

If you can spend a bit more, take a look at the Asus range. They've got some 14" laptops that are a little over $1k, but you can get a GeForce 130M, which should be somewhat better than the 8-9 series GeForce chips.

noodle
dell xps studio 13

especially if you find a sale or good coupon that will allow you to toss on some extra stuff but stay under $1k.

daphoenix
i'm sure we'll see decent 13" gaming laptops under 1k when nvidia releases ION 2 at the end of this fiscal year.