Gaming Laptop -> Desktop solution

Due to personal circumstances I'm considering the benefits of having a laptop as my primary system. I've done a bit of research and the following laptop is what I've started to view as baseline:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

Gateway FX series

What do i do?

I game lightly on computers, and by lightly I mean primarily just WoW. I have an Xbox 360 which is typically what i use for other gaming needs.

Clearly this laptop is going to be overkill for just WoW, but I typically try to upgrade systems every 2 years or so and want to make sure that my system is still relevant later on.

My question stems from the fact that I've been spoiled with my 24" HD (and secondary 19" LCD) Gateway monitor at home, and surround sound speaker system, etc. This is something that I would be sad to lose out on with my primary system.

Is there a solid solution that would allow me to hook this laptop up to dual monitors with gaming on the 24" lcd? Further, is there a way to hookup the sound out from the laptop to the surround sound system (I've resigned myself to the fact that it won't be true surround sound, but at least output on a 5 speaker system would be appreciated).

I've done a bit of research and all I have found have been some conflicting discussions on how much gaming you can really do on dual monitors driven by a laptop, but wanted to get everyone's opinion on my situation.

At the end of the day if it doesn't work out the way I want it to, I'll just upgrade and build a new desktop, but the laptop would offer some very serious advantages if I don't have to sacrifice too much.

Thanks in advance!

i guess you can just get a dvi splitter and use the nvidia driver controls to dual monitor game. i think the 1gb of video mem on that 9800 would be enough for that

as for the sound.. i really dont know what you could do on a laptop. maybe you could get an expresscard x-fi sound card, but idk if that will work for your surround sound system

I would think using dual monitors would really tax that laptop. You would need some sort of DVI splitter like 6600 stated, maybe that Matrox dual head 2 go?

As for sound, it would depend on what kind of speakers you are using. If they require a center/sub front and rear connection then you would need a soundcard with a breakout box. I know creative made one, it's been discontinued but you can still find them online.

TBH, unless you need to be mobile while gaming, I think you would be better off with a desktop.

thanks for the responses thus far. yes i would much prefer to be able to just have a desktop but i'll be travelling for a while and moving a few states a way in the coming 6 months and felt that a laptop would be much easier to handle the new gaming needs.

would this laptop be able to game just on the 24" HD monitor by itself w/o breaking out the dual monitor? I'm not getting rid of the old desktop so i could just run the other LCD as its primary.

Well it all depends on the resolution.

I assume the 24" would run 1900x1200 so compare that against the laptop. I would assume the laptop would be 1680x1050. So with the higher res, comes a higher load on the system. You just wouldn't be able to run everything at max settings/resolution.

iamcanadian7 said:

Well it all depends on the resolution.

I assume the 24" would run 1900x1200 so compare that against the laptop. I would assume the laptop would be 1680x1050. So with the higher res, comes a higher load on the system. You just wouldn't be able to run everything at max settings/resolution.

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The earlier models of that laptop shipped with a 1900x1200, current models should be 1440x900, I believe. Anyway, yeah, depends what resolution you're running your games at. Definitely not going to be maxing settings. (Then again, you could run WoW using a box of Crayolas as a gpu )

I was basically in the same situation, looking at buying the exact same laptop. I'd MUCH rather build a desktop, but my circumstances require me to be able to travel, so I had to choose a laptop over a desktop. (Which would've kicked soooo much more butt.)

Fortunately I was able to get a steal of a deal on a laptop in the classifieds section. (Basically exactly the same thing with a 1900x1200 resolution, just a few hundred bucks less.)

Thanks guys. Ya I'm not terribly worried about settings, wow is easy to max out. Still not sure, I might troll the classifieds for a steal as well.

TehGoober said:

The earlier models of that laptop shipped with a 1900x1200, current models should be 1440x900, I believe. Anyway, yeah, depends what resolution you're running your games at. Definitely not going to be maxing settings. (Then again, you could run WoW using a box of Crayolas as a gpu )

I was basically in the same situation, looking at buying the exact same laptop. I'd MUCH rather build a desktop, but my circumstances require me to be able to travel, so I had to choose a laptop over a desktop. (Which would've kicked soooo much more butt.)

Fortunately I was able to get a steal of a deal on a laptop in the classifieds section. (Basically exactly the same thing with a 1900x1200 resolution, just a few hundred bucks less.)

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We ran into this today, my friend wants one. the display model runs at 1900x1200, but the stickers and tags all say 1440. He wants the 1900x1200 one, obviously.

Cyberpowerpc.com

My buddy works at Best Buy and has told me since their beginning that those Gateway "gaming" laptops aren't very good.

the prices on that website are ridiculous, hence the appeal of the Gateway FX. Either way i was more debating the merrits of using a gaming laptop as a suitable replacement for a full desktop system, i'm not certain i'm convinced it can be done to my liking

Im the buddy that works at Best buy . The gateway laptops aren't TERRIBLE...The gateway name has left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths. If you are just going to be doing some light gaming /WoW/ I'd recommend one of the upper end HPs. Most of them have 256mb HD Radeon 3200's, which should be enough for what you require. TBH though you sound like you want a desktop

i definitely want a desktop, i'm just trying to figure out if i can get away with a laptop as the portability of it would be a huge benefit.

my main concern with downgrading to something like a 256meg card was that i tend to have 2-3 instances of WoW open which can become taxing , that said 4gigs of system memory should be able to handle it. i just tend to do a lot of multitasking (5+ FF windows open, 2 WoW instances running, netflix streaming, etc).

it's likely that i'm going to stick with a desktop though, if the need for a laptop becomes unbarable i'll get one that is not as nice since i'll still have my kickass system at home.

YoMatta said:

i definitely want a desktop, i'm just trying to figure out if i can get away with a laptop as the portability of it would be a huge benefit.

my main concern with downgrading to something like a 256meg card was that i tend to have 2-3 instances of WoW open which can become taxing , that said 4gigs of system memory should be able to handle it. i just tend to do a lot of multitasking (5+ FF windows open, 2 WoW instances running, netflix streaming, etc).

it's likely that i'm going to stick with a desktop though, if the need for a laptop becomes unbarable i'll get one that is not as nice since i'll still have my kickass system at home.

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The Gateway FX would be ideal if it weren't for the display mix up. The manager at the store made it clear it would be the brother of the display model but everything else, from the tag to the website said otherwise. I personally think they're leaving it there as mis-advertising and if that happens I'll go there and make a case, if required, me and my friend can threaten legal action, as that's VERY misleading to advertise a product when they're selling something clearly inferior.

Why not build a custom XPS? ?

My job bought I.T. new laptops last year

My specs

Dell XPS m1530
4 GIGS RAM
Duo Core cpu like 2.2GHZ 4mb cache
DVD Burner
Built in webcamera
wireless/bluetooth
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS -256ram-
320gig sata 7200rpm hdd

I got it on ebay for $1099.00 shipped

Dell Good name,good service laptop has held up like a champ and has played CSS,TF2,L4D,Supreme COmmander

There's a huge difference between the 8600 series and 9800 series, let alone a GS and GTS. If he's getting as a desktop replacement for games, the obvious choice is the 9800 series.

@ OP: I'd still get the laptop if portability is a serious issue. If it's just more of a small matter of convenience, I'd be grabbing a GTX260 + either an E8400 or Phenom II X3 (though I have experience with OC'ing the E8400 on air easily stable @ 4Ghz, so I'd probably get that) + some DDR2 800 CAS4 RAM, MAYBE a raptor (never used one), + the other essential ingredients. (I forgot if you say you'd just be updating or not, in which case it'd be even less money, obviously.)

@ the other person re: Best Buy displaying a model with a different resolution... I read on another forum that people had gone in and they were displaying another (more expensive) model and advertising it as that P-7805u. If the manager or whomever is telling you it's the same model and everything, ask him if you can buy the floor model.

Dj Spiel said:

Why not build a custom XPS? ?

My job bought I.T. new laptops last year

My specs

Dell XPS m1530
4 GIGS RAM
Duo Core cpu like 2.2GHZ 4mb cache
DVD Burner
Built in webcamera
wireless/bluetooth
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS -256ram-
320gig sata 7200rpm hdd

I got it on ebay for $1099.00 shipped

Dell Good name,good service laptop has held up like a champ and has played CSS,TF2,L4D,Supreme COmmander

Click to expand...

YoMatta said:

the prices on that website are ridiculous, hence the appeal of the Gateway FX. Either way i was more debating the merrits of using a gaming laptop as a suitable replacement for a full desktop system, i'm not certain i'm convinced it can be done to my liking

Click to expand...

Hmmm....
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X5-4850_Notebook/

And that's before customization (you have like 100 options to add/subtract which helps modifying the price). All you really have to do is chose one you like, and start working on the price.

mercalf said:

Hmmm....
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X5-4850_Notebook/

And that's before customization (you have like 100 options to add/subtract which helps modifying the price). All you really have to do is chose one you like, and start working on the price.

Click to expand...

I didn't check their other stuff, but I really don't think OP wants to settle with a 9600 series card. He's having issues even with the 9800 series as far as power goes and it's seriously a much, much nicer card. Just glancing at the website, the first notebook I saw with a 9800 card started @ $1600. That Gateway is one of the only notebooks I know of that has a 9800 card and isn't $1600-2000+

I have the older model. I don't know anything about what this guy from Best Buy is saying, but I will tell you that I love mine. Mine has a 512MB 9800M GTS, which is obviously inferior to the card that comes shipped on that. I also paid more than what they're asking for that new FX laptop.

Frankly, I love mine. I play Oblivion at 1920x1200 with pretty high settings. TF2 runs silky smooth. I haven't tried WoW, but I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a problem.

Honestly, at that price, its going to be hard to go wrong with that laptop.

Tumnus said:

I have the older model. I don't know anything about what this guy from Best Buy is saying, but I will tell you that I love mine. Mine has a 512MB 9800M GTS, which is obviously inferior to the card that comes shipped on that. I also paid more than what they're asking for that new FX laptop.

Frankly, I love mine. I play Oblivion at 1920x1200 with pretty high settings. TF2 runs silky smooth. I haven't tried WoW, but I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a problem.

Honestly, at that price, its going to be hard to go wrong with that laptop.

Click to expand...

thanks for this, it's nice to hear from someone who actually has the laptop. I'm thinking that i'm going to try and save to just build a desktop, a desktop with the same $$ thrown into it is pretty ridiculous given i already have the essentials (keyboard, mouse, HD monitor, case, etc).

i'm thinking that if i need a laptop i'll pick this up, as i suppose i can just use the laptop monitor as primary and hook it up to my 19" lcd as secondary.

as stated before, just about anything can run WoW, I'm on a Latitude D620 right now and it can run it (albeit barely), but given that the specs on this laptop are: Intel T2400 @1.83ghz 2gigs memory, with a Mobile Intel 945GM card or summat i'm not terribly concerned with a real laptop handling it.

As far as audio I'm not sure how I would handle using the laptop as primary, may have to just suck it up and deal with it and possibly just grab some nice headphones if i want something that i can turn up a bit.... not sure yet.

thanks again