Is it worth it?

[Newbie12]

Hi,

This is probably too late to ask this but I like your opinion on this: I've got a laptop that just died right after the warranty finished. My Charger adapter thingy died with it becuase the laptop did not soak up the power... Now the cost is $580 just to fix the laptop and another $70 - $100 for a new charger... My question is, is it worth that much to even bother getting it fixed? I mean, the CD/DVD, HDD, basically everything still works, except the motherboard.

thanks...

 

[The Helper]

No. You should just get another. You can get an awesome NEW Laptop for way less than 600 bucks and have the old one for spare parts. The way laptops are, how they consolidate everything on the motherboard, it is just better to get a new one than try to replace the motherboard unless you know exactly what you are looking for and can do the replacement yourself. My 2 cents.

 

[Newbie12]

...really? hmmm, interesting....the cost of the mother board is $350 and the other bit is for labour.... Is that still a good price is is that a rip off? Even if it is a good price, I have absolutely no idea how to even take out the old motherboard and fit it in with the new one without screwing atleast something up(ie: accidentilty snapping the cover just to pull it apart)...

My next laptop is supposedly a top of the line gaming laptop, but of course that'll take time to even accumulate such a money figure...

Should I just get a simple work/study laptop or wait till I get enough money to buy a top of the line gaming laptop?

 

[x-anubis-x]

Personally, I would stay away from top of line gaming laptops because their battery life usually is pretty terrible, they are overpriced compared to their desktop equivalents, and you can't really upgrade a laptop to keep it top of the line.

 

[Newbie12]

yeah, I wouldn't have a clue on how to fix my laptop's motherboard. You're right, I should just keep those still working parts as spare in case I need it...

Hmmmm, I thought their batteries last atleast about around 12hrs...when I meant top of the line, what I really meant was top of the line gaming laptop at that time. I don't really mind if it is upgradeable or not, aslong as it can play all the games up to the newest ones(at that time) at high or max graphics settings at 60fps or more...Just out of curiosity, how much would a top of line current gaming laptop cost?

 

[Slapshot136]

the "is it worth fixing" if it costs 600, is really kind of a unanswerable question, as we have no idea what your current laptop is - if it was bought over a year ago for less then 800, then yes, it's not worth fixing - but if it was an expensive/high-end laptop that would still cost over 1000 to buy new today, maybe - were you satisfied with it? size/keyboard/etc. ?

P.S. - I would say about 2000 for a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, anything beyond that goes past the point of reason...

 

[x-anubis-x]

Yeah, I would say between $1600-$2000 for one is about right. Alienware offers their gaming laptops between those prices so I would think that is a good estimate since they are generally on the upper side of price ranges. I would search around on newegg and see what prices they have for laptops with similar components. As for the 12hr battery life, I've never heard of that. From my experience with laptops you are lucky to get 4-6hrs when doing simple word processing or internet browsing. I'm guessing that you would get around 2hrs while gaming, if that. I might be wrong though, I've never used or even messed around with a specifically gaming laptop.

 

[Wargasm]

they only give 1 year of warranty in the USA?? bleh

 

[JerseyFoo]

Word of advice; wait for the A8-based laptops which should be shipping as early as this month.

Half the power-consumption of sandy bridge with twice the gaming performance. Likely inexpensive.

 

[Newbie12]

the "is it worth fixing" if it costs 600, is really kind of a unanswerable question, as we have no idea what your current laptop is - if it was bought over a year ago for less then 800, then yes, it's not worth fixing - but if it was an expensive/high-end laptop that would still cost over 1000 to buy new today, maybe - were you satisfied with it? size/keyboard/etc. ?

P.S. - I would say about 2000 for a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, anything beyond that goes past the point of reason...

When I got it, it costed about $1000... That was about 3 yrs ago... It's probably like an average-ish laptop. It was the Asus F3Q series, is that good?

So anything beyond the $2000 mark, it's a rip off even if it could have a chance to compare with a top of the line gaming desktop computer?

As for the 12hr battery life, I've never heard of that. From my experience with laptops you are lucky to get 4-6hrs when doing simple word processing or internet browsing. I'm guessing that you would get around 2hrs while gaming, if that. I might be wrong though, I've never used or even messed around with a specifically gaming laptop.

Really? What about gaming laptops with those longer lasting batteries like that 6 cell [Lithium or something like that(I forgot, it's one of the long lasting...)]?

they only give 1 year of warranty in the USA?? bleh

Where'd that come from?

Word of advice; wait for the A8-based laptops which should be shipping as early as this month.

Half the power-consumption of sandy bridge with twice the gaming performance. Likely inexpensive.

..interesting...

 

[x-anubis-x]

I didn't really look too long, but I found a couple reviews on the battery life for the Alienware M14x which is $2000 (if you customize it) and the consensus is around 3.5hrs which I think is really good for the amount of power the laptop provides. I feel this time will only decrease with the larger screen sizes and more powerful systems.

How come you don't want to get a desktop? You could easily save a few hundred dollars and get an equal (if not better system). You will also save money in the long run since if the motherboard dies again right after warranty (happened to me a while back....it sucks doesnt it?) then it will only be $100-200 for the new motherboard and you could do it yourself pretty easily, assuming that you diagnosed the problem properly. You also have the ability to upgrade each individual component one at a time to keep your system top of the line instead of having to buy a whole new computer.

Word of advice; wait for the A8-based laptops which should be shipping as early as this month.

Half the power-consumption of sandy bridge with twice the gaming performance. Likely inexpensive.

Twice the power as the i7-2600k? I'm not sure I quite believe that. Source?

 

[Slapshot136]

at $1000 3 years ago, it probably is worth close to $600 now, thus I would say don't repair it and scrap it - if you can salvage the hard drive/memory from it, maybe just go with a bare-bones and put what you do have into it

 

[Newbie12]

I didn't really look too long, but I found a couple reviews on the battery life for the Alienware M14x which is $2000 (if you customize it) and the consensus is around 3.5hrs which I think is really good for the amount of power the laptop provides. I feel this time will only decrease with the larger screen sizes and more powerful systems.

Is there a gaming laptop with about a screen size of 15 inches or 17? I don't really want it any bigger than that as it probably won't fit in my bag... If so, the battery will last longer, right?

How come you don't want to get a desktop? You could easily save a few hundred dollars and get an equal (if not better system). You will also save money in the long run since if the motherboard dies again right after warranty (happened to me a while back....it sucks doesnt it?) then it will only be $100-200 for the new motherboard and you could do it yourself pretty easily, assuming that you diagnosed the problem properly. You also have the ability to upgrade each individual component one at a time to keep your system top of the line instead of having to buy a whole new computer.

...yes,:thup: that's all true, but I'd like a very easy mobile gaming system and i thought of a gaming laptop! Isn't it easier to bring with you than your entire desktop gaming system? It's much easier! Besides, I can fit in my bag, if it's 15 inches - the screen, whereas a desktop wouldn't fit in my bag!

So anything beyond the $2000 mark, it's a rip off even if it could have a chance to compare with a top of the line gaming desktop computer?

?

 

[x-anubis-x]

Ah ok, that makes more sense. For me I never take my laptop anywhere so I might as well as get a desktop .

Ya, there's a lot that would fit in the 14" to 17" range. The M14x I talked about above is a 14" screen. On the website it boasts a 6hr battery life, but I don't know if thats the life of the battery under full load or simply browsing the internet and what not. Also, make sure to look around on newegg and amazon and see if you can find other laptops. Generally, alienware is a little pricier than the rest, but they do make quality products. Maybe take a look at asus too. I honestly can't think of any other big gaming names at the moment lol.

As for the $2000 mark, I'm not entirely sure if it would be a rip off or not. It would definitely be one beastly machine, but I dont know if you would really get that much performance boost for the most expensive parts. I would wait and see if someone who knows more about this than I do to give their two cents.

 

[UndeadDragon]

As you said, if you want to game and you do not ever take your laptop anywhere, then there is really not much reason to use a laptop for gaming.

Desktops are much better suited to it and usually at a much more reasonable price.

 

[Slapshot136]

So anything beyond the $2000 mark, it's a rip off even if it could have a chance to compare with a top of the line gaming desktop computer?

your deluding yourself there - a top-of-the-line laptop from today would be similar to a top-of-the-line desktop from.. 2-3 years ago if not more

the only thing that might be worth spending more then 2000 for was if it had a huge SSD (like 256+ gb), but that would have next to no impact on gaming performance, more on battery life/boot time

at $2000, I expect dual high-end graphic cards (2nd digit being a 8 or a 9), 4+ gb ram, and an i7 processor as the minimum

 

[Newbie12]

Ya, there's a lot that would fit in the 14" to 17" range. The M14x I talked about above is a 14" screen. On the website it boasts a 6hr battery life, but I don't know if thats the life of the battery under full load or simply browsing the internet and what not. Also, make sure to look around on newegg and amazon and see if you can find other laptops. Generally, alienware is a little pricier than the rest, but they do make quality products. Maybe take a look at asus too. I honestly can't think of any other big gaming names at the moment lol.

yeah, so if I picked up some gamin laptop with a 15" screen, the battery will last a lot longer than a 17" or bigger screened gaming laptop, right? I'm quite sure, that's right... unless this screen is energy efficient....correct me if I'm wrong.

your deluding yourself there - a top-of-the-line laptop from today would be similar to a top-of-the-line desktop from.. 2-3 years ago if not more

Really? I thought laptops now, should be able to fit like a high end graphics card like a gtx 295 in it, actual size too! But then the laptop would be pretty bulky...or maybe a shrinked up gtx 295 with still the exact same performance...

the only thing that might be worth spending more then 2000 for was if it had a huge SSD (like 256+ gb), but that would have next to no impact on gaming performance, more on battery life/boot time

Ah yes, but considering that it is, wouldn't it be? I mean, apparently, any HHDs(at any RPM range), when compared to any SSDs is like nothing... games would load much faster and you'll get a quicker response, right? but in saying that, I guess it would use quite a lot more power than a normal HDD...

at $2000, I expect dual high-end graphic cards (2nd digit being a 8 or a 9), 4+ gb ram, and an i7 processor as the minimum

Oh, I wonder how bulky that laptop would be, consider that it has 2 high end graphics cards in SLI mode...

 

[Slapshot136]

Oh, I wonder how bulky that laptop would be, consider that it has 2 high end graphics cards in SLI mode...

it would be a 17" laptop that is about 1" thick and weights about 10 pounds

no laptops use desktop GPU's, laptops simply can't run them due to power issues - most gaming laptops consume about 130 watts max, while a high-end gaming desktop will consume something like 800 watts - now lets assume that it's plugged in and power isn't an issue, then it becomes heat - if it consumes that much power, it would get hot to the point where it burns you in minutes, and it simply would be unable to cool itself

games would load faster, true, but when do games actually load? it's before the actual gameplay, therefore the SSD has no impact on frames per second or any of that other stuff

laptop graphic cards are much smaller then desktop ones, they are closer to a desktop hard drive in size

the screen size dosen't matter much in regards to battery life as larger laptops usually also have larger batteries.. however the higher the laptops performance, the lower the battery life (at something that taxes the laptop), if you compare the battery life of 2 laptops doing somthing minimal (i.e. web browsing, watching a movie, etc.) and one is a low-end model running at say 80%, it will consume the same power as a high-end of the same model running at say 30%

 

[Newbie12]

it would be a 17" laptop that is about 1" thick and weights about 10 pounds

I can take that.

no laptops use desktop GPU's, laptops simply can't run them due to power issues - most gaming laptops consume about 130 watts max, while a high-end gaming desktop will consume something like 800 watts - now lets assume that it's plugged in and power isn't an issue, then it becomes heat - if it consumes that much power, it would get hot to the point where it burns you in minutes, and it simply would be unable to cool itself

Oh, okay.

games would load faster, true, but when do games actually load? it's before the actual gameplay, therefore the SSD has no impact on frames per second or any of that other stuff

I see...:thup:

laptop graphic cards are much smaller then desktop ones, they are closer to a desktop hard drive in size

They are? hmmm, interesting - I had no idea.

the screen size dosen't matter much in regards to battery life as larger laptops usually also have larger batteries.. however the higher the laptops performance, the lower the battery life (at something that taxes the laptop), if you compare the battery life of 2 laptops doing somthing minimal (i.e. web browsing, watching a movie, etc.) and one is a low-end model running at say 80%, it will consume the same power as a high-end of the same model running at say 30%

Oh. Sure, I understand.

However, overall, a top of the line gaming laptop now at $2000 is still pretty good considering the fact it's probably equivalent to a 2+ yrs old top of the line gaming desktop computer(good ol' 200 series).... Well, if it will perform better than my desktop computer, I'd take it for $2000 so long as it lasts longer than 3 yrs...

 

[Newbie12]

Hi, just out of your opinion guys, how would this suffice: http://www.asusnotebook.com.au/2337...tebook-Intel-Core-i7-740QM-with-Win-7-Hom.php, http://www.asus.com.au/Notebooks/Gaming_Powerhouse/G53Jw/#overview as a gaming laptop, maybe just a couple $$$ above the $2000 mark?