What Does the Term
Gaming Laptop Actually Mean?

And this is the way it is, or it should be, but just because a company labels a laptop a gaming machine it does not necessarily mean it is one, after all a Porsche badge on a VW does not make it a super car, the same goes for some so called gaming laptops.

Labelling a laptop a gaming machine means manufacturers or retailers can charge more for it as the spec needs to be that much higher

So how can we tell if a laptop is a gaming computer?
It’s simple we just look at its hardware specifications, in addition to the term game laptop.



Graphics
Dedicated graphics memory, remember that term, many laptops come with shared graphics memory, this may be fine for general laptop use, but if your in the market for a hardcore games laptop it has to be dedicated memory and a minimum of 256mb. As if things were not bad enough sharing graphics memory with system memory, normal laptop ram is slow compared dedicated video ram. More on laptop graphics..

Screen / display
Playing games on small screens just does not work, it may be ok playing for short periods of time, but once you’ve experienced the joy of playing on large screens you really don’t want to be going back, this is why many gaming laptops come with 17 inch screens, although this is not a major thing, many laptops have extra video ports so we can plug in an external monitor, but again this can be another expense, especially if you only purchase a 17 inch external screen.

RAM
as a simple rule of thumb the more the better up to 3.5gb of ram, any more than this and windows 32bit does not utilize it properly, so if you see a so called games laptop with less than 2gb I’d be sceptical, and if you have to upgrade you’ll probably have to discard ram to make way for the upgrade as most laptops have only 2 ram ports.

Processors
The heart of any computer, at present the most extreme processors are the dual cores, from Intel we have the Core 2 Duo and from AMD we have the Turion 64 x2, and the Athlon 64 x2, any of these are good processors and will do a good job, just make sure it’s the faster of it’s type as there is a broad range of speed to choose from.
Come summer, any time now we’ll see the first laptops arriving with Quad core processors, this is a major performance boost over even the fastest of the Dual core types, so if you’ve got the cash and can wait a few months this will be the choice.

Networking capabilities
Having a slow cable or Wifi connection can make buying a decent gaming machine a complete waste of money, like any computer it can only ever be as fast as the slowest part being used, and in this case it will normally be the Wifi connection so use a cabled connection if possible, otherwise make sure the Wifi connection is at least 802.11g also make sure the signal is excellent more here..

For your custom gaming laptop
Read more about other components and how to get the standard or gaming laptop that's right for you needs

Video Output
Even if you have a laptop with a 17” screen many people want more, getting a larger external screen means you can use XP or Vista dual screen capabilities, if possible make sure it has a digital DVI output rather than a analogue VGA type, this make the image that little bit shaper and makes all the difference when you can have all the special gaming effects switched on.

Notes
A gaming laptop will cost more than a standard laptop, but you are getting a much more powerful computer, and a computer which is more powerful than most desktop computers.
If your looking for a cheap gaming laptop don’t pay too much attention to the brand name, if you purchase a expensive brand name or a lesser know you’ll save $$$ for a computer with an equivalent or a even better specification.
One thing many people don’t realise is take away the case and many laptop manufacturers use the same components.

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