I always thought laptop coolers were a scam, but after going through the issues with my wife's laptop that I linked, I'm sold. Passive air coolers, which are basically a stand for your laptop that allows the laptop's built-in fans (which are on the bottom of the laptop) to do their job, will also work great. Not sure what idiot decided to put cooling vents on the bottom of something called a laptop.

Anyway, it doesn't matter if it's a "gaming" laptop so much as how much you tax the hardware. If you're running 3D applications - even older ones - it's going to cause your electronics to work harder than they will with spreadsheets and Word. In fact, low-cost laptops designed for basic desktop apps are at greater risk of overheating than powerful gaming laptops which have additional cooling devices built-in, such as heat pipes and added fans.

Boz

Depending on your model it is sometimes possible to upgrade your graphics card if you have a dedicated graphics card in your laptop. However, it is almost always prohibitively expensive, since most cards are modified to fit the particular design of the laptop.

*Edit* This is more suited to the PC Hardware Discussion forum. You'll get more appropriate feedback there. ;)

Boz

2.0 or 2.1? If you want some heavy bass a 2.1 would be the best bet, but you'll sacrifice some performance in the mid-high.

2.1 set for $157:

Dayton B-652Speakers + Dayton T-Amp - $58

Dayton SUB-80 - $99

or

2.0 set for $155

Swan D1010MKII 08

NVIDIATI

Personally I'd go with the Dayton setup. Note that in all of these cases, though, you will need to purchase wiring. Make sure you are using the correct cables; you can pretty much get anything you need from Parts Express at a good price.

Happy gaming!

Boz

In that case your options are, in my mind:

ASUS K52JT (Unable to link, $800)
Samsung Q430 (Unable to link, $600)

Both have strong reviews and are the best available options given your constraints. Both will be notable upgrades over your current hardware. Do yourself a favor, though, and increase the longevity of your laptop by buying a cooler (Examples, fits the recommendations, above). It would've saved my wife's laptop had we had one.

Enjoy your new laptop!

Boz

Why not start a World of Warcraft Trial Account if you're not sure?

Really, though, I think this question is a no-brainer. To quote Cartman, "Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you!"

When you do try it out, just be sure to select your server/realm carefully.

Happy gaming,

Boz

[QUOTE="Ozmodiar1"]

All games are art, just as all paintings are. It's just a matter of whether it's good art or not.

nethernova

I'm not sure Marcel Duchamp or Andy Warhol would agree with you; I certainly do not. All video games are art to some degree. Art is simply an expression of human creativity. They may say something, they may say nothing, but video games are all creative works given form.

Boz

Subwoofer Placement Guide (Audioholics)

Speaker Placement Guide (Crutchfield)

Enjoy your new speakers!

Boz

The Sony headphones are better, but in that price range you'd be better off with the Sennheiser HD 201 or Koss UR 20. If you can pony-up a few more dollars, you'll get noticable improvement from the Sennheiser HD 202 MK II. After that the price nearly doubles for something notably better.

Happy gaming,

Boz

So I am for sure getting a laptop, and I am for sure buying it from Costco, and I won't consider buying one from anywhere else.

arkephonic