Ok will do then. Finally, any brands that just suck for games or brands that are usually better to go for? I heard that I shouldn't bother with windows 8 either. Oh and I take it with the laptop cards, the higher number in the series the better, and the same with the psu?

Perhaps something like this?? www.price.com.hk/product.php?p=142416 It's about £400

Yep. Played Dota since the War3 mod times (tried Demigod, LoL, HoN too), and I've only just started actually getting the least bit good at the thing. It's a fascinating game, probably the closest I've seen a game be like an actual team based sport.skrat_01

I agree with that. I started playing dota 2 a few months back, haven't played any other MOBAs, but it really does feel competitive like a real sport. i have even started watching some pro games and have found myself enjoying it, and being impressed by the level of skill involved to be at top level, much in the way that I'd enjoy watching sport. previously though I had never considered watching e-sports. I tried watching a starcraft 2 tournament and found it boring as hell. Dota 2 requires such a high level of team cohesion and split-second decision making that it can be genunely exciting to watch. The only issue is that, due to there being ten separate players, it can be hard to follow, even with the commentators talking at 100mph!

Thanks for all of your help, and sorry, yes, i should clarify what i mean by gaming laptop and what I need the laptop for. Unfortunately I cannot get a desktop; I recently moved to China to teach, and attempted to bring my home desktop but unfortunately it would have taken me too far over my baggage limit so I had to leave it. I can see myself being here for maybe 18 months, so I don't particularly want to buy a desktop when I can't bring it back without spending a lot, and when I already have one at home.

Another reason for wanting a laptop is that it will be useful for my work as i can take it to and from home. But other than that, all I need it for is to play DVDs, as well as Dota 2 and possibly some other games off steam. I'm not planning on playing Battlefield or Crysis or anything. Possibly starcraft 2 if I can swing it. But anyway, all i figured I would really need was a decent processor, 4gb of RAM say, and ideally a discrete graphics card. As I mentioned before, hard drive size doesn't really matter. So at the end of the day, as long as I can be playing Dota 2 with it looking quite nice, then I'll be happy. And the cheaper the better, as I'll be going back to a PC before long anyhow.

I came across this, what do you guys think? Or can I do better? www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3426107/dell-inspiron-15r-5521-review/#zzz

Laptops are supposed to be significantly cheaper in Hong Kong than in the UK, so I'm hoping I can get something even better for cheaper

All I really need it for is to be able to play Dota 2 and have it look reasonably nice, surely there's something about? What about for sub 500?

So I'm going to buy a new laptop in a couple weeks, I really want the best I can get for gaming. Probably looking to spend £300-400, maybe a bit more if it makes a massive difference. I'm getting it from Hong Kong so with any luck it should be quite a bit cheaper. I have a 1TB external hard drive so that's not really an issue. Any tips much appreciated.

Thanks very much mate,  I'll check them out when I get a chance to go across

Dota 2 Minimum System Requirements:     * OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP    * Processor: Pentium 4 3.0GHz    * Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista    * Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with 128 MB, Shader model 2.0. ATI X800, NVidia 6600 or better    * Hard Drive: At least 2.5 GB of free space    * Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound cardDota 2 Recommended System Requirements:    * OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP    * Processor: Intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz    * Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista    * Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with Shader model 3.0. NVidia 7600, ATI X1600 or better    * Hard Drive: At least 2.5 GB of free space    * Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Hi all, 

I know this is a long shot but... basically I have moved to china recently and am in need of a new laptop. Now I know the cheapest place to buy said laptop is next door in Hong Kong,  but unfortunately I have attempted to look at laptops and have been prevented from doing so by Chinese Internet filtering (I think).. so now the question stands: does anybody know the cheapest laptop I can get in  HK that will let me run dota 2? Requirements are as above. I would have liked to put this post in a proper oorder but im typing from a phone and it's mucking me about big time!

Cool ill go with the xfx then, cheers. Buddy if that's your girlfriend I'd like to meet her and steal her off you