Gaming Notebooks

Ultimate performance, but ultimate price. Today's top-shelf gaming notebooks deliver dual GPUs and a bevy of other high-end components-and high-end prices to match. If your passion (and for a lucky few, your profession) is gaming, these machines are meant for you.

What Are Gaming Notebooks?

A gaming notebook puts 3D graphics performance above all else. That means a powerful GPU (or two) and top-of-the-line CPU, of course, but also fast memory and hard-drive subsystems. A large LCD with fast response times and good grayscale performance (to better render shadow detail) is also a must, and a good audio system doesn't hurt.

Who Are They For?

Truth be told, the fastest desktop PC will always outpace the fastest laptop when it comes to 3D frame rates. So if you're stationary, get a desktop, but for those who need the convenience of a portable form factor-be it to take to LAN parties or from room to room-several "boutique" PC makers have portables designed just for you. 

What Can You Expect From Gaming Notebooks?

• nVidia SLI or ATI CrossFire dual-GPU setup
• 2GB-4GB 667-MHz RAM
• DirectX 10 compatibility
• Intel Quad Core or AMD Turion 64 CPU
• 17- to 20-inch screen
• Dual hard drives

Simple Buying Tips

• How serious are you? Are you $2,000 worth of serious about your hobby, or $6,000+ serious? That's the price range a good gaming laptop will fall into, with each frame-rate bump costing you another couple hundred dollars.
  
  
• How strong are you? You'll also have to decide how much machine you are willing to carry. You can get a decent-enough single-GPU solution with a 15.4-inch screen that's weighs a still-portable 8 pounds or so, or a dual-everything behemoth with a 20-inch screen that's barely luggable at 16 pounds. 
  
  
• Double down. For ultimate performance, get two of everything: at least a dual-core (and maybe even a desktop-class quad-core) processor, dual-GPU setup, and dual hard drives. A solid-state drive as your primary drive will help speed game play, and you can get a traditional hard drive as the secondary for mass storage.
  
  
• Check the warranty and tech support. There's a lot going on inside these beasts, including (ideally) overclocked components. So make sure your maker stands behind its product. Check online forums to see real-world opinions about a maker's product QA and tech support before you buy.