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Decommissioning the Enterprise for the Defiant

jake477jake477 Member Posts: 533 Arc User
Well folks their comes a time in every Trekkies life where he goes: i need an upgrade this computer is not getting the job done.

As of late i own a Samsung Series 7 Chronos book which originally was nice before LOR but after....lets say the "new" graphics look HORRIBLE on my laptop.

So i tried updates, graphics helps, etc etc. and now it looks like old VHS graphics and everything is maxed out on her. The computer itself looks nice but you need more than that, it has the looks of the Enterprise A but i need the performance of the Defiant i.e i want to look at my screen see hakeev ozze green blood when he is on screen with no image tearing and such or look like it belongs on my box set of TOS DVD set on Blu-Ray, on my big screen

I looked at Alienware and so far i'm getting mixed reviews yet STO recommends them.

One condition: a Laptop not PC.

What do you guys have in mind, money is not a problem ive waited for this forever to happen since i knew it would.
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Post edited by jake477 on

Comments

  • age03age03 Member Posts: 1,664 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    It is always best to use desk top for gaming.
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  • bumblebushbumblebush Member Posts: 9 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    I no exactly where your coming from! Currently for me im playing on a laptop with graphics i cant complain. But in 7 months ill be getting a brand new computer.
    Was looking around and was thinking of getting another laptop just with the hardware that can handle the newest games.
    But after doing alot of searching and reading, i have come to a conclusion that i am not gunna get a laptop for gaming. just cause there not worth it in the long run.

    Money wont be a problem with me, but pretty sure i wont be getting an Alienware.
    Ill be getting an HP tower, only reason is cause im strongly familiar with HP and are some of the best computers with hardware that will stand up to there name.

    In the end tho, its really not what kind of computer you get its the hardware inside that runs it.
    I already no what ill be looking for.

    8Gigs of ram or more, with quad core, the biggest hard drive, and the best graphics card!
    And from there just be messing around with it and upgrade as much as i can.

    Thats the problem with laptops too, even if everything isnt integrated you wont be able to do anything with besides upgrading memory and or hard drive.

    I would recommend a desktop!




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  • age03age03 Member Posts: 1,664 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    Don't get an HP tower het cunstom built one sort of like these.

    http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc_new/ncixpclist.cfm?categoryid=1011
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Age StarTrek-Gamers Administrator
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  • lucianazetalucianazeta Member Posts: 741 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    For gaming you should always aim to get a desktop.

    They are generally cheaper and have much higher specs.
  • teknesiateknesia Member Posts: 860 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    I'd recommend building your own honestly. The specs that you get on a pre-built sometimes may claim to be the same specs but made with inferior parts. Like when I built this PC for STO, I was looking at a similar build by Best Buy, but the graphics card was inferior. Not by title mind you, but the quality of the graphics card was different in that it didn't hold as much memory as the current one I have.

    It sounds like a lot of work, I know. But I made out like a bandit using New Egg, then bought hibachi for some friends to help me build it, and another friend got me started with a good OS. Best way to go if you want the most bang for your buck.

    Also, unlike a Laptop, desktops can be upgraded.
    edbf9204-c725-4dab-a35a-46626a4cb978.jpg
  • omegaphallicomegaphallic Member Posts: 101 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    I think mobility is likely important to the op otherwise why ask for a laptop suggestion. I suggest doing a search for laptops that are specifically for gaming, but it won't come cheap.
  • jornadojornado Member Posts: 918 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    As has been said - build your own.

    For under $500 almost 6 years ago I built a gaming rig. I can still play STO at 1080 on my plasma, maxed except for shadows and ambient occlusion, and it looks gorgeous.

    You will always, always, always be able to build a faster PC cheaper than boutique sources. The downside is that you are your own support - since most parts actually come with longer guarantees than whole systems, this is only a matter of convenience, not of long term stability.

    Building a PC used to be an art in an of itself, squeezing the most performance out of every part, benchmarking, stress testing, over clocking. Now, most parts are ridiculously overpowered, especially for STO, and the tweaking and experience needed in negligible. Head to newegg, pick out some parts, go to Tom's Hardware and see how they stack up, modify your wish list a bit, purchase, assemble, profit.

    As for parts, I'm still an AMD fanboy, but you can decide, the substantive differences are low - I do recommend getting parts like the motherboard and graphics card and RAM from reputable sources with long warranty periods - OCZ, Crucial, or Corsair for RAM, Asus for just about everything else, strong power supply, case with good cooling (the Antec 900 and 1200 are strong, reasonably priced options).

    A well built custom rig will keep you gaming for years to come with less outlay than a prebuilt.

    Cheers!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    My guess is "hope" keeps people not playing but posting on the forums. For others, its a path of sad realization and closure. Grieving takes time. The worst "haters" here love the game, or did at some point.
  • sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    How much money do you want to spend?

    If you can only spend less than ?1000, an AMD laptop will fit the bill. I myself have an Asus X53Z, which has an AMD APU with integrated graphics. This can play sto quite happily at medium settings, and is handy for when I am on the move/not at home. :D
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  • teknesiateknesia Member Posts: 860 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    jornado wrote: »
    As has been said - build your own.

    For under $500 almost 6 years ago I built a gaming rig. I can still play STO at 1080 on my plasma, maxed except for shadows and ambient occlusion, and it looks gorgeous.

    You will always, always, always be able to build a faster PC cheaper than boutique sources. The downside is that you are your own support - since most parts actually come with longer guarantees than whole systems, this is only a matter of convenience, not of long term stability.

    Building a PC used to be an art in an of itself, squeezing the most performance out of every part, benchmarking, stress testing, over clocking. Now, most parts are ridiculously overpowered, especially for STO, and the tweaking and experience needed in negligible. Head to newegg, pick out some parts, go to Tom's Hardware and see how they stack up, modify your wish list a bit, purchase, assemble, profit.

    As for parts, I'm still an AMD fanboy, but you can decide, the substantive differences are low - I do recommend getting parts like the motherboard and graphics card and RAM from reputable sources with long warranty periods - OCZ, Crucial, or Corsair for RAM, Asus for just about everything else, strong power supply, case with good cooling (the Antec 900 and 1200 are strong, reasonably priced options).

    A well built custom rig will keep you gaming for years to come with less outlay than a prebuilt.

    Cheers!

    Yeap! And the money is pretty much on the dot what I spent. I built this for when STO came out and played ME3 flawlessly when it came out.
    edbf9204-c725-4dab-a35a-46626a4cb978.jpg
  • bohiapbohiap Member Posts: 535
    edited July 2013
    If you have to have a laptop go with someone who's known for building gaming laptops- Alieneware, Falcon-Northwest, Razer. There are a couple of others, but I can't think of the names right now. But, those are the three that I've personally looked at.

    I've been looking to replace my Acer laptop and dreaming about a Falcon-Northwest- until I saw the new Razer Blade Pro.

    Unfortunately I've got bigger problems that need funds first.
  • steamwrightsteamwright Member Posts: 2,820
    edited July 2013
    I repair business computers for a living. Because I'm often asked by non-tech friends what I'd buy, I've in turn often compared notes with my peers about what current laptops they would buy family members. I hear a lot of chatter pro and con about virtually every major manufacturer. I've never heard perfection. One though, keeps coming up in the positive side: Asus.

    I personally haven't sought a gaming laptop recently, but I'm aware that Asus does have them, and that they had at least one award recently: an Editor's Choice over at pcmag.com on July 3. It does state it is not the very best performance, but it is solid, and it does come in roughly $2500 cheaper than the one that they feel does offer the very best.

    Personally, I'm a bit skittish of Dell (Alienware). This is because of a story and lawsuit a few years back. As the story goes, Dell got caught deliberately pumping out defective product at a very high failure rate, and refusing to tell the consumers, going so far as to tell the customers it was their fault. They not only hid the truth, but continued to buy the defective capacitors and produce defective models after discovering the problem. I, myself, working on behalf of several clients, junked dozens of Dell computers whose failed capacitors caused sudden overheating and shutdown/restarts that made the computer unusable. I don't remember all the manufacturing dates, but I'm pretty sure I removed several with more recent dates than named in the article.

    They've apparently tried to shove the story under the proverbial carpet. Maybe they have indeed changed, but such a lack of respect towards the customers for years is a gross mistreatment, and makes me wonder what else they are hiding.
  • jornadojornado Member Posts: 918 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    .

    Personally, I'm a bit skittish of Dell (Alienware). This is because of a story and lawsuit a few years back. As the story goes, Dell got caught deliberately pumping out defective product at a very high failure rate, and refusing to tell the consumers, going so far as to tell the customers it was their fault. They not only hid the truth, but continued to buy the defective capacitors and produce defective models after discovering the problem. I, myself, working on behalf of several clients, junked dozens of Dell computers whose failed capacitors caused sudden overheating and shutdown/restarts that made the computer unusable. I don't remember all the manufacturing dates, but I'm pretty sure I removed several with more recent dates than named in the article.

    .

    HP was caught doing the same thing. At least the HP problem could be fixed by shoving the motherboard, upside down, in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees to reflow the solder in the graphics chip set. If you caught it early enough you could just block the cooling vent and turn the laptop upside down too, but it doesn't make as awesome a story as "I fixed my laptop in the oven..."

    Still, despite there being some decent gaming laptop options out there, I recommend a desktop unless you really need portability.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    My guess is "hope" keeps people not playing but posting on the forums. For others, its a path of sad realization and closure. Grieving takes time. The worst "haters" here love the game, or did at some point.
  • poisonpoison Member Posts: 255 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    Get an Asus 17" can get better specs for less than Alienware. When my Alienware finally died I got the Asus instead.
    jfsig02.png
  • wildmousexwildmousex Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    There is a lot of good advice in this thread over all.. I have been custom building my computers since I was 12, I'm 38 at the end of this month. there was a time where I was building one every 2 years just to stay ahead of the next game coming. - I still to this day don't know why.

    The reason I had for building my own computers was always that I could get far better then what was in the stores, for a lot less - and they would be relevant longer. and that is true, however that extra long life doesn't help if you just keep building new ones over and over.

    My current computer is 4 years old now, cost me $700 including new monitor - and it match's stat for stat with the best HP Desktop that Best Buy carries. I have a AMD Phenom II quad core 3.2 GHZ, 8 Gig Ram, 1 TB HD... They're selling a AMD quad core A8-5500 accelerated processor 3.9GHz, 8 Gig Ram, 1 TB HB for $699. - add in my Radeon HD 5700 Graphics card, which theirs doesn't match, and I'm a happy pappy.

    My computer before that was 5 years old when I replaced it, and the only reason I did that was because my games started requiring multi core processors. I built it specifically to play Unreal Tournament 2K4, and as such I chose to water cool and over clock it.... it has a 2.8 GHZ processor overclocked to around 3.1 - 4 gig ram, and I have another 1TB HD to put into it as I'm repurposing it to store all my DvD's to use as a media server.

    In both cases I saved a butt ton of money by ordering my stuff directly from http://www.newegg.com/?nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-Branding-_-Main-_-Newegg&gclid=CLG6vp6KnbgCFdBaMgodQQ4Alg
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  • genemorphgenemorph Member Posts: 404 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    Well the OP specifically asked for a laptop. There are many reasons why a laptop is preferable, such as available space and mobility.

    I have an Alienware m17x R3 (AMD 6990m graphics card) which is much more power than is need for STO or any MMO I played, as well as the majority of PC games. The latest iteration of this Alienware is the R4 with a AMD 7970m graphics card. The Sager laptops are also considered premium gaming laptops.

    I'm not sure what mixed reports the OP has heard about Alienware, but I'm happy to answer any questions you have about it. I've also owned a clevo (Sagerbook) previously.
  • steamwrightsteamwright Member Posts: 2,820
    edited July 2013
    jornado wrote: »
    HP was caught doing the same thing. At least the HP problem could be fixed by shoving the motherboard, upside down, in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees to reflow the solder in the graphics chip set. If you caught it early enough you could just block the cooling vent and turn the laptop upside down too, but it doesn't make as awesome a story as "I fixed my laptop in the oven..."

    I'd heard HP had some connection to the bad capacitor story, though I'd never watched for it in print. The oven trick I'd never heard of. That's a crazy good tale! :D

    If you've got money to burn, and for some of these I do mean burn, you might want to look into laptops designed for engineers. CAD and other engineering software requires a lot of power and graphics ability, and I've noticed on some I've serviced that they should be able to handle MMOs fairly easily. Some of them are ruggedized too, for field work. Engineering student's laptops will tend to be more affordable, probably under $2,000. The pair I most recently serviced, last year, were ruggedized elites at about $5,000 each :eek: , or so I was told, but they could do almost everything the new engineering desktop PCs could do.
  • jornadojornado Member Posts: 918 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    I'd heard HP had some connection to the bad capacitor story, though I'd never watched for it in print. The oven trick I'd never heard of. That's a crazy good tale! :D

    If you've got money to burn, and for some of these I do mean burn, you might want to look into laptops designed for engineers. CAD and other engineering software requires a lot of power and graphics ability, and I've noticed on some I've serviced that they should be able to handle MMOs fairly easily. Some of them are ruggedized too, for field work. Engineering student's laptops will tend to be more affordable, probably under $2,000. The pair I most recently serviced, last year, were ruggedized elites at about $5,000 each :eek: , or so I was told, but they could do almost everything the new engineering desktop PCs could do.

    Yeah and just now I read the bit he wants laptops only..D'oh.

    Aren't CAD graphics cards like the quadro line etc. unsuitable for gaming due to the APIs they use? Rugged is nice though, I've seen a few that look like they could stop a Mack truck.

    Laptop wise - skip Alienware, try out an Asus or if money really is no object, look at Falcon Northwest as has been said before. Sorry I went so far off topic - need to put more points into reading skills.

    Cheers!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    My guess is "hope" keeps people not playing but posting on the forums. For others, its a path of sad realization and closure. Grieving takes time. The worst "haters" here love the game, or did at some point.
  • steamwrightsteamwright Member Posts: 2,820
    edited July 2013
    jornado wrote: »
    Aren't CAD graphics cards like the quadro line etc. unsuitable for gaming due to the APIs they use? Rugged is nice though, I've seen a few that look like they could stop a Mack truck.

    You could very well be right. I've never actually tested one out with a game, just observed a lot of their stats, and have seen them in action with engineering software. So, it is probably best to check in with the manufacturer for a better understanding of the unit's limitations before a final purchase is made.
  • collegepark2151collegepark2151 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2013
    I just got an Alienware X51 around Christmas when my old Dell died. It's a mini-tower, so while it's not a laptop, it's not as massive as the old Dell that I now use for a end table. Of course, there is no room for expansion without removing components, if you are into that kind of thing. This is my third Dell and I haven't had any trouble with them. My old one would probably still be running if I had kept the inside free of dog hair.
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