Looking for a laptop not advertised or looks like gaming laptop but can game.

[crystal6tak]

So my friend is getting a new laptop. A big problem is that his dad would not get him any laptop that is advertised or looks like gaming laptop. The budget is around $800+/-  So yea, any suggestion?

 

Criteria needed to be met:

-Not advertised as gaming laptop (Ex: In store the clerk won't say the laptop is designed for gaming)

-Does not look like gaming laptop (Ex: Stripes, backlit keyboard, etc)

-Not a gaming series laptop (Ex: MSI GT Series)

-Around $800 (Budget can be stretched)

-GPU has to handle modern games at 60+ fps. Settings can be lowest everything. (Modern games includes battlefield 3, crysis 3, possibly battlefield 4, etc)

 

I can add any further information if necessary!

[Cacao]

So you want a gaming laptop that isn't a gaming laptop? wat? stahp!

 

It'll be hard to find a gaming laptop on that budget, not to mention one that doesn't look like a gaming laptop :D

 

May I ask why his dad doesn't want a gaming laptop that doesn't look like a gaming laptop?

[defunkt]

Seems a bit silly, not all gaming laptops are overpriced if that's what he thinks.

[crystal6tak]

So you want a gaming laptop that isn't a gaming laptop? wat? stahp!

 

It'll be hard to find a gaming laptop on that budget, not to mention one that doesn't look like a gaming laptop :D

 

May I ask why his dad doesn't want a gaming laptop that doesn't look like a gaming laptop?

A laptop that sneakily is a gaming laptop!  :D And his dad is a bit weird. He's sort of a apple fanboy and it took us (My friends and I) a while to allow him to get a windows laptop. His dad just somehow hates gaming laptops like a lot. The budget can be stretched. His dad just wants the budget to be around $800 but it can be stretched to $1000 if there's enough reasons and stuff.

[Cacao]

I looked around a bit, I doubt it's going to happen. The best I could find was a sony vaio with a gt 735m, other than that you'll pretty much only get integrated graphics for that price. 

 

If you plan on buying it in an actual retail store, you have 0 chance. Sorry...

[Coombzy]

Yeah most that can game ok are branded or retailed as gaming laptops heck I believe most here with any kind of gpu besides integrated say designed for gaming in mind or something like that :3 

[gts250ftw]

get a mac and buy one of those thunderbolt external pcie things...and put in a videocard..xD idk if its out yet lolz...

but why not build a desktop tho?

[Raptus]

Here in Norway we have a site called "Multicom" that makes sleek looking laptops with beast gaming performance while looking quite "normal". Well almost. The problem is that if you want to game at 60+fps on a laptop the cooling has to be freaking awesome to cool the thing. That's why gaming laptops exist, because people who game want and need big coolers. You're budget is also quite small when looking for a powerful laptop. 

[crystal6tak]

Here in Norway we have a site called "Multicom" that makes sleek looking laptops with beast gaming performance while looking quite "normal". Well almost. The problem is that if you want to game at 60+fps on a laptop the cooling has to be freaking awesome to cool the thing. That's why gaming laptops exist, because people who game want and need big coolers. You're budget is also quite small when looking for a powerful laptop. 

It doesn't have to be super powerful. It just has to handle the game mentioned on lowest possible settings with 60+ fps.

[crystal6tak]

get a mac and buy one of those thunderbolt external pcie things...and put in a videocard..xD idk if its out yet lolz...

but why not build a desktop tho?

The reason his dad is buying him a new computer is for school. So it has to be laptop.

[CornOnJacob]

So my friend is getting a new laptop. A big problem is that his dad would not get him any laptop that is advertised or looks like gaming laptop. The budget is around $800+/-  So yea, any suggestion?

 

Criteria needed to be met:

-Not advertised as gaming laptop (Ex: In store the clerk won't say the laptop is designed for gaming)

-Does not look like gaming laptop (Ex: Stripes, backlit keyboard, etc)

-Not a gaming series laptop (Ex: MSI GT Series)

-Around $800 (Budget can be stretched)

-GPU has to handle modern games at 60+ fps. Settings can be lowest everything. (Modern games includes battlefield 3, crysis 3, possibly battlefield 4, etc)

 

I can add any further information if necessary!

I would look at Sager laptop online (XoticPC has some good deals). They have a very plain aesthetic with good components.

[TheRetiredSlave]

Have you looked at the Lenovo Y410p? It's made primarily as a decent multimedia laptop, but it has enough GPU power to play modern games on decent settings. The GT 750M isn't a top-end card by any stretch of the imagination, but it should run everything pretty well.. The problem with your criteria is that most people who want a top-end gaming laptop want it to look like a top-end gaming laptop, and they also wind up being quite a bit more than $800.

 

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y410p/index.html

[Zappy]

Have you looked at the Lenovo Y410p? It's made primarily as a decent multimedia laptop, but it has enough GPU power to play modern games on decent settings. The GT 750M isn't a top-end card by any stretch of the imagination, but it should run everything pretty well.. The problem with your criteria is that most people who want a top-end gaming laptop want it to look like a top-end gaming laptop, and they also wind up being quite a bit more than $800.

 

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y410p/index.html

Seconded, also the Y510p is worth a look too.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

[rashdanml]

Other options besides the 410/510p: Lenovo T series. These come with HD4000 integrated graphics, which is more than capable of running a good number of games at low settings at 720p. Not made for gaming, but I'd consider that decent. Unless you want to play at medium-high settings, they're a good choice. Not too pricey either with a couple of modifications to the configuration.

[EternalSpectrum]

Find out the type of graphics card you want, then look around for laptops with that graphics card that aren't labelled "gaming laptop" and don't look all fancy.

[Zappy]

Other options besides the 410/510p: Lenovo T series. These come with HD4000 integrated graphics, which is more than capable of running a good number of games at low settings at 720p. Not made for gaming, but I'd consider that decent. Unless you want to play at medium-high settings, they're a good choice. Not too pricey either with a couple of modifications to the configuration.

I wouldn't expect much from the HD 4000 series, even at low everything and below 720p Battlefield 3 runs at around 26fps...

[TheRetiredSlave]

If you're looking to play modern games at high FPS (and on decent settings), an integrated GPU (from Intel or AMD) is not a good solution. AMD's IGPUs are often more powerful than Intel's, but neither of them would compare to a GT 750M in the Y410p. 

 

If his dad thinks that a backlit keyboard makes it a "gaming" laptop, he needs to get his head out of his *** (sorry if saying that offends anyone). Backlit keyboards are better for productivity in low-light scenarios, such as if you need to type an essay when your college roommate is already in bed with the lights off (if you're sharing a room)..

 

Is he worried that someone is going to see that the laptop is a "gaming" laptop, and someone would try to steal it? When I was at college this past year, nearly everyone was using Macbooks, which are all a lot more expensive than an $800 Lenovo.. Nobody is going to even think about stealing an $800 Lenovo when it's surrounded by a ton of $1-2K Macbooks. I had my Alienware M17x at college, and the only time anyone looked at it was to question what it was ("Something other than an MBP? How novel!").. When you're keeping your laptop in your room, slap a kensington lock on it; when you carry it around with you, keep your eye on it.

 

Did some of the replies to this thread get deleted with the server issues that happened earlier today?? I seem to remember there being a few more responses..

[CornOnJacob]

I would recommend this Sager NP2650. It is marketed as a multifunctional laptop (besides Connor being in the main picture). You could upgrade the TIM and get 8GB of RAM for about $830.

 

If you only show your friend's dad the configuration page, he won't even know about the gaming aspect of it.

[NannerBeans]

This Sony VAIO F series will get you pretty close to what you want but still not as powerful as you would like. A 740M can run BF3 at about 40 fps on low. It is the closest thing i could find. 

 

Laptop: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834126035

 

740M benchmarks: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-740M.89900.0.html