Which laptop is worth buying? What to consider when buying a laptop. Required discrete graphics card

In this article we will look at how best to choose gaming laptop, having mediocre knowledge in the field of computer technology. Many consumers who do not know well the principles of computer operation think that for games the main thing is a powerful video card to process the image and output sweets to the monitor, but no, there must be a balance in everything, and the computer is no exception. The game will lag terribly if you select and configure the settings of your computer incorrectly.

Below we will discuss not only what parameters of the video card, processor, and RAM are needed for an enjoyable game, but also the memory storage parameters.
And we'll start with the processor! The main function of the processor is processing processes caused by us, as well as those programmed by the game publisher. There are several companies producing processors, and we will consider 2 options - “budget” and “expensive”.

Rating of the best gaming laptops 2017

If you just want to choose a laptop without going into technical details, we have prepared a list of the top gaming laptops of 2017 based on the popularity of users' choice. But we still recommend studying the article in full to form your own understanding of the characteristics and make an informed choice based on them.

What to look for when choosing an inexpensive gaming laptop

The budget option is processors from AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.), and more expensive (but much higher quality) processors from Intel.


I’ll immediately make a reservation that if you take an Intel processor that is weaker in description, then its real power will be identical to a more powerful in description, but equal in price, AMD processor, but at the same time, the durability of Intel processors is greater than that of their competitors. Personally, I recommend a computer layout with Intel series processors, but if you wish, you can choose AMD processors in the same price category.

The importance of a video card for a gaming laptop

Second on the list, but not least important, is the video card. Again, there are two options, with their pros and cons: a budget ATI/AMD video card and a more expensive nVidia.


There has already been a comparison of video cards with approximately the same parameters (“field testing” of nVidia and AMD cards), and based on the results we conclude that it is better to choose game card ATI/AMD company, because the price is lower and the results are identical.

What kind of RAM should a gaming laptop have?

I’ll talk briefly about RAM. The type of RAM depends not on us, but on the motherboard, and almost all of them already have a slot for DDR3, so we only need to select the amount of our RAM. It must be selected taking into account the power of the processor and video card, because if there is not enough RAM, the computer will not cope with a large flow of tasks, and if there is more than necessary, then it will end up downtime, which is not so critical for the computer, but spending a few extra thousand will not make sense.
The fourth parameter appeared quite recently, in connection with the development of technology, a new type of data storage has appeared as a possible replacement for the old “hard drive” (HDD) - SSD. You may now be thinking, “What does data storage have to do with game performance?” The fact is that the game, while using it, constantly reads and writes data to HDD, accordingly, the faster this process takes place, the better.

Choose laptops with SSD drives

Old drives, hard drives, use a magnetic type for data storage, and new, solid-state (SSD) drives use flash memory for the same purposes, and are, in essence, large flash drives.


This point gives a big advantage in data reading speed and I recommend taking solid-state drives at least as additional storage, despite their high cost.
Now that you have some idea of ​​the functions of computer elements, it remains to understand how to correctly assemble what parameters of a video card, processor and RAM we, as gamers, need.

Hint: for games, a processor with 2-4 cores is enough for us; multi-cores are needed to perform many tasks (programs) simultaneously, so for most games two cores with a suitable clock frequency are enough. Below are the most balanced layout options.

Typical configurations of gaming laptops depending on budget

A budget option Affordable Powerful

(Average performance indicators) up to 50,000 rubles:
Processor: 2 cores at 2.3 GHz - Intel; 4 cores 1.8 GHz - AMD.
Video card: 1 GB.
RAM: DDR3 - 4 GB.
SSD+HDD storage: 128GB+512GB is enough for a gamer to install games/OS on an SSD drive to improve computer performance in games, and programs and others on the hard drive

(Indicators above average) up to 75,000 rubles:
Processor: 4 cores x 2.1 - Intel.
Video card: 2 GB.
RAM: DDR3 - 10 GB (2 chips: 6GB and 4GB).
SSD+HDD storage: 256GB+512GB.

(highest rates) up to 120,000 rubles:

Processor: 4 core 3.4 GHz - Intel.
Video card: 4 GB - quite enough for most games, the main thing is to take one of the newly created ones, they have a higher frame rate.
RAM: DDR3 - 16 GB.
SDD storage: 1024GB.

So, I hope we have helped you get your bearings and you roughly understand what kind of laptop you need and how much money you will need for it. Happy shopping and good luck with your gaming.

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“How to choose the right laptop?” - a question that is natural when there is a desire to buy a modern functional device. To make a successful choice, the buyer needs to decide in advance on the monitor parameters, the weight of the model, and the battery characteristics. The choice of disk is no less important - it can be either ssd or hdd.

To decide how to choose a good laptop, you need to start with the most important parameter – the weight of the device you are purchasing. The importance of this particular characteristic is due to the fact that the device must always be with the owner.

When deciding how to choose a gaming laptop for stationary use, the issue of weight becomes secondary. However, most often this device is purchased as a portable one, so it is recommended to pay special attention to this characteristic.

When wondering how to choose a laptop for your home, you should keep in mind that the vast majority of models weigh between 2-2.7 kg.

There is such a pattern that the larger the diagonal of the laptop, the more significant its weight characteristics. If you need to choose a laptop based on parameters, then you have to choose a diagonal within the range of 8-24 inches.

Currently, the versions with a diagonal of 15-17 inches are in greatest demand. Its popularity is due to its successful combination of portability and impressive performance. They are also distinguished by a high level of image quality, in most cases HD.

What is screen, aka display, monitor or screen?

Weighing all the arguments necessary to decide the question of how to choose a laptop for work, consumers sooner or later come to the understanding that this component of the device must be perceived as a set of different parameters. Of these, the leading one is the monitor resolution (based on the physical size of the sides of the display in pixels).

Standard option: 1024x768. Important information is also an indication of the ratio of pixels vertically and horizontally. Common options:

When deciding how to choose a laptop for gaming, it is important to know that the vast majority of all manufactured devices have widescreen monitors. This version is ideal both for multimedia entertainment and for working with various graphic applications, as the review shows.

A laptop can be characterized by one of the following two types of screen:

• matte;
• glossy.

And here again it is worth turning to the data that the review reflects. A laptop with a monitor of the first type will be perfectly protected from glare. However, the same basic overview provides more detailed information.

The laptop will provide a higher quality and natural picture with a second type display. The choice of diagonal is entirely determined by the formulation of the key task of the consumer.

The same review will provide further assistance in choosing. A laptop purchased for stationary work is a model from 17 inches. Mobile model must have a diagonal of 15.

RAM, or random access memory

Get necessary information about this characteristic will also help detailed review. A laptop in the modern version must have a minimum capacity of 512MB. There is no point in saving on this parameter, which is as important as the card.

After all, it is he who completely determines the speed of solving everyday problems. As the review shows, a laptop with a memory capacity of 2Gb will provide the user with the expected activity. These requirements can be presented to Asus, etc.

In the information provided by the review, a laptop with a 32-bit operating system, due to architectural specifics, cannot see memory exceeding 3Gb. At the same time, 64-bit operating systems cope with the task without any problems.

When collecting information on how to choose a laptop for a designer, you need to pay some attention to the type of memory. In this regard, it is worth emphasizing that DDR3 is 2 times faster than DDR2.

When wondering how to choose a laptop for school, you need to pay attention to the features of disk space. The same topic is relevant for solving the problem of how to choose the right gaming laptop.

In any case, find the device, dimensions hard drive which vary between 120-500 Gb, is currently realistic. And at the same time, if necessary, you can easily increase the capacity of your hard drive without resorting to the help of specialists.

So, when navigating through the various information on how to choose a laptop, you need to know that disks come in two varieties:

• classic HDD hard drives;
• developments using diskless SSD technology.

When thinking about what is better to buy - or what laptop to choose to solve your problems - you need to take into account that, using old HDD drives, on a laptop you can store a large amount of music and photos, movies and much more.

A 17-inch laptop can be used as a thin client; you can choose SSD drives for Internet surfing, mail and office.

Regardless of the results of solving the problem of which processor to choose a laptop with, you need to remember the advantages of SSD over HDD. The first category has greater lightness, less energy consumption, and much less criticality to mechanical damage.

And their most important advantage: impressive speed! There is only one downside to devices in this series: the price characteristic. It is this that sometimes forces you to start studying the topic of how to choose a used laptop. Price SSD drive 120GB around $150.

And again, a review will help: the Asus k501ux laptop and other similar models have the following types of battery, which determines the battery life:

• lithium-ion;
• lithium polymer.

The price to a certain extent reflects 2.5 hours battery life, which is generally recognized as an excellent characteristic. However, not all models can boast of such resources.

The price is also influenced by the following factor: manufacturing companies supply the market with batteries with increased capacity, which is achieved extensively, that is, by increasing the number of cells in the device. With this approach, there is an increase in the weight and size of the battery, which, when expanded, does not fit within the laptop.

Features and importance of the processor

A laptop for home use is purchased with maximum attention to the processor, which is responsible for the performance of the device as a whole. Currently, experts are approaching the division of this component into two subspecies conditionally: those that have power and those that do not.

When thinking about which laptop is better, you need to keep in mind that Celeron and AMD Turion have affordable price characteristics. They also cope excellently with standard tasks of processing text documents.

However, if there is a need for powerful model, it is better to choose Intel or AMD brands. Currently, these are the models that are in demand. Of these, dual-core processors are preferable, which are clearly superior to single-core designs.

Periphery – what is it and how to evaluate it?

According to data from 2017 and the previous period, the attention of consumers and potential buyers is increasingly focused on the features of additional equipment. The latter can be a 3G modem or Wi-fi card. Reviews from successful device owners in 2017 confirm that you need to think about purchasing these products in advance.

The reason for such consideration when purchasing a device for work and school is that not all models available for sale have free space for the standard installation of additional accessories.

In an effort to successfully solve the question of how to choose an inexpensive device, it is necessary to take into account the following factor: a device with a large body will have more free space. There is also a high degree of probability that space was provided under the cover for an additional connector.

Intending to purchase an inexpensive laptop, the buyer at the same time places rather strict requirements on it.

In this situation, you should listen to the recommendations of experts: one of the important properties of a laptop is its mobility!

And based on this postulate, it is better to abandon the built-in DVD. The “sacrifice” will fully pay off: in this case, you will be able to save on both cost and weight, regardless of whether it is an inexpensive gaming laptop or a laptop for a student.

In this situation, you won’t have to rack your brains over the dilemma: which is better: a laptop or... You can purchase a DVD-ROM with a USB interface at no additional cost.

Do you need one more – additional – compelling argument? It's not difficult: how often do you need to use DVDs? Similarly, you can evaluate a working USB HDD and flash drives!

What about expansion slots?

When thinking about the question of a laptop or a tablet, studying the characteristics and description of each option, it is important to know that one of the most important indicators is the variety of connectors.

Regardless of what conclusions the buyer comes to when choosing a laptop, “which company is better” is a question that is usually impossible to solve successfully without knowing that there are no extra connectors.

Judging by these parameters, we can say that the minimum set is 3XUSB, a connector for a desktop monitor, and an audio input/output. Also needed wireless technologies, which can be selected taking into account all the characteristics.

When purchasing a video card for a laptop, you should also take into account that most modern models support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

All the nuances of the characteristics can be clarified when choosing and purchasing a product, which will ensure satisfactory use of the purchase.

Classification of devices by purpose

When purchasing a used or newer laptop, it is best to resort to the following classification of goods:

• stationary;
• game;
• multimedia;
• as a workstation.

However, buyers of the “former” variety xiaomi laptop” or “budget laptop,” or something else, you should understand that this division into categories is quite arbitrary.

A mobile laptop is a reliable way to the Internet

When searching for a means to enter the virtual space based on characteristics, the question of which brand of laptop to prefer and the need to solve a wide range of problems are taken into account:

The selected HP 250 g5 laptop, or the cheap Lenovo ideapad 110 laptop, Lenovo ideapad 110 15acl are among the many options for a successful choice for solving the above problems.

When buying a Model 13 from any brand, there is no point in attaching great importance to the configuration, since the performance of any modern version is quite suitable for solving all the necessary tasks. When choosing device 13, you can be sure, by default, that it will completely replace a model with a powerful processor, an impressive amount of RAM and a discrete card.

Devices with a diagonal characteristic of 13 are a modern development, equipped with all integrated means for access to the virtual. Using model 13 will allow you to enjoy communicating on Skype. You just need to think in advance about the webcam built into the device 13 and how to choose a video card.

The only significant note for a 13-inch laptop would be the recommendation for WiMAX networks. Regardless of the manufacturer's choice, many products come with a module wireless communication Wi-Fi is provided by an integrated WiMAX model, providing wireless access in Internet. For a reputable manufacturer, it is important to take care of several pitfalls.

In particular, laptops have such a disadvantage as the wide variability of the WiMAX standard. Regardless of whether the buyer purchases a laptop or a computer, a netbook or a laptop, each integrated module is “tailored” for a specific provider, and in no case will it work with another’s network.

Where is the best place to buy?

Obviously, in the 21st century, various online stores of digital equipment provide a greater selection at lower prices. When choosing a laptop, we recommend paying attention to the following proven, well-known online stores from Yandex.Market:

The question of which laptop is best to buy for gaming has been asked by gamers for many years.

The difficulty is that new models are coming out and what was previously considered the most powerful can no longer be considered so today.

The reason for this conclusion is very simple - everything modern games are written for Windows (all kinds of chess and balls do not count, we take into account games like GTA 5, NFS and the like).

But the problem is that if the computer is designed for the same MacOS, installing Windows on it will be very problematic.

On the official Apple website it is written that to use Windows programs There is a program called Boot Camp on Mac.

There are installation instructions there. But even in this case, no one is immune from compatibility problems.

Until this time, all the games were going just fine, and the picture was, as they say, delicious. Now everything has changed. The same applies to other similar systems.

Frequency

The fact is that the minimum processor frequency today for a gaming device is 2.4 GHz.

Most modern games work normally only at this frequency. It is logical that the higher the frequency, the higher the performance will be.

This can be clearly seen in the following graph.

Figure 4 shows the results of testing the same game with different meanings processor frequencies.

Again, the main parameter here was the number of frames per second. And the lines of different colors show what the fps value was at different resolutions screen.

At a resolution of 2160p the difference is not so great, but at 1080p it is already quite noticeable.

Since most modern laptops have a resolution of no more than 1080p, it is obvious that for a good gaming laptop the processor frequency must be at least 3 GHz.

This is absolutely enough for games that are still awaiting release.

Advice: The minimum processor frequency must be 3 GHz.

Number of Cores

Obviously, the computer’s performance also depends on the number of processor cores - the more there are, the faster information will be processed.

The principle here is very simple - all information is evenly distributed between the cores and they all process it.

But if we have already determined that the minimum processor frequency should be 3 GHz, then the criterion for the number of cores automatically disappears.

The fact is that processors with such a frequency simply cannot have few cores - from 4 to 8.

It's more important to look at the processor manufacturer and core architecture. As for the first, let's say right away - AMD processors are not suitable for games. You need to choose Intel.

This can be clearly seen in the following graph.

As you can see, here they took processors from Intel and AMD with different numbers of cores and launched GTA game 5.

As a result, more frames per second were recorded when working with Intel processors.

As for the architecture, the following graph shows that the optimal architecture models today for Intel processors are Broadwell, Skylake and Haswell, which were released in the last 3 years.

Hence the following selection criterion.

Advice: Best processor architectureBroadwell, SkylakeorHaswell.

Criterion No. 3. RAM

As you know, games usually require a large number of files and data that relate to locations, objects, maps, saves and everything else. RAM is responsible for all this.

Accordingly, the heavier the game, the more data it needs to load and operate normally, the more RAM it needs.

Of course, modern games require quite a lot of such memory, but not as much as manufacturers offer.

For example, let's take a few heavy games and see what their RAM requirements are to run at maximum settings:

1. Crysis 3 – 8 GB.
2. Battlefield 4 – 8 GB.
3. Assassin's Creed 4 – 4 GB.
4. Need for Speed 2015 – 8 GB.

The same picture is with other heavy games of our time. 8 GB is enough for the toy to work smoothly without any freezes.

Yes, it’s possible that in a year or two something very demanding will come out and more gigabytes will be needed, so we’ll take it with a reserve.

Criterion No. 4. Video card

As for the video card, here we will consider the most important and central parameter - the size of the video memory.

This parameter determines how much graphic information the device can store.

For example, if in a game you need to load some textures to go to the next level, then they will be loaded through this very memory.

The higher the resolution of the laptop, the more video memory it will need.

In most cases, one gigabyte of video memory is enough.

But to determine the ideal amount of VRAM, you need to look again at the maximum requirements for today's heaviest games.

After reading these requirements, you can see the following picture:

1. Crysis 3 – 4 GB.
2. Battlefield 4 – 4 GB.
3. Assassin's Creed 4 – 2 GB.
4. Need for Speed ​​2015 – 4 GB.

From this we can draw a very simple conclusion - a modern gaming laptop requires 4 GB of video memory.

All other parameters related to the video card simply cannot be low with a large amount of video memory. Hence the next criterion.

Advice: You need at least 4 GB of video memory.

It doesn’t matter which model of video card will be installed in the laptop, the main thing is that it has at least 4 GB of memory.

Criterion No. 5. Hard disk capacity

Most of the games listed above require at least 30 GB of free space on your hard drive.

But of course, we will have not just one game, but 10-20 games, so we need to multiply 30 GB by at least 10, the result will be 300 GB.

If you take it with a reserve, it will be approximately 500 GB. This will be our next criterion.

Advice: The minimum storage capacity must be 500 GB.

Yes, manufacturers today offer more, but so far there’s simply no point in it.

Even if you install the 10 heaviest games and add a sea of ​​movies there, it will still be very problematic to fill even 1 TB.

Additionally, there is a common myth that storage capacity somehow affects performance.

This is due to the fact that supposedly the more information on the computer, the slower it will work. It is not true.

All information that is on the drive is processed by the processor, and the faster it does this, the more productive the laptop will be. And this pattern does not change even after years of using the device.

But we have already determined above that the minimum processor frequency should be 3 GHz. So, this is quite enough for calm work with big amount gigabyte of information.

Types of hard drives

The ideal option for a gaming laptop is an SSD drive. The arguments for such a bold statement are as follows:

1. SSD drives work 100 times faster than the same HDD drives. These are not just words. Other hard drives need to spin up to access data, but SSDs have the ability to get it instantly. And all because SSDs have no moving parts.
2. SSD drives have higher throughput, and significantly more. This means that this type of drive will be able to handle more megabytes every second.
3. SSD drives have much better I/O performance. This parameter characterizes how many operations the device can process. It is related to the previous one.
   Bandwidth means how many operations can actually hit the hard drive, and I/O performance means how many of these operations it can process.
4. SSDs have much faster response times. This means that they react faster when an operation comes to them for processing. Accordingly, they can process this very operation much faster.

All these parameters are shown in the figure below.

As we see, in all three SSD parameters two or three heads higher than their HDD counterparts. SSDs have other benefits as well.

For example, due to their one-piece design, they are much more reliable.

They are absolutely not susceptible to falls, scratches, mechanical damage and, ultimately, shocks. Fact: the shock resistance of any SSD drive is at least 1000 g/0.5 ms.

This basically means that you can throw it against a wall and drop it on the asphalt and absolutely nothing will happen to it. In general, the next criterion is obvious.

Advice: The laptop must haveSSDstorage device.

Interestingly, the combination of an SSD drive and less RAM than described above is less powerful processor than described above can also give impressive results.

Even with 5 GB of RAM and a 2.4 GHz processor frequency, you can easily play the same Crysis 3 or NFS.

On the other hand, with the parameters described above, you can sacrifice the dream of an SSD and take a model with an HDD.

Criterion No. 6. Working hours

As you know, operating time depends on the battery.

Of course, most of the time the laptop will work from a regular outlet, but from time to time the gamer will have to take it with him on trips or there will be some problems with the power supply.

For such cases, you need a laptop to have an excellent battery. Since games require a lot of computer resources, the battery must be very powerful.

Considering all the above parameters, the maximum battery life can be 9 hours.

But for a gaming laptop, 4 hours is quite enough - it still gets boring to play games and sometimes you need to rest. Therefore, the next criterion is obvious.

Advice: The required minimum battery life is 4 hours.

In any case, you will have to buy another battery, because even if it is stated that the battery will work for at least 10 hours, under average load it will work for about 7-8, and in games - 4-5.

Therefore, in practice, the same battery for 4 hours will last for at most 2 hours.

Advice: For a gaming laptop, be sure to buy a second battery, and a more powerful one than the one already built into it.

Criterion No. 7. Weight and dimensions

Of course, no gamer wants to carry 10-20 kg on himself, even in a briefcase. The heaviest laptop today is the Dell XPS M2010, which weighs 8.3 kg.

There are also secret military developments from Philips, which, according to some experts, weigh up to 9 kg. Of course, it’s not very convenient to carry such a colossus on yourself.

Therefore, it is optimal for the laptop to weigh up to 4 kg.

Such a weight will not harm the human body, and if you constantly carry such a device with you, a person will even stop noticing it.

Interestingly, all other parameters in the Dell XPS M2010 were at a very high level at the time of this creation's release.

As for the size of a gaming laptop, the considerations are the same - it’s absolutely inconvenient to carry a too wide colossus with you.

Therefore, it is optimal that the length of the device is not more than 500 mm and the width is 40 mm.

Most experts agree on this. This size allows the laptop to have a diagonal of 17.3 inches. Hence another criterion.

Although, of course, someone may want to buy themselves something big and impressive. Therefore, this parameter can also be considered optional.

Criterion No. 8. Connectors and drives

For some heavy games, in particular GTA 5, the manufacturer requires that the computer have a DVD drive.

This is done with the expectation that the user will still buy the official game on disk and will only use it, and will not download everything on the Internet from torrents.

Of course, the reality is that now everything can be found on the Internet and various games can be downloaded for free.

But manufacturers are moving forward and, quite possibly, a game will be released in 2017 that will be impossible to break.

A few years ago Fifa 14 was released and for a long time not a single person called a “cracker” (who makes cracks for the game, that is, files that allow you to bypass the protection) could hack it.

Even teams of specialists have made attempts, in particular skidrow, Razor, Reloaded and others.

Usually all versions of FIFA break a month after release, but here 5 months passed and only after that a crack appeared on the skidrow website.

And now all new versions of the football simulator no longer break so easily, and at least three months pass between the release of the game for sale and the release of the crack.

In general, it is becoming increasingly difficult for crackers to crack new games, so you should always have a DVD drive and several thousand for a new game.

The same applies to other connectors and communications.

For example, a laptop must have an input for an HDMI cable, because if you want to connect your computer to a TV, you can do this using an HDMI cable.

As a last resort, you can connect the TV via a VGA connector, but it is better to still have HDMI. In addition, you always want to show a powerful laptop to friends and play something together.

Therefore, the computer must have several connectors for USB devices, such as joysticks and gamepads. Optimal quantity USB connectors equals 4.

This conclusion can be drawn from the fact that most games in the mode of collective participation are designed for such maximum amount of people.

For example, the same Fifa has five positions - one for the keyboard and 4 for gamepads.

Advice: Must be present 4USBconnector and preferablyHDMI.

Criterion No. 9. Brand

In the case of laptops, you should not skimp on buying a laptop from a well-known brand. The advantages of such a purchase are obvious.

Firstly, a well-known brand has its own service centers, most likely, in your city or the nearest large settlement.

The situation here is almost the same as with phones - there are well-known brands that sell their products at high prices, and there are Chinese brands that have the same parameters but are sold cheaper.

But the problem is that products of famous brands can be repaired in any city, but in order to repair a representative of our socialist brother, you need to send him directly to China.

You may not have to send laptops directly to the manufacturer, but it will still be easier and faster for technicians to repair well-known brands.

And secondly, many years of experience prove the reliability of a particular brand.

But cheap China is still something new for us and not yet fully tested.

Based on this, we can select a list of brands that enjoy the greatest authority among users. These include the following brands:

• Asus;
• Toshiba;
• Apple;
• Dell;
• Lenovo;
• Acer;

Advice: Choose manufacturers -Asus, Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, AcerorHP (Applewe excluded from the very beginning due to difficulties with adapting games to the OS).

First place - HP ZBook 17

Based on all the characteristics described above, one single winner was chosen for the title of the best gaming laptop on the market.

It was the HP ZBook 17. You can buy it for $5,500 or approximately 380,000 rubles.

In Russia it can be purchased at the HP brand store. It has different configurations, but the most powerful of them has the following characteristics:

• CPU Intel Core i7 with a maximum frequency of 4 GHz, 4 cores and Haswell architecture;
• 32 GB of RAM (can be purchased with 8 GB, it will be half the price);
• two hard drives – one 256 GB SSD (it is better to install the main games on it) and another 1 TB HDD;
• There is DVD drive(no HDMI);
• screen diagonal is 17.3 inches, maximum resolution is 1920x1080;
• video memory – 8 GB;
• 4 USB ports – 3 for USB0 and 1 for USB 2.0;
• dimensions – 41.6x27.2;
• pre-installed Windows 7;
• weight – 3.5 kg.

The manufacturer gives it a 3-year warranty.

As you can see, we still had to sacrifice something, in particular, an HDMI connector and a 500 GB SSD drive. But the very fact that there is an SSD here at all is a huge plus.

And its battery is weak - for 4.5 hours. But still, you can’t find anything better on the market today.

It is worth saying that because of such a powerful graphics core, the HP ZBook 17 is perfect not only for gamers, but also for everyone who is somehow involved in graphics, in particular, designers, artists and developers.

In addition, the huge advantage of this device is that it is available in the CIS. Some modern powerful laptops can only be bought in America or China.

Second place - Fujitsu CELSIUS H920

If we sacrifice several selection criteria, in particular the last one, then the winner will be the Fujitsu CELSIUS H920. It is very difficult to buy it.

Within the CIS it is available only in a few stores. A real exclusive!

Although it costs about 3,000 dollars or 200,000 rubles, which is very good. This monster has the following characteristics:

• Intel Core i7 processor with a frequency of 3 GHz, 4 cores, but Ivy Bridge architecture;
• 16 GB of RAM;
• pre-installed Windows 7;
• screen with a diagonal of 17.3 inches and a resolution of 1920x1080;
• 4 GB video memory;
• SSD disk 512 GB;
• Blu-ray drive;
• 4 USB ports – 1 for USB0 and 3 for USB 2.0;
• battery for 9 hours.

In principle, due to a pure SSD drive, this model could beat our today's winner, even despite the outdated processor architecture, if it had more RAM.

But still, the HP ZBook 17 is better.

But the Japanese Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 also has its advantages. In particular, it is a more durable battery.

If the winner of our today's competition can only be played for 2 hours, then the Japanese will definitely last 4.

In any case, all modern games and even those that will be released in the next 2-3 years will work very well on both the Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 and the HP ZBook 17.

By the way, it is interesting that the Japanese was released in 2012, so the outdated kernel is not particularly surprising.

But the fact that this laptop has been holding the brand name for 3 years is quite impressive!

Third place - Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70

Finally, if we omit one criterion, namely, a processor frequency of up to 2.4 GHz (we said that this would be enough for all modern games), then the winner will be the Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70.

Of all three winners, this model is the most affordable to purchase today - it is sold in dozens of online and offline stores.

This pleasure costs approximately $1,900 or 130,000 rubles. The characteristics of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 are as follows:

• Core i7 processor with Haswell architecture, 2900 MHz frequency and 4 cores;
• 16 GB of RAM;
• screen diagonal is 15.6 inches, maximum resolution is 3840x2160;
• 4 GB video memory;
• battery for 5 hours;
• 1 GB of built-in memory on a HDD hard drive (here a combination of HDD+SSD Cache is used, that is, information is stored on the HDD and processed on the SSD - the effectiveness of this approach has not yet been proven);
• dimensions – 387x263.4 mm;
• weight – 2.4 kg;
• there is a DVD drive and an HDMI connector;
• 3 USB connectors – 1 for USB0 and 2 for USB 3.0;
• preinstalled system – DOS/Windows 10/Windows

In principle, this laptop loses to today's two winners only due to the slightly lower processor frequency.

But the difference is only 100 MHz, which will not be particularly noticeable in games. The Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 fits all other criteria just fine.

In addition, it is very easy to buy it - there are many stores with different conditions. Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 can even be borrowed.

But the Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 and HP ZBook 17 will have to be searched on the Internet, and you definitely won’t find them in regular hardware stores.

So, you chose a gaming laptop and bought it. Now you need to do the following:

• Launch “Control Panel” and click on “Uninstall a program”. There you need to see what software is already installed on the computer. The fact is that gaming laptops often add programs that duplicate each other or are not needed at all.
  They need to be removed.

• Clean your computer of junk from time to time. Games usually leave a lot of temporary and other unnecessary files.
  To do this, open “My Computer”, click right click mouse to the disk where the games are recorded and in the window that opens, click “Disk Cleanup”.

Disk Cleanup via My Computer

• Do backup copy data. To do this, in the same “Control Panel” you need to select the “Backup computer data” item.

This will make it possible, if the system malfunctions, to restore it to its original state.

In addition, in the same menu, which is shown in Figure 17, you can configure data archiving on a schedule.

Although, upon first launch Windows system must make this adjustment yourself.

• Buy wipes to wipe the screen. If regular computers do not need to have a crystal clear screen, then in gaming laptops you should make sure that there is no debris or dust on the screen.
  It is very important to always have a clean screen on your gaming laptop! And this is important, first of all, because otherwise color rendition will suffer.

• If you plan to use your laptop just like a regular laptop without connecting it to a power outlet, you need to perform the following procedure from time to time:

1. Discharge the battery to 40-50%;
2. Remove it from the computer and place it in a plastic bag;

3. Place the battery in one of the refrigerator compartments at a temperature of approximately 5 o C;

5. Keep it in this state for several hours.

This procedure will significantly increase the battery life. Otherwise, after two years you will have to replace it with a new one.

• If you live in a cold area and want to take your laptop out into the cold in winter, be sure to turn it off and wait about 20 minutes.
  The fact is that gaming laptops usually operate at elevated temperatures and too sudden temperature changes will definitely not benefit them.
  After coming into a warm room from the cold, you need to wait at least half an hour and only then turn on the laptop. Of course, the device must be carried in a special bag.

• From time to time, disassemble your laptop and clean the dust inside it. In gaming devices, dust will accumulate twice as much as in regular laptops, because the load on them is much higher.
  Special attention should be directed to the cooler (in Figure No. 20 it is highlighted with a red frame).

All this will help you enjoy greater productivity over the long term.

Below you can see a short video presentation of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70, the most convenient gaming laptop to buy with maximum performance.

Video review of Lenovo IdeaPad Y5070 laptop

Let's buy a laptop! Which one to choose for games?

The most important thing to know when you go shopping for a new laptop, hybrid or Windows tablet

Photo: techspiel.com

This guide is a good help for the right choice the best laptop, hybrid or Windows tablet, but we need to start by mentioning such devices that were most popular in 2013.

No one will tell you that you made a mistake with your choice if your choice fell on the latest version of the Apple MacBook Air. Both the 13- and 11-inch models received an updated Intel Core i5 processor and show excellent results in battery life.

Something similar for Windows is the expensive 13-inch Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus, which displays images with higher quality than HD. Lenovo laptop The IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro has a similar high resolution, and thanks to its ability to fold, it easily turns into a tablet - and costs less than $1,000.

Very inexpensive option, quite suitable for surfing the Internet and communicating, is the 14-inch HP Chromebook 14 with Google operating system Chrome system OS.

Since 2012, the landscape of the mobile device market has changed significantly. Windows 8 (updated to version 8.1) has become the default operating system, and its tiled interface means that a touchscreen has become standard on almost any new laptop. In addition, after a long drought in the Windows tablet market, the Win 8 era spawned dozens of these devices, many of which are not just any simple tablets, but ambitious hybrids with flip, rotating and even detachable screens.

Many guides that explain how to choose the right computer are full of technical data. We will highlight the most important characteristics that need to be taken into account when buying a new laptop, and we will give as detailed explanations as possible for each of them. Let's start with three fundamental rules choosing a laptop.

Three fundamental rules for choosing a laptop

1. There shouldn’t be too many good laptops.

If you remember, a few years ago a price of $1000 was considered normal for a budget laptop. Today, for this money you can buy a premium device, and only Apple (although others are also trying) with its regular price increases stands out from the general chorus.

Therefore, when people write to us “I need a laptop for school, but I only have $1500,” we usually advise slowing down and buying some regular thin laptop for $700-$800 first.

Moreover, for that kind of money it will not be a low-power plastic box. Intel Core i5 processors and sleek touchscreens thin cases with 128 GB SSD - that's what you can buy at this price. This is more than enough for most users, unless they plan to edit HD videos or play the most advanced games.

In short, people have been buying too many laptops all these years. The brief era of $300 netbooks pushed the market in the opposite direction, but now everything has stabilized in the blessed middle ground. Touchscreens and hybrids have raised the average price a little, but there are still no problems to grab a premium laptop or hybrid for $999, or even cheaper.

Photo: cnet1.cbsistatic.com

2. Thinking in terms of mobility

When people ask me what kind of laptop, I first answer the question: “How many days a week are you going to carry it with you?”

The answer determines what the screen size will be, which determines the size and weight of the system as a whole. For those who move around a lot, lightweight 13-inch ultrabooks (like the MacBook Air) are suitable. Ultraportable laptops with 11.6-inch monitors have made an amazing breakthrough, and on the latest 11-inch hybrids and Windows tablets, the “screen” can be detached and taken with you, leaving the fixed keyboard at home or at work.

More conventional mid-sized laptops, such as 15-inch ones, are likely in front of you right now, and carrying them around more than once a week isn't much fun.

And finally, if you are convinced that you will never need to take this laptop with you, or very, very rarely, then a solid 17-inch or larger desktop replacement is quite suitable for you. Keep in mind that most of these large laptops don't like to leave the vicinity of an outlet for long, and in this day and age of Windows 8, very few of them have a touchscreen.

3. Design is everything to us

Based on the results of testing and measuring the performance of hundreds of laptops, I dare to say the following: inside they are all surprisingly similar. I’ll even say this: most laptops are assembled from the same set of processors, hard drives, memory, video cards - and all this is painfully reminiscent of consumer goods.

And then His Majesty Design enters. Since most laptops in a given class with similar components perform in much the same way, appearance is what determines why some models are preferred over others.

Consider your laptop as an extension of your personality: you can carry it with you all day, or even around the world, you send emails from it, store personal photos and documents on it, and use it to communicate with other people on the go. in social networks.

Photo: cnet3.cbsistatic.com

And like any personal accessory, like glasses or a piece of clothing, you should choose a laptop so that it suits your style, so that its design works for you and you feel comfortable, so that the keyboard and touchpad are comfortable.

Apple understood this perfectly. The hardware of a MacBook isn't all that different from other laptops (the operating system is a different matter), but the user interface is fantastic and the design has become the standard for how people imagine a "real" laptop.

Today's passion for ultrabooks confirms these words about design, and they are confirmed by aggressive advertising of those with an impeccable appearance. Samsung view Ativ 9 and Asus Transformer Book.

A laptop is a significant investment, the physical embodiment of which will likely be with you every day. And when it comes to choosing between a design you like and small technical differences, I would say that almost all advanced laptops are powerful enough to handle everyday tasks - so choose the design.

Types of laptops

There are many options for categorizing laptops. There are, for example, this: multimedia, gaming, thin and light, ultrabooks, ultrathin and ultraportable. Term "ultrabook" occurs very often, but technically this is not a category at all, but simply an Intel trademark, which is awarded to laptops that meet the requirements of this corporation. Most of them resemble the 13-inch MacBook Air, but you can also find 14- and 15-inch ultrabooks. Sometimes systems, which are also very thin, but not of Intel parameters, are called “fauxtrabooks” or simply ultrabook-like.

To make sense of this menagerie, we'll use screen size as a determining parameter - which is quite consistent with the above tips for choosing a laptop based on how often you'll need to travel with it. This is the most common categorization of laptops, for example on CNET.

Photo: cnet1.cbsistatic.com

Ultraportable (11-12 inches)

Ultraportable systems with 11- and 12-inch screens have returned to the market through the efforts of Sony and Apple, as well as with the advent of hybrids from Lenovo, HP and other manufacturers. They usually run low-voltage Intel Atom processors or something from the AMD E line. Prices for 11-inch Windows 8 tablets start at $499, and an additional keyboard will cost somewhere around $100.

13" laptops

This is the only screen size that deserves its own category. Such devices occupy their own ecological niche. 13 inches is the smallest laptop size that you can comfortably work with all day long, and at the same time it is the most big computer, which you can still carry with you without problems more than once or twice a week. Typical representatives - Apple MacBook Pro and Air, as well as Sony Vaio Pro 13.

As mentioned, "ultrabook" is an Intel brand that is often used to refer to lightweight 13-inch laptops that are less than 18mm thick and have SSD storage. Since almost all 13-inch laptops are the thickness of ultrabooks, the marketing term fades into the background and you can forget about formalities. In other words, if a computer resembles an ultrabook in everything, let it be called that, there is no need to invent anything.

Some hybrids and convertibles also fall into the 13-inch category, although a 13-inch tablet looks a bit monstrous.

Medium (14, 15 and 16 inches)

This category is made up of traditional 15-inch laptops along with their 14- and 16-inch brothers. Although they are technically considered mobile devices, most are sedentary or move along a home-to-work trajectory.

Most mid-size laptops have dual- or quad-core processors, usually Intel Core i, along with 4 or 8 GB of memory and large hard drives of at least 320 GB. Additions seem to be separate GPU or Blu-ray drives are rare, although available. Intel allows some 14- and 15-inch laptops to be called ultrabooks if they have certain dimensions and meet a number of specific requirements. But this is rare.

The niche of prices and capabilities of mid-size models is the widest, and the cheapest of them cost about $500, and the top level is well over the $1000 mark. Typical configuration - from $800 to $1000.

Replacements for desktop computers (17 inches and larger)

These massive laptops, with screens starting at 17 inches, literally take the place of a combination of system unit, monitor and keyboard, but in case of emergency, moving them is not difficult.

As a rule, a quad-core processor runs here and graphics card Nvidia or AMD. The image must be at least 1080p, 1920×1080 to avoid problems with Blu-ray and other high-quality graphic content.

Although 17-inch options are most typical for this category, there are many 18-inch models, and these large desktop substitutes turn into real medical complexes for the home, for the family, where work, games, video and audio are all in one. Sometimes you can find copies with detachable 18-20-inch screens, which turn into giant tablets of dubious portability.

Photo: cnet4.cbsistatic.com

Hybrids, tablets and transformers

Majority mobile computers with detachable, flipping or folding screens, they have 11.3-inch or 13.3-inch displays and behave almost exactly like regular folding laptops in their category. Some, such as representatives of the Lenovo Yoga line, look like regular laptops most of the time, others, for example Microsoft Surface Pro, spend their lives mostly in tablet mode.

Typical processors are Intel Atom and Core i5, which is why hybrids cost at least $499, and the price of some goes beyond $1000. Today, very few hybrids can be considered mainstream solutions, mainly because Windows 8 has not yet reached the status of a real tablet operating system. In addition, many of the detachable keyboards and touchpads on these systems are simply terrible. And yet, if you are looking mobile device smaller, we advise you to look not only at traditional double-leaf options, but also not to miss similar-sized hybrids.

CPU/Processors

Whether you like it or not, you will have to pay some attention to some technical things. It's about modern processors Intel and AMD and where they live.

AMD

This company (which is also the parent company of the graphics processor manufacturer formerly known as ATI) recently released a new generation of accelerated processor devices. At AMD they are not called CPUs (Central Processing Unit, CPU), but UPU (Accelerated Processing Unit, APU) and by this they mean a combination of a CPU and a separate graphics processor - but in one “bottle”.

New AMD A4, A6, A8 and A10 chips began populating servers from Acer, HP and other manufacturers in the spring of this year, but are suitable options for budget and mid-range computers. Please note that there are significantly fewer laptops with AMD processors than with Intel processors.

Full list AMD processors can be found on the company's website.

Intel

If you're shopping for a laptop, tablet, hybrid, or even desktop, there's a good chance it has an Intel processor inside. The models in the latest line have the same names as the representatives of the three previous generations, which leads to some confusion. However, the chips, which were released in June 2013, are known under the code name Haswell (the previous generation was Ivy Bridge).

These CPUs released in 2013 fourth generation simply identified by the number four, which begins part of their code designation. For example, in the new Sony computer Vaio Pro 13 is equipped with an Intel Core i5-4200U processor at 1.6 GHz. More technical details are presented on the Intel website.

The performance difference between the latest and previous generation processors is small. Haswell, however, can seriously save battery life, and the very first laptops we tested equipped with these CPUs outdid the 13-inch MacBook Air with its advertised 12 hours of battery life. For now, finding a laptop with Haswell is a real quest, but we must assume that soon any model designed for mobile work, will be equipped with them.

Photo: cnet4.cbsistatic.com

• Core i3 Works in many budget and mid-class laptops; two cores are quite enough for everyday needs.
• Core i5 represents the mainstream of Intel processor design and works in many 15- and some 17-inch laptops in price range from $600 to $1000.
• Core i7 available in a quad-core version and can be found inside more expensive and powerful machines that are needed only by gamers or those who work professionally with video.
• Pentium, Celeron and Atom are still being produced (yes!) and live in an energy-efficient niche, and the authors of serious computer reviews remember them with a grimace of disgust. If possible, avoid laptops with Pentium and Celeron chips. Latest version Atom, formerly known as Bay Trail, has decent performance and excellent power consumption results in small tablets and hybrids.
• Xeon- processor for high-performance workstations. Most likely, you will never cross paths with him unless you are interested in the new cylindrical Apple Mac Pro desktop or some other system not for ordinary use.

Hard drives and solid state drives

Your new laptop will have either a "traditional" spinning hard drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), i.e. nothing more than flash memory, similar to SD cards and what is installed in smartphones. There are also hybrid drives in which a small (20 or 32 GB) SSD works together with a large HDD. In theory, this allows the system to boot faster and makes applications run faster, but music and video files, for example, are stored on the hard drive.

• HDD still remain the main storage drives in most laptops. Hard drives are spacious and inexpensive, but they're also bulky, hot, and have a lot of moving parts. You need to choose at least a 320 GB hard drive, even for budget systems. Most drives spin at 5400 revolutions per minute (RPM in English), but there are also faster ones - 7200, which are useful for significant amounts of streaming data, video editing and gaming.
• SSD They operate silently and hardly heat up, but are much more expensive and less capacious. The 11-inch Apple MacBook has only 64 GB of SSD, and this pleasure costs $999. It is possible to upgrade to 128 and 256 GB, but this will cost a lot. There is no doubt that SSDs are the future, but at the moment their capacity is relatively small and they cannot store, for example, a large video collection.

FAQ

What ports and additional features do I need?

At least a couple of USB ports. Most modern laptops have at least two USB port 3.0, which are faster than USB 2.0, but only when USB connection 3.0 - compatible devices, such as hard drives. The need for an SD card slot is not even discussed. As well as HDMI video output. Every laptop today has Wi-Fi, compatible with almost all standards of this protocol and with any routers.

Photo: cnet4.cbsistatic.com

What ports and additional features can I refuse?

Most laptops still have an old-fashioned VGA video output, but unless you plan on connecting something like a CRT monitor, it's not needed. DisplayPort for video or Thunderbolt (such high-speed interfaces) are only needed if you have compatible devices. The thinnest laptops often lack an Ethernet connector; it is believed that Wi-Fi replaces it. It’s not a fact at all, and let it be just in case. But if it's not there, it's not the end of the world. Bluetooth is great, but only if you're going to use a Bluetooth mouse, Bluetooth speakers, or Bluetooth headphones. Otherwise it is of no use, and if it is, it is useful to turn it off so as not to drain the battery in vain.

Do I need a CD/DVD drive?

More likely no than yes, and quite a few thin and light laptops simply cannot have it. But it is useful to leave it, because there are many people who have preserved huge archives of films, music, games and other useful things on CDs and DVDs. Those. many are literally tied to optical discs - let's leave them for their sake.

Do I need a video card?

Unless you are going to play very serious games on this laptop (Skyrim, Metro: Last Light, etc.), the standard capabilities of the computer will be more than enough for you. Current versions of the integrated Intel graphics processor belong to the HD 5000 family. They will not handle serious games (like those mentioned), but they will cope well with normal or recently considered “serious” games. Yes, and they can handle the new ones if you reduce the image detail.

Photo: cnet1.cbsistatic.com

Which is better: a Windows tablet or a laptop?

Windows tablets For a very long time they caused nothing but disappointment, and only with the advent of Windows 8 there was some kind of revival. After all, Windows 8 can work with touchscreens like native ones (however, not always like with their closest relatives), and most tablets and hybrids under this opsystem can function in laptop mode or have the appropriate accessories. If you type a lot or use a mouse or touchpad a lot, you're better off going with a traditional laptop or a very laptop-like hybrid like the Lenovo Yoga.

Which is better: Windows or Mac OS X?
This is one of the most provocative questions. Windows fans value it for its flexibility and the ability to fine-tune and personalize the system. It runs on almost any hardware, and with the advent of the eight, it became more friendly to touchscreens and tablets and received a dashing modern interface, which was a big breakthrough.

operating system Apple only works on select desktops and laptops. At the same time, having a common platform of software and hardware allows you to create significantly more stable and predictable programs, and the same impression remains on the user. And this is not to mention the fact that many prefer the user-friendly design and navigation and control elements of OS X. But incomparably more programs are written for Windows, especially free ones; and, of course, games.

Should I buy it right now, or is it better to wait for the next update/upgrade/OS/CPU, etc.?

This is the million dollar question and it applies to almost anything related to technology. Even the new device, by the time it was brought home, was already a little outdated and every day it becomes more and more antique, because the next a new version It's almost upon us already. You need to realize this, and when you understand this, it will become easier for you, you will be able to relax and buy something that will give you pleasure. There's no point in pining for upgrades.

And finally - how to choose a laptop? Interesting video tips from the Eldorado store