The ultimate laptop for gaming. We are buying a laptop! Which one to choose for games? Which gaming laptop to choose

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

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

The reason for this conclusion is very simple - all modern games are written for Windows (all kinds of chess and balls are not counted, 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, it will be very problematic to install Windows on it.

Apple's official website says that to use Windows programs there is a Boot Camp program on the Mac.

There are installation instructions. But even so, no one is immune from compatibility problems.

Until that time, all games were running just fine, and the picture was, as they say, delicious. Now everything has changed. The same goes for other similar systems.

Frequency

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

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

This can be clearly seen in the following graph.

Figure 4 shows the results of testing the same game with different values ​​of the processor frequency.

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 screen resolutions.

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

Since most modern laptops do not have more than 1080p resolution, it is obvious that for a good gaming laptop, the processor frequency should be at least 3 GHz.

This is enough for the games that are still expected to be released.

Advice: The minimum processor frequency should be 3 GHz.

Number of Cores

Obviously, the performance of a computer 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 disappears automatically.

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

It is more important to look at the processor manufacturer and kernel architecture. As for the first, let's say right away - AMD processors not suitable for games. Intel needs to be chosen.

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 the GTA 5 game.

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

In terms of architecture, the following graph shows that the best architecture models today for Intel processors are Broadwell, Skylake, and Haswell, which have been released in the last 3 years.

Hence the next selection criterion.

Advice: Best processor architectureBroadwell, SkylakeorHaswell.

Criterion # 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. For all this, RAM is responsible.

Accordingly, the harder the game, the more data it needs to load and work normally, the more it needs random access memory.

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

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

1. Crysis 3 - 8 GB.
2. Battlefield 4 - 8GB
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 quietly without any freezes.

Yes, it is possible that in a year or two something very demanding will come out and more gigabytes will be needed there, so let's take it with a margin.

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 in itself.

For example, if in the 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 in the laptop, the more video memory it will need.

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

But in order to determine the ideal amount of video memory, you must again turn to the maximum requirements for the heaviest modern games.

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

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

A very simple conclusion can be drawn from this - 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 following criterion.

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

Which model of the video card will be installed in the laptop does not matter, the main thing is that it has at least 4 GB of memory.

Criterion No. 5. Hard disk space

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

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

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

Advice: The minimum storage space must be 500 GB.

Yes, manufacturers today offer more, but there is simply no special sense in this so far.

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

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

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

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

But above we have already determined that the minimum processor frequency should be equal to 3 GHz. So, this is quite enough for quiet work with a large amount of gigabytes of information.

Types of hard drives

An 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 HDD drives. These are not just words. Other hard drives need to spin up to access data, and SSDs have the ability to get it instantly. This is due to the fact that there are no moving parts in an SSD.
2. SSD drives have higher bandwidth, and many times over. This means that this type of disk will be able to pass 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 the hard disk can actually get, and I / O performance means how many of those operations it can handle.
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 reflected in the figure below.

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

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

They are absolutely not susceptible to drops, scratches, mechanical damage and, in the end, blows. Fact: the impact resistance of anyone SSD disk at least 1000 g / 0.5 ms.

In fact, this means that you can throw it against the wall and drop it on the asphalt - absolutely nothing will happen to it. In general, the following criterion is obvious.

Advice: The laptop should haveSSDstorage device.

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

Even with 5 GB of RAM and a processor frequency of 2.4 GHz, 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 from an HDD.

Criterion # 6. Working hours

As you know, the 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 a gamer will have to take it with him on trips or there will be some kind of problem with the electricity supply.

In such cases, it is necessary that the laptop has an excellent battery. Since games require a lot of computer resources, the battery must be very powerful.

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

But for a gaming laptop, 4 hours is fine - all the same, playing games gets boring 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, at an average load it will work somewhere around 7-8, and in games - 4-5.

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

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

Criterion No. 7. Weight and dimensions

Of course, no gamer wants to carry 10-20 kg, even in a briefcase. The heaviest laptop to date 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 is not very convenient to carry such a colossus.

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

Such a weight will not harm the human body, and if you constantly carry such an apparatus 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 this creation was published.

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

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 might want to buy themselves something big and impressive. Therefore, this parameter can also be referred to as optional.

Criterion No. 8. Connectors and actuators

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

This is done with the expectation that the user will nevertheless 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 download various games for free.

But manufacturers are moving ahead and, quite possibly, already in 2017 a game will be released that cannot be broken.

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

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

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

And now all new versions of the football simulator do not break so easily, and at least three months pass between the release of the game on sale and the release of the crack.

In general, it is more and more difficult for crackers to crack new games, so a DVD drive and several thousand on new game should always be.

The same goes for other connectors and communications.

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

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

Therefore, the computer must have several connectors for USB devices, such as joysticks and gamepads. Optimal amount USB connectors is equal to 4.

Such a conclusion can be drawn from the fact that most games in the collective participation mode are designed for such a maximum number 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 name

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

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

Here the situation is almost the same as with phones - there are well-known brands that sell their products at a high price, and there are Chinese, who are the same in terms of parameters, but are sold cheaper.

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

Maybe laptops will not need to be sent directly to the manufacturer, but it is still easier and faster for craftsmen to repair well-known brands.

And secondly, after all, many years of experience proves the reliability of this or that brand.

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

Based on this, we can single out a list of brands that have the most 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 the difficulties with adapting games to the OS).

First place - HP ZBook 17

Based on all of the above characteristics, one single winner was chosen to be the best gaming laptop on the market.

It was the HP ZBook 17. You can buy it for $ 5,500, or about 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 (you can take it with 8 GB, it will be twice cheaper);
• two hard disk- one 256 GB SSD (it is better to install the main games on it) and another 1 TB HDD;
• there is DVD drive(HDMI no);
• the diagonal of the screen is 17.3 inches, the maximum resolution is 1920x1080;
• video memory - 8 GB;
• 4 USB port a - 3 for USB0 and 1 for USB 2.0;
• dimensions - 41.6x27.2;
• preinstalled Windows 7;
• weight - 3.5 kg.

The manufacturer gives a 3-year warranty on it.

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

And its battery is weak - for 4.5 hours. But still something better on the market today can not be found.

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, in one way or another, is connected with 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 you sacrifice several selection criteria, in particular the last one, the Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 will be the winner. 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 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 with Ivy Bridge architecture;
• 16 GB of RAM;
• preinstalled Windows 7;
• screen with a diagonal of 17.3 inches and a resolution of 1920 × 1080;
• 4 GB of video memory;
• 512 GB SSD disk;
• Blu-ray drive;
• 4 USB ports - 1 for USB0 and 3 for USB 2.0;
• battery for 9 hours.

Basically, thanks to a clean SSD drive, this model could bypass our today's winner, even despite the outdated processor architecture, if it had more RAM.

Otherwise, 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 it will be possible to play on the winner of our today's competition for only 2 hours, then the Japanese will definitely withstand 4.

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

By the way, interestingly, the Japanese was released in 2012, so the outdated kernel isn't too surprising.

But the fact that this laptop has been keeping its mark for 3 years is quite impressive!

Third place - Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70

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

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

This pleasure costs about $ 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 and 4 cores;
• 16 GB of RAM;
• the diagonal of the screen is 15.6 inches, the maximum resolution is 3840x2160;
• 4 GB of video memory;
• battery for 5 hours;
• 1 GB of internal memory on the HDD hard disk (here a combination of HDD + SSD Cache is used, that is, the 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

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

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

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

But Fujitsu CELSIUS H920 and HP ZBook 17 will have to search the Internet, and you will definitely not find them in ordinary hardware stores.

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

• Run the "Control Panel" and click on the item "Uninstall the 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.

• From time to time, clean your computer of junk. From games usually there is a lot of temporary and other unnecessary files.
  To do this, open "My Computer", right-click on the disk where the games are recorded and click on "Disk Cleanup" in the window that opens.

Disk Cleanup via My Computer

• Do backup data. To do this, in the same "Control Panel" select the item "Computer data archiving".

This will give an opportunity when wrong work system 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, when you first start Windows system must do this on her own.

• Buy wipes to clean your screen. While regular computers don't need to have a crystal clear screen, gaming laptops should make sure that there is no debris or dust on the screen.
  It is very important that you always have a clear screen on your gaming laptop! And this is important, first of all, because otherwise the color rendering will suffer.

• If you plan to use your laptop, as well as a regular one, without connecting to the mains, from time to time you need to perform the following procedure:

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

3. Place the battery in one of the chambers of the refrigerator at a temperature of about 5 о С;

5. Keep it in this state for several hours.

This procedure will significantly increase the battery life. Otherwise, after two years it will have to be replaced 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 work at elevated temperatures and too sharp temperature changes will definitely not do them good.
  After arriving in a warm room from the cold, you must wait at least half an hour and only then turn on the laptop. Of course, the device must be carried in a special bag.

• Disassemble the laptop from time to time and clean the dust inside it. In gaming devices, dust will accumulate twice as much as in ordinary laptops, because the load on them is much higher.
  Special attention should be paid to the cooler (it is highlighted with a red frame in the picture # 20).

All this will help you enjoy greater productivity over a long period.

Below you can see a small video presentation of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70, the most convenient gaming laptop for buying with the maximum performance.

Video review of the laptop Lenovo IdeaPad Y5070

We are buying a laptop! Which one to choose for games?

25.08.2017 14:00

The times when the developers of game hits everywhere and specifically specified that they did not guarantee work on laptops are long gone. Today, you can find many really powerful performance laptops on sale that are almost as good as their desktop counterparts. But at the same time, the advantages of such devices are obvious - they are compact, you can take them with you on the road, on vacation, to the country. It remains only to choose the right laptop, and we will help you in this difficult matter.

In case you want to play, and not understand clock speeds or gigabytes of RAM, here are some ready-made solutions. Do you want to delve deeper? Read our detailed guide below.

Ready-made solutions

Budget Gaming Laptop

If you are going to play any turn-based strategy, isometric RPG or quests, then this is fine. inexpensive laptop with not the most top-end parameters: 6 GB of RAM, an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor, 500 GB HDD ... Game hits on such models will run, but at low settings.

Powerful mid-range laptop

If you want to play really comfortably in most modern fresh games at high settings with 40-60 fps, you will have to focus on more productive models: Intel Core i3 / i5 or similar, 8 GB RAM, preferably with an SSD.

The most advanced gaming laptop

If you prefer to keep up with the times and play at the highest ultra-settings in the most current game hits so much that fps does not drop below 50-60 even in the scenes painted with special effects, then choose everything to the maximum and in nothing for yourself do not refuse. Intel Core i7 or similar, 32 GB or more RAM ... And fasten your seat belts!

Well, now let's tell you more about what you need to focus on when choosing a gaming laptop.

Why do you need a gaming laptop?

The first step is to decide for which games you are choosing a laptop. If you are going to play turn-based strategies, old-mode RPGs or quests, then this is fine standard car with average performance parameters. But if you want to try all the latest hits, then here you have to focus on really gaming laptops.

Display: Bigger is Better

Gaming laptops are equipped with screens sized 15-18 inches... It is clear that in order to get a full-fledged experience of spectacular modern games, you need a larger screen. In this sense, laptops, of course, lose out to desktop counterparts, which can be equipped with even wider and larger monitors. However, the screen size 17.3 inch with support for optimal Full HD resolution 1920 × 1080 pixels in a laptop is also quite enough to get beautiful picture in games and immersion in virtual reality... There are even more powerful models that support resolutions up to Quad HD (2560 × 1440 dots) and 4K (3840 × 2160 dots).

The screen matrix is ​​theoretically better to choose in the IPS format - there are better viewing angles. But TN-matrices on powerful gaming laptops are also of very, very high quality - they have decent color reproduction and good viewing angles, and the response time is less than that of IPS.

Processor: at least 4 cores!

The performance of the entire system depends on the processor. And in gaming laptops, as well as in powerful desktop counterparts, quad-core (or even eight-core) processors from Intel or AMD must be installed - otherwise they are no longer gaming systems. In addition, such engines allow you to perform several tasks on a machine at once and run several applications. You can endlessly argue about which "prots", from Intel or AMD, are better and more efficient in terms of price-quality ratio, and there can be no definite answer. In any case, you need to choose models with Intel i5 - i7 or AMD A8-A10 series processors. The amount of clock frequency should vary within 2.8-3.5 GHz.

RAM: with the possibility of adding

Like the processor, random access memory (RAM) is fundamentally important to the performance of the entire system - why more apps you run, the more volume is required. And it's not enough for a modern gamer to just play - you need to simultaneously launch a game, conduct streams, have high-quality communication with teammates ... Therefore, the minimum amount of RAM in gaming laptops should be 8 GB, and better - 16 or 32 GB DDR4 format. Most models have a slot for installation additional module memory - even if you purchased a laptop with 8 GB of memory, then you can always increase this amount later.

Video card: just not built-in!

A video card, of course, is especially important for gaming laptops, as it is directly responsible for displaying a high-quality and detailed picture on the screen. If the model has a built-in "vidyakha", then this is, consider, not a gaming laptop - in terms of its parameters, it is significantly inferior to discrete, that is, independent full-fledged models. You can comfortably play the same turn-based strategies and quests, but you will have to immediately forget about the latest hits.

You need to focus on the names of video cards - NVIDIA GeForce GTX or AMD Radeon... Even stripped down mobile versions GeForce 940 M and above allow you to run many modern games, and now in gaming laptops, all-wheel drive video cards of the GTX 1050-GTX 1080 series are installed with might and main, which are in no way inferior to their desktop counterparts. The main thing is that they have at least 2 memory, and preferably 4-8 GB of DDR5 format.

Some models support SLI or CrossFire technologies, which allow two video cards to work in the system at once and effectively combine their power. There are few such gaming laptops, and they cost more, but if you have enough money, buy models with two GTX 1080s at once with 8 GB of memory on board. So you get a real harvester for any game, but at the same time compact and portable. AMD's typical graphics cards for gaming laptops are the AMD Radeon R9 / AMD FirePro models.

Hard drive: there is never too much space!

Modern popular video games take up a lot of space and "weigh" tens of gigabytes. Therefore, even 500 GB will not be enough for a serious gamer. hard disk- it is better to take models with 1-2 TB, which today in this segment is the overwhelming majority. If this is not enough, you can buy external hard disk. Also today, more and more often in gaming laptops, a regular hard drive and solid state drive(SSD) - and this option is better than the standard one. After all, the SSD on which is usually installed operating system, albeit smaller in volume, and more expensive, but it uses flash memory and processes information faster by reading data.

Dimensions: weighty power

It is clear that everyone wants to have a laptop as compact, lightweight and thin as possible - in fact, such compactness is their advantage. However, in the case of modern gaming laptops, you need to be prepared for the fact that for the most part they will weigh almost twice as much as usual, namely 4-6 kg... A powerful video card (or even two), a serious cooling system, a voluminous hard drive (plus an SSD drive), a large display - all this simply cannot weigh little.

Peripherals and Applications

It is advisable to choose the appropriate accessories for a powerful gaming laptop - gaming "mice", gamepads, joysticks, headsets, speakers. For example, from the Trust GTX series, which we wrote about recently. It's great if manufacturers equip models with a very comfortable, truly gaming backlit keyboard - as, for example, in MSI gaming laptops.

Don't underestimate the built-in apps either. In many models from the same MSI, for example, a very useful program Dragon Center is installed, which, among other things, allows you to adjust the fan speed, monitor the temperature of the processor and video card, and at the same time the consumption of RAM. There is also the Nanimic 2 program, with which you can change the sound scheme, depending on whether you are playing a shooter, strategy, racing, role-playing game, just listening to music or watching a movie.

Naturally, a gaming laptop should have the most popular ports for connecting with other media devices, for example, for outputting a movie or playing a game on a large screen - we are talking primarily about HDMI, DisplayPort and USB Type-C. The presence of a DVD drive is also an advantage - games are sold today not only digitally, but also in beautiful boxes, which are so nice to give to friends. And, of course, you need to pay attention to the battery capacity and time autonomous work laptop. But in any case, keep in mind that you can play modern games without connecting to the mains for a maximum of a couple of hours.

The laptop has become a full-fledged member of the computer family, many use the laptop as their main PC. Lightweight models are in demand in slim body convenient for business trip or travel. Less in demand, but also popular, are powerful "nuclear suitcases" that can be worn for a long time - the hand will get tired, but playing your favorite toy away from home, or urgently rendering a working project - no problem. However, the most common among us are classic laptops. How to choose good laptop for games, work, travel and other tasks - read on.

If high settings are not important, you are indifferent to the latest toys, and you trust the time-tested content (some WoT, WoWS, DOTA, Counter strike etc.) - you can look for compromises. It is not recommended to sacrifice the screen in this case, nevertheless 15 inches is the optimum. But the resolution can be sacrificed by choosing HD +, since in online battles gameplay is usually more important than the beauties of graphics. And the battery with HD will last longer. In addition, universal laptops with a normal (sufficient for comfortable gaming) video card are sold much cheaper than their purely gaming counterparts.

How to choose a laptop for study

Which laptop to choose for study depends on who to study with. For future specialists in the humanitarian professions, the choice will be one, for "techies" - another. Indeed, in the process of training, very different tasks are set for representatives of technical and humanitarian specialties.

For philologists, journalists, document experts, psychologists and future executive personnel, everything is easier. A laptop requires a decent processor (not the ultra-budget Seleron, which has a pedigree of tablets), a decent amount of RAM and (preferably) a smart drive (SSD). A built-in video card will do as well, the screen resolution is determined by the level of comfort (if you don't like HD pixels - take FullHD or higher). To make the laptop more comfortable and easier to carry (this is usually more important for girls, although guys are not very happy to carry extra pounds for pairs) - you can take a closer look at the ultrabook.

For students of technical professions, it all depends on the requirements of the special software that will be required during the training. It can be engineering tools and CAD, development environments. software, graphic editors, etc. If you are a junior student - do not hesitate to ask your older friends and teachers what programs will be needed next, before choosing a laptop for study. Then clarify system requirements and the capabilities of this software. This is important because some programs use only the processor for computation, and some support GPGPU. The latter also use a graphics chip for calculations, so they work much faster on laptops with a decent video card.

The size and weight of a study laptop is determined by how often you have to carry it and how many more bags you will have in your hands. If every gram is worth its weight in gold, you have to go on the road often (weekly commute home and back), and high performance is not required - you should buy an ultrabook. If the laptop will constantly stand still, and you rarely plan to go home, you can sacrifice dimensions and autonomy for the sake of comfortable work by buying a 17-inch model.

How to choose a laptop for work

The choice of a laptop for work is not fundamentally different from the selection of a laptop for study. It all depends on the specifics of the activity and what software is required to be used on duty. For office work with documents, a normal processor, sufficient memory and a fast storage are important. But for tasks that use GPGPU technologies, the video card is also important. For working with documents, the type and resolution of the screen are not critical, but for editing graphics, you should not save on the quality of the display. IPS matrix with FullHD resolution - required condition to get good contrast and color reproduction.

If you move frequently for work, and it is important to have a powerful computer with you, you should take a closer look at powerful models with quad-core processors and a gaming graphics card. In tasks that require large and long workloads (for example, video encoding or 3D rendering), they will be much more powerful than ultrabooks and mainstream mid-range models.

How to choose a laptop by specifications

With common features of laptops for specific tasks we have decided. Now it's worth delving into the wilds technical characteristics so that the purchased laptop will please and cheerfully cope with the tasks. Before choosing an inexpensive gaming laptop, a compact laptop for the road, or a workhorse for study, there are key parameters to consider.

CPU

Laptops in 2017 are equipped with processors manufactured by Intel and AMD. The former are more common, and their lineup is wider. The advantages of AMD processors are their low price and good integrated graphics. There are both dual-core and quad-core models. The former are only suitable for simple tasks such as editing text documents, surfing the web and watching movies online. They are less suited for more difficult tasks. For new games, laptops with AMD are usually poorly suited, and this will remain so until about mid-2017 (until new APU models appear, more powerful).

Intel has two current CPU model series. The first ones trace their ancestry to tablets and are distinguished by very low energy consumption. This range includes Atom, Celeron and Pentium chips. They have 4 cores and are comparable in performance to AMD products. Office, internet, cinema are the main tasks of such processors. Like AMD, they are capable of playing old games, but they are not at all suitable for new ones.

The second line of Intel processors is the Intel Core I and Intel Core M series. These processors usually have two cores, but these cores are more powerful than the Atoms, Pentiums and Selerons. Also, plus the CPU data - in the powerful integrated graphics, comparable to AMD chips. Laptops with such processors are good for games, internet, study and work. For avid gamers, there are also quad-core Intel Core i5 and i7 HQ series, based on the core of conventional desktop processors. They are very powerful, but expensive and voracious. Such CPUs will come in handy in new games and heavy programs (like video editors and engineering software.

As for the clock frequency, the higher it is, the better. However, it is only worth comparing processors of the same architecture. For example, an Intel Core i3 with 2 GHz will be faster than a Core i3 with 1.8 GHz, but an Atom with 2 GHz is weaker than even a Core i3 with 1.6 GHz. It is useless to compare AMD and Intel processors in frequency. Quad core Intel Pentium with 2 GHz it can be either more powerful than the equal-frequency AMD A-series with 4 cores, or weaker - it all depends on the specific task.

Video card

Most laptops are equipped with an integrated Intel HD or AMD Radeon graphics card (depending on the processor manufacturer), designed for simple tasks (office, internet, cinema). Also, many laptops have a discrete GeForce or Radeon graphics card. It is used in games and programs that use a graphics chip for computing. Such graphics are noticeably more powerful than integrated ones, but they get hotter and drain the battery faster. Therefore, in a PC for the Internet and office work, it is not required. For such tasks, you can buy a laptop with integrated video: it is cheaper.

Among discrete graphics solutions for laptops at the beginning of 2017, the 900 and 1000 series are relevant Nvidia GeForce, or the 300, 400 and 500 series AMD Radeon. Among the "green" (Nvidia's companies), the initial segment includes the 920M and 920MX chips. They are able to run old games, and also run relatively new ones (released after 2013) at low settings. Middle class- GeForce 940M and 940MX. These cards can already provide normal performance in all modern games, but you can't count on high settings in any Fallout 4.

Play in high quality allow GeForce GTX 1050, 1050 Ti and 1060. They are based on desktop chips, so they are very fast, but power hungry and hot. It's not worth buying a compact laptop with such graphics: it will constantly overheat. But in massive gaming models with good cooling, such graphics are just right. There are even more advanced laptops with flagship class cards. However, such models are very expensive (several thousand dollars), heavy (5 kg with charging is not the limit) and inconvenient for frequent transportation.

Among the chips AMD graphics cards the entry-to-intermediate level can be identified by the second digit of the model number. All GPUs up to and including sub-series 5 (for example, M3 4 5, M4 3 5) are they. Anything that contains the second digit 6 and above (for example, M3 7 0, M4 6 0) are gaming solutions that can compete with Nvidia's 900 and 1000 series graphics cards (mid-range and above). However, they are also expensive, hot, and reduce laptop battery life.

RAM

RAM capacity should be 8 GB to achieve normal performance in 2017. If the budget is tight, and the tasks are supposed to be simple (office, Internet) - you can buy a model with 4 GB. However, in this case, you need to give preference to laptops in which the memory is inserted into a slot (and not soldered on the board), and there are two slots on board, so that you can later buy another 4 or 8 GB of memory. Alas, in the specifications, this point is sometimes silent, therefore, to be sure, you should familiarize yourself with the review of the selected model before buying.

For games and heavy programs, RAM should be 8 GB and not a byte less. If you have 12 or 16 GB on board, that's even better. Nevertheless, modern software does not weakly eat up memory, and even a browser with a couple of tabs is capable of taking up the entire free volume of RAM. So compromises on RAM capacity are highly undesirable. When choosing a laptop, also remember that the most current type of memory is DDR4. DDR3 is not bad either, but after a few years, when you want to upgrade, it may no longer be available.

An inexpensive gaming laptop is a loose concept: one means by this phrase a budget laptop model with a good video card for $ 600, and the other - a productive system for $ 1000. Therefore, we have selected the 5 most suitable laptops for games from various price points that are in demand in 2016.

5. Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-52RJ - $ 500 Budget Gaming Laptop

You have a modest amount of money at your disposal, but you really want to play new games in the gaming industry? Well, then the Acer Aspire E 15 is best car For you. Yes, of course, you will have to accept the fact that new games will run in 1366x768 resolution only at medium or low settings, but you can play them. And that's on a laptop for only $ 500! And over time, when you accumulate a little money, this laptop can be upgraded: a place inside the case and on motherboard there is for this, and the design of the bottom cover allows you to access the RAM and storage without the need to disassemble the laptop. By the way, first of all, we advise you to insert a second RAM strip and change the HDD to a faster one.

4. Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-53VG - a powerful gaming laptop for $ 600

Another worthy representative of the Acer family took 4th place in our top! In general, it is similar to our previous participant: the same Intel Core i5- 6200U processor, the same 8 GB of RAM and a sluggish 1 TB hard drive. But for the extra $ 100, you get more computing power: here is a decent by modern standards NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M video card, and a 128 GB SSD for installation the operating system included. Of course, this laptop will not be able to master the novelties of the gaming industry on ultra-graphics, but at medium and minimum settings it will be possible to join them. But with older games, this laptop copes perfectly well: Skyrim with modifications to the graphics works very quickly. However, this laptop, like the previous one, is designed to enable a quick upgrade: for example, there is a second slot for RAM, so that it can be expanded up to 32 GB.

3. Acer Aspire V 15 VN7-592G-58C3 - an inexpensive laptop for gaming with an IPS-matrix for $ 700

Still, the screen makes a huge difference in a gaming laptop! If you have the opportunity to purchase a laptop with an IPS matrix, then you should definitely do this in order to enjoy realistic color reproduction and forget about the problem with viewing angles forever. If you have $ 700, then buy the Acer Aspire V 15 VN7-592G-58C3 without a second thought: for this price, there is no better laptop for gaming. You get an Intel Core i5 6300HQ quad-core processor, 8GB expandable RAM and a decent game video card Nvidia GTX 960M plus a backlit keyboard and 4-speaker surround sound system. And all this is hidden in a 1 inch thick case! And the laptop weighs about 2.5 kg. And modern games can be played freely at medium and high settings in a resolution of 1920x1080!

2. ASUS ZX53VW-AH58 - stylish gaming laptop for $ 800

ASUS ZX53VW-AH58 is a complete gaming laptop, take a look - its design screams it! And inside the stylish black case is a quad-core Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an Nvidia Geforce GTX 960m (4GB GDDR5) graphics card to match the demands of 2016 games. Of course, we're not talking about ultra settings, but Battlefield 1 released this fall can be played at 1080p at high graphics settings without any lags or freezes. And in order to make the gameplay enjoyable, the manufacturer has provided keyboard backlighting and high-quality sound.

1.ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH71 - Best $ 1000 Gaming Laptop

Every major laptop brand has a separate game series. And the winner of our top is a representative of the Republic Of Gamers (ROG) series from ASUS. It is noteworthy that ROG laptops are often referred to as an alternative. And for good reason: the functional part is very similar, but the price at ASUS is lower. Of course, the ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH71 cannot boast of the same cool design as Alienware, but the design is just a matter of taste. But the inside of the case is really cool: an Intel Core i7 Skylake processor, 16 GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GTX960M graphics card! Therefore, 2016 games run on this system in high definition and high graphics settings.

More details about this laptop can be found in the video review:

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It is best to purchase a laptop depending on what tasks you plan to perform with it: for computer games and work with graphics programs you need a powerful device, for surfing the Internet, as well as for textual documentation, you can take a cheaper car. The cooling system plays a very important role in laptops - you should definitely pay attention to it when choosing. If it is weak, the equipment will quickly overheat or fail altogether. Battery capacity is another important factor to consider. It is advisable to purchase a laptop with a battery capable of working in offline about 6-7 hours.

In the ranking of the best laptops, we tried to combine both expensive and relatively cheap models that have an excellent value for money. Top 10 includes best devices designed for both work and play. In the process of compiling the rating, we largely relied on the opinion of buyers.

This is a transformer model - its thickness is 14 mm with a mass of about one and a half kilograms. The device has good performance. The RAM of the device is 16 GB DDR3, the motherboard contains an Intel Core i7 processor with a clock speed of 2.7 GHz, the internal hard drive is designed for 512 GB. The battery is powerful enough, with a full charge in autonomous mode it can work for about 4-5 hours.

There is nothing superfluous in the device - just everything you need: one USB 3.0 port, providing high speed transmission data from external media. This is not very convenient, since if you need to connect several external devices you will have to additionally purchase an adapter. There is no HDMI cable port and SD card slot, there is an Ethernet jack. It works quietly and practically does not heat up, although this device is very fast, it is not possible to raise the temperature of the processor even when using powerful games. The monitor is touch-sensitive, has a high definition.

Advantages:

• Low weight;
• High performance;
• Fast battery charging.

Disadvantages:

• High price;
• Thick bottom bezel;
• Insufficient number of ports for connection.

The device has a streamlined aluminum body, which has no backlash. The case will not wobble or squeak over time. The diagonal of the screen is 15.6 inches, it is a touchscreen with a resolution of over 1080 pixels. The display connects to the main unit and keyboard using a single hinge. The mass is not too large - a little more than 2 kg, with dimensions of 355.6 * 256.54 * 20.32 mm, this is quite acceptable. On the sides of the main unit there are a significant number of connectors - a socket for a power cord, a port for HDMI, Ethernet, USB 3.0 and audio output, there are also two USB 2.0 ports and a slot for a memory card. In addition, there is an original latch that acts as a security lock.

The laptop has an integrated graphics card latest model, allowing you to work simultaneously with several graphic resources. The standard package, like all the other best laptops of 2019, comes with a 480-pixel webcam. It is not suitable for shooting videos, but for a chat on Skype this is quite enough. The battery is not very reliable - even a new one with a full charge will last no more than 5.5 hours, and even if not all the resources of the device are involved.

Advantages:

• Beautiful appearance;
• Good multitasking;
• High performance;
• Reliability.

Disadvantages:

• The keyboard is small, sometimes it is inconvenient;
• Battery life is poor;
• The sensor is not very sensitive.

This is a fairly well-known premium model, distinguished by its compact size and the latest technology display making. The laptop is very interesting not only for fans of computer games, but also for photo or video processors, especially since the display allows you to fully cover the Adobe RGB color space. The appearance of the device is strict, the body is made of an alloy of magnesium and aluminum, which is quite durable. The thickness is insignificant considering that the diagonal of the laptop is 15.6 inches. The display is touch-sensitive, it is additionally protected from damage by means of a special protective glass Gorilla Glass, covered with olephobic compounds that are well resistant to the formation of various kinds of scratches.

The hinges of the laptop are quite tight, do not loosen during operation, which prevents backlash. There are no decorative elements, however, there are rubberized legs, about 8 mm high. On the right side of the device is a memory card port, a USB 3.0 slot and a security lock, on the left side of the case there is another USB 3.0 connector, HDMI and several other outputs for peripheral devices. The backlit buttons, if necessary, can be turned off, practically do not make any noise during operation.

The battery lasts for about 7 hours when browsing the Internet and working with text documents, for 2 hours during games and 12 hours without much work. The cooling system is powerful, reliably removes heat. It has two fans and several copper tubes... A processor of the latest generation is installed, there is a bundle of two video cards Pascal-GTX 1050 and HD Graphics 630. The RAM is 16 GB, if necessary, it can be expanded to 32 GB, in terms of speed it is in no way inferior to the models from Apple.

Advantages:

• Good performance;
• The ability to use several graphics programs at once;
• Convenient screen, resistant to damage;
• Small size.

Disadvantages:

• Webcam location;
• There is no additional numeric keypad;
• Speakers start to hiss at maximum volume;
• The headphones do not fit too tightly into the connector, which is why the sound is generally lost;
• The speakers are located at the bottom.

It has a beautiful appearance, a display diagonal of 15.6 inches, the screen itself is matte. The body is made of durable plastic with a matte finish, dust will not accumulate on it, fingerprints are invisible. The keyboard is comfortable, backlit, and the keys are a bit stiff. The screen has a resolution of 1920 * 1080 pixels - for this budget model pretty high. The laptop has three USB ports, one of which is Accelerated 3.0.

RAM is not enough for graphics or games - only 4 GB, but it can be increased by installing additional dies. Inner memory- 1 TB. This is enough for documents and media files. The processor does not need a lot of current power: 15 W is enough for it to work, but its clock frequency is 2000 GHz.

Advantages:

• Excellent value for money;
• Good display resolution;
• Spacious hard drive;
• If necessary, you can upgrade the device - replace the hard drive, RAM, sound card, and so on.

Disadvantages:

• The plastic case looses over time;
• Low battery capacity;
• High chance of breaking the plastic hatch covering the RAM slots.

This is one of the best gaming laptops in this ranking. The basis here is a powerful quad-core Intel Core i7-7700H processor with a clock frequency of 2.8 GHz, when the turbo mode is activated, this figure increases to 3.8 GHz. In addition, this processor is equipped with Turbo-Boost technology, which provides 8 threads with 4 cores. The laptop has a powerful graphic card Intel HD Graphics 630 and an integrated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card with 4GB of memory.

DDR4 RAM - its capacity is 8 GB, there is one more slot for installing an additional module. The laptop supports a maximum of 32GB of RAM. HDD designed to store 1 TB of data. The body has all the necessary volumes for connecting various external devices. The battery is non-removable; a full charge will be enough for 4.5 hours of continuous operation with an average processor load. The cooling system is powerful - this is very important for a gaming laptop, it is possible to adjust the fan speed.

Advantages:

• High build quality;
• Performance;
• When a mouse is connected, the touchpad is automatically disabled;
• Does not overheat;
• It pulls well all modern games at the highest rates.

Disadvantages:

• Low battery capacity - you have to constantly charge it or even work from the mains.

Is one of best models in an inexpensive price segment. Powerful games it will not pull, but it fits perfectly for work. The body is made of metal, with small plastic inserts, which ensures high durability of the product. The hinges are not very tight, the laptop can be opened even with one hand. Small weight - 2.2 kg at overall dimensions 378 * 260 * 229 mm. The keyboard is full-sized, there is an additional block, assembled very neatly, does not emit extraneous sounds, and is equipped with switchable backlighting.

The basis is a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with a clock frequency of 2.25 GHz, in turbo mode it accelerates to 3.1 GHz. Provided graphics card GeForce 940 MX with 2 GB memory, DDR3 RAM - is quite suitable for not very demanding games, it shows its capabilities well in graphic editors. 1 TB hard drive. The device practically does not heat up and makes minimal noise during operation.

Advantages:

• Metal body;
• Insignificant weight;
• Solid state hard drive;
• Articulated stand.

Disadvantages:

• Not provided safety glass at the display;
• Not every user will find the keyboard comfortable;
• There are sharp corners on the case.

Beautiful design, like any product of the American company, insignificant weight - only 920 g, which is very small for a laptop. The buttons on the keyboard are located almost flush with the panel, have a decent area, which will be convenient for users with large hands. There is only one USB port, so you will have to buy a special adapter additionally. The case is made of thin aluminum, the diagonal of the display is 12 inches with a resolution of 2304 * 1440 pixels, has an oleophobic coating that protects against damage and repels dirt.

The central element of the laptop is an Intel Core M-5Y70 processor, a 512 GB hard drive, 8 GB RAM. When the equipment is fully loaded, the bottom of it heats up very much, which is why you will have to purchase a ventilating stand. Charges quickly: off - in an hour and a half, on - about two hours. In stand-alone mode, it can work up to 10 hours with active use.

Advantages:

• Appearance;
• High build quality;
• Ease of use;
• Insignificant weight.

Disadvantages:

• Cost (like all Apple branded products);
• An operating system different from what most Windows users are used to.

This is one of the best all-purpose laptops - perfect for both work and play, with a low cost and attractive design - the plastic lid has two raised lines and red reflective stripes that create an imitation of backlighting. All necessary connectors for connecting peripheral devices are provided.

The display has a diagonal of 15.6 inches with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It has a wide viewing angle and anti-glare matte finish - enough for games and movies, but not enough for color correction. Processor 4-core Intel Core i7 with a clock frequency of 2.8 GHz, in turbo mode, accelerates to 3.8 GHz. There are several model options depending on the amount of RAM - 8, 12 or 16 GB. The maximum hard drive capacity is 256 GB, which is not too much for a gaming model.

Advantages:

• For its characteristics, quite an acceptable cost;
• Supports all modern games;
• Attractive appearance;
• Reliable cooling system;
• Low weight.

Disadvantages:

• Low battery capacity;
• Small hard disk capacity;
• Weak microphone and quiet speakers.

Superior performance, elegance, slim shape The aluminum case is what characterizes this model, which took the honorable second place in the ranking of the best laptops for home and work. Weighing only one and a half kilograms, the display is 13.3 inches diagonal with a wide viewing angle. The device will perfectly cope with any task. It supports any application well, even if it requires a significant amount of resources. The device has a sixth generation Intel Core processor, up to 16 GB of RAM, and an integrated Nvidia GeForce 940 MX graphics card.

There are all the necessary connectors for connecting peripherals. The display has excellent color reproduction with 72% NTSC color, full SRGB support and 74% Adobe RGB, making it great for any format graphic editors... The viewing angle is almost 180 degrees, there is an Eye Care mode, which reduces eye fatigue during prolonged use of the laptop.

Advantages:

• Small size and weight;
• There are additional slots for installing additional RAM;
• Discrete graphics;
• Good sound quality;
• Nice appearance.

Disadvantages:

• Small hard disk space;
• The touchpad does not disconnect when a mouse is connected.

it recognized leader among the most powerful laptops sold at a fairly reasonable price. In terms of its performance, it is practically in no way inferior to modern personal computers game type. Display diagonal 15.6 inches with a resolution of 1920 * 1080 pixels, a quad-core processor with eight threads.

Graphics card model Nvidia GeForcce GTX 1050 Ti, 8GB RAM expandable up to 16GB. 1TB SSHD hard drive with 6Gbps speed. The battery is reliable - even at maximum load, the device will work for about 2.5 hours in stand-alone mode.

Advantages:

• High-quality assembly, no backlash;
• Beautiful appearance;
• Good hardware, works stably even at maximum load.

Disadvantages:

• Apart from the high price, no.