I've been wanting to post this for awhile, but held back due to fear of Kaubel's wrath and a general lack of hardware-related threads on EJ forums.

I'm buying a laptop. I want to be able to play WoW on it without compromising anything I currently enjoy on my desktop. I want to be able to play everything in TBC. I don't want to spend $3000.

Is this do-able / is anyone doing it already? My experiences with WoW on laptops in the past has been bad. I've been looking at Alienware and Dell XPS systems.

Baseline spec requirements include: 1920x1200 resolution for widescreen goodness. 1 gig of memory stock with at least one free slot for future upgrades. 80g HD, cd-dvd write/rw, built in wireless, minimum 256mb second generation or later graphics card, two usb ports, decent sound, and a trackpad.

Any suggestions or comments from past experience? I would have posted this on the dual boxing thread as I plan to use it for some twoboxing when at home, but it seemed like a bit of a derail.

Surprisingly, thousands of people play WoW on laptops. Just go post whatever models you're looking at over the Tech Support Forum, you'll get 20 responses about how good/bad it is within minutes.

Very nice Mac laptops available for around $1000 by the way.

http://www.voodoopc.com/system/quote...productID=1084

I personally would only go with a voodoo if I were to get a laptop for gaming. Obviously you're going to spend more money than if you were to just build a desktop yourself.

I have played WoW on laptops before, as long as it has a good LCD screen and video processor, it will run fine. WoW has low system requirements (very much intended), so you can get away with buying a $1000 laptop.


On a different note, it have been proven that high heat lowers your sperm count. So watch where you put the hot thing ;) (some people use a table or pillow).

I am currently running a Dell Inspiron 9200. I have a 128mb ati mobility, 1gb ram, 100gb hdd, dual layer dvd /cd burner, and run wow at 1920x1200 resolution windowed maximized at around 20fps, with a few settings off (mainly full screen glow, but I hate that effect anyway).

I wouldn't reccomend getting a dell. I have already had 3 parts fail on me within the first year of purchase, including my hard drive. Their quality and customer service has gone way downhill, as such I would avoid alienware as well.

Also, laptops are EXPENSIVE. My particular setup was around 3000. I did get some of those crazy dell stacking coupons, but you can't always rely on those and it was still no cheap rig.

Don't put your laptop onto a soft surface like a blanket or pillow. They're designed to be used on hard surfaces; soft surfaces tend to cause them to heat up, which isn't good for your hardware. If you're planning to use your laptop in bed, look into some kind of lapdesk, or at the very least get a nice big hardcover book (textbooks are great for this sort of thing) to rest the laptop on top of.

That said, I wouldn't play WoW on a laptop if I could avoid it, at least not for raiding. Giving up too much in the way of screen real estate and input methods (and if you're just going to hook up an LCD, mouse, and keyboard, why not just get a gaming desktop and a cheap laptop you can take around with you that won't play games?)

Have a dell m90 and it's brilliant, can raid at 1920x1280. I needed a decent laptop for work stuff but games performance has been a really nice benefit.

Nice to do the odd herb run on a break.

My guild got together and people brought their rigs etc, and there was a guy with a laptop. It was some beast of a thing, made by alienware I believe. He said it worked fantastic for WoW and gaming in general (sorry i dont remember his specific specs). He was running in a WS (1680x1050?) and it was pretty smooth. It was very playable from what I saw, and I would even have played it myself if not for one thing (listed below)

My roommate bought a dell m700 or such, one of the mid-range laptops. He played wow some on it, and it was alright performance. It was a sub $1k machine, with integrated graphics. You wouldn't be able to raid with it, but playing in zones was fine.

If you want the performance with the options you listed I think it's feasable to get it under 3k, but probably over 1.6-2k [edit baring hot deals... but dell XPS systems rarely are included in the hot deals so look at other lines]. At which point i guess.. just make sure you really want it to be a laptop vs another rig.

some observations
1) No matter how nice the trackpad is, you'll get a mouse probably. Just get a laptop mouse, or use an extra one you have lying around.
2) Higher end laptops can get hot. My guildmates alienware would get so hot he'd put a cloth down on the wrist rests so that way he could play while being marginally uncomfortable vs burning his hands. He said at home he usually just plugged a keyboard in (in addition to a mouse)

I've never actually played on a voodoo laptop - but while i was in the market (before i ended up just building another PC) their prices were always pretty competitive.

I have an older version of this: http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/n...oductType=9750

Mine has a Radeon 9700 instead of the newer card, maybe a few other minor differences. I use my laptop as a desktop, for work as well as for WoW, so it's been on maybe 14 hours a day for the past year. As I type this, I am running WoW in windowed mode at 35fps (exalted with AV while I work!), ventrilo, IE, and a very resource-intensive database app with no problems. WoW runs very smoothly, no difficulty whatsoever on Thaddius or anywhere else. The one thing about a laptop like this, is that if you use it as a desktop and play games on it a lot, heat becomes an issue. I made the mistake of using it without a cooler for a few months and the case started cracking. When this happened, though, I just mailed it in to Sager and I got it back with a new case in about a week. Since I started using a cooler, I've had no further problems. I would highly recommend a Sager 17" if it's within your price range.

Currently running on a Macbook Pro, usually in native Bootcamp WinXP due to me being lazy. All settings maxed, fully smooth. The built-in keyboard and a wireless mouse don't really leave regretting a more dedicated setup. Being able to play in bed under a blanket also increases the enjoyment tenfold.

That came out wrong.

Anyway, you may want to provide a bit more information on how much you're willing to compromise in terms of size, heat and noise. Some of the dedicated gaming brands like Dell or Asus churn out clunky things that, while technically a laptop in form, really don't double for anything else you'll want from them like business meeting work or whatever. My advice is actually to look over the IBM (now Lenovo models) and see if there's anything with a reasonable graphics card. With most laptop parts being generic nowadays chassis design is the most important thing, and theirs is the best. You could also look into Apple machines, but that's a discussion for another thread.

I've had the exact opposite experience so far with my Dell Insp 9300. Got it around about 16 months ago with similar specs to yours and the OP's guidelines. I have had nothing go wrong so far and WoW looks delicious on the 17" screen running at 25-30fps (except in shit conditions like IF, supp room, Thaddius, etc). So I'd obviously recommend a Dell since you can now get a solid system for a reasonable amount. Also, I was able to get an online coupon for mine that saved me a couple hundred dollars. Things like that can really help get you under budget (or able to get another upgrade on whathaveyou).

I've been running WoW on an IBM (now lenovo) T42p for over a year now and it's been really good. It's not widescreen but it runs at 1600x1200 and has no problem cranking out 40+ FPS even with a ton of addons and detail set to high.

The big benefit I've found with this laptop over other gaming oriented laptops is the size. Although it's not all that sexy looking, it's light, thin, and quiet and doesn't run very hot. I've literally dragged this machine all over the world on countless business trips and haven't had any issues, even though it's taken some nasty falls along the way. I would highly recommend whatever the new version of this laptop is.

I must just be really unlucky, or the 9200's weren't as solid.

When did you get that setup? I bought the same one. Same Video Card, Same Ram, no Cd Burner and it cost me 1,300 2 years ago. I play Wow on it perfectly. The Keyboard is a litle cramped for me now a days since i got a bunch of keybinds and what not but the PC is solid. Ive had just one issue with it. My Headphone jack got busted, and they replaced the sound card incorrectly so i had like 4 weeks of no sound. It was replaced for a seccond time and i have no issues with it now. Im gonna get a Fang Game Pad to solve the crampedness of the keyboard

I have a 9300 inspiron and it runs wow great.

I run full out at 1440/900 and I'll typically have vent/fubar (music program) and a browser running in th ebackground.

Its a 2ghz with 1g mem, 17 inch screen, 100 gig hd and the nvidia 6800.

Only thing I would change is if you're going for the laptop dell for gaming get the ultrabright lcd monitor. 2 guys I work with have it and it is so beautiful. I want to change my homecomputer monitor now.

in the fall of 2004 i bought a laptop from http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/ for ~$1600: 1.7ghz pentiumM, 1gig of ram, 128mb ati video card. i played WoW on it for the past two years. for raids i had to put it up on a stand and use a fan to keep it cool, but it's certainly doable. i would deffinatly recomend getting a laptop stand or something similar to that laptop cooler someone linked.

The former rarely precedes the latter, especially if there's an obvious lack of the phrase, "Best practices."

Also the cooling pad someone posted above is nice, but a little outdated. Here is a newer one that supports 17" laptops and does not require external power. It uses USB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834999336

I have a Dell inspiron 9300 as well. 1 gig ram, 1.73 GHZ processor, not sure the resolution I run it on but its higher than the default. I also use most of the graphical settings. Run at 30ish FPS outside, and 10-20 in raids. I have noticed that yeah its wise to not put it on your lap, both for the heat/performance issues and for my precious gonads. So I bought a tv tray that goes over my legs. I play in a recliner, and even with the super widescreen this thing has it fits on the tray. I use a USB mouse and play that on the armchair of the recliner. Works very well for me.

To clarify to the above poster, size and heat are not really concerns. I've had a number of laptops over the years, and am familiar with the issues they can encounter. I actually worked in a hardware repair shop as a bench tech for about half a year when in between school semesters and moving.

@ the Mac people:

I love Macs, I'm very interested in this possibility. I'm a bit worried about FPS, particularly when someone says the number "20". Is that 20 FPS in a raid situation? Because if not, raids are going to be painful indeed. Other than that, I'd be really happy with a mac situation. There are advantages there as far as music production (another of my hobbies) that fascinate me.

@ the cost/pricing/specs people:

I really am not looking for a 'desktop replacement' machine by -today's- specs. I want something that'll run WoW reliably and hopefully Vent or TS at the same time. I don't have to run a half dozen apps at once, and I'm more interested in saving a couple hundred bucks than on super performance as long as my framerate doesn't suck. I've been looking at the Dells and the Alienwares today, but most of the new ones from either vendor are running $1800+ and include components I don't need. For example, I have no need for a 2ghz or faster core duo. A 1.7ghz p4 would do me just fine. Same goes for graphics cards, I don't need a SLI notebook. A 256mb radeon or geforce that's a couple generations back is fine.

I appreciate the input already provided, I'll keep researching!

Actually, the cooler that I use is actually this one, and not the one I linked . . . I didn't look very carefully.

Well the iinspiron 9300 I posted about is what you're looking for. It costed like 1600-1700 last summer. I can only assume it's cheaper now. Make sure you get the warrantry though. Replaced the speakers once and the keyboard once, although both were many months ago.