What should I be looking for in a gaming computer?

I am trying to find a relatively inexpensive laptop that I can use for playing computer games, mostly World of Warcraft, and I am wondering what I should be looking for in a computer like how much RAM, what kind of video card, what kind of processor, how much total hard drive space, etc. that will make me not lag a lot. I know that laptops aren’t as good as desktops but I specifically want a laptop so I can take it places.

You need at least 512 MB Video RAM and 512 MB Graphics Memory if possible (although some GPUs do not have them, they are memory intensive, thus you’d need more RAM than Graphics Memory, but its best to have 512 MB of the RAM you already have and lock the CPU out of it to reserve it for the GPU or they’ll be fighting over it, possibly causing a crash). The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) plays a big role and today its the clash of the two GPU titans Nvidia and ATI at the moment, so its best to choose from their biggest models and is best to get at least 512 memory off the GPU and CPU together at least, but you’ll need a good CPU as well, you can try intel and/or AMD cores as they are quite cool. I’d recommend a quad-core and for gaming a 64-bit motherboard processing path and CPU. I recommend a DirectX 10 enabled GPU as well. It’s best to have at least 2GB to 4GB RAM on modern day PCs and a 2 GHZ to 4 GHZ processor, ideally the ultimate PC would have 12GB RAM and a 40 GHZ processor, though that may blow the fans and melt through the heat sink’s alloy itself, so we’ll wait until the better processors, too big for a laptop though.
I’d recommend a dual 320 GB drive but ideally a 240 GB drive, like I have on one of mine (although its processor is not ideal).
Quad cores work well with 64-bit processors, thanks to server core technology by Microsoft’s Windows Server technology as well as IBM systems. Perfectly also, you would need a WiFi and possibly bluetooth link and for enhanced game community interaction a built in webcam and microphone. That bunch would cost you about $1000 to $5000.
Just in case you don’t understand a few terms I have entered, starting with clock speed:
HZ – or sometimes hz or even Hz stands for Hertz (pronounced heights or hurts) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a one period speed. 1 periods a second.
KHZ – or sometimes Khz stands for Kilo Hertz (pronounced killer heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Kilo speed. 1,000 periods a second.
MHZ – or sometimes Mhz stands for Mega Hertz (pronounced meg-a heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Mega speed. 1,000,000 periods a second.
GHZ – or sometimes Ghz stands for Giga Hertz (pronounced gig-a heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Giga speed, which is 1000 MHZ. 1,000,000,000,000 periods a second.
THZ – or sometimes Thz stands for Tera Hertz (pronounced ter-a heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Tera speed, which is 1000 GHZ, a future use of larger processors. 1,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000 periods a second.
There are higher rates but these are most common in computers.
RAM is used to store currently running (executed) address codes and even full programs and their holding process.
The CPU is directly connected to the RAM to hosts the execution threads.
The GPU is directly connected to the motherboard but indirectly to the CPU and RAM, but some motherboards let it access the RAM seperate to the CPU for hardware acceleration.
CPU stands for Central Processing Unit.
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory.
I hope you understand this, anymore questions you can e-mail me via my profile.
Thanks.
CybX Systems.

3 Comments

  1. Dave Offy
    Posted February 20, 2010 at 10:22 am | Permalink

    At least 2GB RAM, over 2.5 GHz processor, 512MB Video Card or bigger. This will be a good computer but to bad laptops suck for gaming, so this computer will be over $1000 I am building a desktop and it is only going to be $600 and it is going to be really good.
    References :

  2. ♥RAE♥N.Y.♥♥
    Posted February 20, 2010 at 11:10 am | Permalink

    You can find any computer game that you can think of–children’s games, adult games and toddler games. Most of the games require a high speed computer with an ultimate graphics card. So, with all of the options currently available, what should you be looking for in a gaming laptop computer? Below is a review of the laptop computer options that make the gaming experience so fun and enjoyable.

    Graphics

    Awesome and colorful graphics are one of the most important factors to consider when you are looking to purchase a gaming computer. In fact, the better the graphics the better your gaming experience will be. Most laptop computers are capable of providing graphics for 3D games and will also display on a
    wide-screen for ultimate game playing. The most important thing to look for in a laptop computer for gaming is one that comes with an integrated graphics card. Two of the best and highly rated graphics cards are Mobility Radeon 9700 and Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 900.

    I Feel The Need For Speed

    Clock speed, commonly known as the speed of your computer processor, is a huge consideration when looking for a gaming laptop computer. The speed of your computer is measured in gigahertz, usually written as (GHz) and megahertz written as (MHz). The faster the GHz or MHz the faster your laptop
    computer will work.

    Don’t scrimp on the cost of your computer processor. This is where you will want to spend your money. Without a fast processor your laptop computer won’t be able to run the 3D games which are currently being offered. If your processor can’t keep up with the game then your computer will freeze up in the middle of the game–definitely not a good thing! The most advanced processor that you can buy is a Serial Advanced Technology Architecture, commonly known as a SATA. This processor is ideal for a laptop computer and it also uses less power. If you aren’t sure about buying the SATA you can always buy a Pentium processor.

    Screen or Monitor Display

    In order to have the full effect of your gaming experience, you need to have the largest, sharpest and brightest screen that you can afford. The display on your computer monitor is measured by pixels. Look for a screen that has a display of at least 800×600 pixels.
    References :
    http://ezinearticles.com/?What-To-Look-for-In-a-Good-Gaming-Laptop-Computer&id=863764

  3. CybX Systems
    Posted February 20, 2010 at 11:43 am | Permalink

    You need at least 512 MB Video RAM and 512 MB Graphics Memory if possible (although some GPUs do not have them, they are memory intensive, thus you’d need more RAM than Graphics Memory, but its best to have 512 MB of the RAM you already have and lock the CPU out of it to reserve it for the GPU or they’ll be fighting over it, possibly causing a crash). The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) plays a big role and today its the clash of the two GPU titans Nvidia and ATI at the moment, so its best to choose from their biggest models and is best to get at least 512 memory off the GPU and CPU together at least, but you’ll need a good CPU as well, you can try intel and/or AMD cores as they are quite cool. I’d recommend a quad-core and for gaming a 64-bit motherboard processing path and CPU. I recommend a DirectX 10 enabled GPU as well. It’s best to have at least 2GB to 4GB RAM on modern day PCs and a 2 GHZ to 4 GHZ processor, ideally the ultimate PC would have 12GB RAM and a 40 GHZ processor, though that may blow the fans and melt through the heat sink’s alloy itself, so we’ll wait until the better processors, too big for a laptop though.
    I’d recommend a dual 320 GB drive but ideally a 240 GB drive, like I have on one of mine (although its processor is not ideal).
    Quad cores work well with 64-bit processors, thanks to server core technology by Microsoft’s Windows Server technology as well as IBM systems. Perfectly also, you would need a WiFi and possibly bluetooth link and for enhanced game community interaction a built in webcam and microphone. That bunch would cost you about $1000 to $5000.
    Just in case you don’t understand a few terms I have entered, starting with clock speed:
    HZ – or sometimes hz or even Hz stands for Hertz (pronounced heights or hurts) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a one period speed. 1 periods a second.
    KHZ – or sometimes Khz stands for Kilo Hertz (pronounced killer heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Kilo speed. 1,000 periods a second.
    MHZ – or sometimes Mhz stands for Mega Hertz (pronounced meg-a heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Mega speed. 1,000,000 periods a second.
    GHZ – or sometimes Ghz stands for Giga Hertz (pronounced gig-a heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Giga speed, which is 1000 MHZ. 1,000,000,000,000 periods a second.
    THZ – or sometimes Thz stands for Tera Hertz (pronounced ter-a heights) refers to the speed of how fast the clock speed of the processor works at a Tera speed, which is 1000 GHZ, a future use of larger processors. 1,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000 periods a second.
    There are higher rates but these are most common in computers.
    RAM is used to store currently running (executed) address codes and even full programs and their holding process.
    The CPU is directly connected to the RAM to hosts the execution threads.
    The GPU is directly connected to the motherboard but indirectly to the CPU and RAM, but some motherboards let it access the RAM seperate to the CPU for hardware acceleration.
    CPU stands for Central Processing Unit.
    GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit.
    RAM stands for Random Access Memory.
    I hope you understand this, anymore questions you can e-mail me via my profile.
    Thanks.
    CybX Systems.
    References :