So you just freaked out and decided to get a new computer just to play Civ 5? AWESOME!. Now you don't have to start a whole new thread!
As an aside, I do NOT have a newegg affiliate, I'm not pocketing anything from this.
Here's our guidelines, for starters:
- The only graphics cards worth paying for are the Radeon HD 5650 and better, or the Nvidia 330 or better. Otherwise, the minimum i3 integrated graphics will be pursued.
- 17.3" Screens (and 16" Sony's) are generally the only screens with 1600*900 resolution. Everything smaller uses the standard resolution of 1366*768. This makes the pixels too large, and the usable space on the screen too low, on 15 - 16" monitors. So I kind of skip that range, I hate everything between 14.5 and 16" (except Sony's).
- Acer generally offers the best price/performance ratio and the highest performing chips at any given price. Sony and Asus have the highest build quality, but both cost more AND have lower performing chips than the closest comparable Acer, HP, or Lenovo.
<<snip>>
Moderator Action: Don't troll Mac users please.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889
- Toshiba, Samsung, Dell, and MSi all have flimsily made products - Go to bestbuy and flex the screens if you don't believe me - with batteries sticking out the bottom and hideously ugly aesthetics.
- I'm assuming you want a laptop that can also be taken to class without being embarassed, is appropriate for work or presentations, and is otherwise decent aesthetically.
- Unless you live in one of four states (I think Tennessee is one) you don't pay sales tax on notebooks from Newegg, so the price I list will be Product + Shipping. The warehouse layout's pretty good, and most places in the south at least get stuff from New Egg within 2 days even if it's not 2 day shipping.
So, without further Ado:
HIGHLIGHTED SUPERNOTEBOOK ACER ASPIRE!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115792
My friend Ryan ordered this $753 17.3" Notebook Monday night and received it today, and it is a gorgeous, sexy, quiet beast of a machine.
What it's got:
- 17.3" Screen, 1600*900 resolution, LED Backlit. We watched G.I.Joe and it was very very sexy. Also, an incredibly dumb movie. Three people can sit on a couch without the screen going negative on anyone.
- Numeric Keypad. You know you spend all day doing spreadsheets.
- Processor: Phenom Quad Core - while not as sexy as the Intel competitor i7, about $300-$500 cheaper. Quad Cores should speed up Civ's AI computations between rounds.
- Gorgeous exterior. The back lid is a textured, not-quite-gloss-not-quite-matte black finish, it comes off as a dark gray. The keyboard field is plain grey in two tones. The Acer logo is large, but a relatively unoffensive silver foil plastic.
- Radeon 5650. This is what we'd called as the lowest end option for the video card. By specs, it probably won't run Civ 5 at full details and good fps, but it should run it at rocking fps on medium details.
- Solid profile. The battery is flush with the bottom, and the laptop is a single thickness across the whole body when closed.
- Super quiet. We haven't done any gaming on it yet, but the computer is so quiet under low loads, you can't hear the fans by bone conductance.
What it's missing:
- THX Certification. The speakers are a little weak. Since the computer doesn't make any noise otherwise, this is probably okay. With Netflix and the computer both on full, we never had any trouble hearing the G. I.Joe team members say something incredibly stupid.
- NOT BEEPING. Any time you plug or unplug anything, it beeps at you. Per the reviews on newegg, this requires a BIOS update to change. We'll be doing that tomorrow.
- Aluminum Chassis. The computer feels pretty solid, but not Mac or Sony solid. The screen will flex a small amount when you open or close the lid.
- Battery Life. It's rated at 2.7 hours, and so I'd be surprised if you get 2 with the screen and wifi turned off, with nothing running.
So yeah, this is what Ryan ordered, and last I talked to him he was installing Civ 3, Civ 4, Medieval Total War, and Rome Total War. And preloading Civ 5. After all that's done, he's going to install office on it so he can use it for work.
Alternate for people with less money: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115796
As best I can tell, this $665, intel i3-based dual core laptop is exactly the same thing with a smaller hard drive and the i3 instead of the Phenom Quad.
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For people who have more money than I do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220702
The $1216 Asus X1 Series is all of the love put into their insane G73, but placed in a computer that you won't be embarrassed to show to girls you want to make out with. They won't be all like "It's SO CUTE!" but they also won't be like "OMG yer so creepy."
What it's got:
- Same Res/Screen Size/Etc. as any other 17.3" laptop for under $2000. (See Acer Above)
- Radeon 5730 Videocard. What's that? Pixels and Shaders and Vertices? OM NOM NOM NOM NOM. There is only one better video card on the market that you can afford, and it's only in ridiculously ugly laptops.
- Intel i7 Chip. The i7 isn't spec'ed any fast than the AMD Pheonom Quad, but it OVERCLOCKS ITSELF. What does that mean? Better battery life when doing spreadsheets or word processing, faster performance than the AMD on gaming.
- 7200 RPM Hard drive - 500 Gigs is standard, but the 7200 RPM will add a substantial performance boost when performing tasks that hit your hard drive a lot (pulling textures for games is a huge one, also starting large programs)
- They brag about the Speakers, but I'll believe it when I hear it.
- It's not clear if this one sits flat when closed or has an angle, but it's got not obtrusive bulges out its bottom.
- Asus build quality. I'm serious when I say this: Go to bestbuy, and go up to every laptop and grab the top of the screen at the two corners. Push one corner away from you and pull the other towards you. On a Mac, this won't even work. On a Sony or an Asus, the screen will barely budge. On a Dell, plastic pieces will start breaking off inside the screen bezel. Asus has some Aluminum reinforcements in their lid, keeps stress off the LCD panel when you're carrying your laptop.
- Faster RAM. It would do better to have MORE memory rather than faster memory, but the 4GB it does have will deliver to the i7 as fast as the i7 can take it.
- USB 3.0. External Hard drives and other power-intensive peripherals will start requiring this over the next year or so.
What it's missing:
- I dunno. Read the reviews. Some people don't like Asus tech support.
Alternative: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127117
This $1345 Sony Vaio is a classy looking, solid piece of hardware. It has the Nvidia 330M, 6GB of RAM, and a Blu-ray drive. The Screen is 16" instead of 17.3, but still has the 1600*900 Res. Bestbuy has a slightly lower spec'ed model for more money + sales tax, but you can go see it in a store. Also available in Glossy White For $20 more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127118
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BUT I LIKE SMALL LAPTOPS TO MATCH MY UNDERSTATED SMALLNESS!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127118
I know I s***-talked Toshiba up in the intro, but this $935 Toshiba is pretty smart. The only hideously revolting aesthetic development is the chrome finish on the hinges. It's inexplicable.
What it's got:
- i3 Processor. The i3 processor + integrated graphics will give you a solid battery life when you're not gaming (rated 8.6 hrs) and a pretty gaming experience when you are playing Civ 5 (Like in class, or at work)
- Solid Build. Not much screen flex when you go screw with it at Best Buy.
- Lightweight, small computer. Once you get below a certain threshold, any more weight cutting is just gravy. I think that 4 lbs is that threshold, and this micromonster checks in at only 3.2.
- Windows 7 Professional. Includes some networking options that are unnecessary, but kind of cool. It changes your default printer based on what Wifi network you're on. Allows for multiple languages to be run at once.
- The battery sits flush. This is a Toshiba-specific bonus, because Toshiba loves to make computers with lumpy-butt batteries sticking out the bottom and ruining the aesthetics. When closed, this laptop doesn't have stupid lumpy butt.
What it's missing:
- Hinges that aren't chrome. They're not large enough to be truly ugly, but they're definitely unsettling.
- A dedicated video card. This is the tradeoff for 6 extra hours of battery life. If you want to play games other than hardcore strategy or wow, get a bigger computer with a real videocard.
- The agonizing sense that you should've gotten something other than a Toshiba. Toshiba's business computer line, Portege, is very high end, top-notch stuff. This is relatively their lowest price point entry ever, but it's definitely made by the high end people.
Alternate for people who like Asus even more than I do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220766
My biggest concern with this $859 laptop is that it does have a dedicated videocard. The Asus U30 series uses Nvidia's new Optimus system, which switches between a (not horribly impressive) 310M and the integrated graphics based on what you're doing. That sounds like the best of both worlds - good graphics when you need them, good battery life when you don't. But the drivers for this setup are incredibly difficult to write, and even harder to write well. So unless Asus decides to spend a gigantic amount of effort to update your drivers, sooner or later you'll hit a driver wall, and programs properly coded to the latest drivers will crash your computer as it sits by the side of the road and cries.
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I HAVE NO MONEY BUT I HAVE TO HAVE A COMPUTER THAT WILL RUN CIV AND I'LL JUST LEARN TO GARDEN IN ORDER TO EAT!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115848
Sorry Bub, you're getting a 15.6", and the pixels are going to be huge, and you'll only get 5 columns on your spreadsheets! What, you wanted to see your ENTIRE facebook page with firefox maximized? Your expectation are so high!
To be fair, this $614 Acer machine is the same price as the cheapest Toshiba, Gateway, HP, or Lenovo that will meet the minimum specs, but it's got the minimum specs BEATEN. It's a pretty kicking machine. So if you're okay with the graphics resolution, what you get in exchange is this:
- The Radeon 5650 Graphics Card we've spoken so highly of.
- A Dual Core processor clocking in a good bit faster than the minimum.
- Numeric Keypad on a 15.6"? Is that a common thing?
- Smaller and lighter than the 17.3". I tend to diss computers in the midrange, but I can see how some people might only want to lug around 6 pounds instead of 8.
What it's Missing:
- It's not what I want?
- I'm not sold on the Turion. They seem like last gen tech. An equivalent GHz Phenom Dual Core would probably perform faster, run cooler, and use less power.
- Not much. Except for the Turion, it's the same chips/drives/and performance components as that $750, 17" Acer from the top of the list.
Alternative for people who play less and work more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101232
This Gateway, also $614, is manufactured by Acer to a decent quality, and has the i5 and integrated graphics instead of the Radeon, but otherwise is the same computer as above. This will also be a better alternative for people who mostly want to watch videos online, and the rated battery life is better. The lid is glossy black, but for the most part Gateways havegotten pretty sharp looking.
So, I know I've seen a lot of people posting, and I've been doing a lot of research on this both for my friend's computer and for myself in case Civ 5 finally breaks the computer I have (please please please please give me an excuse to buy a new computer I can't afford), and this is what we've come across. Hope it helps.
As I check the site, I'll gladly weigh in with my opinion on computers people are thinking about. Because I'm opinionated. PM me.
The 16:9 standard is the worst thing ever.
