<p>I'd hate to fit in with the crowd and get a Mac like everyone else, so I'm considering getting a gaming laptop. Any suggestions? My budget is $600~$1000, and I'm looking for a real well-rounded machine with a good video card. Screen doesn't have to be too big, but should be moderately sized and widescreen for sure. Games I play are Team Fortress 2, CS 1.6, and Left 4 Dead. Thanks! </p>
<p>Btw, do you guys see a lot of other students with gaming-specific laptops?</p>
<p>Well for a budget maxing out at $1000 you’re not going to get a serious gaming laptop.</p>
<p>If you want to game I think this would be your best bet</p>
<p>[Newegg.com</a> - ASUS N50 Series N50Vn-X5A NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo P8600(2.40GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GT - Laptops / Notebooks](<a href=“http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220489]Newegg.com”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>I would suggest something more along the lines of a $600 gaming computer and a small netbook. That’s the setup I’m running right now. It doesn’t make sense to lug around a gaming laptop when all you’re going to do is game at your desk.</p>
<p>Well, I guess if you go to a LAN party every other day, it might be a worthwhile investment but a netbook will handle day-to-day stuff just fine and the desktop shoud suffice for everything else. It should be really easy to get a decent computer under 600 with a core 2 duo or something. Just a consideration.</p>
<p>The only reason I suggest a desktop is that Left 4 Dead takes a load of computing power and puts out quite a bit of heat when run on a laptop - which will ultimately shorten the lifespan of your laptop. Also, if it’s just cs 1.6 you want to run, I was able to play dust at 30-45 fps on a $200 black friday notebook for my first term. So as long as it’s nothing too intense, a regular notebook should work.</p>