Gaming PC

[90snostalga]

So I recently thought of building my own gaming computer but also thought what about buying a lap top for gaming?  Does anyone use a lap top for gaming, and would you recommend a pc or laptop?  I want to get one to play old pc classics like the original Doom, Diablo, The Wheel of Time, Halo, all the way up to current PC games.  Thank you for any input

[kimimi]

I used laptops for both modern and retro gaming, I have a (for the time I bought it) fancy-pants Windows 7 laptop for everyday use and a fantastic IBM Thinkpad with a 4:3 screen running Windows XP for most of my retro, then a VM Windows 98 install on my main laptop for those games that just won't run on the first two (although it's rather flaky, so I'm going to replace that with a proper W98 laptop down the line). I used laptops because I need the portability and I like having one gaming thing that doesn't take up lots of space, but in pure pound-per-tech value a desktop will always be better.

You're not going to get one laptop that does absolutely everything... of course it's possible to dual boot or run virtual OSs on one machine but in my experience it's both simpler and more stable to have one OS per laptop, but that might just be my lack of expertise showing.

[90snostalga]

I used laptops for both modern and retro gaming, I have a (for the time I bought it) fancy-pants Windows 7 laptop for everyday use and a fantastic IBM Thinkpad with a 4:3 screen running Windows XP for most of my retro, then a VM Windows 98 install on my main laptop for those games that just won't run on the first two (although it's rather flaky, so I'm going to replace that with a proper W98 laptop down the line). I used laptops because I need the portability and I like having one gaming thing that doesn't take up lots of space, but in pure pound-per-tech value a desktop will always be better.

You're not going to get one laptop that does absolutely everything... of course it's possible to dual boot or run virtual OSs on one machine but in my experience it's both simpler and more stable to have one OS per laptop, but that might just be my lack of expertise showing.

Thanks for the response, Kimini.  I think that's what I may do to ensure the best quality.  Maybe a pc for main gaming, and then a laptop with 98 on it for the old stuff.  I may get a actualy like 20 inch tv screen hd to hook up to the pc to show it in HD.  Do you know if you can use a controller for those mouse click games like Diablo for example?  Or do you have to use the keyboard and mouse?

Additionally, I did another topic last week about learning Japanese.  Another user mentioned Kimimi who speaks fluent Japanese.  Are you that Kimimi if I may ask?

[kimimi]

You can use something like Joy2Key (http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version.htm) or Xpadder (http://xpadder.com/) to do use joypads on keyboard/mouse games, but I personally find it a bit like forcing a square peg into a round hole - it'll work, but not as well as using the "proper" control scheme (IMO, etc).

As for your other question I'm not fluent in Japanese so that's probably not me, sorry.

[90snostalga]

You can use something like Joy2Key (http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version.htm) or Xpadder (http://xpadder.com/) to do use joypads on keyboard/mouse games, but I personally find it a bit like forcing a square peg into a round hole - it'll work, but not as well as using the "proper" control scheme (IMO, etc).

As for your other question I'm not fluent in Japanese so that's probably not me, sorry.

Thanks for the 2 links!  And I apologize for the mistake on the Japanese.  But thanks for answering.

[90snostalga]

I used laptops for both modern and retro gaming, I have a (for the time I bought it) fancy-pants Windows 7 laptop for everyday use and a fantastic IBM Thinkpad with a 4:3 screen running Windows XP for most of my retro, then a VM Windows 98 install on my main laptop for those games that just won't run on the first two (although it's rather flaky, so I'm going to replace that with a proper W98 laptop down the line). I used laptops because I need the portability and I like having one gaming thing that doesn't take up lots of space, but in pure pound-per-tech value a desktop will always be better.

You're not going to get one laptop that does absolutely everything... of course it's possible to dual boot or run virtual OSs on one machine but in my experience it's both simpler and more stable to have one OS per laptop, but that might just be my lack of expertise showing.

What type of lap top would you recommend for computer games before 2001? 

[kimimi]

Ooh you'd need to look at exactly which games you're thinking of and then go one eBay or wherever and see what's available that matches your requirements. PCs and PC games being what they are I've got some  Windows '95 games that work perfectly on my Windows 7 laptop while I've got XP games that *don't* work on my XP laptop! 

[stethebubble]

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y500/?sb=:000001C9:0000C509:#features
i use this idea pad from lenovo. ive not found a game i cant play yet. (most of them on ultra or high settings)
i do need to get a cool pad for it thou.