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 The market is suddenly crowded with gaming machines that boast dizzying frame rates, booming sound, and cutting-edge product design. For every system that makes good on those promises, there are three clunkers dressed up to look like they're better, faster, and stronger.
With gaming systems, the price/performance ratio is even more pronounced than in the general notebook market, so you'll want to determine a budget before even glancing at a Web site or hitting a store. Everyone wants the most killer rig available, but few have the thousands of dollars required for a fully tricked-out machine. Don't forget that you'll need to expand the system's RAM to the upper limit. And before you buy, check out these must-read shopping tips.
Make a Statement
Even from afar, gaming notebooks stand out from other notebooks with exotic paint jobs, backlit keyboards, and accents that would never grace a business notebook. The alien-head logo appears prominently on Alienware's lids; Dell's XPS line features a variety of color options and user-customizable lighting accents; and Voodoo PC is famous for offering stunning custom paint jobs for a premium of $600 to more than $1,000. Vigor Gaming also offers a handful of custom colors for an extra $139, though gamers seem to be more interested in performance these days. All this flair isn't necessary, but it sure is cool.
Get the Right Graphics Card
If you're a serious gamer, consider the alluring graphics performance of an SLI graphics card combo, which is two Nvidia graphics processors running in tandem. (CrossFire, ATI's competing equivalent, hasn't yet debuted in mobile form.) SLI can deliver higher frame rates, improved texture display, and better anti-aliasing. Since late 2007, the top mobile card is Nvidia's GeForce 8800M GTX, and Dell asks for a $1,000 premium to add an SLI array with 1GB total dedicated RAM to its XPS M1730. If money is no object, look into rigs with a discrete PhysX processor built in, which brings a higher level of motion and detail to games that support it (such as most Unreal Engine 3.0 titles).
At press time, Nvidia had three announcements that will begin to impact gaming systems in mid-2008: the acquisition of PhysX, which could mean discrete physics processors built into graphics cards; new 9500M GS and 9300M G cards, which should deliver even better Vista gaming performance; and the Hybrid SLI platform, which will allow an integrated GPU on system motherboards to work with an installed video card, offering increased performance when needed and lower power consumption during everyday tasks.
How Many Pixels?
 The display is key for those who want to do full justice to the latest 3D titles. A 1650 x 1050-pixel screen is great for gaming, but a 1920 x 1200 display is ideal for displaying high-def content such as Blu-ray movies in native resolution. And with a DVI or HDMI output port, you can send the laptop's images to most home displays and projectors. As far as sceen size goes, 15 inches is fine if you want a more mobile rig, but hard-core gamers who could care less about portability should opt for a minimum of 17 inches.
Max Out on RAM
Allocate money to buy as much RAM as possible; for a gaming system running Vista you'll want no less than 2GB, with 4GB being the current maximum. Look into third-party options for the memory upgrade. Dell will charge $150 to go from the base 2GB to 4GB when buying an XPS M1730, but 4GB from Crucial is only $109. Most third-party manufacturers will have a Web form to ensure you get the proper memory for your system
Go for Hard Drive Speed Over Capacity
Although hard drive capacity is an easy number to focus on, remember that a 5,400-rpm drive could result in slower, choppier game performance. Buy a 7,200-rpm drive if possible, even if that means lower capacity. You can always add external storage for media. Near-instantly accessible solid state hard drives will eventually make drive speed a moot point, but for now the price premium puts them out of reach for buyers on a budget, and the capacities are way too low for storing video.
Try That Keyboard
A gamer's criteria for an acceptable keyboard might be completely different from a touch-typist's. Check the response time and general feel of the keys. Does your hand fit nicely on the layout, and will the WASD keys stand up to hours of pounding? Is there a full number pad, and have any essential control keys been relocated in ways you find irritating? Once you answer those questions, worry about the touchpad if you like, but don't even think about using even the best for competitive frag runs. You'll be better off with a gaming mouse that has a dpi rating of 1600 or higher to provide pinpoint accuracy during competitive matches. Razer's gaming mice are renowned, and Logitech's G15 keyboard makes an excellent auxillary input device.
Bells & Whistles
Once upon a time, the migration of new technology from desktop to notebook took months; now you can have the latest bells and whistles almost immediately¡Xfor a price. Do you want five speakers, or will a two- or three-speaker system that emulates more elaborate setups be enough? Media hounds should also look for HDMI output and accessible, plentiful ports. A Blu-ray DVD drive is always a tempting option to make the most of the beautiful screen attached to your new notebook. Look to Dell, Gateway, or HP for a high-def drive, though others may have them, too. Finally, consider accessories, such as a decent bag or case to help lug around your 10-pound rig, high-end speakers, or even big-screen monitors to get you into the game.
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