Mobile Computing Buyer’s Guide: Gaming Notebooks

Gaming Notebook, Price Category: Rp. 10.000.000 – 14.999.000 (US$ 1.100-1.650) h2>

Our Recommendation

Lenovo Y560-4734

If you think that Lenovo is all about business, you thought wrong. The notebooks of Lenovo’s Y series are designed to look good. Take the Y560, for example. Its textured, black exterior and orange linings along the edges are a pleasing sight to the eyes.

It’s also considerably powerful on the inside, with Intel Core i7 740QM processor and 4 GB of DDR3 memory. Aside from that, you will also find a 640 GB hard drive. An ATI Radeon HD5730 chip outputs the display to a relatively large, 15,6 inch screen.

Lenovo Y560-4734 retails at Rp 11.900.000 (US$ 1.300). The notebook is well worth that price tag, in our opinion. With the powerful processor, this notebook provides high performance for everyday usage. It’s also suitable as a mobile gaming platform.

Runner Up

HP Pavillion DV6-3101TX

HP’s Pavillion DV6-3101TX made it to the runner up position in our list for this category. This notebook is covered with a unique, textured aluminum alloy shell that contributes much to its sophisticated looks. Aside from the impressive design elements, the HP Pavillion DV6-3101TX also comes with a Touch Screen option.

The notebook is powered by an Intel Core i7 720QM processor, coupled with 4 GB of DDR3 memory. For storage purposes, there is a 1 TB hard drive. You don’t see such a large hard drive in a mobile system very often. Graphics processing is handled by a Radeon HD5650M chip, which, although it may seem somewhat underpowered for this kind of notebook, should still be able to render games at fluid frame rates under certain settings and resolutions. The Pavillion’s 15,6 inch screen is large enough for gaming and mobile entertainment scenarios.

At Rp 13.500.000 (US$ 1.490), the price tag is slightly higher than Lenovo’s offering, but that much money will bring you a notebook with plenty of storage space and a touch screen that is both useful and fun to use.