It is astonishing to think that the first video game was only developed in the early 1950′s as a design project for A.S. Dougal’s PhD degree. This video game was a simple version of Tic-Tac-Toe. It took two decades for the first commercial home game console to be released, this being the Odyssey that was designed by Ralph Baer and released by Magnavox. The Odyssey came programmed with twelve games. In 1971, a year before the home game console was released, Nolan Bushnell, along with Ted Dabney created the first arcade game – Computer Space, which was based on Nolan’s earlier game Spacewar! However it was the next year that Nolan Bushnell (with assistance from Al Alcorn) truly hit gold, with the release of their arcade game Pong! It soon became a household name, and everybody wanted to be the master of Pong! Seeing the appeal of the game, Atari (Bushnell and Dabney’s recently formed company) released Pong! as a home video game in 1975.
Computer gaming has flourished since then and is now a billion dollar industry. Pong! is nothing more than a distant memory, even for those who nostalgically remember it. A massive industry has developed from what can only be considered a humble beginning. Buying a gaming laptop or PC involves many factors, something which true gamers realize today. When you move around a lot or when you wish to play at work as well as at home, then a laptop or notebook is the best option – the only one actually. There are however many different types of laptops available on the market. When looking to buy gaming laptops, the following factors should be taken into consideration:
Processor The processor is the most important part of your laptop – especially so with gaming laptops. Recent games need at least a 1.6 GHz processor but they recommend a 2 GHz processor. Anything less than this will most likely not be suitable for the newest and best games.
Memory After the Processor (CPU), the memory space is the most important aspect to consider. A low memory will slow down your computer’s processing speed tremendously which will result in a lot of frustration. Newer games need a lot of memory space and thus we recommend a RAM memory of no less than 1GB – 2GB is the better option. When looking at memory speed, do not settle for anything less than 667Mhz.
Graphics Whether you are playing strategy games, war games or racing games, you need a great graphics card to truly appreciate the experience. You should definitely opt for the latest graphics processor with dedicated memory. Definitely do not settle for a graphics card with less than 512MB dedicated memory. Though, even that has become quite a low amount of dedicated memory.
Hard Drive It is astonishing to think that only a few years ago a 100GB hard drive seemed to be more than sufficient for even the biggest and best gamers out there. Now, you cannot settle for less than 500GB, and even that can prove insufficient. Luckily when your hard drive becomes too full, you can easily purchase an extra portable hard drive, which comes in sizes up to and exceeding 1 TB.
Optical Drive This is one of the options where you can save a bit. The drive’s speed does not matter very much and the only thing you really need to look at is if you need a multiformat(DVD RW) DVD burner.
Display Gamers usually do not settle for any laptop or computer with a screen size of less than 19 inches. The maximum resolution that is available on the screen size of your choice is recommended because this enhances your viewing when watching a dvd or blu-ray disc. The graphics output of the game should also be improved by this.
Many decisions need to be taken into consideration before buying a gaming laptop. Consult with a professional if you are new to gaming – do not attempt to take on this challenge by yourself. The environment of computer selling is a competitive one and you should not settle for the first choice but rather shop around to find the BEST choice!!
Michael Stanton is a gaming laptops expert. He currently owns the NP8662.
