gaming laptop

The best Windows 8 gaming laptops

We recently complained about the lack of a single best-case gaming laptop for the Windows 8 era. That was largely because of the handful of portable PCs with higher-end graphics cards we'd reviewed in the six months since Microsoft's new OS took over, none thought to include a touch-screen display. That's a feature not particularly called for in even current-gen PC games, but it's one that Windows 8 practically begs for during the hours when you're not using your laptop for gaming.

Since then, we've finished reviews of a couple more gaming laptops -- … Read more

Wild Wednesday: $99 3TB hard drive, $499 touch-screen laptop, and more!

So many deals, so little time!

1. Mo' terabytes, mo' savings. If your PC doubles as a media center, especially one that pulls DVR duty, you can't have too much storage. Likewise, if you work with a lot of video, you can't have too much storage.

While supplies last, TigerDirect has the Western Digital Elements 3TB USB hard drive for $99.99, plus $3.80 for shipping. That's after redeeming a $20 mail-in rebate (PDF), which makes this the least expensive 3TB external drive I've ever seen.

It's a USB 2.0 drive, alas, but … Read more

What does a great Windows 8 gaming laptop need?

A recent question from a reader brought up an issue we've been discussing around the office recently -- the lack of Windows 8 laptops that include both a touch screen and a high-end GPU. Our reader's question, excerpted below:

May I ask for your advice on purchasing a gaming PC? I'm considering the Alienware M14x, but the only thing holding me back is the absence of a touch screen and I can't seem to find powerful laptops with a touch screen. Do you think touch-screen laptops will soon become the standard?

It's true that the … Read more

Maingear joins the 11-inch gaming laptop battle with the Pulse 11

Add Maingear to the very short list of PC vendors selling an 11-inch gaming laptop, with the new Pulse 11.

The 11-inch gaming laptop has had a bit of an up-and-down history. First the Alienware M11X made a big splash at CES in 2010, then it was quietly discontinued this year, just as Intel's new Ivy Bridge CPUs hit. At the same time as the Alienware model was going away, boutique PC maker Origin introduced the Eon-11, an 11-inch gaming laptop in the same vein. … Read more

Opinion: Is the Razer Blade gaming laptop worth the risk?

After reviewing the bold but polarizing Razer Blade gaming laptop, we were inspired to discuss whether Razer's gamble made sense for a laptop debut, or whether Razer should have pursued a more conventional approach with its first system. We go a few rounds, in which we discuss the Blade's ultrathin form, the second-screen Switchblade user interface, and the value of design versus performance.… Read more

Hey, there you are! Razer Blade gaming laptop re-emerges at CES

LAS VEGAS--Remember CES 2011? We recall it fondly. Glasses-free 3D. Endless tablets. Razer's Switchblade concept gaming laptop.

Well, some things never change, including the fact that we're still waiting to see an actual Razer laptop hit stores. The Razer Blade, an evolution of last year's Switchblade design, was announced at the end of August last year during PAX's gaming convention. Its release was supposed to be imminent, and suddenly, like a celebrity heading into rehab, it disappeared.

The Razer Blade is back again at CES 2012, and according to Razer, it'll be available at the end of the month.… Read more

CNET Labscast 13: Onward to CES 2012, but first... (podcast)

We discuss our personal tech hits and misses of 2011; what we loved, hated and was overrated. Also, Scott and Ty weigh in on what will most likely be going on at CES 2012; the who, the what, and the why.

Hands-on: OnLive comes to iPad and other tablets

Streaming game service OnLive is coming to iPad, iPhone, Android tablets, and even the Kindle Fire, thanks in part to a new universal wireless controller.

Previously, the service was available on PCs (Windows and OS X), as well as TVs, via a standalone interface called the MicroConsole (there was also an iPad app that allowed you to watch games being played on the service, but not play them yourself). The new wireless controller, an updated version of the previous PC/MicroConsole OnLive wireless controller, uses Bluetooth to connect to iOS and Android devices, working hand-in-hand with a dedicated OnLive app for each platform.

If you're not familiar with the OnLive streaming game service, it's essentially cloud-based PC gaming. The original PC client allows nearly any laptop or desktop to play high-end PC games by offloading the CPU- and GPU-intensive tasks of actually running the game software to a remote render farm, then beaming the gameplay back to you as a streaming video.

The game library mixes a handful of new, hit games with some older, casual, and indie games, and most of the 200-odd titles will be playable on Android tablets, the iPad, and even smartphones. Some of these devices, such as the Kindle Fire, can play only a smaller subset of games via onscreen controls, as they currently lack any way to connect the wireless controller (and the Nook Tablet is not supported yet). OnLive will also work over AT&T and Verizon 4G LTE networks, on devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, and HTC Jetstream.… Read more

CNET Labscast 10: Rating Cyber Week laptop and TV deals

We ask the crew what they bought on Black Friday, and then browse a selection of Cyber Monday/Cyber Week deals on laptops and TVs, suggesting which ones to avoid, no matter the price.

CNET Labscast 8: Tech toys; more ultrabooks; Kindle Fire; and the PS3 3DTV

CNET Gotham may be over, but we've got some of the best laptops and tech toys from the week-long event right here. Also, a quick hands-on with the new Kindle Fire tablet, and we run the new PS3-branded 24-inch 3DTV from Sony through some tests.