Dupin

I guess they won't be putting HL2 on sale for more than 50%. Looks like I'll be waiting for a good wave of HL3 hype or a lucky Black Friday sale.

My thoughts in buying the expensive laptops are that I won't have to buy one for some time, and will be able to run tomorrow's games well enough that I won't even think about a new comp for a long time. I thought about the tower/Chromebook combo, but the tower doesn't have the portability I'll need if I'm moving around a lot. The Chromebook is more of a "what if" than an actual possibility - I'm already making a pretty poor decision financially by going over $1000. [spoiler=RE: The most expensive laptop having #40 GPU and #18 CPU:]

If you get anything, make it Harley Quinn, but I really wouldn't bother until after you've played through the game and decided if you liked it.

I'm currently deciding between three: The difference in cash is entirely out of my own pocket (and then some) so I may end up cutting back. What would be the difference in terms of what I can and cannot run? If I had money, what I would really do is grab a Chromebook in addition. I was issued one at a school not too long ago and found it very convenient for simple classwork (and super easy to carry around).

Thanks to everyone for all the help so far. I actually picked the brands rather arbitrarily. Is there a different brand you would recommend? My only real knowledge of brands is that I don't want anything to do with Apple - those Macbooks are overpriced junk for yuppie college kids. I keep finding things like this and this which have prices in the 1300-1500 USD range but specs significantly lower than the similarly-priced ones above.

Here's the link. I'm just fooling around I've been browsing around for a few options in the higher price range. I'm just gonna throw the links here. Does anyone have any experience with Alienware? They seem like real nice computers in the higher price range, but rumor has it their customer service is crap.

Yeah, I figure I'll just download some RAM if I need it as I've done it before and it was pretty simple. Paul, is this the link you're talking about? It looks pretty good, the only thing is I'm seeing only one review. This might be the one I end up buying.

EDIT: This thread has been resolved. Thank you. I'll be purchasing a new laptop within the next month. I intend to use it for work and gaming and expect it to be reasonably future-proofed (nothing over-the-top here - I ain't made 'a money). I'd appreciate any suggestions, especially with links to a store page and a quick rundown of what they can (and can't) do. I've liked this one, but it's never in stock, and this (a bit pricey) is currently getting me all hot and bothered. Unfortunately, I don't keep track of what all the specs mean, so I'm not always sure exactly what I'm looking at. All advice and recommendations are appreciated.

Having played both Portal 2 and Batman AC (both on PS3), all I can say is they are both great games. I got more playtime out of Batman and found the story more interesting, but Portal's gameplay mechanics are more engaging in general. I bought FONV: Ultimate, FO3 GOTY, and the Bioshock Franchise. Has anyone had experience with FONV and FO3 glitching out on Win7? The internet seems to think they're both horribly messy.

You've made a mistake in typing it in. Give me a second and I'll screenshot what my launch options look like. Edit: Here: http://i.imgur.com/jt5EA.jpg To be clear, -novid cuts the valve video from the startup, while -dxlevel 81 is the command that will run the game smoother. If I recall correctly, it's one step up from -safemode.

Trains are sort of a big deal right now over on reddit. One might say it's sort of a Karma Train.

If anyone wants a few scorched crates, I'm giving mine away. They won't be worth anything for a long time, but I guess it doesn't hurt if they're on an alt account. To the above post, right click TF2 in the list of games on the left, click properties. In the window that pops up, click the thing about launch options. In the launch options box, type "-dxlevel81".

If someone gifts me the Bioshock Franchise before the sale ends (IN FIFTEEN MINUTES GAHH) I'll gift you a ten dollar game later. My stupid prepaid visa thinks it's a good idea to take 24 hours to activate, making me miss the flash sale. I've already let the Fallout series slip through my fingers; I won't lose this one, Steam! http://steamcommunity.com/id/bentomat EDIT: Big thanks to Riku, it's been sorted out.

I agree, PC gaming is better than consoles. That said, I think I should point out that PS3 is superior to Xbox by far. Lastly, if you want a communal gaming experience, go buy a Wii.

Yeah, the equalizer was overpowered, as much as I hate to admit it. What sort of price are you looking for, Ouchy?

Dude seriously, I'd trade you my stupid little "Scorched Crates" for anything from that list. Hell, sell me the parrot. Whoever it is at Valve that thinks I need more crates can go [bleep] a duck. I tried to play the new level last night, but didn't get in to any of the servers, so I contented myself with my new crafted Heatmaker. It's awesome and will definitely be nerfed. Apparently, you can use the SMG crits to bodyshot and get the kills to charge up the Heatmaker, then use the "Focus" to just mow people down. I need to get my hands on that SMG.

http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/2167722 What the [bleep] am I reading?

Yes; don't play poorly made maps ;) I am a slave of the democracy. 'The People' for some reason enjoy playing laggy mods of stock maps :wall:

I get obnoxious lag on some maps, but none on others. Is there a solution to this problem?

Yeah, I've been browsing Youtube, but you guys should post links to the stuff you liked. It's a bit confusing reading through the live commentary and just seeing "Oh this looks cool" with no context. I liked the Watch Dogs thing and the Uncharted sequel so far. Crysis and Halo didn't seem that exciting, honestly, and Assassin's Creed is just another remake with a different setting.

NOOOOOOB In other news, I might start getting into Little Big Planet 2. I've decided to just watch the full walkthrough of the Harley Quinn Arkham City DLC because it's easier than starting a whole new account over just fo $10 of gameplay. Oh well.

DLC is pretty bad, but so are endless sequels. Both completely disregard the series' integrity in favor of insignificant profits. Does anyone remember the "last Halo game?" There's no way that series still has a worthwhile plot.

I got me one of these new-fangled "Strange Weapons," gonna try it out on some unsuspecting backs. I have some really old crates (Series 2, Series 5 etc) sitting around. Are they gaining value? Will they eventually be rares?

Sly 4 promos, please, and perhaps Borderlands 2.

It still feels miserably slow whenever I play TF2. By the way, has anyone used that "TuneUp" thing they're advertising? Is it any good?