Laptops serve gaming to go
By Marc Salzman
Gannett News Service
Hard-core computer-game fanatics and more casual players seeking portability and small size are driving one of the latest trends in mobile computing: the video-game laptop.
Sold by boutique companies, including Alienware and Voodoo PC, and brand-name manufacturers, such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, gaming laptops are billed as desktop replacements with fast processors and high-end video circuitry necessary to display the sophisticated graphics that make today's hottest game titles so compelling.
Other common features found in these systems include pro-quality speakers, large screens and multiple options for online connectivity.
"There is a high demand for a mobile gaming solution, especially for those who like to attend multiplayer LAN (local area network) parties," says Nelson Gonzalez, CEO of Alienware. LAN parties are typically bring-your-own-computer affairs where attendees network their machines for head-to-head play and tournaments.
"Lugging around a 50-pound computer and 50-pound monitor isn't the most conducive way to show up at a LAN event," Gonzalez adds.
While some PC manufacturers have offered game-oriented desktop computers for a couple of years, Alienware, based in Miami, says that last March it was the first to market "souped-up" laptops for gamers.
Today, gaming laptops account for nearly 30 percent of the company's $150 million in annual sales.
Gaming laptops are riding the wave of laptop popularity that dominated the industry last year, says Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research. According to a recent Jupiter Research/Ipsos-Insight consumer survey, nearly one-third of respondents owned a laptop computer in 2003, compared with less than 25 percent a year earlier.
"I'm not surprised many PC manufacturers are getting in the game of high-end laptops for gamers," Gartenberg says. "There's a good profit margin with these often-pricier units."
Gonzalez says many of Alienware's customers want a laptop so they can play on planes and in hotels.
That's the case for Paul Fecteau, a restaurant manager in Fairfax, Va., who recently bought one of Alienware's Area-51m Extreme machines.
"I spend a lot of time on the road in my line of work, so I wanted to mirror the game-play experience I have at home on a laptop," Fecteau says. "I tried regular business laptops for games, but they couldn't hack it, because they did not have the video hardware today's games require."
Niche no more
Following on the heels of its Dimension XPS gaming desktop, which launched in April, Dell decided to enter the mobile gaming marketplace last month with the Inspiron XPS.
"We had tremendous success with our desktop gaming system," says Ketan Pandya, marketing manager for consumer notebooks at Dell in Austin, Texas. "And then we found, through market research and direct customer feedback, that there was a need out there for a powerful mobile gaming solution."
Along with its top-of-the-line components — including an Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processor (running at 3.4-gigahertz) — the Inspiron XPS is one of the first laptops to offer its owners the opportunity to upgrade to newer components.
"This is a big step for laptop users," says Pandya. "When a faster video card comes out, for example, we can send a technician to your home or office to install it for you."
The cost for upgrades hasn't been determined yet, but Pandya says the cost of a new video card and installation, when purchased direct through Dell, will be roughly equivalent to buying the card at retail with no installation.
Alienware's gaming laptops are also upgradable, says Gonzalez, but unlike Dell's mandatory installation process, consumers can install upgrades themselves.
While some computer companies think maxed-out laptops are the key to mobile gaming, one small company isn't convinced and has developed an alternative.
Not gamers' best choice
The convenience of small size makes laptops attractive, but they're not ideal gaming machines, says Bradd Berdelman, general manager of Falcon Northwest Computers Inc. (www.falcon-nw.com) in Medford, Ore., a company that creates custom desktop PCs for gamers.
"Laptops do not offer desktop performance, because the graphics are usually two or three generations behind what's available in a desktop computer," says Berdelman. "There is not enough space in a laptop for adequate cooling. Therefore, you have to cut the graphics speeds down so the unit won't overheat."
Instead of selling a gaming laptop, Falcon sells the FragBox ($1,095 to $1,695, depending on the model), a small, square-shaped unit, which at less than 15 pounds, is designed with LAN events in mind. Berdelman says five fans keep the FragBox's components cool, but he acknowledges that the unit must be plugged into a wall and requires a monitor.
Excessive heat isn't the only shortcoming gaming laptops can have. Dell's Inspiron XPS, for example, weighs 9.5 pounds (most laptops are in the 4- to 6-pound range). Gaming laptops also suffer from short battery life, and they're much more expensive because they use miniature versions of high-end components.
But most gamers aren't concerned about the weak battery performance, says Pandya.
"Most of the time these gaming laptops are desktop replacements, so they'll be stationary and plugged in," he says.
"There are other portable computers better suited for mobility, ones that offer five or six hours of battery life — but they're not ideal gaming solutions."
