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Gamer-approved laptop recommendation thread

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K.Jack said:
Definitely this one. The 540M vs 6650M is a wash, but the Core i3-380M is faster than any of the AMD processors we've posted.
Click to expand...

When you say "this" one are you referring to the one you linked to, or the one he linked to?
 
Hey guys I had an ASUS laptop that has shit the bed too many times so I'm getting a new laptop.

ASUS laptop:

2.53 ghz c2d
6gb RAM
gtx 260m
17" screen

Im looking at the Acer someone posted that has these specs:
i3 @ 2.53ghz
4gb RAM
GT 540M
15.6" screen

The acer is pretty damn cheap, 650 and I was wondering how it stacks up to my previous computers and any competitors around the ~$1000 price range for gaming laptops.
 
K.Jack said:
Can you wait a month or so? Once the Sandy Bridge notebooks come back, the 6970M comes with them.

To put things into perspective, the 485M and 6970M match or exceed the performance of GTX 460M in SLI, in a lot of benchmarks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response but I was pretty desperate in my situation. I can live without the added performance and hey, that's life right? The minute you buy something, there's something else better waiting for you at the same price or less...
 
maybe you can get a cheap netbook for the time being and then sell it once the Clevo machine hits.

I bought my G73JW for bout USD1492 (3 months ago) now im kinda regretting it lol. damn that clevo.
 
K.Jack said:
Can you wait a month or so? Once the Sandy Bridge notebooks come back, the 6970M comes with them.

To put things into perspective, the 485M and 6970M match or exceed the performance of GTX 460M in SLI, in a lot of benchmarks.
Click to expand...

Where did you hear the 6970M will be out next month? That has not been confirmed as far as I can tell.

I'm very interested as I decided to bail on my M11x R2 plans and I'm putting it all towards a Sager/Clevo unit. The 485M is sweet looking but saving $$$ would be great, even if waiting sucks!
 
Sup notebook friends. I went to notebookreview forums and they threw this my way when I asked for a powerful gaming laptop.

Checked out the specs and I love the thing and am right on the edge of buying, I just thought I'd ask here first in case people are aware of a better deal, or if anyone's recently bought a machine that they'd recommend.

My budget is £1200 and I need a desktop replacement with a 1080p display that can run current gen games at mid-high settings in full HD or 720p, Blu-ray, 640GB / 1TB drive, 8/16 gig RAM.

Probably asking a little much with such specific specifications but I don't expect anyone to do any research on my behalf; just point me in the right direction if you happen know of an alternative to the Acer :)
 
Hallo thar guys. I'm going to be starting Animation Mentor in March but the computer I have right now can't exactly run maya. So! That puts me in a position of needing a new computer!

I'm pretty dead set on getting a laptop over a desktop since space is going to be an issue and I'd like to not necessarily be locked down to a single point in the house. Due to some very good blessings I've got a budget of 2000 dollars to spend and considering the current state of my desktop I need something of a desktop replacement laptop.

Basically what's the most badass laptop I can get for 2k?
 
Foxix said:
Hallo thar guys. I'm going to be starting Animation Mentor in March but the computer I have right now can't exactly run maya. So! That puts me in a position of needing a new computer!

I'm pretty dead set on getting a laptop over a desktop since space is going to be an issue and I'd like to not necessarily be locked down to a single point in the house. Due to some very good blessings I've got a budget of 2000 dollars to spend and considering the current state of my desktop I need something of a desktop replacement laptop.

Basically what's the most badass laptop I can get for 2k?
Click to expand...
Screw you! >:( /jealousy

Maya's on of the reasons I was drawn to the Acer above, that quad core i7 should blast renders in no time.
 
So I'm waiting for Sandy Bridge and possibly the Radeon 6970M. (I want to run BF3 and Portal 2 when the time comes). Two questions:

1. Are they really expected to arrive at the same time?

2. Do we have any guesses (wild guesses fine) at the cost of this combination? Not talking $3k+ laptops are we?
 
zsswimmer said:
Hey guys I had an ASUS laptop that has shit the bed too many times so I'm getting a new laptop.

ASUS laptop:

2.53 ghz c2d
6gb RAM
gtx 260m
17" screen
Click to expand...

I bought this same laptop a month ago, what happened to yours?
 
Mechanical Snowman said:
Screw you! >:( /jealousy

Maya's on of the reasons I was drawn to the Acer above, that quad core i7 should blast renders in no time.
Click to expand...

This is good news. :D

Yeah, I'm not the most tech savvy. I did some poking around, and this is the best I could find. Anyone know if anything beats this thing for the price? http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73swa1-republic-gamers-asus-gaming-laptop-pre-order-p-2970.html

* Model: Asus G73SW-A1
* Display: 17.3" FHD Glossy (1920x1080)
* CPU: Intel® Mobile Core i7 2630QM
* RAM: 8192 MB DDR3 1333MHz
* HDD: (2)500GB 7200RPM XT w/ 4GB SSD
* CD: Blu-Ray Reader + Super Multi DVD±R/RW / CDRW
* Wireless: Built In WIFI & Bluetooth
* Price: $1,799
Click to expand...
 
sk3tch said:
Where did you hear the 6970M will be out next month? That has not been confirmed as far as I can tell.

I'm very interested as I decided to bail on my M11x R2 plans and I'm putting it all towards a Sager/Clevo unit. The 485M is sweet looking but saving $$$ would be great, even if waiting sucks!
Click to expand...
I have my own credible sources, but read this.
 
lazyAna said:
what about this one?

http://www.fnac.pt/Toshiba-Satellite-A660-1CJ-Computador-Portatil-Computador-Portatil/a327600?PID=3291&Mn=-1&Ra=-5000&To=0&Nu=9&Fr=2


I'm looking foward to play Diablo3 on it..
I know where to buy it but I can't find find it in the the internet...
Click to expand...

No.


This is what you're looking for.

Intel® Core i5 450M (2 x 2.4GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
2 x 2 GB DDR3-SDRAM (1066 MHz)
1 x 500 Go (5400 RPM)
nVidia Geforce GT540M with 1024MB DDR3 dedicated system memory
5-in-1 Cardreader, HDMI with HDCP Support
15.6 "
1366 x 768
Click to expand...

The CPU in your computer is oversized and the graphics card is not on par with a GT 540M. Plus, mine is half the price. Look for it on portuguese websites. It's overkill.

edit : the fuck ? the Acer website indicates that it has an Intel HD Graphics chip. I swear to god, I saw the laptop in the store and would have bought in a heartbeat if I hadn't been promised one by my new workplace.
 
Wichu said:
Anyway, I found this laptop. It's slightly more expensive than my budget, but I guess I can forgo my previous plans of getting a DSi XL (for now).
Summary: Core i7 quad-core CPU, nVidia GeForce GT 540M GPU, 8GB DDR3 RAM (going for the top option RAM-wise) for ~£900. Sound reasonable, or is there anything similar I could get for less?
Click to expand...

I basically don't advise anybody to pick up the i7-720 since I think it is overpriced right now. Go for anything that has a 540M if you take the dual core route for the next years or so. The price are right between 600 and 700 $ and it is the same in the Euro zone as well.

But does anybody know what the 540M is really capable of ? I would love to know if it may run as well as, or slightly less good than, a 5850 for example.
 
m0dus said:
Despite the fact that this machine actually has some excellent performance , especially for the price, Is there any word on whether they've fully addressed the hinge issue? My wife used hers for about 6 months, took good care of it, before both hinges spontaneously split about a week ago. I've dropped it off for repair, but based on my research this was a relatively widespread issue that Dell is supposedly going to remedy next month. Also, any word on the R2's having better results?
Click to expand...
We apologize for this process taking so long. We have an ETA around March for when the M11x-R1/R2 Hinge fix program will be started. The start date range hinges is dependent on a 3rd party vendor and other details so it is not concrete. When it does begin, all who have the hinge defect will get it repaired regardless of the warranty end date. We know that you deserve the re-designed Hinge and we will make it happen.
Click to expand...
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/p/19337909/19814636.aspx#19814636

Just got my m11x r2 in the mail today :D
 
in the market for a gaming notebook over this summer.

Budget is about $1000 give or take $100
I'd like to be able to run most modern games on modest settings, most importantly enough to play something like Team Fortress 2 ~30fps or more.
Battery life should be modest but I've usually got it plugged in, I just need something that transports easy (so not terribly bulky either).
Storage should be decent, don't need SSD.
Optical drive also not essential. Would be nice but if it knocks off a significant amount from the price I can cope. Don't need Blu-ray.

Also when is this thread gonna be updated for the new year?
 
CrunchyFrog said:
Also when is this thread gonna be updated for the new year?
Click to expand...
K.Jack was gonna do it after the Sandy Bridge Laptops hit the market, and all the major manufacturers refreshed their lineups, but looks like that will be delayed because of the big production snafu.
 
Not exactly a "gaming news" but I thought that "New Mac Book by Tomorrow rumor" deserves a mention here :

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=422561

shantyman said:
Notable new features
* Lightpeak (10 Gbit/s I/O) implementation branded as "Thunderbolt"
* Hybrid HDD, with SSD for System (rumor)
* Sandy Bridge (most likely) across the line
* Larger and more awesome trackpad (rumor)

083503-mbp13_500.jpg


Links:
http://www.macrumors.com/2011/02/23/macbook-pro-specs-lightpeak-known-as-thunderbolt/
Click to expand...


No real info on the GPU options though. But Sandy Bridges ? Tomorrow ? Sounds almost too good to be true.
 
Kenka said:
But does anybody know what the 540M is really capable of ? I would love to know if it may run as well as, or slightly less good than, a 5850 for example.
Click to expand...
The 540M is a bit faster than the Mob 5650. The Mob. 5850 eats both of them for breakfast.

The mobile 5850 is a downclocked 5750, and can be clocked up to the level of the 5770.

It isn't even close. We're talking about 2x the performance.
 
K.Jack said:
I have my own credible sources, but read this.
Click to expand...

WOW. I think I'm going back to Alienware. Clevo/Sager is great bang/buck but the conclusion I have come to with my research is that it is likely they will be MUCH harder to resell and get a good ROI on. I've always sold my MacBook Pros every year to upgrade and I typically get 80-85% back...not a bad trade-off in order to have the latest/greatest and a current warranty.

Since you're the resident pro - what are your thoughts? Also, from the article, it seems as if I can expect to spend nearly $3k on an M17x R3 with Sandy Bridge/6970M...that's cutting out the SSD to save ~$300. It'd be great if I could axe Blu-ray and some other things to get it to $2500. I guess we will soon find out what kind of configuration options there are!
 
sk3tch said:
WOW. I think I'm going back to Alienware. Clevo/Sager is great bang/buck but the conclusion I have come to with my research is that it is likely they will be MUCH harder to resell and get a good ROI on. I've always sold my MacBook Pros every year to upgrade and I typically get 80-85% back...not a bad trade-off in order to have the latest/greatest and a current warranty.

Since you're the resident pro - what are your thoughts? Also, from the article, it seems as if I can expect to spend nearly $3k on an M17x R3 with Sandy Bridge/6970M...that's cutting out the SSD to save ~$300. It'd be great if I could axe Blu-ray and some other things to get it to $2500. I guess we will soon find out what kind of configuration options there are!
Click to expand...
So, say $3k.

- Dell uses Samsung 256GB SSDs, and it's adding ~$500 to the price
- The i7-2820QM is totally unnecessary, and adds another $350 over the i7-2630QM.

So that's at least $800 coming off the price right there. Then, cutting from 8GB -> 4GB is going to be close to another $100.

I too have been considering the M17X but the 17" Clevo can be configured with an amazing 90% color gamut screen.
 
Grakl said:
I bought this same laptop a month ago, what happened to yours?
Click to expand...
Numerous problems, dunno if I had a 'lemon' laptop or what. Had to send it in multiple times. The final straw being I sent it in a month ago for mobo failure, get it back a month later and 3 days after that the same exact shit happened. D:
 
K.Jack said:
The 540M is a bit faster than the Mob 5650. The Mob. 5850 eats both of them for breakfast.

The mobile 5850 is a downclocked 5750, and can be clocked up to the level of the 5770.

It isn't even close. We're talking about 2x the performance.
Click to expand...
OK, I see. I am wondering if any laptop could see the light of day in the fortcoming future that would sport a GPU on par with the 5850 and that would weight as much as 2.4 - 2.9 kg, while being unexpensive. Is this a dream ? Or is it bound to happen this year ?
Quixzlizx said:
Is Sager going to be offering any SB models with something better than a 540M?
Click to expand...
They have some models with respectively 460M/485M GPUs. The 485M is a beast. The 460M is on par with a Mobility 5870. I still think that the 460M models are a bit expensive. I'd even skip anything that has a i7 CPU.

Prices start @ 1400 $. If you add 500 $, you get the same laptop but with a 485M.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=special&mid=NP8150


The thing that bugs me : why can't you just gimp the CPU down in those customizing options ?!
 
Down to what, a Core i5? That's because they aren't out yet. Though I'm not sure why you'd want anything other than the 2630QM. It's 2011, quads are in style.
 
K.Jack said:
So, say $3k.

- Dell uses Samsung 256GB SSDs, and it's adding ~$500 to the price
- The i7-2820QM is totally unnecessary, and adds another $350 over the i7-2630QM.

So that's at least $800 coming off the price right there. Then, cutting from 8GB -> 4GB is going to be close to another $100.

I too have been considering the M17X but the 17" Clevo can be configured with an amazing 90% color gamut screen.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm thinking:
M17x R3
2630QM
Upgraded screen (if they offer, i.e. 60hz)
4GB RAM (upgrade via NewEgg/Crucial/etc.)
320GB 7200RPM
No optical drive (or DVD-RW if that's the min.)
6970M

Should easily slide under $2500.

Sager/Clevo apparently is running out of those matte 95% NTSC color gamut screens fyi...at least that's what Mythlogic told me. They (Mythlogic) are out completely. Taking no more orders for it. EDIT2: although I was quoting 15.6" size...so perhaps that's different.

EDIT: for those that care, the Apple MacBook Pro refresh is up. Tempting...but disappointed with the graphics (AMD Radeon HD 6750M):

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html
 
Kenka said:
OK, I see. I am wondering if any laptop could see the light of day in the fortcoming future that would sport a GPU on par with the 5850 and that would weight as much as 2.4 - 2.9 kg, while being unexpensive. Is this a dream ? Or is it bound to happen this year ?

They have some models with respectively 460M/485M GPUs. The 485M is a beast. The 460M is on par with a Mobility 5870. I still think that the 460M models are a bit expensive. I'd even skip anything that has a i7 CPU.

Prices start @ 1400 $. If you add 500 $, you get the same laptop but with a 485M.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=special&mid=NP8150


The thing that bugs me : why can't you just gimp the CPU down in those customizing options ?!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it looks like the specs are exactly the same across the board except for a decent, but not amazing, GPU upgrade. Just that one upgrade is bumping up the price over $400.

Unless the screen is also different, but they are both 1080p at least.
 
Quixzlizx said:
Yeah, it looks like the specs are exactly the same across the board except for a decent, but not amazing, GPU upgrade. Just that one upgrade is bumping up the price over $400.

Unless the screen is also different, but they are both 1080p at least.
Click to expand...

This is why a lot of folks are waiting for the 6970M from AMD. The 485M from nVidia is a $500 upgrade from the 460M. Although it performs on the level of 2x 460M (according to many reviews/benches), that price vista isn't worth it when the 6970M will give ~90% of the 485M's performance for potentially half the cost.

No Sager/Clevo resellers will comment on 6970M availability and Sager won't comment. But I assume there will be something out March/April.
 
sk3tch said:
This is why a lot of folks are waiting for the 6970M from AMD. The 485M from nVidia is a $500 upgrade from the 460M. Although it performs on the level of 2x 460M (according to many reviews/benches), that price vista isn't worth it when the 6970M will give ~90% of the 485M's performance for potentially half the cost.

No Sager/Clevo resellers will comment on 6970M availability and Sager won't comment. But I assume there will be something out March/April.
Click to expand...

I'm not even talking about the 485M. The model with the 460M is a $400+ upgrade over the equivalent model with the 540M.
 
I believe these charts say it all:

6970M_v_485M_2.jpg

6970M_v_485M.jpg


6970M = GTX 485M. Period.

Never thought I'd see mobile GPUs which run Crysis @ 1080p Very High settings. Turn off the 4x AA, and they're well over 30fps. Incredible.
 
Mairu said:
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/p/19337909/19814636.aspx#19814636

Just got my m11x r2 in the mail today :D
Click to expand...

So wait, we're going to be able to send in our M11x regardless if it's broken or not for a new hinge design, or is it just going to get fixed if they're broken? I've had to send it in twice now since I got it this past July. Love the laptop though, it just kinda keeps breaking at the worst times possible, and I don't exactly have a backup laptop. :(
 
Quixzlizx said:
I'm not even talking about the 485M. The model with the 460M is a $400+ upgrade over the equivalent model with the 540M.
Click to expand...

Well, in that case - you linked to the 8150. That's the more upgradeable (i.e. price premium) 8130. It's $100 less to go 8130. Worth it to get an 8150 for the rubbery finish (versus plastic) and the upgradeability, IMO. Although the 8130 is standard with a matte screen if that's your bag (it costs $$$ to upgrade on the 8150).

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=3
 
sk3tch said:
Well, in that case - you linked to the 8150. That's the more upgradeable (i.e. price premium) 8130. It's $100 less to go 8130. Worth it to get an 8150 for the rubbery finish (versus plastic) and the upgradeability, IMO. Although the 8130 is standard with a matte screen if that's your bag (it costs $$$ to upgrade on the 8150).

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=3
Click to expand...

I have no idea what you're talking about, and I didn't link anything before, so you must be thinking of someone else's post. I was saying that the base NP8150 was $400+ more than the base NP5160, when it appeared that the main difference between the two is a 460M vs a 540M.

These are the SB preorders, not any current models with gen 1 CPUs.
 
sk3tch said:
* in certain applications. :)

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6970M.43077.0.html

I'm with you though. For the price and the performance...6970M all the way.
Click to expand...
Crysis Very High @ 1080p is the holy grail. You equal in that, and you have my sword. Vantage GPU 485M vs 6970M is 12.1k vs 11.5k - that's exactly a 5% advantage. Furthermore, the 6970M being tested is an immature engineering sample w/ alpha drivers. Performance may realistically go up a notch when the OEM chips hit.

For those who like knowing GPU prices:

USD
Mobility 5870 = $350
GTX 460M = $350
6970M = $508
GTX 470M = $560
GTX 485M = ~$750
GTX 480M = $940

So, if you're looking at the NP8170, NP8150, or M17X R3; add around $150 to the price of the GTX 460M configs, and you have a ballpark of your price w/ the 6970M.
 
K.Jack said:
Crysis Very High @ 1080p is the holy grail. You equal in that, and you have my sword. Vantage GPU 485M vs 6970M is 12.1k vs 11.5k - that's exactly a 5% advantage. Furthermore, the 6970M being tested is an immature engineering sample w/ alpha drivers. Performance may realistically go up a notch when the OEM chips hit.

For those who like knowing GPU prices:

USD
Mobility 5870 = $350
GTX 460M = $350
6970M = $508
GTX 470M = $560
GTX 485M = ~$750
GTX 480M = $940

So, if you're looking at the NP8170, NP8150, or M17X R3; add around $150 to the price of the GTX 460M configs, and you have a ballpark of your price w/ the 6970M.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. WOW. Can't wait until systems are available to config with this thing. With the money I saved from going GTX 485M I will be able to pay for my Lenovo X120e "netbook" tide-me-over. :)
 
sk3tch said:
[...]Although it performs on the level of 2x 460M (according to many reviews/benches), that price vista isn't worth it when the 6970M will give ~90% of the 485M's performance for potentially half the cost.
Click to expand...


K.Jack said:
For those who like knowing GPU prices:

USD
Mobility 5870 = $350
GTX 460M = $350
6970M = $508
GTX 470M = $560
GTX 485M = ~$750
GTX 480M = $940
Click to expand...


? Doesn't even come close to half the price x_X

I agree it will become most gamers' first choice once it hits a lower price but its current pricing still makes it exclusive.
 
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