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Gamer-approved laptop recommendation thread

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This leads us to wherever or not GAF should wait for the 560M GPus or not.

I agree that the Mobility Radeon 5870 + i5 first gen Intel CPUs is the way to go for value. I am really considering the purchage of a MSI GX660R but the only thing that could divert me from that is the upcoming GT 560M equipped laptops.

If they can hover around 1000$ with a non Sandy Bridge CPU, then I'll definitely pull the trigger.
 
I have a GX660R uk version with the i5, 6gig ram & 5870, its a powerful machine and apparently easy to upgrade compared to others, tho i haven't done any upgrading to mine yet it's fully sufficient as it is now. The only two minor faults i have found so far are a flimsy, flexy keyboard and a sub par touchpad. Beyond that performance, 1080 screen & sound system are top notch for a lappy that cost me less than a grand! Highly reccomended! :)
 
Ok, I can pick up an Asus G60-JX for around $600.

Specs are:

Core i5
Nvidia GeForce GTS 360M
8 GB of RAM
500 GB HDD
16" screen @ 1366x768

I've read good things about the GTS 360M, how is it going to hold up to most games? I've got an 8800GT in my old gaming PC, is the GTS 360M better or worse? I'm not really trying to smash on Crysis, maybe just The Witcher and Dragon Age 2.
 
BoobPhysics101 said:
Ok, I can pick up an Asus G60-JX for around $600.

Specs are:

Core i5
Nvidia GeForce GTS 360M
8 GB of RAM
500 GB HDD
16" screen @ 1366x768

I've read good things about the GTS 360M, how is it going to hold up to most games? I've got an 8800GT in my old gaming PC, is the GTS 360M better or worse? I'm not really trying to smash on Crysis, maybe just The Witcher and Dragon Age 2.
Click to expand...

It's slightly worse. GTX 280M is the first mainstream card that is above the 9800 GT/8800 GT 512 Mo. And given the fact that the minimum specs for The Witcher 2 is precisely a 8800 GT, your laptop won't cut it, sadly.

But good value in this laptop overall.
 
Kenka said:
It's slightly worse. GTX 280M is the first mainstream card that is above the 9800 GT/8800 GT 512 Mo. And given the fact that the minimum specs for The Witcher 2 is precisely a 8800 GT, your laptop won't cut it, sadly.

But good value in this laptop overall.
Click to expand...

Lame. So I should spend a bit more and get a 5850/5870m?
 
I have a question. Is having one good video card and two hard drives in raid better than having SLI/Crossfire and a normal hard drive? If I am correct there are no laptops out now that have raid and SLI/Crsossfire.

So, what gives better performance benefit, the raid or the SLI//Crossfire?
 
Gaming is about GPUs, not HDDs.

Kenka said:
This leads us to wherever or not GAF should wait for the 560M GPus or not.
Click to expand...

The GTX 560M is a rebranded GTX 460M.

BoobPhysics101 said:
Ok, I can pick up an Asus G60-JX for around $600.

Specs are:

Core i5
Nvidia GeForce GTS 360M
8 GB of RAM
500 GB HDD
16" screen @ 1366x768

I've read good things about the GTS 360M, how is it going to hold up to most games? I've got an 8800GT in my old gaming PC, is the GTS 360M better or worse? I'm not really trying to smash on Crysis, maybe just The Witcher and Dragon Age 2.
Click to expand...

That is amazing for $600. You'd be a fool to not pick it up. The 360M @ 1366x768 can play anything at High details. It reall6y is just barely slower than the GTX 260M, and thus the 9800 GT. You can overclock it also.
 
K.Jack said:
Gaming is about GPUs, not HDDs.

The GTX 560M is a rebranded GTX 460M.

That is amazing for $600. You'd be a fool to not pick it up. The 360M @ 1366x768 can play anything at High details. It reall6y is just barely slower than the GTX 260M, and thus the 9800 GT. You can overclock it also.
Click to expand...

Yeah value is good, I just don't know for sure how The Witcher 2 will be on that. I may even wonder where he found it to be honest.

Also, for those who are interested in the GX 660R, there is a good video about how you can upgrade to SSD without too much hassle :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFyX7nem8ao

And thanks for the answer regarding the 560M. I still want to see its price tag though.
 
I'm in the market for a new laptop, I travel a lot so I'd like to be able to play some games that are graphically comparable to the 360 or PS3. I don't want a huge screen so I'm fine with 720p. I'd like to be able to play Crysis 1 and 2, as well as some games that are coming out exclusively for the PC for the next 2 years.

I don't want to spend too much, since I'm not really a huge hardcore gamer anymore and I know computers depreciate very quickly anyway. My existing laptop is starting to fail too.

How about these? Any good? I know nothing of computer hardware these days.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146779
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115968CVF
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146806
 
IGotBillySoSpooked said:
How is Blu ray playback on these $1k-1500 range laptops?

Would I be able to use one as an everyday blu ray player?
Click to expand...
Blu-ray looks good on small screens. I could use mine everyday, comfortably.

rs7k said:
I'm in the market for a new laptop,
Click to expand...
See Post # 1301, tell me what you think.
 
K.Jack said:
Blu-ray looks good on small screens. I could use mine everyday, comfortably.


See Post # 1301, tell me what you think.
Click to expand...

Do you know if there is any drop-off in playback quality or anything if you are hooking your laptop up to a TV via HDMI?

I don't know if that would be an issue or not, to be honest.
 
I'm looking at buying a new laptop and was wondering how much a difference there is between a first gen i5m and a second gen i3m. I will not be playing any intense games on the laptop. Any input would be appreciated.
 
Is Sandy Bridge worth it? Should I take a plunge for ASUS G53 with i7 w/o SB, or just get e.g. MSI GT680 with i7-2630QM, the price being almost the same?
 
K.Jack said:
Blu-ray looks good on small screens. I could use mine everyday, comfortably.


See Post # 1301, tell me what you think.
Click to expand...

The computers in your post are slightly more expensive, not that I'm not open to your suggestions, but I was thinking of saving some money since my car needs repairs too.

How are the ones in my post? They have a smaller screen so I'm guessing the computer doesn't need to be as powerful to render to the screen's native resolution.
 
Castor Krieg said:
Is Sandy Bridge worth it? Should I take a plunge for ASUS G53 with i7 w/o SB, or just get e.g. MSI GT680 with i7-2630QM, the price being almost the same?
Click to expand...
Option C is to wait for the Sandy Bridge G53 to return.

rs7k said:
The computers in your post are slightly more expensive, not that I'm not open to your suggestions, but I was thinking of saving some money since my car needs repairs too.

How are the ones in my post? They have a smaller screen so I'm guessing the computer doesn't need to be as powerful to render to the screen's native resolution.
Click to expand...
I pointed you to those because one of the machines you posted was $999.99, so for just $100 more you can gain twice the gaming performance.

Spending the $1100 versus $1000 really gains you a ton of advantages.
 
Okay, so I was wrong, about the GTX 560M.

It is not just a rebadged GTX 460M. The 460M is GF106 while the 560M is on the newer, more efficient GF116 core.

Also:

6990M confirmed. It's the full Barts XT core, meaning there's 1120 shaders, opposed to the 6970M's 960.

GTX 500M in Q2. 580M and 570M = GF114
 
Any M11X R1-R2 users call about getting the new hinge design? I really want to call soon, but unfortunately my back up computer isn't very good. :(
 
I'm looking for a decent laptop, one that can run some games at low-to-medium (I guess). I love comfy couch/5.1 yadda yadda yadda, so I can't imagine getting new stuff (ME3 etc) to play on my small screen laptop.

I guess my budget is $600-$700. I can go higher, but not much.

I'd love some suggestions, I'm really useless at computer stuff.
 
gdt5016 said:
I'm looking for a decent laptop, one that can run some games at low-to-medium (I guess). I love comfy couch/5.1 yadda yadda yadda, so I can't imagine getting new stuff (ME3 etc) to play on my small screen laptop.

I guess my budget is $600-$700. I can go higher, but not much.

I'd love some suggestions, I'm really useless at computer stuff.
Click to expand...
This .
 
K.Jack, thanks for all the info in this thread.

My situation:

Looking for something 13"-14" with a discrete GPU
Preferably 540m or higher
Preferably Sandy Bridge
Preferably $800 or less (but I have some room to wiggle with)

Are these demands reasonable? My budget's actually slightly higher, but I want to go with an SSD (probably aftermarket) so I'd like to come in below budget to have some room left. I'd be willing to sacrifice the Sandy first in order to get the rest. 720p should be fine too.
 
I'm having problems, fulfilling your request.

Decent discreet GPUs, under 15", tend to start around $799.

gdt5016 said:
Hmm, that looks like the one then.

What's the difference between that one and this one? Skimmed specs and didn't really see anything.
Click to expand...
The Amazon machine comes with a weaker CPU, Core i3 vs i5. The i3 lacks Turbo Boost functionality.
 
Mang, Dell's price gouging on early adopters is ridiculous. The i7-2620M + HD6630M config for the Vostro is over $1300. Anybody know when it settles back down to reasonable pricing?
 
K.Jack said:
For a serious gamer? No, not really. Look at the Black OPs chart from a few posts back, to see the gap between the 5870 and 540M.

Slower i5 CPU + Faster GPU >>> Faster i7 CPU + Slower GPU

The Mobility 5870 is pretty close to 2x the 540M's speed.
Click to expand...

Do you think Sandy Bridge is worth waiting for or is first gen paired up with something decent ok?
 
Cosmo Clock 21 said:
Mang, Dell's price gouging on early adopters is ridiculous. The i7-2620M + HD6630M config for the Vostro is over $1300. Anybody know when it settles back down to reasonable pricing?
Click to expand...
What's ridiculous, is that it's all Dell's doing. Intel's price to OEMs for the i7-2620M is the same as the previous generations i7-620M, and the 6630M is chump change.

The inflation is all on Dell's end.
 
K.Jack said:
I'm having problems, fulfilling your request.

Decent discreet GPUs, under 15", tend to start around $799.


The Amazon machine comes with a weaker CPU, Core i3 vs i5. The i3 lacks Turbo Boost functionality.
Click to expand...

Thanks, looks like I'm going with your rec. I should have the money together in 2 to 3 weeks.
 
I've been having a mad ebay selling spree to save me forking out too much on my new laptop. :D The SB delays have been my friend really. By the time they're available I will have raised about $1200 towards it, woot.

I'm pretty much decided on the Sager NP8150. Add matte screen, shipping, import duty and it will be getting close to $2k. Hope the AUD stays strong.

I think I'll be buying from here: http://www.xoticpc.com
 
Sew said:
I've been having a mad ebay selling spree to save me forking out too much on my new laptop. :D The SB delays have been my friend really. By the time they're available I will have raised about $1200 towards it, woot.

I'm pretty much decided on the Sager NP8150. Add matte screen, shipping, import duty and it will be getting close to $2k. Hope the AUD stays strong.

I think I'll be buying from here: http://www.xoticpc.com
Click to expand...
Me too man. I was going to be dropping major coin for the GTX 485M, but Intel stalled my plans, and now I'll save nearly $300 with the 6970M. I'm going for the NP8170 and will spend the GPU savings on the premium glossy LCD. Price comes up right @ $2k.

Also have you checked Austraian reseller? How do those prices compare to importing?
 
I didn't know about that site, thanks for the heads up. Aussie retailers don't have a great tradition of passing on savings, but I'll keep an eye on them.
 
eshock said:
K.Jack, thanks for all the info in this thread.

My situation:

Looking for something 13"-14" with a discrete GPU
Preferably 540m or higher
Preferably Sandy Bridge
Preferably $800 or less (but I have some room to wiggle with)

Are these demands reasonable? My budget's actually slightly higher, but I want to go with an SSD (probably aftermarket) so I'd like to come in below budget to have some room left. I'd be willing to sacrifice the Sandy first in order to get the rest. 720p should be fine too.
Click to expand...
Acer Aspire.

No Sandy Bridge available yet, but the Core i5 is decent, and the 6650M exceeds the GT 540M.

It will be sometime around mid-April, when we find out exactly who is refreshing what, with Sandy Bridge. If you must buy now, take the Acer.
 
K.Jack said:
That is amazing for $600. You'd be a fool to not pick it up. The 360M @ 1366x768 can play anything at High details. It reall6y is just barely slower than the GTX 260M, and thus the 9800 GT. You can overclock it also.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the help! I'll be picking it up on Friday and throwing in my 640GB HDD and using the 500 GB as a 2nd external HDD.

I'll definitely be overclocking the Core i5 to 3 Ghz and the 360M an extra 100-150 mhz on the core and 200-300 Mhz on the RAM. I pulled some pretty awesome overclocks out of my 8800GT so the 360M should be cake.
 
Sheeeeeeiiit son GO GO GO!

The GTS 360M is a pretty potent mobile chip. @ $570, it's ridiculously powerful.

Edit: What just happened here?
 
Yeah, the next best gaming machine, by size, would be the Acer TimelineX 3820TG.

The M11x Sandy Bridge refresh will be announced around E3. There's also the M14x and M18x, on the way.

M14x will the fastest 14" ever created.
 
K.Jack said:
Sheeeeeeiiit son GO GO GO!

The GTS 360M is a pretty potent mobile chip. @ $570, it's ridiculously powerful.

Edit: What just happened here?
Click to expand...

I edited, I accidentally reposted... sleepy mistake. I'm getting it on Friday. Been downloading games and getting overclocking software prepped. Thanks for your help/advice K. Jack, I've been out of the PC gaming/hardware loop for a while, especially when it comes to laptops. I haven't turned on my gaming desktop since February 2009!

Looks like the GTS 360M can be safely overclocked an extra 100-150 Mhz on the core clock, 300-400 Mhz on the RAM, and 200-300~ on the shaders with no problems. And that Core i5 hits 3 Ghz no sweat... damn.


Does anyone have any recommendations for what SSD I should look into getting? I'd like a 64-128GB that's fast (like OCZ Agility) but is around $150~ or less. I'd use my normal HDD's as external storage and keep the SSD dedicated to Windows/games.

Edit: Looks like the OCZ Vertex 2 spanks the Agility 2. Is $120 for the 60GB Vertex 2 a good deal, or should I wait for the 120GB to hit $150?
 
Is this old? Eurocom has an order page up for their Clevo P150HM based 'Racer' (review), with the 6970M in the config options. There's no mention of the 6970M being a backorder. I'm sure they'll let you know right after you've paid.

http://web.eurocom.com/ec/ec_model_config1(1,219,0)

For bonus points, these come with matte screen standard. I did a modest config that came to $1771. Looks good, but holding off for now.

[edit] Just did a more sensible config (I can do RAM, HDD and OS much cheaper after market). $1596. Crazy stuff. :-)

EUROCOM Racer
15.6-inch Full HD 1920x1080 MATTE LED Backlit Display
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon Mobility HD6970M (BlackcombXT)
Core i7-2720QM
4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3-1333
2x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0
250GB G-Force Protection SATA-300 NCQ 7,200rpm
etc
Click to expand...

...aaaand then you realise shipping to Aus is $259. Ok. This has given me a taste though, I look forward to seeing what the other guys come up with.
 
DO NOT TRUST EUROCOM

One Clevo reseller, which does a lot of exports, is Pro-star.

It's worth it to contact them about prices, just in case.

I've bought from them before, if you need someone to vouch for their reliability.

But, I must say $250 shipping seems par for the course..
 
Question for NotebookGAF:

Looking at an MX11 now that I have the wife's signoff (and her getting an iPad to compensate). Question I have is this:

I can choose between the older model with a Core 2 Duo, or the newer model with the nice rubber coating with a Core i5. Both models have effectively the same HD and RAM, but the Core 2 Duo works out to about $700, while the i5 is coming in at $1000. Is it worth an extra $300?

EDIT: Thanks, didn't think so. Besides my desktop is killer, I just need the MX11 as a diversion for occasional games.
 
I have a HP Envy 14 with

Core i5-520
4GB DDR3 Ram
500 GB HDD
ATI 5650

I've been playing DA and DA2 at my native resolution of 1600*900 and getting about 30-40 fps with settings at Medium, V-sync ON and 2x FSAA. Will adding another 4GB Ram stick help at all? I can get one for $30.
 
i have the g73 with the 5870 on 1600x900 and even on wow it still drops down to 20-30 in busy areas on low-medium settings. but if you're superficial (who isnt) the g53 and g73 looks very stylish with the stealth bomber inspired design and just the right amount of lights without turning into a disco ball.

kinda surprised/disappointed at the performance considering this is one of the most powerful mobile gpus. desktops are still light years ahead :P
 
K.Jack said:
DO NOT TRUST EUROCOM
Click to expand...
Heh, noted. For some reason I'm not surprised you're saying that, I had a gut feeling. The scary thing is I was put onto them by an Anandtech review, which I would generally trust.
 
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