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Gamer-approved laptop recommendation thread
- Thread starter dLMN8R
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Biff
Member
Hmm.. It actually looks really really good.K.Jack said:
I have a choice between:
14.0" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight [Included in Price]
14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight [add $50.00 or $2.00/month1]
Is there an appreciable difference between 1366x768 and 1600x900 on a 14" laptop? What would you recommend?
Also, has anyone here found RAM above 4GB actually useful? It'll be Win7 Pro x64 so it can see the RAM.. Just not sure if I'll ever hit a requirement above 4GB. $200 seems really steep to go from 4GB to 8GB.
Yep. Once you reach the range of $1.4 to $1.5k, the P150HM/NP8150 w/ 6970M @ $1.6k becomes the logical buy.Ezduo said:
You're essentially doubling the performance of the GTX 460M, for $100 more.
Here..kuroshiki said:
Be surprised, if the new AMD card hits before August. Once the NDA is lifted, I'll be able to give you guys more accurate info.hteng said:
The way I see it, with a 14" already being cramped real estate, you should want the highest DPI possible to maximize productivity. Take the 900p.ChefRamsay said:
Dell always pulls ridiculous inflation, on RAM upgrades. If you want 8GB, go to Newegg, buy a 2x4GB kit for $75, and install it yourself.
fyi, this is the GPU you get:
In desktop terms, it's a tad faster than a 9800 GT.
So I just pulled the trigger on a new laptop without consulting anyone (yeah, I know, shut up).
Here are the specs:
HP Pavilion DV6T Quad Edition
2nd Gen Quad Core i& 2630QM (2.0GHz 6MB L3 cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
1GB DDR5 Radeon HD 6770M (HDMI, VGA)
8GB DDR3 RAM
750GB Hard Drive
9-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (9.75 hours)
15.6" diagonal full HD anti-glare LED display (1920x1080)
Bluray drive
yadda yadda yadda
$1195
I will be taking this with me on my deployment, and when I return it will replace my desktop as my recording PC (I do audio stuff). Will likely throw an SSD in when I get back, and replace the hard drive with something bigger. Will do some gaming on it (mostly Steam engine). Keep in mind, waiting for a new chipset wasn't an option, as I leave for my deployment in like 14 days.
Did I do baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad?
Here are the specs:
HP Pavilion DV6T Quad Edition
2nd Gen Quad Core i& 2630QM (2.0GHz 6MB L3 cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
1GB DDR5 Radeon HD 6770M (HDMI, VGA)
8GB DDR3 RAM
750GB Hard Drive
9-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (9.75 hours)
15.6" diagonal full HD anti-glare LED display (1920x1080)
Bluray drive
yadda yadda yadda
$1195
I will be taking this with me on my deployment, and when I return it will replace my desktop as my recording PC (I do audio stuff). Will likely throw an SSD in when I get back, and replace the hard drive with something bigger. Will do some gaming on it (mostly Steam engine). Keep in mind, waiting for a new chipset wasn't an option, as I leave for my deployment in like 14 days.
Did I do baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad?
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Nekofrog said:
Yeah you did bad, especially considering that laptop is selling for $800-900 after discounts/coupons. :\
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Nekofrog said:
First, upgrading RAM from the factory is like throwing away money. Second, the graphics card upgrade is only $25. Blu-Ray option is $75. 1080p screen is $150
It's $900 with 6 GB of RAM, 640 GB HDD, 6770m, and Bluray. $1050 if you add in a 1080p screen.
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2985551
I suggest taking yours back and buying another one with the $350 off you can get. As it stands, you didn't get a horrible deal (unless you paid tax on it as well.) It would be much cheaper if you just got it with the 6770m and got a Blu-Ray external.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
demigod said:
Hell naw. The 6770M spanks the 540M. 6770M is on par with a 360M GTS and GT555M, if not better.
demigod
Member
I'm looking at this site, can you give me a better site that lists the best graphics card from top to bottom? http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.130.0.html
You can see that they listed the 6770M is an entirely different tier, than the 540M. I'm not sure why you thought the 540M was better.
NotebookCheck is fine, as a source for mobile GPU specs. I dislike them for very specific reasons, but the site has a purpose. They do need to do an entire reboot, of the hierarchy chart.
NotebookCheck is fine, as a source for mobile GPU specs. I dislike them for very specific reasons, but the site has a purpose. They do need to do an entire reboot, of the hierarchy chart.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
K.Jack said:
Because they post false PR bullshit and are Nvidia-biased? lol
Uncompromisable
Banned
So if someone wants to help me, I'm looking for a business laptop that can do lightening fast multitasking, browsing, video. At this point, it has to have a SSD (preferably 250GB). I don't care much for the videocard, but at least something half-decent. Price point is around $1,000 but is flexible.
It has to have HDMI out, but I don't care if it doesn't have an optical drive. I'm looking for something in the 15" screen size. No Macs please.
The new ASUS UX21 seems to be what I'm looking for but it's a bit smaller than I'd like and I'm wondering if there's something better out there right now value-wise?
PS: Is there a big difference between SATA II and SATA III when it comes to SSDs?
It has to have HDMI out, but I don't care if it doesn't have an optical drive. I'm looking for something in the 15" screen size. No Macs please.
The new ASUS UX21 seems to be what I'm looking for but it's a bit smaller than I'd like and I'm wondering if there's something better out there right now value-wise?
PS: Is there a big difference between SATA II and SATA III when it comes to SSDs?
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Uncompromisable said:
SATA II is fine, but if you want the maximum multi-tasking speed, go for SATA III with a Crucial M4/Vertex 3/Intel 510. They have roughly 2x the performance of the SATA II SSD's, but you may not notice it. My SATA II Vertex 2 SSD opens up Microsoft Office 2007 in less than a second, Chrome in an instant, Crysis 1 levels load in 13-15 seconds, etc if you want an idea of how fast even the SATA II drives are.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Battlefield 3 requirements?
http://bf3blog.com/battlefield-3-system-requirements/
Yesss... my 6970M falls under/beats the Recommended Requirements. Hear that, K Jack? We're set.
http://bf3blog.com/battlefield-3-system-requirements/
Yesss... my 6970M falls under/beats the Recommended Requirements. Hear that, K Jack? We're set.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230028&cm_re=g73sw-_-34-230-028-_-Product
am I doing it right? I might pick it up at best buy tomorrow($10 more + tax, but I get it same day and a free xbox...decisions, decisions). I really wanted to get a MBP, but they haven't announced the free iPod deal yet, and this price is too good to pass up for the hardware. I really didn't want to mess with Windows for school though even though I want to game. I think I'd go ahead and sacrifice games, but if they aren't doing the iPod/printer promo, no buy. I really want a laptop by thursday night so I can use it for my vacation.
about the asus though...how bad is the battery life/weight? the screen is huge too, which I'm queasy about.
am I doing it right? I might pick it up at best buy tomorrow($10 more + tax, but I get it same day and a free xbox...decisions, decisions). I really wanted to get a MBP, but they haven't announced the free iPod deal yet, and this price is too good to pass up for the hardware. I really didn't want to mess with Windows for school though even though I want to game. I think I'd go ahead and sacrifice games, but if they aren't doing the iPod/printer promo, no buy. I really want a laptop by thursday night so I can use it for my vacation.
about the asus though...how bad is the battery life/weight? the screen is huge too, which I'm queasy about.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Lkr said:
Do it. Sell the Xbox for $200.
The weight isn't too bad, if you're not a wimp you'll have no complaints. The battery life is so so... never got more than 2 hours on my G73JH. The G73SW doesn't have Optimus support, so the battery life should be similarly weaksauce.
Spiderjericho
Member
BoobPhysics101 said:
Is the 6970m comparable to the desktop 6850? That seems like a demanding game.
You'll probably need one of those 18" notebooks with the cross fire 6970 to play comfortable (versus use a desktop 570, 580, 590, 6879, 6950, 6970, 6990)
Aussies: Price drop already on the P150HMA I bought a couple of months back: http://www.logicalblueone.com.au/store/449-clevo-horize-p150hma-ati-gaming-notebook-.html
Add OS & shipping, and it's $1850 for a 6970M-packing, BF3-maxing laptop. Hot.
Add OS & shipping, and it's $1850 for a 6970M-packing, BF3-maxing laptop. Hot.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
Spiderjericho said:
Nah. 6970M will handle near-max settings on BF3 really well I'm thinking. If BF3 runs even better than Witcher 2, shouldn't be a problem. It's a ridiculously fast card, especially if overclocked.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
hteng said:
lol, that's 2x what I paid. Hold up, I'll find you some coupons.
Edit: I suggest waiting for the Dell Outlet to update their inventory with 6970M equipped M17x R3's. Like I said, I got mine for $1282 after tax. You can easily get one for $1500~ if you're patient and check every day.
cluto said:
It's in between, yeah. Remember that these might not be close to the official requirements, not sure if they're leaked or fake at this point.
BoobPhysics101 said:
my specs...
System Color Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Nebula Red
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor Intel® Core i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory 6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
A/C Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M
Hard Drive 1.5TB Raid 0 (2x 750GB 7,200RPM)
Nameplate Personalized Plate (THX)
AlienFX Quasar Blue
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat Reader
Optical Drives Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Sound Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
Wireless Wireless 802.11 g/n
Automatic Updates Automatic Updates: On
Service 1 Year Basic Plan
Factory Installed Games Steam and Portal Factory Installed
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support
Standard Nameplate Trigger Thank you for Purchasing Alienware
AW:THX
i've found the 50 dolars coupon and 7 days free delivery coupon so far while scraping the internet lol.
there's also a - 235 dollar coupon already defaulted into the price though, so my price is like 2274
BoobPhysics101
Banned
hteng said:
Rip-off. Take off any extra RAM, the Blu-Ray drive, downgrade to 2630QM and the RAID 0 hard drives.
Buying extra RAM from the factory is a ripoff ($60 extra for 2 GB taking you to 6 total? For $65 you can buy 8 GB of DDR 1333 from Newegg), the Blu-Ray drive is a rip off, the 2720QM and 2820QM aren't worth the cost for the tiny performance gain in gaming, and the RAID 0 HDD's are a joke compared to a $200 128 GB SSD.
The only good thing you had on there was the 1080p screen, which is worth it unless you've got an external monitor/HDTV to hook up to.
After reducing all that crap, total is $1900 without coupons.
I suggest waiting though, new coupons will be up soon, and there's supposed to be a sale in July. They also have 6870M (same as 5870M) equipped R3's for $1329 at the Outlet, and a $150 coupon is available, which would make them $1180. Not a bad deal for a beefy laptop like that. Plus for $400 you can buy a 6970M and upgrade it, giving you an R3 with 6970M for $1580, maybe less if you sell the 6870M.
BoobPhysics101 said:
lol i can't seem to choose the dvd drive, it's not even an option, it seems to default to bluray, also the default ram is 6 GB.
alright then, i guess i'll see what July holds. Im not really interested in the 6870m though, 6970m is where it's at and maybe even 6990m.
BoobPhysics101
Banned
hteng said:
Are you in the US? If so, go here.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...s&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=alienware-m17x-r3
That's the configurator I used right now.
Sew said:UK GAF, I have a friend who has just moved there from Aus. He's having trouble finding good laptops. Where should he be looking? Any links I can pass on would be grand.
anything going cheap is normaly lsited on http://www.hotukdeals.com/
aside from that normal places are, amazon.co.uk, scan, dabs,ebuyer,overclockers,aria and prolly dell outlet
Cheers. I also dug up some sellers from this guide and passed it all on.Yaka said:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/
http://www.rockdirect.com/
http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/
How cheap?Cromat said:
The 525M is pretty weak. Like.... low/medium settings at 720p weak.
If "modern" to you is 2011 releases, then no, it fails the grade. You'd have no shot at running The Witcher 2 or Battlefield 3, and that trend will continue on into next year.
So I want a new laptop since mine is starting to die. I have a desktop that I want to turn into a gaming only machine even though I don't plan on playing much besides Diablo3, and I want the laptop to become my main computer. I've been looking at some things you guys have been mentioning and even though I have a desktop I feel wrong if I don't get a laptop that can do anything like run games if I need to etc. That's why I'm looking at the Asus G73. I was considering a Mac but they are too expensive if I want it with good specs. I don't know if maybe I should go for something cheaper but I really would like a fast laptop and an SSD would be perfect.
Maybe the gaming part of the laptop isn't really necessary since I can just use my desktop thag already plays games fine. I also would love the laptop to look nice (hence why I consider the Mac) but all in all I really don't know what I want... I would love some opinions on this.. It would be better to buy at Best Buy since my cousin works there and can get discounts.
Maybe the gaming part of the laptop isn't really necessary since I can just use my desktop thag already plays games fine. I also would love the laptop to look nice (hence why I consider the Mac) but all in all I really don't know what I want... I would love some opinions on this.. It would be better to buy at Best Buy since my cousin works there and can get discounts.
Patrick Bateman
Member
BoobPhysics101 said:
As a laptop-noob I am: What would I have to pay for a Laptop to play BF3 with recommended requirements? Any suggestions?
My current desktop is Quad-Core Intel Q6600 with 4GB of RAM and a 256MB video card that I purchased in 2008. I use it as my HTPC so it never sees video games, productivity software or the Internet. I could upgrade it but since I have a CableCard hooked up to it the manufacturer says that any changes to the internal parts could render the external tuner unrecognizable/unusable (it was custom built through Dell with a special version of Windows Vista)
That leaves me with my only option which would be to buy a new laptop. I have a 20" monitor that came with the desktop. I never use it because my PC is hooked up to my HDTV. I would like to hook the laptop up to that monitor to cut the cost down a bit (large screened laptops tend to cost more).
Alienware is too expensive. My price range is in the $1000-$1300 range. Could I get a 14" or 15" laptop with a top of the line processor (i.e. Intel i7) and video card (what's the best?) in that price range? What's the best 14" or 15" gaming laptop out there? I want this thing to last for years.
That leaves me with my only option which would be to buy a new laptop. I have a 20" monitor that came with the desktop. I never use it because my PC is hooked up to my HDTV. I would like to hook the laptop up to that monitor to cut the cost down a bit (large screened laptops tend to cost more).
Alienware is too expensive. My price range is in the $1000-$1300 range. Could I get a 14" or 15" laptop with a top of the line processor (i.e. Intel i7) and video card (what's the best?) in that price range? What's the best 14" or 15" gaming laptop out there? I want this thing to last for years.
Patrick Bateman said:
1. Recommended requirements for Battlefield 3 in our world is simple, because there's only one mobile GPU that's there: the 6970M, a slightly downclocked 6850.tarius1210 said:
What does it take to get there? Between $1.5 and $1.6k, in a 15" chassis. Configure this. If you already have a copy of Windows, you save $100.
2. If that's too much, then we move down a tier, to where you're still a very comfortably 60% above the minimum GPU reqs (8800 GT). The GPU here is the GTX 560M. You will spend $1.3k. Configure this.
Any questions?
I dunno. How much is it?Cromat said:
nelsonroyale
Member
Ledsen said:
Kobalt games in the UK has it cheaper:
http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/g150_techspecs.html
I'll look around for you.Ledsen said:
Would you consider buying from another European country?
ProStar is the second largest Clevo importer in the US. Whether you buy from Sager or ProStar, you're getting a Clevo, a brand known to be among the top tier of build quality. There's a reason for why Clevo is the only brand with the 6970M and GTX 485M in 15" machines.tarius1210 said:
I usually recommend ProStar, because the quality of their customer service is well beyond Sager's.
About CPUs. Stick with the 2630QM. For $160 more, the 2720QM only has a 10% advantage. Not worth it, at all.
What you want to seriously consider upgrading, is the screen. The color gamut of the default screen is a 60%, so upping it to a 95% screen will bring a significantly more color and vibrancy to everything.
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