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[nicoga3000]

Just wanted to pop in and say that the waiting game with Xotic PC is killing me. I want my machine so bad. But their customer service has been FANTASTIC. I can't recommend them enough to US buyers.

 

[Zeroth]

Just wanted to pop in and say that the waiting game with Xotic PC is killing me. I want my machine so bad. But their customer service has been FANTASTIC. I can't recommend them enough to US buyers.

Well, remember the waiting is from Sager itself, not XoticPC. I had to wait about 6 days for my Sager to be ready for shipping earlier this month, so I imagine you will need to wait about that.

 

[nicoga3000]

Well, remember the waiting is from Sager itself, not XoticPC. I had to wait about 6 days for my Sager to be ready for shipping earlier this month, so I imagine you will need to wait about that.

Ah - so Sager is the one building and prepping the machine? That makes sense. I'm just antsy, haha.

E: And just like that, tracking information get! It will be here Friday!!!

 

[BigWeather]

Ugh, I hate the "To Warranty or Not To Warranty" question, especially for laptops (which are more likely to get damaged). Lenovo offering 3 years including accident coverage for $120 (normally $240). GAF, you all normally bite on warranties at all? Default in this case is 1 year, no accident coverage.

Edit: I normally reject any warranty over 15% of the purchase price, and 5% - 15% gives me pause, under 5% and I'm usually game. This one is right below 15% (13.6%).

 

[K.Jack]

I believe in keeping your laptop warrantied for as many years as you intend to hold on to it.

 

[nicoga3000]

More pictures to come!

I need to finish this design for work before I open and begin the OS install. SO ANTSY. :|

 

[nicoga3000]

I'm going to xpost this because it's pissing me off. From TechSupport GAF. For the record, I've made sure that all of the power settings are what they need to be. I THINK that it has to do with the included software from the drivers disc.

Hi all -

I just received my brand new Sager NP9150 today (gaming laptop). I FINALLY finished getting all of the drivers updated and the OS installed (took far too long), and I'm discovering a REALLY bizarre issue. In the top left corner of the screen, every ~3 seconds, the little notification keeps popping up with the brightness symbol and the screen brightness changes. I have tried adjusting the brightness via the function keys, thinking that might "un-trigger" the process. Nope. I've tried restarting multiple times with no success either.

A few things I've noticed.

1) It's almost macro-like. If the brightness is at 50% and I manually adjust it to 25%, the screen will go from 50% -> 25% during the interval in which the brightness pop-up displays. It will jump back to 50% and adjust down to 25% every time. This also works upwards.

2) It appears as though the issue is gone at initial boot. I have a custom keyboard LED set. The computer boots with the default blue, and right after it adjusts to my custom setup, it starts the weird brightness issue. I get the impression that whatever is initializing at that point is the problem.

Hopefully someone can help me out! I can get more details if need be.

And this is my next post.

OK, I made a video of my problem.

It only happens when plugged into the batter. I've got auto-adjust turned off, the setting has been adjusted to max performance both on and off battery (to help diagnose this problem).

Here's a video of the machine not plugged in
http://youtu.be/6HOvBD9CK34

Here's a video of the machine plugged in
http://youtu.be/oSbv63Fd_w8

You can see the little auto-adjust box popping up every few seconds in the second video.

Any thoughts on how to fix this? It's starting to mega piss me off.

 

[K.Jack]

I'm going to xpost this because it's pissing me off. From TechSupport GAF. For the record, I've made sure that all of the power settings are what they need to be. I THINK that it has to do with the included software from the drivers disc.

Responded to your thread on Notebook Review (Kevin). I'll keep up with it over there.

 

[Danj]

Any thoughts on how to fix this? It's starting to mega piss me off.

Have you looked to see if there's a BIOS update available? You say it seems like it's running as if it was a macro, maybe there's something weird with the keyboard controller firmware, which is often included as part of laptop BIOS updates.

 

[Draper]

Hey guys. So I'm in the market.

Around $1000
Relatively sleek, portable, and light (ultra book?)
Good screen
Good keyboard and track pad
13"-15"
Games fairly competently

I keep taking a second look at Macbooks but I feel there has to be other quality alternatives.

Thanks

 

[Ragnamith]

Ugh, I hate the "To Warranty or Not To Warranty" question, especially for laptops (which are more likely to get damaged). Lenovo offering 3 years including accident coverage for $120 (normally $240). GAF, you all normally bite on warranties at all? Default in this case is 1 year, no accident coverage.

Edit: I normally reject any warranty over 15% of the purchase price, and 5% - 15% gives me pause, under 5% and I'm usually game. This one is right below 15% (13.6%).

I think 120 for 3 years is a pretty good deal. I'd go for it.
When it comes to laptops I would stick to what K.Jack said.
It's much more difficult to repair a laptop by yourself so basically the only way to get it fixed when it breaks is by having a warranty on it. It would also be very hard if not impossible to get any new parts for your specific laptop.

Small update about my Asus G46.
I ordered it last Sunday and it arrived on Friday morning.
I was expecting to be waiting for about 2 weeks for the order to get from US to Europe, but it took about 5 days.
I must say the service and support from HIDevolution.com has been really great.
Their e-mail replies are also fast (none in the weekend though) and accurate.

I've been hanging around the official Asus forums for a couple of questions about installing windows 7 on my laptop, and the best part is that the guy who answered my questions through HIDevolution support also hangs around on the Asus forums and ended up helping me out with my windows 7 install.

 

[K.Jack]

Hey guys. So I'm in the market.

Around $1000
Relatively sleek, portable, and light (ultra book?)
Good screen
Good keyboard and track pad
13"-15"
Games fairly competently

I keep taking a second look at Macbooks but I feel there has to be other quality alternatives.

Thanks

Wait for the Intel refresh, if you can. The new integrated GPU will be running games at 1080p, in Ultrabooks.

 

[nicoga3000]

Responded to your thread on Notebook Review (Kevin). I'll keep up with it over there.

No luck.

SUPER frustrated now. I'm starting to think something is fucked up...

 

[K.Jack]

No luck.

SUPER frustrated now. I'm starting to think something is fucked up...

Man I know how bad it sucks to have a brand new laptop going sideways. Call XoticPC tomorrow ASAP.

You could do a clean OS install, tonight. That's always the last resort fix.

 

[nicoga3000]

Man I know how bad it sucks to have a brand new laptop going sideways. Call XoticPC tomorrow ASAP.

You could do a clean OS install, tonight. That's always the last resort fix.

I guess I could do that...I just finished getting my Skyrim files setup and a bunch of games installed and updated. But the OS fresh instal might fix it. The thing that's really pissing me off now is that it's starting to eat into my gaming. Every time the machine auto-adjusts the brightness, it slows the machine down a small bit. It's ridiculous.

 

[Draper]

Wait for the Intel refresh, if you can. The new integrated GPU will be running games at 1080p, in Ultrabooks.

When will that be? Aren't there any other options that intertwine portability and graphical capability?

Edit: I mean, I always hear it, but I want to see comparable devices to the macbook pro 15" retina that offer the same portability, screen quality, and power at a better price.

 

[Asimov]

Hello, GAF... newbie here!

I want to get a laptop, but it really doesn't matter if it can't run Crysis 3 at max settings. I will mostly use it at home, but I want a laptop instead of a desktop mainly because my house is very small.

I will use the computer mostly for Photoshop, Illustrator, FrameMaker and some 2D game design (GameSalad). I also have a lot of Steam games, but they are mostly indie games from the HumbleBundle.

I saw this computer at Best Buy. The form factor is great. Full aluminium with a backlit island keyboard. The specs are these:

• HP ENVY 17.3"
• Alumunium Body
• Backlit Keyboard
• 3rd Gen Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM processor at 2.4GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
• 8GB of DDR3
• 1TB HDD
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M graphics with 2GB of dedicated video memory
• Fingerprint Reader
• HD Webcam
• Beats Audio
• 3 USB 3.0 Ports
• HDMI Out

The price in store is $900, but I want to take advantage of a $100 gift card I got on Christmas. So, it will be only $800.

What I want to know is:

• Is there a laptop with better specs for the price?
• Is the video card decent for indie games?

I forgot to mention. I really need/want the 17" screen.

 

[rynvie]

>macbook air
>gaming
Yes, I know.

I think I have my heart set on a Macbook Air 2013 model, when they come out.
I want an extremely portable notebook to take with me everywhere I go for design work, school, teaching myself programming, and to function as a multiplayer gaming system for playing League of Legends(coming to osx soon) and Dota 2(coming to osx soon), as well as TF2, and some other assorted titles. This is to compliment my gamin' desktop, and will not be my main computer.
I'm definitely waiting for Haswell, so I'm just saving all my cash until then. I'm pretty sure all of the 2013 MBA models will fit my requirements fine.

My question is: 11" or 13"
I was at bestbuy earlier today to pick up FE:A, and dropped by the Apple section to drip some saliva all over expensive electronics. Comparing the 11 and 13 inch models is tough. The 11 inch is the PERFECT portable size, I feel like I could almost just plop it down my pants and be fine, whereas the 13 inch feels like it'd get uncomfortable if I carried it everywhere with me.
(I totally have a secondary monitor that I would totally take with me to a friend's house in the event of a LAN party, so having to game on a tiny screen isn't always required)

Does anybody have experience gaming(specifically MOBA/ARTS) on an 11 inch screen?

 

[The Albatross]

I can't recommend the 13" enough, especially because the 13" comes with the option for the 256GB sdd and 8GB of ram, and I am unsure if those options are there for the 11"... Or if there's a major jump in price.

I just picked up a 13" MBA last week, as my primary use laptop, but also for Photoshop / Dreamweaver / Coda / SublimeText. It runs PS and DW better than any other computer I've owned, including my work Lenovo i7 laptop. The SDD launches PS in seconds, same with Dreamweaver. Makes a huge difference for me
.
ALso battery life is the real deal. First few days were running about 4 - 5 hours for me, now it's up to 7+ hours. I've been running on this charge since 3pm today, using the computer pretty steadily, and it's got 1hour 20mins left on it.

But, sadly, I can't answer your 11" questions. I feel like 11" would be too small for me, but that's also because I wanted it for some basic design and development. Also, FYI, externally, you're better off going display port -> VGA, than Display port -> HDMI. There's a problem with the latest OS X and outputting mini display port to HDMI, color profiles are all sorts of whacked out. MDP -> VGA works fine though, and apparently there is a fix on the way for HDMI.

 

[K.Jack]

dp...

 

[K.Jack]

When will that be? Aren't there any other options that intertwine portability and graphical capability?

Edit: I mean, I always hear it, but I want to see comparable devices to the macbook pro 15" retina that offer the same portability, screen quality, and power at a better price.

May/June?

Which Macbook are you comparing to, anyway?

Hello, GAF... newbie here!

That is a decent deal @ $800.

>macbook air
>gaming
Yes, I know.

I think I have my heart set on a Macbook Air 2013 model, when they come out.
I want an extremely portable notebook to take with me everywhere I go for design work, school, teaching myself programming, and to function as a multiplayer gaming system for playing League of Legends(coming to osx soon) and Dota 2(coming to osx soon), as well as TF2, and some other assorted titles. This is to compliment my gamin' desktop, and will not be my main computer.
I'm definitely waiting for Haswell, so I'm just saving all my cash until then. I'm pretty sure all of the 2013 MBA models will fit my requirements fine.

My question is: 11" or 13"
I was at bestbuy earlier today to pick up FE:A, and dropped by the Apple section to drip some saliva all over expensive electronics. Comparing the 11 and 13 inch models is tough. The 11 inch is the PERFECT portable size, I feel like I could almost just plop it down my pants and be fine, whereas the 13 inch feels like it'd get uncomfortable if I carried it everywhere with me.
(I totally have a secondary monitor that I would totally take with me to a friend's house in the event of a LAN party, so having to game on a tiny screen isn't always required)

Does anybody have experience gaming(specifically MOBA/ARTS) on an 11 inch screen?

All of the Ultrabooks will give the MBA stiff competition when Hswell drops. Definitely wait.

 

[nicoga3000]

Pretty sure I've diagnosed the problem on my Sager. I think it's the Hotkey driver. I need to remove it entirely to work. BUT! As I've posted elsewhere, I want the Hotkey driver because it not only gives me pop-up notification of my various function adjustments, but it also controls the backlit keyboard.

Time to call Xotic support! :|

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Country where it will be purchased: US
Maximum budget: <$1000
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight): Prefer 13-15 inch
Planned usage (what kind of games or specific games it must run, if heavily gaming at all): At least 720p. Gaming and work.
Misc. things: Battery life is a non-issue. Replacing http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WUXMVY/?tag=neogaf0e-20 which I’ve had since 2010. It was able to run Far Cry 3 though acceptably enough for me (low settings, some config file manipulation to turn down view distances and particles, etc.), so it’s actually a pretty beastly machine, all things considered. But it’s reached its end of life and I’d like something that will last me another 2.5 years. I’d also prefer something that isn’t branded out the ass.

 

[K.Jack]

Country where it will be purchased: US
Maximum budget: <$1000
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight): Prefer 13-15 inch
Planned usage (what kind of games or specific games it must run, if heavily gaming at all): At least 720p. Gaming and work.
Misc. things: Battery life is a non-issue. Replacing http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WUXMVY/?tag=neogaf0e-20 which I&#8217;ve had since 2010. It was able to run Far Cry 3 though acceptably enough for me (low settings, some config file manipulation to turn down view distances and particles, etc.), so it&#8217;s actually a pretty beastly machine, all things considered. But it&#8217;s reached its end of life and I&#8217;d like something that will last me another 2.5 years. I&#8217;d also prefer something that isn&#8217;t branded out the ass.

Lenovo Y580. Pick your price.

But I must say, estimated GPU lifetime is hard to pin down, with the next-gen consoles coming. The GTS 360M only lasted as long as it did because the 360 and PS3 lingered for 7-8 years. We were spoiled. Well, the happy days are now over.

The PS4 has something north of the AMD 7970M range.

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Lenovo Y580. Pick your price.

But I must say, estimated GPU lifetime is hard to pin down, with the next-gen consoles coming. The GTS 360M only lasted as long as it did because the 360 and PS3 lingered for 7-8 years. We were spoiled. Well, the happy days are now over.

The PS4 has something north of the AMD 7970M range.

Awesome, thanks for the link. That's good info too. I suppose I could always buy a super cheap laptop and not expect to game on it, and just build a desktop. Is something that is essentially equivalent to what I have now (GTS 360M) but smaller and lighter cheap at this point? As long as I could run Sim City and Europa Universalis IV, I'd be fine for portability.

 

[stay gold]

Country where it will be purchased: UK
Maximum budget: under £700 if possible
Max size (can be in screen inches, dimensions, weight): 15-17
Planned usage (what kind of games or specific games it must run, if heavily gaming at all): FFXIV A Realm Reborn on medium at least

Was gonna get the game on ps3 but a laptop would be a lot more convenient, if I can get one for a reasonable price. I have no idea what kind of specs I'd need to any suggestions to point me in the right direction are appreciated!

 

[K.Jack]

Awesome, thanks for the link. That's good info too. I suppose I could always buy a super cheap laptop and not expect to game on it, and just build a desktop. Is something that is essentially equivalent to what I have now (GTS 360M) but smaller and lighter cheap at this point? As long as I could run Sim City and Europa Universalis IV, I'd be fine for portability.

Well first off, the GTX 660M in the already suggested laptop is 2.5x its speed. As far as the 360M goes, that's tough. The performance of the GTS 360M was/is pretty impressive, and that level of speed doesn't go mainstream until 2014's new GPU architectures come out. Then we'll be talking at least 2x the speed of what's out now, in every tier. So the closest current day equivalent would be the GT 640M LE (the faster card), which does ship in a few thin/light machines (the 13.3" Sony VAIO S comes to mind), but they cost in the $900+ range.

Going the route of desktop is always valid, as I began the thread by stating, because you can pack many more times the laptop's GPU power into the price.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

I have been in the market recently (budget $800-900 before tax) and found this item on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314005

Acer Aspire V3-771G-9441

Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz)
17.3" Display Resolution 1920 x 1080
8GB Memory
1TB HDD 5400rpm
DVD Super Multi
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M

I am coming from a desktop that is a few years old ( Yorkfield Core 2 Quad, Nvidia Geforce 8600) Not a bad thing to play the occasional game on, but I have lost the office space due to a new infant. Would this not only represent an upgrade to my existing setup, in addition to being portable?

 

[K.Jack]

A: This is £49.70 over your budget, but I like it.

B: Configure this.

CPU -> i5-3230M
Memory -> 4GB (1 x 4GB)
Memory - Hard Disk -> 500GB (5400rpm)

With those changes, it came up to £687.00, icluding VAT. I like it beter with the i7-3630QM, which brings the price to £748.00, for a worthy upgrade.

I have been in the market recently (budget $800-900 before tax) and found this item on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314005

Acer Aspire V3-771G-9441

Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz)
17.3" Display Resolution 1920 x 1080
8GB Memory
1TB HDD 5400rpm
DVD Super Multi
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M

I am coming from a desktop that is a few years old ( Yorkfield Core 2 Quad, Nvidia Geforce 8600) Not a bad thing to play the occasional game on, but I have lost the office space due to a new infant. Would this not only represent an upgrade to my existing setup, in addition to being portable?

For $900, you should buy the Lenovo Y580.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

For $900, you should buy the Lenovo Y580.

Is the Lenovo that much better? It has 2 less Gigs of Ram, and a smaller hard drive, but I guess the graphics card is that much better...

 

[Draper]

May/June?

Which Macbook are you comparing to, anyway?

Ugh, kinda can't wait that long. And I was referring to the macbook pro 15 retina. The Samsung series 7 ultra is looking kinda sexy...

 

[K.Jack]

Is the Lenovo that much better? It has 2 less Gigs of Ram, and a smaller hard drive, but I guess the graphics card is that much better...

Yeah I base it solely on GPU speed. The GT 730M is the same exact core as the 660M, except the former has lower clocks and is gimped by its DDR3 memory, versus the latter's GDDR5. There's going to be a ~40% difference in speed.

It depends on how much you need and/or care for the speed versus the Acer's larger screen and accessories.

Ugh, kinda can't wait that long. And I was referring to the macbook pro 15 retina. The Samsung series 7 ultra is looking kinda sexy...

Whoa I completely forgot the Series 7 Ultra comes out soon. It is a pretty laptop, for sure. If it reviews well, it'll be a hit.

I really like what Samsung is doing overall. My next laptop will be one of their Series 7 Gamers, if they go with a GTX 780M or 8970M.

 

[Draper]

Yeah I base it solely on GPU speed. The GT 730M is the same exact core as the 660M, except the former has lower clocks and is gimped by its DDR3 memory, versus the latter's GDDR5. There's going to be a ~40% difference in speed.

It depends on how much you need and/or care for the speed versus the Acer's larger screen and accessories.


Whoa I completely forgot the Series 7 Ultra comes out soon. It is a pretty laptop, for sure. If it reviews well, it'll be a hit.

I really like what Samsung is doing overall. My next laptop will be one of their Series 7 Gamers, if they go with a GTX 780M or 8970M.

Yeah, I emailed them last night. They said they're anticipating a March release. Wonder how the graphics card will stack up to others. Any idea? The thing looks incredibly sexy judging from CES videos.

 

[K.Jack]

Yeah, I emailed them last night. They said they're anticipating a March release. Wonder how the graphics card will stack up to others. Any idea? The thing looks incredibly sexy judging from CES videos.

No testing's been done, but looking at the 8570M's specs, it'll be in my 'Low' category, for sure. Don't be shocked when the 8570M is much weaker than Intel's Haswell.

 

[nicoga3000]

OK, I'm still diagnosing my Sager problem. I'm really losing patience and if I can't fix this, I'll be RMA'ing this thing.

I don't think it's a driver issue anymore. At least, not the Hotkeys driver. I've noticed something odd about the way the battery animation works in the system tray. I tried to make a picture of the problem (color added for fun!).

The time between the first four pictures is, say, 2 seconds a piece. But when it gets to the end (the fifth frame in the picture above), it jumps from 4 to 5 to 1 in the period of about 0.5 seconds. It's like the machine, for a split second, thinks the battery is full. I haven't had a laptop in YEARS, so I don't know if this is normal. But it MIGHT explain why the machine is acting up.

Any idea what might be the problem? Or is time to RMA?

 

[K.Jack]

I'm guessing at a motherboard issue.

I'd at least bite the bullet though, and reinstall the OS, before being without the laptop for two weeks. Also, find out if yours shipped with the latest BIOS and K/EC, and if not, ask them to send you the files so you can run the updates.

Last resort time. Possibly getting the rare lemon just sucks though, and I feel bad for you.

 

[nicoga3000]

I'm guessing at a motherboard issue.

I'd at least bite the bullet though, and reinstall the OS, before being without the laptop for two weeks. Also, find out if yours shipped with the latest BIOS and K/EC, and if not, ask them to send you the files so you can run the updates.

Last resort time. Possibly getting the rare lemon just sucks though, and I feel bad for you.

I already did an OS reinstall the first time I had this problem. And I tried using it with the CD bios and the bios on Notebook Review's forum (which are from the Sager/Clevo site).

I'm super bummed given how long I waited, but I imagine XoticPC is pretty good at fixing problems in terms of RMA and getting me a new unit (I hope!).

 

[K.Jack]

Oh then I guess it's RMA time.

Try to get Sager to give you some compensation, like a free CPU upgrade.

 

[nicoga3000]

Oh then I guess it's RMA time.

Try to get Sager to give you some compensation, like a free CPU upgrade.

Do I contact Sager or XoticPC? There's the 24/7 Sager line I can call, but I'm not sure if I should use that or something else...

 

[Asimov]

Do they sell 17" of those Lenovo laptops?

 

[Quazar]

So I'm in need of a laptop, anything under 1K, in USA, something that'll run FF14 well.

 

[K.Jack]

Do I contact Sager or XoticPC? There's the 24/7 Sager line I can call, but I'm not sure if I should use that or something else...

Go through Xotic first.

Do they sell 17" of those Lenovo laptops?

Nope. I wish there was one. The equivalent 17" is the Sager NP6370 (or Clevo W370ET) LINK

So I'm in need of a laptop, anything under 1K, in USA, something that'll run FF14 well.

Anything under $1k is too broad. In that case, pick a ~$900 one from the OP and you'll be straight.

 

[nicoga3000]

Go through Xotic first.

Thanks! Calling them when they open today to get this processed.

I have a general question...When gaming, should you have the machine plugged in, unplugged, or plugged in with the battery removed?

 

[Amaron]

Thanks! Calling them when they open today to get this processed.

I have a general question...When gaming, should you have the machine plugged in, unplugged, or plugged in with the battery removed?

Generally, leaving a laptop plugged in when fully charged causes the battery's ability to hold charge to diminish. Effectively chemically killing itself.

So just charge up to 100%, unplug it, put the power profile as you deem fit for the game you want to run, then charge it up when needed. If you don't mind decreasing battery life, then you can plug it in and use it at full charge if you like.

 

[rynvie]

I might be in the market for just an ultrabook as well real soon, to be my linux playtoy computer. Just something with a minimum of the HD 3000, doesn't even need an SSD. I was look at the $600 Acer Aspire S3. I know haswell is just around the corner, is it expected that all Sandy/Ivy prices are going to drop immediately after it's release?

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Generally, leaving a laptop plugged in when fully charged causes the battery's ability to hold charge to diminish. Effectively chemically killing itself.

So just charge up to 100%, unplug it, put the power profile as you deem fit for the game you want to run, then charge it up when needed. If you don't mind decreasing battery life, then you can plug it in and use it at full charge if you like.

They haven't figured out a way to stop this yet?

 

[I H8 Memes]

A friend of mine has $1,300 to spend on a laptop and has been looking at this one.

http://www.asus.com/ROG/G75VW/#specifications

Looks pretty good to me, although I know nothing about mobile gpu's to say if a 660/670 is good at that price. Any other laptops I could suggest to him at his price range/

 

[K.Jack]

Generally, leaving a laptop plugged in when fully charged causes the battery's ability to hold charge to diminish. Effectively chemically killing itself.

So just charge up to 100%, unplug it, put the power profile as you deem fit for the game you want to run, then charge it up when needed. If you don't mind decreasing battery life, then you can plug it in and use it at full charge if you like.

His laptop has a 45W CPU and a ~75W GPU. Gaming on battery is not an option.

I might be in the market for just an ultrabook as well real soon, to be my linux playtoy computer. Just something with a minimum of the HD 3000, doesn't even need an SSD. I was look at the $600 Acer Aspire S3. I know haswell is just around the corner, is it expected that all Sandy/Ivy prices are going to drop immediately after it's release?

Eh, they might drop, or the laptop you're looking at will cease to be sold once its replacement appears. It's hard to tell this far out.

A friend of mine has $1,300 to spend on a laptop and has been looking at this one.

http://www.asus.com/ROG/G75VW/#specifications

Looks pretty good to me, although I know nothing about mobile gpu's to say if a 660/670 is good at that price. Any other laptops I could suggest to him at his price range/

The G75 is okay at that price. The $1k Lenovo Y580 has the same specs, but it's only a 15.6" laptop.

 

[nicoga3000]

Yeah, I don't want to kill my battery, but I don't think I CAN game on battery alone.

I've been in contact with XoticPC. They're quite quick about getting things processed. I'm going to ask them if they're able to upgrade anything on a replacement before I finalize it. So far, it's been a pretty pain free process.

 

[I H8 Memes]

The G75 is okay at that price. The $1k Lenovo Y580 has the same specs, but it's only a 15.6" laptop.

Yeah he was hoping for a 17 inch screen.