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The 2012-2013 Gaming Laptop Thread | Read OP before asking questions!
- Thread starter K.Jack
- Start date
- Status
Depends on how much the 900p SKU costs vs the Alienware M14x.
soulassssns
Banned
Are hybrid HDD/SSD drives worth the price?
Does yours come with an mSSD built in?
If you need capacity, it might be worth considering replacing/installing an mSSD and keeping your normal HDD for data storage. All y580s have the slot for it even if yours didn't have one pre installed.
soulassssns
Banned
Are these online retailers good to do business with?
http://www.gentechpc.com/index.asp
http://computerupgradeking.com/products/index.php?main_page=index
http://www.xoticpc.com/
Possible purchase: It's over my 1500 USD limit though.
CLEVO P150EM/SAGER NP9150
PROCESSOR - INTEL® CORE I7-3610QM (2.3 GHZ, 6MB CACHE, 3.3 GHZ TURBO BOOST)
VIDEO CARD - AMD RADEON HD 7970M W/ 2GB GDDR5
RAM - 8GB (2 X 4GB) 1600MHZ
PCIE FLASH SSD DRIVE - 128GB MSATA CRUCIAL M4 SSD (500MB/S)
PRIMARY HARD DRIVE - 1TB 5400RPM
OPTICAL DISK DRIVE - SUPERMULTI 8X DVD+-RW
OPERATING SYSTEM - WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM X64
http://www.gentechpc.com/index.asp
http://computerupgradeking.com/products/index.php?main_page=index
http://www.xoticpc.com/
Possible purchase: It's over my 1500 USD limit though.
CLEVO P150EM/SAGER NP9150
PROCESSOR - INTEL® CORE I7-3610QM (2.3 GHZ, 6MB CACHE, 3.3 GHZ TURBO BOOST)
VIDEO CARD - AMD RADEON HD 7970M W/ 2GB GDDR5
RAM - 8GB (2 X 4GB) 1600MHZ
PCIE FLASH SSD DRIVE - 128GB MSATA CRUCIAL M4 SSD (500MB/S)
PRIMARY HARD DRIVE - 1TB 5400RPM
OPTICAL DISK DRIVE - SUPERMULTI 8X DVD+-RW
OPERATING SYSTEM - WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM X64
Maybe if you just can't afford an SSD.
Gentech and XoticPC are highly trusted resellers. I've never heard of CUK.
soulassssns
Banned
I was just wondering about the hybrids because they were listed as a choice on those sites I listed.
I found Computerupgradeking.com listed as a seller on Amazon for most of their custom gamer laptops.
They seem pretty good so I posted their link.
I posted this in the wrong thread so I guess now that I've found the appropriate thread I'l post it here!
Hey guys! I bought a laptop recently and I just wanted to get your opinions on it. The specs are below.
Dell Inspiron 15R SE
3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor (2.50 GHz, 3M cache)
15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED with TrueLife
6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
1TB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
2GB AMD Radeon HD 7730M
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
I got it for £530 with a free Xbox 360 S 4GB.
Was it a decent deal? :s
Hey guys! I bought a laptop recently and I just wanted to get your opinions on it. The specs are below.
Dell Inspiron 15R SE
3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor (2.50 GHz, 3M cache)
15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED with TrueLife
6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
1TB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
2GB AMD Radeon HD 7730M
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
I got it for £530 with a free Xbox 360 S 4GB.
Was it a decent deal? :s
So, I`m here with goog news!
I was forced to wait , so I didn´t buy any laptop yet, but now I have a little more money to spend.
So I took Kjacks advise and now think about the
Schenker A722 with
Geforce 660m 2GB GDDR5
I7-3630QM
8GB 1600mhz RAM (corsair Vengeance)
1TB Sata II 5400rpm
750gb 8gb HybridHDD Sata III
1080p Screen glare or non-glare
Win7 64bit
for 962.28 (incl 19% off)
The Alternative would be with an I5 - 3210M so is it worth spending extra money on the I7 wich I don´t think I need
With I5-3210 it costs me 901.53 (incl 19% off)
(i could get aP702 with the same specs and lightet keyboard, I5-3210M and AMD 7970M) for 1206)
so I5 or I7 and glare or non-glare?
I was forced to wait , so I didn´t buy any laptop yet, but now I have a little more money to spend.
So I took Kjacks advise and now think about the
Schenker A722 with
Geforce 660m 2GB GDDR5
I7-3630QM
8GB 1600mhz RAM (corsair Vengeance)
1TB Sata II 5400rpm
750gb 8gb HybridHDD Sata III
1080p Screen glare or non-glare
Win7 64bit
for 962.28 (incl 19% off)
The Alternative would be with an I5 - 3210M so is it worth spending extra money on the I7 wich I don´t think I need
With I5-3210 it costs me 901.53 (incl 19% off)
(i could get aP702 with the same specs and lightet keyboard, I5-3210M and AMD 7970M) for 1206)
so I5 or I7 and glare or non-glare?
ThanksVision
Member
Guys I need your help!! My 3 year old laptop just went kaputt and classes start tomorrow. Basically, windows downloaded an update and wanted me to restart my laptop to install said update. While it was restarting and installing the update (%16 complete etc.) the laptop blue screened. Now whenever I start it up, the windows logo comes up but then the screen goes black. The LEDs are still flashing like normal. I can boot it in safe mode and it automatically tries to revert back to before any problems occurred, but it doesn't work. It restarts and then the screen goes black again. I'm thinking this is a hardware graphics problem? I dunno. Help
I can't logically fault that price, when it includes an Xbox.
The i7 is a must, and I'd go non-glare, if you have a lot of lights around where you'll have the notebook.
Do you have a Windows disc?
ThanksVision
Member
Not on me, I just got back to school yesterday. (Of course it would happen now.)
I went to system restore in safe mode with networking, and it seems for windows 7 you have to "turn on system protection" but there is no "system protection" listed anywhere in the control panel (where windows help says it should be). I'm in safe mode right now
Open Start Menu -> Right-click Computer -> Properties -> you'll see System Protection on the left menu.
ThanksVision
Member
Had to take a pic with my phone cause my screen cap wouldn't upload from my machine. But it's not listed at all. That's got to be a virus or something, right?
ThanksVision
Member
Thanks for trying K.Jack! It was time for a new lappy anyway... I'm still thinking about the Y580
ThanksVision
Member
Hate to double post, but I've tried just about everything with no luck. Nobody in my dorm has a windows 7 install disc. A guy had all the ISO files on a disc and key so I tried to boot the machine up from the disc. Still didn't work. Tried d/ling windows to clean install it. Can't do it in safe mode. I'm basically out of options, and realizing I need a new laptop, as this one is 3+ years old anyway.
So here's what I'm looking for. 15" screen with 1080p. I'd love a fast fast harddrive cause I have 200gb of music that I'm running off an external (slowly). I don't need it to do anything too gaming heavy. Smoothly playing something like starcraft II would be fine. I just really want a good machine that will let me surf, listen to music and play some games. Nothin' crazy.
So here's what I'm looking for. 15" screen with 1080p. I'd love a fast fast harddrive cause I have 200gb of music that I'm running off an external (slowly). I don't need it to do anything too gaming heavy. Smoothly playing something like starcraft II would be fine. I just really want a good machine that will let me surf, listen to music and play some games. Nothin' crazy.
Didn't even know there was a 680MX...even more surprised to see that it's only being used for Macs...
I have an MSI GT70 with the 680M that I bought a few months back and so far I have to say it's been a pretty impressive machine. Currently playing Far Cry 3 maxed out pretty much and while I'm not getting 60FPS (mostly in the 20-30FPS range), it's very very playable.
I have an MSI GT70 with the 680M that I bought a few months back and so far I have to say it's been a pretty impressive machine. Currently playing Far Cry 3 maxed out pretty much and while I'm not getting 60FPS (mostly in the 20-30FPS range), it's very very playable.
EDIT: I read about temprature problems the Clevo bare bone has wich is used for the Schenker A722 (some reportet 55-63°C during surfing and downloading smth. by steam)
so the thing is it worth to spend the 300€ more for the P702 , I have to work alot with the second HDD (better cooling and bigger)
http://www.mysn.de/detail.asp?useri...orienOrder=010;020;015;010&bestellnr=adnl0001
sry that I´m so undecided , but I never bought an laptop before and it has to last long , because I had to save up a lot for it.
thx for the help
so the thing is it worth to spend the 300€ more for the P702 , I have to work alot with the second HDD (better cooling and bigger)
http://www.mysn.de/detail.asp?useri...orienOrder=010;020;015;010&bestellnr=adnl0001
sry that I´m so undecided , but I never bought an laptop before and it has to last long , because I had to save up a lot for it.
thx for the help
Wok
Member
I would like to know how good these graphic cards are:
If I have a look at this website, I can see that all except the first two are able to run recent games at ultra settings. However, I would be interested in running games in full HD but not necessarily with the best antialiasing, etc. Does someone have the score of the graphics card on Windows 7 internal benchmark tool?
- 015 NVIDIA Quadro K5000M
- 030 NVIDIA Quadro K4000M
- 049 NVIDIA Quadro K3000M
- 051 AMD FirePro M6000
- 067 NVIDIA Quadro K2000M
- 072 AMD FirePro M4000
- 123 NVIDIA Quadro K1000M
If I have a look at this website, I can see that all except the first two are able to run recent games at ultra settings. However, I would be interested in running games in full HD but not necessarily with the best antialiasing, etc. Does someone have the score of the graphics card on Windows 7 internal benchmark tool?
Don't worry, I understand the indecision. For my first gaming laptop I literally spent almost every cent I had saved, so I know what the terrifying process feels like.
Is the P702 worth more? Well the 7970M is over 2x the speed of the GTX 660M, and with the next-gen consoles on the horizon, you definitely want the fastest GPU you can afford. So, Yes.
The Windows tool is an absolutely worthless gauge for comparing, well, anything.
The K5000M = GTX 680M, 4000M = 675MX
These are the only ones built for the future. But THOSE PRICES.
Well, bleh.
My new Sager 9150 arrived Tuesday. Worked great, performance great, beautiful screen, etc.
Arrived home last night, opened it, and it wouldn't wake up. Just a black screen with mouse cursor. Hard reboot and it displayed information that it was rebuilding or checking the SRT caches because it wasn't shut down properly. But just went to a black screen again (with mouse cursor). Hard reboot again and it goes immediately to black screen. No hard drive activity.
Pop in system recovery disk. If I try "refresh" I get the message that the hard drive is locked. Repair option reports that it can't repair any problems. Attempts to reinstall windows fail ("driver not found"). Using command prompt I can't cd to c:.
Looks like this hard drive is dead out of the gate. Yay. Waiting on xotic to get back to me.
Edit: Woohoo! Xotic tech support got back and suggested that I make a boot CD from Hirem's boot tools. I'll spare you the details (you can see them in the tech support thread if you're interested) but after running a few tests (which checked out okay) and rebooting, the machine detected disk errors, diagnosed them, fixed them, and booted up normally. All systems go!
My new Sager 9150 arrived Tuesday. Worked great, performance great, beautiful screen, etc.
Arrived home last night, opened it, and it wouldn't wake up. Just a black screen with mouse cursor. Hard reboot and it displayed information that it was rebuilding or checking the SRT caches because it wasn't shut down properly. But just went to a black screen again (with mouse cursor). Hard reboot again and it goes immediately to black screen. No hard drive activity.
Pop in system recovery disk. If I try "refresh" I get the message that the hard drive is locked. Repair option reports that it can't repair any problems. Attempts to reinstall windows fail ("driver not found"). Using command prompt I can't cd to c:.
Looks like this hard drive is dead out of the gate. Yay. Waiting on xotic to get back to me.
Edit: Woohoo! Xotic tech support got back and suggested that I make a boot CD from Hirem's boot tools. I'll spare you the details (you can see them in the tech support thread if you're interested) but after running a few tests (which checked out okay) and rebooting, the machine detected disk errors, diagnosed them, fixed them, and booted up normally. All systems go!
I'm glad that worked out for you! Nothing feels worse than having issues with a brand new laptop.
But you should still be wary of whichever drive showed the errors. Was it the mSATA?
I'm pretty sure no one here has an R4. Have you checked out the NBR M17x forum?
Azzurri
Member
No, I have not, thank you.
No real way to know, as the repair process didn't give that information. My suspicion is that something got screwed up when it tried to rebuild the cache Weds night, causing some problem with accessing Windows generally on the Seagate drive. But since I don't know what actually fixed it (literally: when I went back to BIOS to make it boot from HD again instead of CD, the options were different), I can't say.
Certainly makes me uneasy.
Received the Y580 I ordered last week, real excited to get some good use of it when I move away from my PC.
Only real problem I've had with it is that the nvidia 660m gpu wasn't default and I had to manually change from the integrated graphics. Was confused as to why it couldn't run ANYTHING well. I stumbled upon it on a random google search that I was supposed to override the default power-saving setting... Kinda weird but I guess its the case for many laptops out of the box?
Only real problem I've had with it is that the nvidia 660m gpu wasn't default and I had to manually change from the integrated graphics. Was confused as to why it couldn't run ANYTHING well. I stumbled upon it on a random google search that I was supposed to override the default power-saving setting... Kinda weird but I guess its the case for many laptops out of the box?
I had the same problem with mine. Issues with the laptop lowering my volume after a certain amount of time as well. Just go into the power options and basically configure high performance settings to be optimal for gaming. No going to sleep, max brightness, etc. Just remember to switch back to balanced or power saver afterwards.
user friendly
Member
Almost bought this today.
Wondered if anyone had any impressions on it before I go for it. Also looking at this but I'm not sure how much better the 650M is over the 630M. Really liked the look of the HP and the 9 cell and BD drive is nice. Any help is appreciated.
Wondered if anyone had any impressions on it before I go for it. Also looking at this but I'm not sure how much better the 650M is over the 630M. Really liked the look of the HP and the 9 cell and BD drive is nice. Any help is appreciated.
user friendly
Member
I would say that depends on amount of use, type of use, design elements (hinges and other movings parts) and about a hundred other variables. I've had this Sony VGNFW140D for about 6 years and have had to replace the HDD a few times and now the power connection has snapped off and I've since had to hardwire it to the AC adapter... It's time I find a new one but a few months ago I could've put it on kiji for a couple hundred or so. I'm sure I could get another few years out of this thing too but I would say you should expect no less than 5 years from a laptop for general use but you could end up with a lemon.
That DV7 is a horrible buy, if gaming is your priority. Even in CAD, $900 for a GT 630M is a joke.
If you want the most GPU for your money, check out this Sager NP9130. It's CA$1,152.57, and you get a GTX 670MX for that.
If you aren't sure about the strength of the GPUs, there's a section covering that in the OP.
user friendly
Member
Damn, I love the hardware on the DV7. The Sager has been on my radar but shipping to Canada kills it for me. I'm sure they have the odd deal on shipping but not sure I should go over $1200. May just keep waiting but I'm definitely getting the itch. I noticed the 630M is pretty bottom of the barrel but I've been on a radeon HD3400 the last 5 years+.
Thanks for your input.
~edit~
Just noticed it was free shipping
Time to do some research.Damn at Tax though
Damn, I love the hardware on the DV7. The Sager has been on my radar but shipping to Canada kills it for me. I'm sure they have the odd deal on shipping but not sure I should go over $1200. May just keep waiting but I'm definitely getting the itch. I noticed the 630M is pretty bottom of the barrel but I've been on a radeon HD3400 the last 5 years+.
Thanks for your input.
~edit~
Just noticed it was free shipping
Damn at Tax though
Could you break that down for me?
It really depends on factors such as how much you use it, if you conserve it properly and such, but the laptop I'm typing on right now (bought in 2006) is at its last legs, so to me it would be probably 6 years. But several factors come to play such a build quality and stuff, it's possible newer laptops have a better lifespan.
user friendly
Member
HST = 13%
Whoa ouch.
The 7970M is essentially the speed of two 675Ms. Nvidia's prices are just higher.
A minority have received Y580s with bad 660Ms. That's all.
Can you possibly do $549.99? There's nothing cheaper with a dedicated GPU.
Thanks! Is the compromise of having just a 768p display okay? I'm thinking that I prefer smooth frame rates vs 1080p resolution, especially for later games that will tax the 660m.
(I'm already used to 1366x768 on a smaller screen.)
The Verge: "The best gaming laptop: we review the most powerful portable computers on the market"
Reviewed are the Razor Blade, Lenovo Ideapad Y580, Toshiba Qosmio X870, Asus G75VW, MSI GT70, Samsung Series 7 Gamer, Alienware M17x and AVADirect Clevo P170EM.
Reviewed are the Razor Blade, Lenovo Ideapad Y580, Toshiba Qosmio X870, Asus G75VW, MSI GT70, Samsung Series 7 Gamer, Alienware M17x and AVADirect Clevo P170EM.
That is a really good roundup. I can't disagree with their conclusions.
I'm really hoping Samsung offers the GTX 780M in the Series 7, because they have the overall best laptop chassis, period. I want that so badly.
Yes, definitely, assuming you meant ASUS. Where are you getting that for 799?
Asus yeah, not sure why I typed Acer. I know a salesperson at the local Best Buy and he called me and told he had one of those in the back if I was interested. He told me $830 then later said he could let me have it for $799. I did a little research and it seems like a good deal but the screen res is disappointing. He said it was a demo model or something.
So the screen isn't passable, quality-wise?
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