New semi-gaming laptop for Christmas...

[lakedude]

Requirements:

No brand preference what so ever.

GTX 650m or better (prefer 28nm), ATI is fine as well.

Desktop replacement, 15" or bigger, MATTE screen (not glossy).

Weight is not an issue, I'm not a girl. A couple pounds one way or the other does not matter.

CPU is not as critical as GPU.

Price is not really an issue but the lower the better. Value is the bigger issue.

Current laptop had glossy screen and I hated it enough to change it.

The new matte screen is better but is very low quality.

New laptop needs a decent LCD screen with decent viewing angles.

Thinking of something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152369

or this:

http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?ma...GX60-1AC-021US

Thoughts ideas and suggestions welcome. TIA!

[bdunosk]

http://zenbook.asus.com/zenbook/?c=u500vz

Would that fit the bill? Unfortunately I can't find anywhere that's selling it yet. The touchscreen version is probably glossy (bleh), not sure on the non-touch.

I really want a new laptop, too, but I also want to see what Haswell brings to the table since I tend not to update my mobile very often.

[Zodiark1593]

Originally Posted by bdunosk

http://zenbook.asus.com/zenbook/?c=u500vz

Would that fit the bill? Unfortunately I can't find anywhere that's selling it yet. The touchscreen version is probably glossy (bleh), not sure on the non-touch.

I really want a new laptop, too, but I also want to see what Haswell brings to the table since I tend not to update my mobile very often.

First, I thought you were trolling by recommending an Ultrabook instead of what the OP wanted, then I looked up and found that the Zenbook can indeed pack a GT 650M.

mind == blown

[lakedude]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not looking for an Ultrabook, in fact I'm generally against them because their high cost and lack of an optical drive. People convince themselves that they don't need optical drives but often they eventually buy an external which is very clumsy compared to a built in.

That AMD A10 with the awesome 7970 video card is really catching my eye...

[Enigmoid]

Originally Posted by lakedude

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not looking for an Ultrabook, in fact I'm generally against them because their high cost and lack of an optical drive. People convince themselves that they don't need optical drives but often they eventually buy an external which is very clumsy compared to a built in.

That AMD A10 with the awesome 7970 video card is really catching my eye...

Just remember that the a10 will bottleneck the 7970m, especially in cpu demanding games.

[lakedude]

Originally Posted by Enigmoid

Just remember that the a10 will bottleneck the 7970m, especially in cpu demanding games.

Yeah, if that thing had an Intel CPU I would have bought it already...

I've learned a few lessons over the years...

First laptop had bad pixels and no DVD drive, very annoying.

Second laptop had a fast CPU but not that great of a GPU, it did not game well and it got hot. Battery life was terrible.

Third laptop had a slower CPU (1.5GHz Centrino) but the best GPU I could find (ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 PRO TURBO). This proved to be a decent combination.

Forth and current laptop is decent with an i5-450m and a HD 5650 but the screen is terrible.

Lessons:

Want zero dead or bright pixels, a CD/DVD drive built in, a better quality matte screen than my current laptop, a good or great video card, and a decent CPU.

Don't care about weight, or size (within reason). Want a big screen 15 to 18 inches.

How bad do you think the A10 is? I mostly play FPS like Far Cry 2, Time Shift etc. Will get FC3 soon.

[crab0]

I know the GPU is just under the requirements but I gonna throw the 15 inch Vaio S in there cause of the 1080P IPS panel and supposed mods you can do to make the GPU run faster.

http://store.sony.ca/webapp/wcs/stor...er=S_Laptops_S

[lakedude]

Thanks crab, that IPS panel looks great but I need a better video card.

I think an IPS panel might be an option on that MSI. Sent an email to find out.

"Matte Type 95% NTSC Color Gamut Display [add $125.00]"

[frozentundra123456]

Originally Posted by lakedude

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not looking for an Ultrabook, in fact I'm generally against them because their high cost and lack of an optical drive. People convince themselves that they don't need optical drives but often they eventually buy an external which is very clumsy compared to a built in.

That AMD A10 with the awesome 7970 video card is really catching my eye...

Yea, on the surface that looks like a killer deal to get a 7970. I forget the price, but isnt it around 1200.00??? Cant figure out though why they would pair it with that cpu. I think it would be very limiting, and I dont know if you can overclock the A10 in a laptop. I know you could Llano, but I am not sure about Trinity. The other problem is that if you are GPU limited you can just turn down some settings, but if you are CPU limited, there is not much you can do.

[Talaii]

Originally Posted by lakedude

Thanks crab, that IPS panel looks great but I need a better video card.

I think an IPS panel might be an option on that MSI. Sent an email to find out.

"Matte Type 95% NTSC Color Gamut Display [add $125.00]"

I think it's mention if it was IPS, honestly. But there are a bunch of good TN screens out there. I have a Clevo P150EM (sold by Sager as a NP9150 iirc) with a simillar screen (Matte 95% gamut TN panel) and despite fairly average viewing angles it's a very nice screen. Would thoroughly recommend a P150EM - with a 675MX it's $1500, with a 7970M it's $1600 from xoticpc. It's actually slightly lighter than the MSI, but they are both big, chunky, heavy gaming laptops. Quoted prices include the 95% gamut matte screen and windows 7.

As far as optical drives go: None of my computers, except my HTPC, have a built-in optical drive. I have a USB optical drive gathering dust in the cupboard. They really are almost obsolete now - I install windows from USB drives, I install my games from the network or the internet, and so on. For that matter, the only oldschool bulk storage I have is in my fileserver - my laptop has a larger SSD, everything else has a small SSD + network shares.

[marcplante]

Look into an Asus N56VZ. It'll fit all of your requirements. be sure to get it with the 1080 screen. Also consider the Lenovo Y580. Second drive bay will allow you to add an SSD in the future. Or get it with a basic drive now for cheap and add the SSD right away.

[Tom]

The Dell Inspiron 15r Special Edition has a great matte 1080p screen option. The ATI 7730m is comparable to a GTX 650 I think.

Only drawbacks are weight and battery life, which aren't important to you.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-se-7520/pd

Sometimes available for less through Dell outlet,particularly when there's a coupon.

[lakedude]

Originally Posted by Tom

The Dell Inspiron 15r Special Edition has a great matte 1080p screen option. The ATI 7730m is comparable to a GTX 650 I think.

Only drawbacks are weight and battery life, which aren't important to you.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-se-7520/pd

Sometimes available for less through Dell outlet,particularly when there's a coupon.

That screen sounds good and the price is reasonable but that 7730 is a bit weak:

http://imageshack.us/a/img221/2320/7730.png

[lakedude]

Looks like it is going to be this one

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/MSI+-+17...&skuId=6927991

or this one

http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?ma...GX60-1AC-021US

The top one has a bigger 17 inch screen, lighted keyboard and better CPU.

The bottom one is $100 cheaper and has that awesome 7970m video card.

[Enigmoid]

Originally Posted by Tom

The Dell Inspiron 15r Special Edition has a great matte 1080p screen option. The ATI 7730m is comparable to a GTX 650 I think.

Only drawbacks are weight and battery life, which aren't important to you.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-se-7520/pd

Sometimes available for less through Dell outlet,particularly when there's a coupon.

My brother has an inspiron 15r special edition and I have a lenovo y580. Both have a good screen (about same contrast, dell slightly better brightness but crap colour accuracy, lenovo has slight backlight bleed).

7730m is not even close to a gt 650m. 7730m gets about 1500 points in 3d mark 11, 650m gets about 2100 (about 40% faster).

Dell has the better keyboard and trackpad. The lenovo games much better (about 50%).

I got my computer for $950 +110 warrenty (3 year in home)
dell cost $899.

I get about 2-3 hours more on battery.

OP, what kinds of games will you be playing?
Games like crysis 2, metro, are unlikely to need that much cpu (because gpu will bottleneck).

Games like skyrim, civ 5, guild wars 2 require a lot of cpu.

[lakedude]

Originally Posted by Enigmoid

OP, what kinds of games will you be playing?
Games like crysis 2, metro, are unlikely to need that much cpu (because gpu will bottleneck).

Originally Posted by lakedude

I mostly play FPS like Far Cry 2, Time Shift etc. Will get FC3 soon.

I play also play Crysis, BioShock, Mass Effect 2, Far Cry, Metro 2033, Duke Nukem Forever (for old times sake) and the Portal games.

The most CPU intensive game I've most likely played is World in Conflict.

I never play twitch games online, too intense!

I never play MM games that are hard on the CPU.

My favorite laptops from the past have been GPU heavy.

[Throckmorton]

Beware, some Asus laptops have really grainy antiglare

[Sleepingforest]

This looks like it fits your needs pretty well. Tom's Hardware rates it as having exceptional gaming battery life and reasonable performance. A configuration with a matte 1080p 15" screen, a 500GB Seagate Momentus hybrid HHD, the lowest power i7, and a 660m runs for about USD $1325. It also has a backlit keyboard.

[lakedude]

Originally Posted by Sleepingforest

This looks like it fits your needs pretty well. Tom's Hardware rates it as having exceptional gaming battery life and reasonable performance. A configuration with a matte 1080p 15" screen, a 500GB Seagate Momentus hybrid HHD, the lowest power i7, and a 660m runs for about USD $1325. It also has a backlit keyboard.

Yes that is much more like it.

Best buy had this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218814318063

on sale for $1299 including the 670MX, backlit keys, and OS. Should have bought it while it was on sale for $200 off...

[Sleepingforest]

Originally Posted by lakedude

Yes that is much more like it.

Best buy had this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218814318063

on sale for $1299 including the 670MX, backlit keys, and OS. Should have bought it while it was on sale for $200 off...

That does look like an excellent deal, actually. The 670MX is basically an underclocked 670 from what I hear. The Eurocom Racer I linked two does come with those options with some tradeoffs in size (could matter to you, but the pixel count is the same), RAM (not that big of a deal), and storage (one has 250GB more, one is faster), while the prices are basically the same. I would go with the Eurocom simply for the customizability and battery life, but it's ultimately up to you.

[lakedude]

I am currently leaning towards a Clevo clone.

If you don't already know Clevo, Eurocom, Sager, and Pro-Star are basically the same thing. I think Clevo makes some Alienware laptops as well.

If you go over $1500 these folks have $100 off:

http://www.avadirect.com/gaming-lapt...asp?PRID=24011

So for a little over $1500 after coupon code I can get the 7970m with an i7, lighted keys etc...

[lakedude]

Alright, I'm getting an itchy trigger finger...Same deal as Best-Buy...

http://www.adorama.com/MSINC494US.ht...m_source=gbase

[lakedude]

My current 5650 vs some of the new options:

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6...50vsothers.png

[Sleepingforest]

That is honestly awesome. I would go for it; there's not much to regret at that price. I figure you won't be doing much with the battery only anyway, and you can probably buy an extra if you're really worried.

[lakedude]

So $1299.99 for an i7-3630QM and 670mx, or $1530 for the same CPU paired with the 7970m??

I've got a psychological barrier at $1500...