best 15.4" laptop high end laptop (<$3000)

[sgleo87]

I am looking for a 15.4" laptop that has:
- a fast CPU (Intel Core Duo 2, >2.0Ghz)
- one of the latest Nvidia GPUs with at least 256MB (8600 or 8800 if possible)
- at least 2GB of RAM but 4GB would be preferable
- a Bluray burner if possible

My target budget is around $3000. This laptop is going to be hooked up to my 27" LCD which runs at 1920x1200 and I want to be able to watch HD movies as well as play some games on it (not necessarily graphics intense games like Crysis though) so that's why a good video card would be important.
Battery life should also still be decent (4 hours or more would be nice), and it should still be portable since I travel quite a bit (less than 8lbs).

So what do you guys recommend?

 

[Brainonska511]

Asus Lamborghini VX2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834220206
a little over $3k.

Or you can get one for a penny under $3k if you wanted an HD-DVD burner instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...0235%2CN82E16834220233

You could wait to see what comes out though as the 8800 and 8700 are still rolling out into the market.

 

[sgleo87]

anyone else? any suggestions on which brand is the best in terms of quality (my compaq laptop just broke...I definitely want something that has a good build quality this time)

 

[Brainonska511]

Of course, those were just the extreme end. You can find similarly powered notebooks in the Asus G1 series.

As far as build quality - Asus is definitely top notch, especially with their higher end notebooks. You could look at Alienware or the high-end Dell XPS series as well.

 

[sgleo87]

ok, I'll definitely take a look at Asus then...not such a huge fan of Dell but that's just me...what about Sony?

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: sgleo87
ok, I'll definitely take a look at Asus then...not such a huge fan of Dell but that's just me...what about Sony?

I haven't really heard anything good or bad about them. Sony's are just rebranded notebooks anyway, half of which at one point were made by Asus. They tend to be more expensive for the same thing (quality and specs).

 

[Scouzer]

I strongly do not recommend Asus laptops. I went from an Inspiron 9300 to an Asus A8Js and it was a DRAMATIC drop in quality. Lousy screen, screen flex, sharp edges, poor build quality in general. I'm back to an Inspiron 9400 and I'm much happier.

Also, Asus laptops have notoriously horrible speakers-- you'll see this mentioned in every laptop review for lappies they sell. The speakers were so horrible my girlfriend and I would lay in bed with the laptop on my chest TOUCHING MY CHIN on maximum volume to hear the movies. Horrible shit.

Never again.

(I'm not recommending the Inspiron here, it's not appropriate for your purposes.)

 

[jignesh2008]

I am following this thread, since its of my interests too. A similar question i just asked few days back on following thread

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2127666&enterthread=y

Dell Inspiron model does have Graphics card "Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT with 256MB GDDR2". In India no one has heard Asus name except a few who keeps an eye on notebooks market. Popular names here are HP, Acer and Dell. Only Dell in india allows customers to customize the notebooks. The drawback is you can only purchase online, so you can;t touch or feel your notebook before purchasing.

I would like to hear from Member "Scouzer" , why he feel that Inspiron is not appropriate for your purposes. Also I would be happy if Member "Scouzer" can go though my thread post and let me know if Inspiron is suitable for my purpose.

In my mind a good notebook is one which allows SeriousWork + Entertainment and provide all gadgets for networking and communication(Wi-fi,bluetooth,camera,fingerprint,cardreaders,gigabyte lancard etc)

 

[Scouzer]

Inspirons aren't really appropriate to the OP's uses as only the M1530 comes close to his needs. However, the screen on the M1530 is lacking (1280x800) which would cause me not to recommend it. I am not sure if you can configure it with Blu-Ray as well.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

What's wrong with the macbook pro decked out and with a separate external burner? I'm sure you'd be under 3000 if you bought the upgrades separately too. MBP are absolutely gorgeous machines if you're willing to pay. Quality wouldn't be an issue then.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

i wonder how long it will take one of the companies like LG to make a slim BluRay/HD-DVD burner / player?

 

[sgleo87]

Originally posted by: Scouzer
I strongly do not recommend Asus laptops. I went from an Inspiron 9300 to an Asus A8Js and it was a DRAMATIC drop in quality. Lousy screen, screen flex, sharp edges, poor build quality in general. I'm back to an Inspiron 9400 and I'm much happier.

Hmm...that really surprises me...from all the different forums and websites that I looked at I read just the opposite: Asus has much better build quality than Dell. Oh well, I guess it is somewhat subjective and might also depend on which model you get.

Also, Asus laptops have notoriously horrible speakers-- you'll see this mentioned in every laptop review for lappies they sell. The speakers were so horrible my girlfriend and I would lay in bed with the laptop on my chest TOUCHING MY CHIN on maximum volume to hear the movies. Horrible shit.

Never again.

(I'm not recommending the Inspiron here, it's not appropriate for your purposes.)

Laptop speakers don't really matter to me; I mean they are not great in general so I don't really use them. When I am at home I will have the laptop hooked up to my Logitech Z-5450 surround system and when I am on the go I will use headphones.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

So far Alienware's m15x is the only 15.4" with a GF 8800m GTX. So if you can wait for that to be released then that will be the best 15.4" laptop on the market until someone catches up. Otherwise an 8600m gt is going to be the best portable video card in that size range.

And I have an Asus F8 series laptop and it has excellent build quality. No flex in the keyboard or monitor. And the display looks great and the computer as a whole is extremely well put together and fast. Granted the speakers aren't that great but I can't remember the last time I rocked out to the laptop speakers themselves.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
So far Alienware's m15x is the only 15.4" with a GF 8800m GTX. So if you can wait for that to be released then that will be the best 15.4" laptop on the market until someone catches up. Otherwise an 8600m gt is going to be the best portable video card in that size range.

And I have an Asus F8 series laptop and it has excellent build quality. No flex in the keyboard or monitor. And the display looks great and the computer as a whole is extremely well put together and fast. Granted the speakers aren't that great but I can't remember the last time I rocked out to the laptop speakers themselves.

the 8700m GT is around in a few 15.4's, is it not?

 

[sgleo87]

After a little bit of research I've found the Asus G1S, VX2S and V1S would all fit my needs. I think I might have to do without the Bluray burner and just get a regular DVD burner otherwise my choices are too limited.
Does anybody have any of these and if so, how do you like it and what are the pros and cons? And are there other laptops with similar or better specs that I should consider?

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
So far Alienware's m15x is the only 15.4" with a GF 8800m GTX. So if you can wait for that to be released then that will be the best 15.4" laptop on the market until someone catches up. Otherwise an 8600m gt is going to be the best portable video card in that size range.

And I have an Asus F8 series laptop and it has excellent build quality. No flex in the keyboard or monitor. And the display looks great and the computer as a whole is extremely well put together and fast. Granted the speakers aren't that great but I can't remember the last time I rocked out to the laptop speakers themselves.

the 8700m GT is around in a few 15.4's, is it not?

Nope. It sure isn't.

 

[flyboy84]

Mac Book Pro running bootcamp?

15.4" 1440x900 res, 5.4lb, 1" thin
2.2, 2.4, or 2.6 GHz C2D
2GB or 4GB ram (they overcharge for the 4GB, do it yourself instead)
128 or 256 MB 8600M GT

No Bluray though.

 

[sgleo87]

Originally posted by: flyboy84
Mac Book Pro running bootcamp?

15.4" 1440x900 res, 5.4lb, 1" thin
2.2, 2.4, or 2.6 GHz C2D
2GB or 4GB ram (they overcharge for the 4GB, do it yourself instead)
128 or 256 MB 8600M GT

No Bluray though.

Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think a Mac Book would be a good alternative for me. I already dual boot with Windows (which I still need because of certain programs) and Ubuntu (my main OS) so why pay for a Mac OS that I won't use. And I am not a big fan of Apple so for me it is not worth paying the extra money just for the design and the brand.

 

[TC91]

the dell xps 1530 looks like it could fit your needs, it has the gddr3 version of the 8600m gt which is much faster than the gddr2 version on the inspiron and most other laptops with the 8600m gt. the alienware with the 8800m gtx is much much much faster for graphics, so if 3d performance is a big priority, it may very well be worth waiting for.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

But in order to get the Hidef burner you're probably going to have to go with a boutique seller like pcmicroworks or eurocom or xoticpc as most larger places wont have the option for it.