Help deciding on gaming laptop

[DannyBoo]

Hello all!

I'm currently in the market for a new gaming laptop. Looking for 17", i7, around the $2,000 mark. Not looking for a desktop as all the bedrooms in my house are occupied by me and wifey and 2 kids.

Most of the laptops that offer the best bang for my buck seem to be alienwares on eBay. I also saw this Asus on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/G74SX-A1-Repub...1556525&sr=1-9

In my price range it seems the graphic options are 460M, 560M, 4870M (single or crossfire) 5870M (single or crossfire), 6870M (single or crossfire), or 6970M (single or crossfire). I've done some minor research on these graphic options but it seems a bit confusing; this is good in this situation, this other one is better in this. Basically I'm just looking to know which are the best graphics options I listed.

Thanks in advance for your time and sage advice.

-Dan

 

[mnewsham]

the 6970M is the best of the ones you listed, let me recommend xoticpc.com for their customer support and large selection! On their website you can get a 17" 1920x1080 Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM with a GTX 485M for $1680 or the 580M for $1875 Although Dual 560M's might be better... Such as in the Sager NP7280 / Clevo X7200 for $2055

Here is a comparison of the laptop GPU's
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.130.0.html

The SLI 460M almost beats the 580M So i assume that TWO 560M's WILL beat the 580M (as the 560M beats the 460M by a good 5% or so)

 

[Axon]

+1 on the Sager NP 8170. Great laptop. Check out www.xoticpc.com or malibal.com.

I can't recall which of the 580m or the 6970m is best, but I know the two are virtually identical and the 580m is almost $200 more.

 

[DannyBoo]

Thanks for the info! Still browsing around xoticpc.com but I noticed they don't seem to offer 6970M's as graphics options on the Sagers mentioned. Any idea why?

I'm also making sure of the screen. That being, I want at least a WUXGA 1900x1200 screen.

I did come across a laptop with a 6970M and a WideFHD 1920x1080 60Hz WLED screen. I am unfamiliar with WFHD - Is it comparable to WUXGA? I checked wikipedia's resolution chart but it didn't clear up my confusion.

Some laptops I have my eye on. Best bang for buck is my primary goal. If one of the cheaper laptops looks like it's great value, I'll go for that. I'm just looking for something that will handle Skyrim, Diablo 3, and Battlefield 3 later this year. When it comes to the hard drive, I'm not that concerned about storage size as I have tons of external storage. I think the only laptop here that has any edge in regards to storage is the one with the SSD.

I've also seen tons of laptops with great specs with a 460M card. Is it wrong to rule these out if they are in the $1,400 price range?

#1 ($1,800.00)
i7 2720QM (2.2Ghz - 3.3Ghz Turbo, 6MB cache)
8GB DDR3 1333mhz
17" WFHD 1920x1080 WLED
2GB 6970M GDDR5
750GB HDD 7200RPM

#2 ($1,700.00)
i7-720QM
8GB DDR3 RAM
128GB Solid State Drive + 500GB 7200RPM HDD
Dual CrossFire 4870M
17" WUXGA LCD 1920x1200

#3 ($1,800)
i7 840QM 1.86GHz (3.4 GHz, 8MB Cache)
8GB DDR3 RAM @ 1066Mhz
Dual Crossfire 5870M
17" WUXGA LCD 1920x1200
250GB HDD

#4 ($1,500)
i7 720QM 1.60Ghz (2.80Ghz, 6MB cache)
8GB DDR3 1333Mhz
320GB HDD
17" WUXGA LCD 1920x1200
Dual Crossfire 4870M

#5 ($2,000)
i7 920XM Extreme 3.20Ghz 8MB cache
8GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Dual Crossfire 5870M
17" WUXGA LCD 1920x1200
500GB 7200 RPM

 

[Axon]

I think the 6970m is awaiting a refresh, which is why you can't find it at custom building websites like Xotic PC. Xotic and Malibal order direct from Sager/Clevo and then tweak to your order; they do not keep any stock in house. Thus, only places that stock pre-built laptops will have it. I had the same situation when I bought my Sager NP 8130 - the 460m went out of stock in anticipation of the 560m refresh, and I had to wait a couple weeks.

I thought you were looking for, you know, an over the top lappy. For me, I thought the best price v. performance machine was the Sager NP8130. It has the GTX 560m, which runs every game I play perfectly (SC2 60 FPS @ 1920/ultra, BFBC2 Very high settings, Dragon Age: Origins 60+ FPS). Even though it's "only" 15.6", I find the viewing range to be enormous and as good or better than my desktop.

The NP 8130 S1 is a pretty good deal and I actually wish I had waited for it. It comes with a free upgrade to RAM, HDD, and the glossy 95% color gamut screen, which is the best screen I've ever seen. Not a bad package for $1,310 or whatever.

Check out http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo-reviews-owners-lounges/

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swp7aC05h5w (NP 8130 review)

 

[sgrinavi]

Go over to http://eurocom.com/ they have all sorts of Clevo options with a wide assortment of ATI & Nvidia cards.

They are a bit more expensive, BUT, they also offer more bank/buck options where you can get a better system for less....

 

[DannyBoo]

Hrm....went over to malibal and configured a 17" (P170HM) and 15" (P150HM) with the following specs:

Display: 17.3" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit GlassView Display
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.0-2.9GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Optical Drive Bay: 6X Blu-ray Reader 8X DVD+/-R DL Super-Multi Drive
Wireless: Internal 802.11B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: Stock OEM Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 USA-Based Support

Both came up in the low $1,600 range which I think is perfect for me.

The decision I have to make is whether to go for the 17" or the 15". Typically, any gaming I do is on my couch with the laptop on a notebook cooler on my lap. I currently have a Gateway P-7805u FX which is pretty big and heavy.

Any idea how big/heavy the P170HM is in comparison? Anyone have experience with malibal?

 

[Axon]

Malibal is great. No worries with them. Just make sure you call them up! You'll get an upgraded package for no cost. You can get a free upgrade to your HDD and your screen.

Personally I like the weight and size of my 15.6" 8130 (PH150HM). It's heavy in a bag at 6.8lbs, but not so much when on my lap. In comparison, the P170HM is 8.6 lbs (not a typo, 8 and one half pounds). So it's a big boy.

I find the screen on the 15.6" to be excellent, but it's really your call if you need that extra space.

 

[sgrinavi]

You can get the AMD 6990m in the 15" clevo from these guys too

EDIT, looks like Malibal has it now too!

 

[Axon]

All the resellers "have" the 6990m....they just won't be shipping it until mid-august. It's not in the supply chain until that point.

 

[sgrinavi]

All the resellers "have" the 6990m....they just won't be shipping it until mid-august. It's not in the supply chain until that point.

Not what I've seen. Many of them don't even offer the 6970 in the 15" platform

 

[DannyBoo]

Alright, placed my order through Malibal. Thank you everyone for the sound advice and the information contained in countless threads that helped me make my decision.

I ended up going with a Lotus P150HM with the following configuration. Also included my reasoning for each item in hopes it might help someone in the future who is deciding on a laptop.

Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit 95% NTSC Color Gamut Matte Display
Was going to go glossy but decided on matte. My Gateway P7805-u has a matte screen which worked fine for me and when I thought about glare on the Gateway, I realized I never had a problem with glare because it has a matte screen. I decided to "go with what I know" in this instance.

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.0-2.9GHz
All signs point to "No significant increase in gaming performance with a processor upgrade."

Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Many resellers offer 4x2GB sticks of RAM which take up all your slots. Malibal uses 2x4GB sticks assuring that should I want to upgrade, all I have to do is pop in chips. 8GB is more than enough as it is.

Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
I just sold my Gateway last night. I was extremely close to getting a 485M from Malibal when considering I could now be going a month without a laptop but when I considered the performance of the 6990M for the price, it was hard to say no. Oh well, now I have a month or so to do some yardwork and painting to get wifey off my back so that when the laptop does come, she can't put up much of an argument when I spend a little more time gaming. See you single fellas, these are the games you have to play when married. Pick your battles.

Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Was going to upgrade to the hybrid until saturnotaku mentioned the Source engine stuttering issue. My most played game right now is L4D2 and I wouldn't be able to deal with the stuttering. I'll also be upgrading to an SSD in a year or two so I figured why spend an extra $65 for a hybrid upgrade now?

Optical Drive Bay: Hard Drive Caddy For Optical Bay
I was going to go with a standard optical drive but I realized that I could grab a nice external for $35.00. The extra drive bay will now allow me to put in an extra 750GB drive I have laying around as a data drive which will make the transition to an SSD so much easier. Also, all of my current games are through Steam - no discs. Really all I would use the optical for is installing windows, games, and burning DVD's/CD's occasionally. Didn't need BluRay as I prefer to watch movies on my 50" Panasonic plasma.

Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
For an extra $25 this was really a no brainer for me. Very highly regarded card and double the antennas. MORE IS BETTAR!

Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
I could do this myself as I've always built my PC's but part of being older, having kids, a wife, and a career means you get to be lazy in other areas of life. This is one. I didn't want to tear apart the laptop to do it myself. I'd rather just have Malibal do it (please do a good job guys! ) and be able to start gaming as soon as I get my laptop (and install windows, drivers, steam, etc. )

Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 USA-Based Support
Standard warranty. Hopefully I won't need to use it!

 

[Axon]

Not what I've seen. Many of them don't even offer the 6970 in the 15" platform

Nah. Just because it's not on the site doesn't mean it's not available. Remember, all products of each reseller come from Clevo. They don't build, they order and customize. So the ones who don't list the product are actually being more honest - it's not officially out from Clevo, so they're not listing it. No surprise on the 6970, given that it's being refreshed and eliminated by the 6990.

 

[Axon]

Alright, placed my order through Malibal. Thank you everyone for the sound advice and the information contained in countless threads that helped me make my decision.

I ended up going with a Lotus P150HM with the following configuration. Also included my reasoning for each item in hopes it might help someone in the future who is deciding on a laptop.

Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit 95% NTSC Color Gamut Matte Display
Was going to go glossy but decided on matte. My Gateway P7805-u has a matte screen which worked fine for me and when I thought about glare on the Gateway, I realized I never had a problem with glare because it has a matte screen. I decided to "go with what I know" in this instance.

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.0-2.9GHz
All signs point to "No significant increase in gaming performance with a processor upgrade."

Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Many resellers offer 4x2GB sticks of RAM which take up all your slots. Malibal uses 2x4GB sticks assuring that should I want to upgrade, all I have to do is pop in chips. 8GB is more than enough as it is.

Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
I just sold my Gateway last night. I was extremely close to getting a 485M from Malibal when considering I could now be going a month without a laptop but when I considered the performance of the 6990M for the price, it was hard to say no. Oh well, now I have a month or so to do some yardwork and painting to get wifey off my back so that when the laptop does come, she can't put up much of an argument when I spend a little more time gaming. See you single fellas, these are the games you have to play when married. Pick your battles.

Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Was going to upgrade to the hybrid until saturnotaku mentioned the Source engine stuttering issue. My most played game right now is L4D2 and I wouldn't be able to deal with the stuttering. I'll also be upgrading to an SSD in a year or two so I figured why spend an extra $65 for a hybrid upgrade now?

Optical Drive Bay: Hard Drive Caddy For Optical Bay
I was going to go with a standard optical drive but I realized that I could grab a nice external for $35.00. The extra drive bay will now allow me to put in an extra 750GB drive I have laying around as a data drive which will make the transition to an SSD so much easier. Also, all of my current games are through Steam - no discs. Really all I would use the optical for is installing windows, games, and burning DVD's/CD's occasionally. Didn't need BluRay as I prefer to watch movies on my 50" Panasonic plasma.

Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
For an extra $25 this was really a no brainer for me. Very highly regarded card and double the antennas. MORE IS BETTAR!

Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
I could do this myself as I've always built my PC's but part of being older, having kids, a wife, and a career means you get to be lazy in other areas of life. This is one. I didn't want to tear apart the laptop to do it myself. I'd rather just have Malibal do it (please do a good job guys! ) and be able to start gaming as soon as I get my laptop (and install windows, drivers, steam, etc. )

Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 USA-Based Support
Standard warranty. Hopefully I won't need to use it!

Well done sir! As to the wife, every time she bitches me out about a PC part, I point to 400 pairs (mostly unworn) of shoes in her closet. I sleep on the couch sometimes, but that just gives me more gaming time.

 

[mattpegher]

Alright, placed my order through Malibal. Thank you everyone for the sound advice and the information contained in countless threads that helped me make my decision.

I ended up going with a Lotus P150HM with the following configuration. Also included my reasoning for each item in hopes it might help someone in the future who is deciding on a laptop.

Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit 95% NTSC Color Gamut Matte Display
Was going to go glossy but decided on matte. My Gateway P7805-u has a matte screen which worked fine for me and when I thought about glare on the Gateway, I realized I never had a problem with glare because it has a matte screen. I decided to "go with what I know" in this instance.

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.0-2.9GHz
All signs point to "No significant increase in gaming performance with a processor upgrade."

Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Many resellers offer 4x2GB sticks of RAM which take up all your slots. Malibal uses 2x4GB sticks assuring that should I want to upgrade, all I have to do is pop in chips. 8GB is more than enough as it is.

Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
I just sold my Gateway last night. I was extremely close to getting a 485M from Malibal when considering I could now be going a month without a laptop but when I considered the performance of the 6990M for the price, it was hard to say no. Oh well, now I have a month or so to do some yardwork and painting to get wifey off my back so that when the laptop does come, she can't put up much of an argument when I spend a little more time gaming. See you single fellas, these are the games you have to play when married. Pick your battles.

Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Was going to upgrade to the hybrid until saturnotaku mentioned the Source engine stuttering issue. My most played game right now is L4D2 and I wouldn't be able to deal with the stuttering. I'll also be upgrading to an SSD in a year or two so I figured why spend an extra $65 for a hybrid upgrade now?

Optical Drive Bay: Hard Drive Caddy For Optical Bay
I was going to go with a standard optical drive but I realized that I could grab a nice external for $35.00. The extra drive bay will now allow me to put in an extra 750GB drive I have laying around as a data drive which will make the transition to an SSD so much easier. Also, all of my current games are through Steam - no discs. Really all I would use the optical for is installing windows, games, and burning DVD's/CD's occasionally. Didn't need BluRay as I prefer to watch movies on my 50" Panasonic plasma.

Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
For an extra $25 this was really a no brainer for me. Very highly regarded card and double the antennas. MORE IS BETTAR!

Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
I could do this myself as I've always built my PC's but part of being older, having kids, a wife, and a career means you get to be lazy in other areas of life. This is one. I didn't want to tear apart the laptop to do it myself. I'd rather just have Malibal do it (please do a good job guys! ) and be able to start gaming as soon as I get my laptop (and install windows, drivers, steam, etc. )

Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 USA-Based Support
Standard warranty. Hopefully I won't need to use it!

What made you decide not to go with the 17" laptops you were originally considering?

 

[DannyBoo]

What made you decide not to go with the 17" laptops you were originally considering?

I decided on the 15" for a few reasons. First is that it had a cheaper screen upgrade option. The 17" screen upgrades are going for $205. That's more than 10% of the cost of the laptop. Second, the 15" is more portable. When you have kids you have to be able to react in an instant. I'll most likely be using this on my couch and if I need to spring into action, a 17" is a lot more cumbersome to manuever. I know I would have been happy with the 17" but I really wanted a laptop, not a desktop on my lap.

 

[Tom]

"I currently have a Gateway P-7805u FX "

Were you just wanting something new or do you think those new games wouldn't play as well on your old Gateway ? btw, I have the same Gatrway which is why I'm asking.

 

[DannyBoo]

"I currently have a Gateway P-7805u FX "

Were you just wanting something new or do you think those new games wouldn't play as well on your old Gateway ? btw, I have the same Gatrway which is why I'm asking.

It was really chugging along during heavy action spots in L4D2 and would stutter really really bad. Even turning the effects down very low had the same result. Overall the laptop was fine when I got it 3 years ago or so but it's time for a refresh. And no, the Gateway will not play Skyrim, Dead Island, Crysis 2, etc. as well as I want it to. Heck, even playing Fallout: New Vegas I experienced some significant slowdown in areas.