Is this the best laptop around for my $1200 budget?

[theraker007]

I'm looking at this gaming machine on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220921

I plan on forking over the $82 for the 8gb of ram upgrade as well. The processor speed could to better but I am already reaching too deep into my wallet as is and cannot afford to spend more than this (I'm even forgoing the extra warranty in leiu of the 2 year MFR warranty).

I spent about a week researching laptops and I don't seem to be able to find anything better without adding another $100. It's a big purchase for me so I figured I would check with the experts here before clicking pay.

Thanks

 

[Doclife]

Given that Sandy Bridge CPU laptops are starting to show up from various manufacturers, I would recommend you spend your hard earned monies on a Sandy Bridge laptop. They are faster, consume less power and most likely cost about the same compare to the first generation of i3/i5/i7 laptops.

 

[theraker007]

Given that Sandy Bridge CPU laptops are starting to show up from various manufacturers, I would recommend you spend your hard earned monies on a Sandy Bridge laptop. They are faster, consume less power and most likely cost about the same compare to the first generation of i3/i5/i7 laptops.

Thank you for your quick reply. Do you have an example of the kind of machine you are referring to?

 

[ed29a]

This.

 

[Doclife]

HP Envy, Dell XPS 15 / New Inspiron 15R , Lenovo Y460P/Y560P, Sony VAIO C (14" and 15") series are some of the laptops that feature Sandy Bridge CPUs. Sandy Bridge CPUs have 4 letter suffix after the i3/i5/i7 prefix, such as i5-2410M as oppose to i5-480M (the previous generarion).

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-l502x/pd?oc=dndodq1&model_id=xps-l502x

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921644768008

are some of the examples.

EDIT : Here is a RED HOT deal for the Dell XPS 15 . I copied this straight from slickdeals.net

Dell Home has a good deal on a high-end Dell XPS 15 Laptop. Apply coupon codes 932N$0ZCCHWZB9 and HLSKSR06S9ZG0F to drop price to $980 + free shipping. Thanks bennyxc
Specs:
Core i7-2630QM 2.00 GHz CPU (Sandy Bridge)
6GB DDR3 Memory
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
15.6" (1920x1080) LCD /w 2MP Webcam
Blu-ray ROM + DVDRW
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M
USB 3.0, Mini Displayport, HDMI, eSATA
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...49469dd0c0s441

 

[theraker007]

This.

Wow! This looks great. I wish it wasn't on back order tho, sort of need it now. But it might be worth waiting.

 

[fb02521]

Following parts for Dell Latitude 6420

I-7 2720QM
250G 7200 rpm HD
4G DDR3 Ram

$1172.00

I am wondering for non gaming, wireless broadband, whether the above or
go an I-5 2410m and get an SSD for roughly same $1200.00

 

[Doclife]

Following parts for Dell Latitude 6420

I-7 2720QM
250G 7200 rpm HD
4G DDR3 Ram

$1172.00

I am wondering for non gaming, wireless broadband, whether the above or
go an I-5 2410m and get an SSD for roughly same $1200.00

For non-gaming quad core is overkilled. Go for the i5-2410M + SSD and enjoy your new laptop.

 

[fb02521]

yup! u probably nailed it. other than the expert, but based on CP usage for our Core Duo E8400 desktop which tends to max out around 50% when we've got everything on including scanning, is it possible even the Sandybridge I-5 is overkill for non-gaming notebook?

Still, idea of almost the fastest chip around about $100 extra has some appeal for the new notebook, and was wondering what those familiar with high perf. processors would say.

 

[theraker007]

This.

Do you recommend getting the extra 2 years on the warranty? Seems pricy, but I've never owned a Sager

 

[theraker007]

i found the same computer ( i think ) here: https://secure.pctorque.com/system-configuration.aspx?SystemsID=44

I noticed their warranty options seem to be better, and apparently theres an addition $300 off, but i gotta call about that.

Anyway, my real question is: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM 2nd Gen. (2.9GHz, 45W) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads

it says 2.9ghz instead of 2.0ghz.. any idea why? I am hardpressed to believe thats legit, are they already overclocking it?

 

[Doclife]

i found the same computer ( i think ) here: https://secure.pctorque.com/system-configuration.aspx?SystemsID=44

I noticed their warranty options seem to be better, and apparently theres an addition $300 off, but i gotta call about that.

Anyway, my real question is: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM 2nd Gen. (2.9GHz, 45W) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads

it says 2.9ghz instead of 2.0ghz.. any idea why? I am hardpressed to believe thats legit, are they already overclocking it?

I think that they specified the turbo boost frequency of the i7-2630QM (2.9GHz) , instead of the base frequency (2GHz). It's just a marketing scheme.

 

[ed29a]

i found the same computer ( i think ) here: https://secure.pctorque.com/system-configuration.aspx?SystemsID=44

I noticed their warranty options seem to be better, and apparently theres an addition $300 off, but i gotta call about that.

Anyway, my real question is: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM 2nd Gen. (2.9GHz, 45W) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads

it says 2.9ghz instead of 2.0ghz.. any idea why? I am hardpressed to believe thats legit, are they already overclocking it?

PC Torque and XoticPC are Sager resellers. I would highly recommend getting the laptop from them instead of Sager (or other resellers), they offer much better support. I got the vanilla NP8130 with a Momentus XT, so far all good (B1 revision too, so SB bug prone). I play Rift at high settings around 35ish FPS, SC2 ultra, Civ V max detail no AA. Very capable laptop.

The 2.0 vs 2.9 Ghz is the normal vs turbo speed. Some vendors put turbo speed as CPU's speed.