• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Laptop for college and gaming under $2000 (preferably under $1500)

K

kogunniyi

Junior Member
Hello:

I want a laptop likely to run games on "medium" settings for at least two years. Here are the models I am considering most:

(i) MSI GX60
(ii) Clevo p150em (670mx/675mx/7970m)
(iii) MSI GT60-0ne-249us (680m)

I would like to spend less than $1500. It's hard for me to justify not buying a desktop above that price point. However, the Lenovo Y580 and Alienware m14x have glossy screens; the MSI GE60 appears to have flimsy build quality; the MSI GT60 with 670m and 675m have mediocre price/performance; the Clevo models appear to have poor ergonomics, audio quality, and locked down BIOSes; I doubt that I can get a good deal on an Alienware m17x r4 (also, it's too heavy); my only major complaint about the MSI GT60-0ne is its price. The MSI GX60 looks best, but I don't know how severely the AMD A10-4600 CPU will bottleneck the HD 7970m in recent and future games.

In a word, I've learned that choosing a laptop is all about compromises.

Thoughts?
 
Yeah, choosing a laptop, there are bound to be compromises, unless you have a lot of cash. I feel for ya.

I'm going with the Alienware M18x myself as it is the only dual-gpu lappy that can also use the igp (3-4 hours on battery), so basically, I have one lappy for everything from college work, to mowing through games, to rendering videos. The only compromises being weight (not a big deal) and price (can probably haggle with sales rep, but still friggin expensive).

I'm trying to find a non-clevo laptop with a GTX 675MX to recommend, but it's not going well. That GX60 is probably the best one from a price/performance standpoint. Most games don't stress the processor too bad, so you should be alright even with something like BF3. I'd look up benchmarks and vids if I were you.
 
Last edited:
Have you considered getting an XBox instead? Consoles are inherently more social, I spent many evenings at uni sitting round with my flatmates, drinking a few beers and playing games on our consoles. Much nicer than holing up with my laptop for another few hours of Rome Total War. 😉
 
kogunniyi said:
Hello:

I want a laptop likely to run games on "medium" settings for at least two years. Here are the models I am considering most:

(i) MSI GX60
(ii) Clevo p150em (670mx/675mx/7970m)
(iii) MSI GT60-0ne-249us (680m)

I would like to spend less than $1500. It's hard for me to justify not buying a desktop above that price point. However, the Lenovo Y580 and Alienware m14x have glossy screens; the MSI GE60 appears to have flimsy build quality; the MSI GT60 with 670m and 675m have mediocre price/performance; the Clevo models appear to have poor ergonomics, audio quality, and locked down BIOSes; I doubt that I can get a good deal on an Alienware m17x r4 (also, it's too heavy); my only major complaint about the MSI GT60-0ne is its price. The MSI GX60 looks best, but I don't know how severely the AMD A10-4600 CPU will bottleneck the HD 7970m in recent and future games.

In a word, I've learned that choosing a laptop is all about compromises.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I know you're worried about weight but I just pried out a Sager laptop (based on the P170EM).

It's 8 lbs I think (don't quote me on that) and it came out to 1662 dollars. I got a GTX 680M for that. I really don't think you can beat that kind of value. Having the best GPU out in the 1600 dollar range is a steal. If you want you can take the 7970M (although from what I've read I don't really like this option) or you can take a weaker nvidia card if you really want to be under the 1500 dollar price range.

So you get a GTX 680M
Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
8GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
500GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache] - Default (SKU - S5R207)

for 1662 dollars. I think that's quite the steal. Shop around though it's black friday and it's a great time to buy. I'm highly considering it so I can play single player games in high quality graphics (possibly connected to my 70 inch LED TV with a controller one I figure out the logistics) but meh we'll see. I'm moving on from gaming in general.

Don't take my word for this though. I have been away from the PC scene from quite some time. I'm sure people will also recommend adding a SSD and will give you much more insight than I can.
 
ringtail said:
http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=1249

I love my Clevo (Sager).

Ifyou get a gaming computer then the power brick is going to make it be not all that portable.

In college focus on academics & expanding your ability to socialize...not on gaming.
Click to expand...

Similar thoughts have led me to look for laptops instead of gaming desktops. I know that the portability of desktop replacements is also suboptimal, but the MSI GT60 offers the best "package" of all the models I have researched. If someone can suggest a smaller laptop with good speakers, a good LCD, good ergonomics, good performance, and a good warranty, I'll look at it. The Clevo W110ER is interesting, but I think that it overheats and the keyboard is too small. Feel free to correct me.
 
kogunniyi said:
Similar thoughts have led me to look for laptops instead of gaming desktops. I know that the portability of desktop replacements is also suboptimal, but the MSI GT60 offers the best "package" of all the models I have researched. If someone can suggest a smaller laptop with good speakers, a good LCD, good ergonomics, good performance, and a good warranty, I'll look at it. The Clevo W110ER is interesting, but I think that it overheats and the keyboard is too small. Feel free to correct me.
Click to expand...

Any properly designed laptop shouldn't overheat under it's own full load. Unless you decide to cover the vents, or the heatsink gets choked with dust, overheating should be a non-issue on decent laptops.
 
I think that I will buy the MSI GT60 with the GTX 680m. Does anyone have other thoughts? Clevo looks like a mess--poor speakers and headphone jack, poor keyboard rollover, poor quality control--and all of the Alienware models have glossy display covers.
 
kogunniyi said:
I think that I will buy the MSI GT60 with the GTX 680m. Does anyone have other thoughts? Clevo looks like a mess--poor speakers and headphone jack, poor keyboard rollover, poor quality control--and all of the Alienware models have glossy display covers.
Click to expand...

I just bought a GT70 and I'm pretty happy with it. Only down side is that it is huge and heavy.

Sound is impressive, screen is good (not great but decent), screen is matte (which I prefer), multicolor backlit keyboard is awesome, CPU and GPU are very nice.

I guess it is a little tacky looking but I don't care about that.

I hope you like the GT60! That GTX 680m should be awesome!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top