looking for a good gaming laptop

[hawk16]

I already have a very powerful gaming desktop, so please do not badger me about "gaming on a desktop is much better and faster". Of course I know it is, I will still have my desktop its just I am looking for a gaming laptop since my new job will have me travelling a lot.

I have a $1700 budget. I want something that is powerful, with a higher end gpu and processor, as well as lots of ram. I also want something that is good looking, and externally nice and strong. I don't want a generic brand like Acer because i've dealt with those types of laptops in the past and I hate them. If anyone could give me any advice on some brands and laptops, please help me out. I am looking to order this laptop within the next day or two.

 

[IlllI]

have you done any research yourself?

 

[hawk16]

Well, i've looked around at some Asus laptops, Sager, Alienware, and a few others. The Asus ones seem to be the best bang for the buck, but im just trying to see what else is out there.

 

[IlllI]

i think dell makes a gaming laptop.. but in my opinion its ugly as hell

 

[Cancer12]

Obvious advice: go for something with a decent video card, ram, and processor. That's if you want to play today's games reasonably. I'm thinking of getting a small laptop but am not looking for powerful hardware, just portability. My reasoning is that my desktop can do all the demanding games, while my laptop can play a ton of my old classic pc games that I never play anymore as well as allowing me to catch up on all the great games of pc history.

 

[Brainonska511]

I got an Asus W3J (Core Duo, MR X1600, 14" WXGA - midrange graphics at the time) and it's been great. If I was going to get another laptop to replace this one (if it died tomorrow), I'd go with one of those Asus 12/13/14" notebooks with at least a midrange card in them. The small size is great for portability and they can at least play games with decent settings. The one drawback I've seen is mediocre battery life.

 

[hawk16]

I am stuck between a few asus ones.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834220343

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834220338

I like that the 14" is smaller and more portable, but I don't know to much about mobile graphic cards and if the 9600 nvidia or the 3650 from ati is better.

 

[Brainonska511]

They're about equal in performance, the 9600 will probably be a little better. I'd personally go for the slightly worse graphics than the bigger chassis.

 

[Mermaidman]

Is there a size/form factor limitation for the more powerful graphic chips? I noticed that the smallest laptops with decent video are those with 14" screens, and I'm wondering if that's a marketing decision by the manufacturers, or a physical constraint.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Is there a size/form factor limitation for the more powerful graphic chips? I noticed that the smallest laptops with decent video are those with 14" screens, and I'm wondering if that's a marketing decision by the manufacturers, or a physical constraint.

Probably a mixture of both. Physical constraint: you need to fit a good heatsink in for the better graphics chips. Manufacturing decision: Smaller laptops have smaller batteries - adding a good graphics card would drain it even faster. Also, probably not enough of a market to make 12", midrange graphics card notebooks.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Macbook Pro

 

[TiestoRocks]

Originally posted by: DLeRium
Macbook Pro

You're joking right?

Gateway makes some good ones.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: DLeRium
Macbook Pro

For gaming, not really a good choice. The 8600M series chip isn't as good as the HD3650 found in the Asus books, and then you'd also have to provide your own copy of Windows, an added expense.

 

[win32asmguy]

How about a Clevo M860TU? It's about as powerful as they come in the 15" formfactor. It is a little bit heavy at 7.5lbs with the 8-cell battery, but the 9800M GT will blow the 8600M GT/HD3650 out of the water with its 256-bit memory and 96SP's. I don't know if Clevo is considered a generic brand or not, but they generally get good reviews (see the AVADirect 570RU review here on anandtech for a general idea) and the design isn't littered with led's and typical "gamer" features of the high end ones like Alienware. The only problem is that the machine costs just about $1700 and with shipping is probably over that.