New highend laptop, what should I get?

[spitz10]

Actually this is for a friend, I told him I would help him out in getting a new laptop. He is fed up with his desktop, so he is going to get a highend laptop to replace his desktop, and obviously serve as his mobile solution as well. His budget is essentially $2k, but all he knows for sure is that he wants 2GB ram. He will definitely want to be able to play games, but the only game he really plays is WoW.

So i guess the first question would be what brand? He and I are both asus fans, so that seems to be a good option, but we are open to anything - whatever has the best value. And the main concern would be the video card - how high end does he need to go?

I am open to any suggestions, and any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Brainonska511]

Asus G1 or Asus A8Js (not as nice a screen, but a smaller package). Both have the 7700Go, which is more than enough for WoW. I also think the G1 comes standard with 2GB of RAM.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

do check out apple's offerings as well. asus is the other obvious choice. 2k is a nice range to work with.

 

[TheStu]

I second makoto's recommendation. I have been seeing Asus getting lots of thumbs ups lately, so definitely turn him on to them, but frankly, you dont need much to play WoW. I played the OS X Client on my Macbook with no problems at all, so any of the portable apple's would be viable.

 

[dahunan]

How good is an ASUS warranty?

Do they have 24hr tech support and next day onsite warranties for a good price

What about accidental damage coverage

 

[Brainonska511]

They offer a 2 year global warranty. If you needed warranty service, you'll have to call them up and ship your laptop to the nearest service center. I don't know their tech support hours. As far as accidental damage coverage and on-site repair, you must purchase that separately from the retailer as Asus notebooks are sold as a non-customizable package.

 

[alimoalem]

definitely go with an asus laptop. the macbook pro comes with a X1600, which is weaker than the 7700Go. don't get me wrong, the MBP is an amazing laptop but it's not primarily a gaming laptop.

i'm not sure on asus's support either but i'm sure it's alrigh

 

[spitz10]

so does asus seem to have more value over some of the dell models? I personally hate dell, but they do at least have decent support and solid value. Assuming he does go with an asus, where is the best place to order it?

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: spitz10
so does asus seem to have more value over some of the dell models? I personally hate dell, but they do at least have decent support and solid value. Assuming he does go with an asus, where is the best place to order it?

it is a much better value for gaming. the only things with better graphics card from dell are 2 "laptops": the Dell XPS M1710 (a huge 17" laptop) and the 20" XPS behemoth of a "laptop." all other laptops with dedicated gpus are nothing to compare to the asus.

i would say go to newegg.com to purchase an Asus. what your friend seems to be looking for will cost anywhere from $1250-1900.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: spitz10
so does asus seem to have more value over some of the dell models? I personally hate dell, but they do at least have decent support and solid value. Assuming he does go with an asus, where is the best place to order it?

As far as places to order go, I'd say look at C9Tech.com or Proportable.com in addition to Newegg. Sometimes, they have slightly cheaper prices than Newegg does on the Asus laptops.

 

[corkyg]

Give a serious look at the Asus Z84Jp. The only production laptop today with a built in eSATA port in addition to HDMI.

Z84Jp

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Give a serious look at the Asus Z84Jp. The only production laptop today with a built in eSATA port in addition to HDMI.

Z84Jp

it does come at a cost though..."8.8lbs w/6-cell battery"

good laptop, nonetheless, just wouldn't be great for those on the go

 

[spitz10]

yea im looking at a few different ones, once i have a final list ill post them and see what the consensus is

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
it does come at a cost though..."8.8lbs w/6-cell battery" good laptop, nonetheless, just wouldn't be great for those on the go

I totally agree! But . . . show me anyone's notebook with eSATA and a 4.1-in screen or smaller, and I'll buy it in a heartbeat!

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
it does come at a cost though..."8.8lbs w/6-cell battery" good laptop, nonetheless, just wouldn't be great for those on the go

I totally agree! But . . . show me anyone's notebook with eSATA and a 14.1-in screen or smaller, and I'll buy it in a heartbeat!

 

[capade12]

I am spitz10's anonymous friend (I was over at his house when he posted this which is why he just did it on his account).

I have basically narrowed it down to this G1 as the laptop I am probably going to get.

So first question would be, is there anything glaringly wrong with this selection, it looks as if this was one that people kept recommending.

The second question is, I would more than likely want to have some sort of docking station to plug this laptop into whenever I was using it at home. Does anyone have any recommendations on which docking station would be good/compatible (yes I would want a video plug in). I found a few, but they generally had the limitations of "1280 x 1024 resolution and 19" flat panel screen". If this is the norm, then I guess I will have to deal with it, but if there are any out there that allow for a bigger screen/higher res I sure would be grateful on the insight.

Thanks in advance to all who reply.

 

[alimoalem]

there's nothing glaringly wrong with the laptop; it's actually pretty damn good .

i guess the one question i could ask is will this primarily be used for gaming? and how often will you be taking it around? the laptop comes with basically everything you'll need for now, but if you plan on using this as a mobility laptop in a few months, then a 14.1" could be a better option for you. 6.8lbs and a 15.4" screen is by no means a monster, but it isn't exactly compact either.