Under $1900.00 Gaming Laptop?

[imported_Nordic]

I need to spend under $1900.00 on either a tiny gaming PC (fragbox?) or a gaming laptop. I'm going to be traveling out of country and wish to take it with me overseas. I don't want a desktop (fragbox size is biggest I'd be willing to go). I am huge into games and definitely going to be getting Warhammer Online AR. I do not wish to build my own PC, but am interested in a cheaper custom gaming PC/laptop. I had a hypersonic Aviator EX-7 and recently the motherboard died and they want $850.00 to fix it The rents refuse to let me get my Aviator fixed so I guess its time for a new laptop/pc. Please Help!!

I've been doing a lot of research.. looked at the following..
(very interested in getting a powerful graphics card)

http://www.pctorque.com/sager-5790-gaming-computers.php

http://www.falcon-nw.com/ (fragbox)

I've been looking at everything from apples (haha I know), sagers, asus, falcon northwest, shuttles, dells, etc. etc.

ANY Advice would be awesome!

 

[TheStu]

I am not that familiar with Warhammer Onlines graphics, but actually the graphics card in the MacBook Pro (8600M GT) would probably do the trick just fine. And that is $1799 after student discount.

That was just me addressing your haha thing...

Do you mind specifying more information? What is the card in your current system, so we have an idea of what you are used to. What size screen would you like? Things like that.

 

[imported_Nordic]

Aviator EX7: State of the Art 17" Desktop Replacement Notebook
3.40GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 550
Intel® 915P+ICH6 LGA-775 Mobile Motherboard (EX7)
1024MB PC4200 DDR2-533 SODIMM
Built-in ATA Hardware RAID Controller
60GB 5400rpm Serial-ATA Hard Drive with NCQ & 8MB Cache
8X DVD / 24X-10X-24 CD-R/W Combo Drive w/ Recording Software
NEW! Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX PCI-Express 256MB
Built-in 4-Speaker 3D Sound System w/ 8.1 Channel S/PDIF Output
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
7 in 1 Flash Media Card Reader Bay
Aviator EX7 in Silver with Graphite Accents
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView? Display w/ Super Clear Glossy

That's the rig I will be replacing.. so obviously I want to get somewhat of an upgrade. It is about two years old.

 

[imported_Nordic]

I don't really know much about apples, I've never had one. I just know from what I've heard they just aren't really made to be gaming machines. I don't really want to spend 2,000 bucks on that macbook pro when it looks as though its graphics card is the same/worse than what I had.

 

[TheStu]

That is understandable, and no they are not made for gaming, but Apple puts decently powerful cards in there simply so they can ensure that they can run all the Apple Software (Apple's image and video apps hand work off to the GPU since it is designed to handle those types of things, and the MBPs are able to power the 30" Cinema Display).

You might want to check out powernotebooks.com They sell pretty good machines and I hear that they have really good support.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Nordic
Aviator EX7: State of the Art 17" Desktop Replacement Notebook
3.40GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 550
Intel® 915P+ICH6 LGA-775 Mobile Motherboard (EX7)
1024MB PC4200 DDR2-533 SODIMM
Built-in ATA Hardware RAID Controller
60GB 5400rpm Serial-ATA Hard Drive with NCQ & 8MB Cache
8X DVD / 24X-10X-24 CD-R/W Combo Drive w/ Recording Software
NEW! Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX PCI-Express 256MB
Built-in 4-Speaker 3D Sound System w/ 8.1 Channel S/PDIF Output
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
7 in 1 Flash Media Card Reader Bay
Aviator EX7 in Silver with Graphite Accents
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView? Display w/ Super Clear Glossy

That's the rig I will be replacing.. so obviously I want to get somewhat of an upgrade. It is about two years old.

Wow, you're looking for an upgrade to THAT? That's quite a tall order. That's thing's got almost recent top of the line specs; how old is it? Your laptop's out of warranty, I take it?

You're not going to find a better laptop than that for under $2K However, for less than $2K you could build your own SFF PC that would exceed the specs of your old laptop; particularly in all areas.

You don't want to build it; do you realize that's what you pay a $500 premium for when you buy an off the shelf box?

I just can't believe an awesome, recent-spec laptop like yours is not only dead, but out of warranty.

 

[imported_Nordic]

Yea, the motherboard died. I have no idea what to do. It's for sale though, rediculously cheap if anyone wants to buy it! If not I'm going to go Office Space on it.

Any other suggestions?? Thinking about just about Warhammer Online and getting a Macbook pro. I guess I could always get SC2 down the line, haha. I called apple just now and it's $1799.00 + you get a free nano!

 

[MichaelD]

How do you know the motherboard died? What troubleshooting have you done? Have you had any help from the manufacturer's tech support? It may be something really simple...

 

[imported_Nordic]

I did trouble shooting with tech support for two days. They said it was my RAM. I know quite a bit about computers and I knew it wasn't my RAM. The computer was not even turning on. I sent it in to Hypersonic and they first called me back and said nothing was wrong with it. I was a bit worried as their tech support tends to not be all that great. Then the next day they called me back and said it was my RAM. I disagreed and they said they would test it a few more days. FINALLY, someone called me back who actually knew what they were talking about and apologized for the other calls. He explained in detail what had happened and said the motherboard was not properly functioning. It had to be replaced with a custom/no longer made clevo board. That's why it's so expensive

 

[imported_Nordic]

http://us.shuttle.com/Configur...px?package=SYP2-3900-G

any opinions on this?

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Nordic
http://us.shuttle.com/Configur...px?package=SYP2-3900-G

any opinions on this?

You can probably find it cheaper thru online etailers such as Newegg, etc. AS PRICED on Shuttle's site, it's a bit expensive for what you get.

There's no reason these days to have a desktop system with less than 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. The former can be had for $100 and the latter for about $85; upgrades to those specs are priced 2x that on Shuttle's site.

Shuttle makes some of the best SFF PCs ("shoeboxes") out there. You just need to find a good price.

Check out Newegg's "barebones" systems and add your own videocard, etc.

 

[imported_Nordic]

This advice has actually helped a lot. I definitely don't trust myself building my own system though.