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Good gaming laptop suggestions

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I am going to be going off to college in the fall and am in the process of looking for a good gaming laptop that is preferably under $1500 though this budget may stretch more depending on what I find, I have been looking at most of Asus's lineup but pricewise they don't really fit that bill lol.

What I want/need:

-1920x1080 (need)
-Minimum 4GB of RAM preferably 6-8
-DvD drive/burner to handle school needs
-obviously graphical power for a gaming laptop lol
-Intel preferably i5 or i7
-decent battery life/power saving features would be great lol
-Have decent heat management

What I do not need:
-blu-ray
-included ssd
-anything that is super flashy like my g50 is.


I also have no interest in 3D or blu-ray on a laptop unless it comes in a generally affordable laptop that fits my needs. While I am at school I will generally be playing BF3, MW3 and Skyrim. Also the size/weight of the laptop makes no difference to me whatsoever after my G50 :laugh:

I am also wondering whether I should be looking to actually buy now or not since I assume that Ivy Bridge and 600/7000 series gpus are going to become standard on newer gaming laptops?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated TPU!!!
 
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gaming laptop is an oxymoron.
 

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gaming laptop is an oxymoron.

You are not being helpful here.

My starting point is the MSI GT680 series, obviously the Asus G5x series. Also worth looking is some Dell XPS stuff, but you do lose a lot of graphical prowess by going that route. Alienware is also ok, but I think the price range is well above what you are going to pay. Clevo is another obvious choice. I generally would avoid the HP Pavillion line, they are good bang for buck but their build quality (esp cooling) leaves quite a bit to be desired. MSI GE6xx series is also fine if you are willing to drop down your graphical requirements.

In general 1080p screens is going to set you back quite a lot, and with $1000 some compromises is going to be made. Think of what you can sacrifice wisely.
 
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You are not being helpful here.

My starting point is the MSI GT680 series, obviously the Asus G5x series. Also worth looking is some Dell XPS stuff, but you do lose a lot of graphical prowess by going that route. Alienware is also ok, but I think the price range is well above what you are going to pay. Clevo is another obvious choice. I generally would avoid the HP Pavillion line, they are good bang for buck but their build quality (esp cooling) leaves quite a bit to be desired. MSI GE6xx series is also fine if you are willing to drop down your graphical requirements.

In general 1080p screens is going to set you back quite a lot, and with $1000 some compromises is going to be made. Think of what you can sacrifice wisely.

Yeah the alienware notebooks are great but they are a little too expensive and flashy for college simply due to the fact people can look at it and tell its worth stealing :laugh:

A nice little offering here from MSI
http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=361

After taking a look at the XPS series I found nice customization on the XPS 15 and 17 with both coming to around $1150-1200 with 1080p and the better video options included though that is with a Sandy Bridge processor. I do think that they have potential but I also see what you mean about 1080p being quite a lot to push with a $1000 budget so I might have to see what I can do to improve that a bit. I also took a look around the Clevo website and was far from impressed, I found lists of potential specifications for their models but nothing allowing customization or buying direct from their website which also happened to have a fair amount of spelling and grammatical mistakes that make them seem rather unprofessional :ohwell:

Is it worth it to look at Ivy Bridge notes simply for the energy savings and better battery life that would come with it? And are they likely to phase out the Sandy Bridge series notebooks or drive down the prices on them?
 
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I don't think you can find a 1080p laptop with good specs at $1000.

EDIT: Actually you can but it doesn't have an OS.
 
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I don't think you can find a 1080p laptop with good specs at $1000.

EDIT: Actually you can but it doesn't have an OS.

I am able to try and find enough to push my budget to 1500 if I find something that blows me away, I think I will just edit my OP a bit since that is low for a 1080p notebook.

Edit: Currently looking hard at the g75 from asus and the eon 17-s from Origin.
 
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Honestly I feel a Company should exist that allows you to have the option to select what CPU performance and Brand, same with the GPU aswell without being forced to choose one over the other.

Gaming Laptops back in the day were truly Desktop replacements as they ran desktop CPU/Chipset Just the GPU was a Mobility Part

Example My Laptop from 2004

Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 1/9100.

Mine Had a Pentium 4 EE 3.4 GHz which is Gallatin (Northwood Extreme w 800 FSB n L3 Cache)
865PE Chipset Motherboard
2 GB PC 3200 DDR
ATI Mobility Radeon 9800 (R420 Core not R360 core/possible unlock) 256 MB (350MHz/300Mhz overclocked to 459Mhz/416Mhz Core/Ram)
60 GB Hitachi 7200 Drive (Upgraded to 100GB)

It lasted about 2-3 Hrs on Battery cuz of power profiling of the CPU and Video card, But as name implies its meant to be tethered to a wall/wallwart for maximum performance
 
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You could probably get this with your increased budget.
 
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I am the proud owner of a Sager NP8690.

I can say that gaming on a laptop is very nice indeed. I paid about $1500 and change for mine about 2 years ago.

I purchased mine from XoticPC. You should ask to speak to either Justin or Joseph.

Here is something to give you an idea:
Sager NP9130 / Clevo P151EM1
- FREE!! Continental (U.S. Lower 48 - UPS Ground Only) Ground Shipping on ALL Sager Laptops (Enter Coupon Code: "SAGERFREESHIP" during order process)
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Screen (SKU - S1R324)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU - S2N224)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology (SKU - S3N501) ◘
- 16GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R368)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- 750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R306)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- Bluetooth Included (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (SKU - S8R112)
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- Sager 3 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support - Special! (SKU - S9P211)

This config totes in at about $1560 shipping included.

I have had no issues with mine.... the one thing to keep in mind though is the battery life. When I first got mine, it was about 45 mins..... how with the new CPU and GPU, I get maybe 25 mins.

That's the other beauty about any Sager/Clevo, they are modular and you can pretty much upgrade them to whatever down the road... even to "unofficial" hardware.

I started with an i5 and 460M in mine... now it has a i7 920XM and a 6970M.

I would look at some of the options that XoticPC has on their site. They are based out of Nebraska. The system should last a good while.

The friend that got me hooked on mine has had his Sager going on 6 years and it plays games decently still.

If you inquire using my order number, 24013, they might give you a discount. Worth trying.
 
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i suggest too eurocom, if you go on the site and click on product , looks the 3 models in gaming notebook, the other suggestion is msi gaming laptop, but i think eurocom is much more configurable and much expandeble in the future
 

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I prefer having More Options than no options
 

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i suggest too eurocom, if you go on the site and click on product , looks the 3 models in gaming notebook, the other suggestion is msi gaming laptop, but i think eurocom is much more configurable and much expandeble in the future

Personal experience tells me that its pointless to further modify your laptop after you have bought it. the MXM graphics cards costs more then new laptops, its impossible to find a reasonably priced CPU ===> "more configurable and much expandeble in the future" is completely moot.
 
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http://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-N56-now-available-for-pre-order.74348.0.html


my guess is that either this 15 inch or the 17 inch is exactly what you are looking for? And within budget if they arent playing tricks with the pricing, Asus also promised the viewing angles have been improved since the last generation, which was my highest dislike on them.

I strongly suggest you go with the newest stuff indeed like Ivy bridge and 6xx/7xxx as the die shrink should give better battery life if you dont oc.

From what i've read the 650 is keppler which is new and good, where 630 is a rebrand of any of 3 types of gpu's, so 650 over 630 I'd fork some extra cash over for.
 
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Personal experience tells me that its pointless to further modify your laptop after you have bought it. the MXM graphics cards costs more then new laptops, its impossible to find a reasonably priced CPU ===> "more configurable and much expandeble in the future" is completely moot.

Ummm I would have to disagree.

I found my 920XM cpu for $300... at the time I put my system together, they wanted over $1000 for it.

For my GPU, I was able to get it from Eurocom for about $400 and it technically isn't even supported but works fine.


To OP, keep in mind that Eurocom, Sager, XoticPC, Maibal, Mythlogic, TorquePC, AVADirect, and the like usually all have some type of basic Clevo laptop configuration that they are using. You can shop around and get the best deal possible because each vendor is going to charge different prices for different parts. Trust me... I looked a long time.

I researched my laptop for about 6 months before purchasing.

I personally would stay with a Clevo model of some kind, you can get what you want, they are very rugged and sturdy.

If price does become issue, their base stuff starts at around $600 and you can go from there with adding what you want from the options available for the given model.
 
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Ummm I would have to disagree.

I found my 920XM cpu for $300... at the time I put my system together, they wanted over $1000 for it.

For my GPU, I was able to get it from Eurocom for about $400 and it technically isn't even supported but works fine.

To OP, keep in mind that Eurocom, Sager, XoticPC, Maibal, Mythlogic, TorquePC, AVADirect, and the like usually all have some type of basic Clevo laptop configuration that they are using. You can shop around and get the best deal possible because each vendor is going to charge different prices for different parts. Trust me... I looked a long time.

I researched my laptop for about 6 months before purchasing.

I personally would stay with a Clevo model of some kind, you can get what you want, they are very rugged and sturdy.

If price does become issue, their base stuff starts at around $600 and you can go from there with adding what you want from the options available for the given model.

As much as I want to agree with your post, for $1300 you can get an i7 with a reasonably competent graphics card. I cannot see how Socket G2 is going to be supported for much longer than Ivy Bridge, and judging by the IVB desktop performance you are not going to get much of a performance boost by upgrading the CPU from an i7 right now. The same applies to graphics card, unless you significantly cheap out on the graphics now.

I will have to disagree with Clevo being rugged and sturdy. Their build quality is not much better than your average gaming notebook (based on the 4 Clevos I came across over the years).
 
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http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/products_files/mobileserver/mobileserver.cfm

http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/products_files/workstation/workstations.cfm

Ultimate Gaming Laptops in above Links

Crossfire/SLI Capable

Core i7 CPUs

I maybe an AMD CPU guy by heart but these are the best you can find that i Know of Since its hard to find an All AMD Configuration anymore

What is up with their prices? They are asking 3000 USD for the Panther 4.0 with specs I can get for under 2000 USD with MSI/ASUS/Origin and I can't figure out why even while playing with the specs.

Edit: No offense to the people who suggested it but pricewise Eurocom is a horrible site maybe its because I'm ordering from the US or something? They don't even include microsoft office in their pre-configured specs its another $220 USD to add that and then anything else they want to gouge you for horribly... Random example, EUROCOM wants $120 USD for a carrying case while Origin will ship your laptop in a wooden crate for only $30 USD that makes no sense at all.

I have had no issues with mine.... the one thing to keep in mind though is the battery life. When I first got mine, it was about 45 mins..... how with the new CPU and GPU, I get maybe 25 mins.

That's the other beauty about any Sager/Clevo, they are modular and you can pretty much upgrade them to whatever down the road... even to "unofficial" hardware.

I started with an i5 and 460M in mine... now it has a i7 920XM and a 6970M.

I would look at some of the options that XoticPC has on their site. They are based out of Nebraska. The system should last a good while.

The friend that got me hooked on mine has had his Sager going on 6 years and it plays games decently still.

If you inquire using my order number, 24013, they might give you a discount. Worth trying.

That battery life seems horrible, is that while gaming or just in standard usage? Idk how well that battery life would end up working out for me unless their are some pretty nice power saving options available.


What does everyone think about Ivy Bridge over Sandy Bridge? Will it be a noticeably lower power draw and therefore noticeably longer battery life?
 
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What is up with their prices? They are asking 3000 USD for the Panther 4.0 with specs I can get for under 2000 USD with MSI/ASUS/Origin and I can't figure out why even while playing with the specs.

That battery life seems horrible, is that while gaming or just in standard usage? Idk how well that battery life would end up working out for me unless their are some pretty nice power saving options available.

What does everyone think about Ivy Bridge over Sandy Bridge? Will it be a noticeably lower power draw and therefore noticeably longer battery life?

Customisation always causes higher prices, and their volumes are also pretty small.

Battery life is indeed horrible, very few laptops can last more than an hour under intensive gaming unless you are using extended batteries.

I would go for IVB over SB, the power draw is lower but the translation to longer battery life is quite minimal due to the power hungry monitor and graphics card. You wouldn't lose much by going SB.

He has a point I have alot of friends that have burnt out laptops gaming....

I burnt one out (Nvidia's faulty soldering), but out my friend's circle I have met only another one (again Nvidia's soldering). All the other 30+ I know of is still working as intended, even after hours of gaming daily (Being a uni student exposes you to a mind boggling number of laptops, you can draw lots of data through observing and asking around).
 
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Customisation always causes higher prices, and their volumes are also pretty small.

Battery life is indeed horrible, very few laptops can last more than an hour under intensive gaming unless you are using extended batteries.

I would go for IVB over SB, the power draw is lower but the translation to longer battery life is quite minimal due to the power hungry monitor and graphics card. You wouldn't lose much by going SB.



I burnt one out (Nvidia's faulty soldering), but out my friend's circle I have met only another one (again Nvidia's soldering). All the other 30+ I know of is still working as intended, even after hours of gaming daily (Being a uni student exposes you to a mind boggling number of laptops, you can draw lots of data through observing and asking around).

Currently looking at this just due to the customization and much more logical price point than the EUROCOM laptops. http://www.originpc.com/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=650

My old gaming laptop that was in use from early 2009 until late 2011 is still going strong as well even if I never use it lol.

Do most gaming laptops have decent battery life when utilizing the power saving options and while not gaming?
 

Fourstaff

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Do most gaming laptops have decent battery life when utilizing the power saving options and while not gaming?

Average battery life while not gaming, 2-4 hours depending on specs and make.
 
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Average battery life while not gaming, 2-4 hours depending on specs and make.

As long as it lasts long enough for a whole class or two I don't care lol.
 

Fourstaff

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As long as it lasts long enough for a whole class or two I don't care lol.

Depending on what course you do, some of them have lots of back to back classes, and I can guarantee that your gaming laptop be running out of juice by lunch if you have more than one morning lecture. Much wiser to get a lightweight ultrabook with long battery life if you are planning to bring your laptop to lectures. Pen and paper all the way :rockout:
 
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Depending on what course you do, some of them have lots of back to back classes, and I can guarantee that your gaming laptop be running out of juice by lunch if you have more than one morning lecture. Much wiser to get a lightweight ultrabook with long battery life if you are planning to bring your laptop to lectures. Pen and paper all the way :rockout:

I still don't know what I will have in the way of lectures when I'm at college but I do know that I won't be able to live without my gaming but that I can't drag my desktop with me either lol.

If I have to plug in during class or lunch I wouldn't really mind that much and I could always buy a spare battery or something along those lines.
 
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