• Mr. Massacre's LaptopQuest!
    11 replies, posted
[B]THE SITUATION[/B]: I'm headed off to College soon -- and given that Dorms don't exactly offer a whole world of space, Hauling my Q6600/GTX 260 box along with me would be impractical at best. I don't really want to be anchored to one spot (a necessary flaw of the Desktop form factor) anyway. With my parents' blessing, i'm selling a antique of ours that should provide enough cash to get me a laptop whilst still leaving then a hearty cut of the profit. [B]THE QUESTION[/B]: Can i please get some suggestions for good models from you guys? Thanks! [B]THINGS TO CONSIDER[/B]... [B]IN SHORT[/B]: [I]Can a laptop that can outdo a Q6600/GTX 260 box, has a 1920x1080 screen and doesn't fry itself be had for a reasonable price[/I]? OS doesn't matter -- Windows 8 would be preferred, but 7 is fine too. [b]REGARDING GAMES[/b]: [i]My current Q6600 box handles my gaming diet perfectly.[/i] This largely consists of older games like the Half-Life 2 Mods [I]Synergy[/I] and [I]Obsidian Conflict[/I], interspersed with emulators (up to the PS2) and newer fare like [I]Borderlands 2[/I] and [I]Saint's Row The Third[/I]. Likewise, with College will come things to do beyond the keyboard -- [B]I will likely not have as much time or desire for games anyway[/B], So Gaming will be relegated to a [b]secondary[/b] function here unlike on my current desktop. As briefly touched upon, my current PC has a Q6600, a GTX 260, and 8gb of RAM so the CPU/GPU should be easy to outdo. 8gb is still more than enough for my usage. RAM-wise. [B]REGARDING HARDWARE[/B]: [i]I would prefer that this laptop have hardware equaling my current Desktop or better[/i]. As mentioned, my current desktop has 8gb of DDR3, a GTX 260 896mb, and a Core 2 Quad Q6600. this is all 2007-2008-era gear, and as such should not be hard to outdo. A increase in RAM is not a priority (but would be appreciated if it could be worked into the laptop without a substantial price boost), as 8gb is still plenty for my usage. Battery life of at least 4 hours of use (medium-low brightness/wi-fi on/bluetooth off) would be preferred, though the longer the better really. [B]REGARDING RESOLUTION/SCREEN SIZE[/B]: [i]I'm not picky about laptop size, but 15"-17" would make for better usability. i would also prefer the resolution be higher than 1366x768.[/i] Whether typing a essay or playing a game, I'm going to want as close to a full-size keyboard i can get. a High resolution screen would also be favorable -- as mentioned, 1600x900 is likely the minimum resolution I'd consider acceptable here. [B]A NOTE REGARDING VENTILATION[/B]: a Laptop that can run without roasting itself would be preferred. My last laptop was a HP Tx2 -- Ever watch a laptop commit a rather drawn-out suicide by poor engineering? Not fun. [B]REGARDING PRICING[/B]. [I]I'd prefer that the bulk of the ~$2400-$2500 profit from the Antique go to my parents if possible[/I] -- an [URL="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7708024&CatId=3998"]Asus G75VX[/URL] would be a high quality choice and be comically overpowered in a delightful way, yes, but it feels a little extortionate to ask for that much from my parents (even if they aren't hostile to the idea). under $1000 would be ideal, as a consequence, but I'm sure i can go over a bit.
I just wanted to let you know that the Asus G75VX is AMAZING. Not only does it run current games really well, it also cools itself good. I have a video on youtube where I play BF3 using this laptop. I strongly you consider it or have it in the considerations list. I didn't buy mine for games, I bought it because I prioritze cooling, this does this well. You don't have to use it for gaming either, I find it very pleasing to just do work on it as well. The screen itself is nothing I can complain about but rather say good thing about, good colour, sharpness, brightness. The screen is matte so no glaring and stupid shit like that. Of course some people do not like matte so keep that in mind.
It is under consideration -- It's a attractive box in just about every way! As mentioned, i have some reservations about asking for something that expensive though. If my parents give me the OK, i'll go for it... My sister is less enthusiastic about the idea, though. [QUOTE=My Sister]"If you ask them for something that's more than $600, you have no soul."[/QUOTE] ...Then again, She doesn't really know about the whole "Selling the Grandfather Clock" thing."
[QUOTE=Mr. Massacre;41058437]It is under consideration -- It's a attractive box in just about every way! As mentioned, i have some reservations about asking for something that expensive though. If my parents give me the OK, i'll go for it... My sister is less enthusiastic about the idea, though. ...Then again, She doesn't really know about the whole "Selling the Grandfather Clock" thing."[/QUOTE] I'm not really the guy that "oh no you cannot ask that". If I want something, need something etc I just ask. You cannot know if you do not ask. I can only recommend you that you ask if 1500 would be something they could work with or not. Not knowing is really annoying. [editline]16th June 2013[/editline] You always have VW with a 660M for 400 less. [editline]16th June 2013[/editline] 350*
I would say Sager Np9150. I love mine and you can get a great setup for ~1250 If you really want to keep the the thousand dollar price point, check out the Lenovo y500, when you have the second gpu in place they outmatch the 670m.
Lenovo Y500 or Y510p with Dual GT 750m SLI. Runs circles around a GTX 675m, and it's always on sale at Lenovo.com. The Y500 is usually cheaper, but the Y510 has Haswell processors. In the case of this laptop, the battery life will be ~3hrs either way, so I'd get the Y500, it's a much better value.
I can't seem to find the Extra GPU module for the Y500 -- is that something that one orders separately? (also, the concept behind the "Modules" is cool as hell!)
[QUOTE=Mr. Massacre;41062043]I can't seem to find the Extra GPU module for the Y500 -- is that something that one orders separately? (also, the concept behind the "Modules" is cool as hell!)[/QUOTE] It's separate but it's currently out of stock. Customer service says it'll be in in a couple weeks. There is a version you could get with dual graphics installed when I got mine, but I don't see it on the website right now. I think they just flat ran out of GT 750m Ultrabay modules.
Get a Sager. I bought mine for $1500 like two years ago and it plays most games at 1080p above 60fps. Or just get a $500 laptop with an i5 and integrated video from wherever. It should be able to run HL2 and emus just fine.
[I]So, here's what i know so far:[/I] [B]G75VX[/B]: Easily the best option hardware-wise -- Good specs, known to have good quality and top-notch cooling. Cost may be prohibitive, though. [B]SANGER NP7370/Clevo W370ST[/B]: 17" form factor, two hundo cheaper than the G75VX. No reviews are available, though, which would make going with this a risky preposition at best. Has haswell. [B]LENOVO Y500[/B]: 15" Form factor may be easier to heft around, expansion bay allows for additional GPU ability/better cooling. Best price. If anyone here owns one, does it get too hot under heavy load?
[QUOTE=Mr. Massacre;41064319][I]So, here's what i know so far:[/I] [B]G75VX[/B]: Easily the best option hardware-wise -- Good specs, known to have good quality and top-notch cooling. Cost may be prohibitive, though. [B]SANGER NP7370/Clevo W370ST[/B]: 17" form factor, two hundo cheaper than the G75VX. No reviews are available, though, which would make going with this a risky preposition at best. Has haswell. [B]LENOVO Y500[/B]: 15" Form factor may be easier to heft around, expansion bay allows for additional GPU ability/better cooling. Best price. If anyone here owns one, does it get too hot under heavy load? [b]I'm running KSP right now, with several tabs hangin around a few more processes running. It reports 65* CPU as my maximum temp and 61* as my highest GPU temp. Metro 2033 reports reversed CPU and GPU temps.[/b] [/QUOTE] Basically, completely forget about the Ultrabay fan. It's not actually in contact with anything at all, so all it does is blow room temperature air around. What they really need to make for it is an Ultrabay battery. It's actually nice to be able to keep the ODD in my bag for when I need to burn an install disk for work. Once the Y500 750m GPUs are available again I'll be picking one up. Performance should be near or somewhat above a GTX 680m, depending on game.
ah... Also, i just discovered that [URL="http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g75vxbhi7n09-p-5827.html"]Xotic has even better pricing on the VX than TigerDirect[/URL]. Homina-homina...
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