Help me choose one of these laptops !

Elimination

I am trading in my big beefy gaming desktop for a laptop. I know the laptop wont be as powerful, but i am going to be on the go/moving around a lot more now and the big desktop is no longer feasible. So, i am going toward a gaming laptop, been leaning heavily toward 2 MSI models, but I am not sure which one i should choose ! I am in Canada, and the laptop will be used primarily for gaming and web browsing/streaming multimedia.

There is this one: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152366 which I like because it has many features the other doesn't, it's larger (17 inch.) which i want, it's got a nicer backlit keyboard, more ram (12gb), and a much better CPU (i7) , but it has a lesser GPU (670MX kepler.)

or this one: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152372 This one has what is widely considered a pretty shotty CPU, saddled with a respectable 8gigs of ram, sits at 15 inches instead of 17. BUT it is also saddled with a 7970M which is one of the best mobile GPU's you can buy, and trades blows with the 680m in performance. Reading reviews on this model though shows that the shotty CPU severely impacts the performance, and bottlenecks this high end GPU significantly. BUT theoretically it should perform better in GPU intensive programs. It is also missing the nice backlit keyboard (not a big deal.) but is also a couple hundered cheaper on the price tag. But i have read in reviews that the CPU bottlenecks the 7970m so badly it performs sometimes as low as a 660m in some cases, the CPU is significantly under par when compared to the i7.

I would prefer 17 inches and an i7, but the 7970m makes this other model very attractive for it's price. I wanted to see what everyone here thought?

I am not beholden to just these two models either, if anyone had any suggestions of models in similar price ranges feel free to suggest them as well, these just so far seemed to be the best deals around for what I need.

Great Scott

Just for clarification, you need a laptop for being on-the-go but you don't care about battery life and weight? The reason I bring it up is that 17" luggable laptops can weight a noticeable amount more than even a heavy 15".

The A10 machine looks like a better bet for gaming. Really, having a cutting-edge CPU won't help most gaming scenarios, and that CPU is fast enough. The AMD 7970M is a almost-reasonable gaming GPU. It would be similar to a year-old Desktop for general performance.

As for searching for models, it really comes down to filtering by video card and then deciding what CPU/cost level you can live with.

Just poking around it looks like Newegg doesn't have a lot of decent models with high-end graphics. Did you see this one? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230888

EDIT: This one might work out, although it's a little expensive: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=70925&vpn=G75VW-DS71&manufacture=Others&promoid=1276 The video card has 3GB of local RAM which will helpo texture lag in newer games.

Melinoe

I am not super well-versed in the ways of computer hardware but the Asus that Great Scott posted is what I was looking at if it turns out that my current 17" monster laptop needs replacing. My boyfriend (who knows about these things much more than I do) seemed fairly impressed when I read out the specs to him.

Elimination

Great Scott wrote: »

Just for clarification, you need a laptop for being on-the-go but you don't care about battery life and weight? The reason I bring it up is that 17" luggable laptops can weight a noticeable amount more than even a heavy 15".

The A10 machine looks like a better bet for gaming. Really, having a cutting-edge CPU won't help most gaming scenarios, and that CPU is fast enough. The AMD 7970M is a almost-reasonable gaming GPU. It would be similar to a year-old Desktop for general performance.

As for searching for models, it really comes down to filtering by video card and then deciding what CPU/cost level you can live with.

Just poking around it looks like Newegg doesn't have a lot of decent models with high-end graphics. Did you see this one? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230888

EDIT: This one might work out, although it's a little expensive: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=70925&vpn=G75VW-DS71&manufacture=Others&promoid=1276 The video card has 3GB of local RAM which will helpo texture lag in newer games.

Yeah i will have the laptop plugged in a lot wherever i go, with a solid surface to put it on. So the size thing doesn't matter, it just needs to be able to be portable. Battery life is mostly also a non-issue. Also the Asus one you posted is literally exactly the same as the MSI one i posted up above, except the ASUS doesn't have the killer N network card, or the blu-ray drive and costs 50 bucks more, so the MSI is a better deal there. I find the one with the 660m model underwhelming for it's price/specs wise.

Elimination

Also been now looking at some Sager models in the generally same price range...anyone have good things to say about Sager?

Kross

They're pretty fantastic. They aren't flashy and most people won't have heard of the brand, but you get way more actual stuff for your money. I like the sort of plain look, but that's a personal thing. They're made well, you can check reviews out there. I have a 9130 and a friend has I think a 9170. They're good stuff. In Canada, I went with Reflex Notebook. They're resellers based out of Quebec, but the laptop would probably get shipped from California. They took the shipping costs when I did it. I have no complaints.

I'll add that I was like you and looking at those two models you first listed, but the processor on the one with the 7970 just isn't worth it. They're cutting the cost of the laptop by putting that junk processor in there and trying to attract you with the video card. I wouldn't do it.

It really depends on what you're willing to spend. An intel processor and the 7970 is the ideal and you can get that on some of the Sager models. I have the 670mx though and it handles pretty much everything out there.

Great Scott

Sager laptops are good. I don't own any but I've recommended them before, and everyone seems happy.

Their pricing can be a bit high, but you can easily mitigate that by skipping parts that you don't need and getting them from another source later.

Elimination

Yeah one thing i found with the sager i was looking at is that i would be sacrificing a lot of he frills the other laptops have in exchange for a bit more power under the hood. Some of those frills are really nice to have though (like the bd-rom and good sound
system, more ram and the OS)

@Kross you said you got a Sager before? I was looking at Reflex as well how long did it take to ship?

Great Scott

I'd skip on RAM at Sager. You can pick it up later for a quarter the price in many places.

Elimination

Also another question: what is the portability like between a 15.5 inch and a 17 inch? Does the 17 incher weigh a ton more than the 15.5 inch? I am gonna need -some- portability with it, i have a laptop bag that does fit 17 inches, but i am worried it will weigh significantly more I have no experience with these sort of "desktop replacement" grade laptops and their size. Really i just wanna be able to cart it to a local coffee shop once and a while or my friends place (Also i will be travelling more.)

Foomy

Elimination wrote: »

Also another question: what is the portability like between a 15.5 inch and a 17 inch? Does the 17 incher weigh a ton more than the 15.5 inch? I am gonna need -some- portability with it, i have a laptop bag that does fit 17 inches, but i am worried it will weigh significantly more I have no experience with these sort of "desktop replacement" grade laptops and their size. Really i just wanna be able to cart it to a local coffee shop once and a while or my friends place (Also i will be travelling more.)

17-inch laptops are hell for traveling around with, especially desktop replacement ones. The difference between 9 pounds and 6 doesn't sound like a lot, but if you have to carry it in a bag or backback for a few hours you will notice it.

Melinoe

My 17 inch laptop was a high school graduation present from my parents. I thought, "cool, I have an awesome laptop that I can also take to school to type notes on!"

I did that maybe three times. It was way too heavy for me to want to cart it around on the bus for an hour each way. I don't mind taking it places if I am driving there, but it sucks taking public transit with it, and this is with a backpack I bought specifically to carry it around in. The other thing to keep in mind is that you're probably gonna be carrying around the power brick in addition to the computer, which in my case added a couple pounds on top of the already 10 and a half pound laptop. I did get this back in 2009 so maybe the power bricks have gotten smaller since then, but I wouldn't count on it.

What kind of bag do you have? The thing about these laptops is that they're generally pretty thick in addition to the 17" screen, and when I was shopping around for a bag I read quite a few reviews saying that bags that were theoretically made to fit 17" laptops didn't really cut it for their gaming one because they didn't account for the thickness. I ended up finding one where someone said that it fit my specific computer quite comfortably.

Elimination

Melinoe wrote: »

My 17 inch laptop was a high school graduation present from my parents. I thought, "cool, I have an awesome laptop that I can also take to school to type notes on!"

I did that maybe three times. It was way too heavy for me to want to cart it around on the bus for an hour each way. I don't mind taking it places if I am driving there, but it sucks taking public transit with it, and this is with a backpack I bought specifically to carry it around in. The other thing to keep in mind is that you're probably gonna be carrying around the power brick in addition to the computer, which in my case added a couple pounds on top of the already 10 and a half pound laptop. I did get this back in 2009 so maybe the power bricks have gotten smaller since then, but I wouldn't count on it.

What kind of bag do you have? The thing about these laptops is that they're generally pretty thick in addition to the 17" screen, and when I was shopping around for a bag I read quite a few reviews saying that bags that were theoretically made to fit 17" laptops didn't really cut it for their gaming one because they didn't account for the thickness. I ended up finding one where someone said that it fit my specific computer quite comfortably.

My laptop bag was big enough to fit my current laptop (which is not thick at all mind you.) is power brick, a mouse, and groceries all in the same bag. It's got a lot of space in it.

Though it sounds like i might want to look at 15.5 inch laptops over the 17 inch ones, for portability reasons.

Kross

The thing with Reflex is that it won't ship from them (Most likely). They're resellers for Sager and they get you free stuff sometimes. I got free ram, a larger hard drive and a better wireless card. They put the order in and Sager in California ships it to you. I ordered around Christmas so I don't know if my ship time was any different than normal. They call you (the actual guys, not some call center) and confirm everything, then I got it around two-ish weeks later. The good thing is that they deal with the hassle of getting it across the border and the customs stuff. I didn't have to pay anything, it just got delivered to my house. They're good guys from what I experienced.

I kind of find the 15 inch one to be sort of heavy. It's sort of portable, I've brought it to class, but I wouldn't count on carrying a whole lot else. The 17 inch I wouldn't think you'd be carrying around at all.

They'll give you a free bag with your sager that has room for a mouse, mouse pad, the brick and maybe a bit more. It's a pretty fitting bag for the laptop. Doesn't look bad.

Elimination

I ended up going with the MSI GX60 with the 7970m. i know the CPU is weaker than the intel stuff, but looking at benchmarks and i talkd to a few people who actually own one and game on it, it performs better in 90% of games than the GT70 does, it only lags a little behind when a game is CPU heavy, and most games are more heavy on the GPU these days. It also saved me $400 in the end and free shipping, so i think when it comes to price/performance it was the better buy. I also went and looked at a 17 inch Alienware and it was too big/heavy for me to cart around on my back for a long period, the GX60 is smaller/lighter and that is def a factor.

Thanks for the info from everyone regardless, i think i will be pretty happy with what i got.

Elimination

Its actually funny seeing real world performance vs a bunch of people on notebookreview.com posting random charts. I mean on the notebook forums people shitting all over AMD and then the AMD fans arguing with them. Then I go see the actual product, and watch it run battlefield 3 on ultra at a 45 frame per second average and realize that all those guys arguing in the forum probably have never actually touched the machine and are totally clueless. Synthetic benchmarks are great but they dont seem to equate to actual performance in programs.

Great Scott

Good choice! That's going to be a decent gaming machine, even in desktop terms.

Yeah, people don't seem to realize that everything changed when the Intel Core 2 series came out. CPU's aren't a bottleneck anymore.

AMD is probably 10% behind on performance, maybe a little more. People don't understand that 10% slower than Intel is 25% faster than most people need. If you're not waiting on the CPU on a daily basis (encoding video for example) literally anything you can buy is more than fast enough. Which is kind of a problem for Intel going forward...

Elimination

Yeah looking toward performance the CPU seems to sit in the same range as the i5, maybe slightly slower in some applications. The 7970m on the other hand is pretty much the best single mobile card on he market, usually reserved for laptops that cost significantly more than mine. So I think i will be happy.