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Oog bored.. BORED! Oog want gaming laptop suggestions!
The_Spaniard
It's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
It's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
Oog bored.. BORED! Oog bored with OoGhiJ MIQtxxXA, now want gaming laptop capable of playing Legend of Solitaire!
Ok so here's the deal, I recently came into a bit of money, roughly a grand. I've been putting all my money in the bank for a while and being a good little savings monkey not spending any of it, so I think I've earned a little treat and would like to buy a gaming laptop. I already have a high end desktop that, for the moment, really doesn't require any updates. At first I was thinking of just grabbing a high end netbook with a dedicated GPU. A good Asus one is capable of running current gen games and costs about 700 bucks for top specs. Then I realized for a couple hundred bucks more I could get a full sized gaming laptop with pretty much double the specs, not a top end one by any means but still a whole lot more.
So I'm thinking my price range is about a grand give or take a few hundred bucks, I don't mind tacking on a couple hundred bucks more if it means I can have Blu-ray or significantly better specs. I don't want a 4000 dollar behemoth, I already have a powerhouse PC at home, I just want the best that I can get for 1 to 1.5(MAX) grand. I've been told that Asus and Gateway have some great super cheep, powerful, quality gaming laptops that are capable of handily playing things like Crysis at decent settings. I just need some recommendations. I've always been a desktop guy so I am not really versed in laptops and I'd really like to have all your input.
I saw this one at Best Buy, it looks pretty good, what do you guys think?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366615&st=Asus&type=product&id=1218092150740
I'm sure you guys can link me to at least a few laptops matching or exceeding these specs for a similar price.
Final thoughts though, do you think that maybe I should wait a couple of months for the next round of lappies or buy now? Also if I'm traveling about and I have all my steam games downloaded onto my laptop as well how am I going to play 30 games through steam without internet access, or am I just plain fucked for that?
Oog want recommendations now, Oog bored, Oog rip head off!
P.S. I've included the system specs of my desktop behind a spoiler tag so you can take a look and say if you think I NEED an upgrade for my desktop in a particular area anyway.
System Information
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7100) (7100.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700)
System Model: NFORCE 680i LT SLI
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Display Devices
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Display Memory: 2671 MB
Dedicated Memory: 879 MB
Shared Memory: 1791 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Sound Devices
Description: Speakers (Creative SB X-Fi)
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
Drive: C:
Free Space: 650.2 GB
Total Space: 953.9 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: WDC WD10 01FALS-00J7B SCSI Disk Device
Drive:
Free Space: 265.4 GB
Total Space: 286.2 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Maxtor 6 V300F0 SCSI Disk Device
Drive: E:
Model: LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165P6S ATA Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7100.0013 (English), 4/30/2009 18:36:06, 147456 bytes
Drive: F:
Model: TDK DVDRW0404N USB Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7100.0013 (English), 4/30/2009 18:36:06, 147456 bytes
Ok so here's the deal, I recently came into a bit of money, roughly a grand. I've been putting all my money in the bank for a while and being a good little savings monkey not spending any of it, so I think I've earned a little treat and would like to buy a gaming laptop. I already have a high end desktop that, for the moment, really doesn't require any updates. At first I was thinking of just grabbing a high end netbook with a dedicated GPU. A good Asus one is capable of running current gen games and costs about 700 bucks for top specs. Then I realized for a couple hundred bucks more I could get a full sized gaming laptop with pretty much double the specs, not a top end one by any means but still a whole lot more.
So I'm thinking my price range is about a grand give or take a few hundred bucks, I don't mind tacking on a couple hundred bucks more if it means I can have Blu-ray or significantly better specs. I don't want a 4000 dollar behemoth, I already have a powerhouse PC at home, I just want the best that I can get for 1 to 1.5(MAX) grand. I've been told that Asus and Gateway have some great super cheep, powerful, quality gaming laptops that are capable of handily playing things like Crysis at decent settings. I just need some recommendations. I've always been a desktop guy so I am not really versed in laptops and I'd really like to have all your input.
I saw this one at Best Buy, it looks pretty good, what do you guys think?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366615&st=Asus&type=product&id=1218092150740
I'm sure you guys can link me to at least a few laptops matching or exceeding these specs for a similar price.
Final thoughts though, do you think that maybe I should wait a couple of months for the next round of lappies or buy now? Also if I'm traveling about and I have all my steam games downloaded onto my laptop as well how am I going to play 30 games through steam without internet access, or am I just plain fucked for that?
Oog want recommendations now, Oog bored, Oog rip head off!
P.S. I've included the system specs of my desktop behind a spoiler tag so you can take a look and say if you think I NEED an upgrade for my desktop in a particular area anyway.
System Information
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7100) (7100.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700)
System Model: NFORCE 680i LT SLI
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Display Devices
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Display Memory: 2671 MB
Dedicated Memory: 879 MB
Shared Memory: 1791 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Sound Devices
Description: Speakers (Creative SB X-Fi)
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
Drive: C:
Free Space: 650.2 GB
Total Space: 953.9 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: WDC WD10 01FALS-00J7B SCSI Disk Device
Drive:
Free Space: 265.4 GB
Total Space: 286.2 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Maxtor 6 V300F0 SCSI Disk Device
Drive: E:
Model: LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165P6S ATA Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7100.0013 (English), 4/30/2009 18:36:06, 147456 bytes
Drive: F:
Model: TDK DVDRW0404N USB Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7100.0013 (English), 4/30/2009 18:36:06, 147456 bytes
Playstation/Origin/GoG: Span_Wolf Xbox/uPlay/Bnet: SpanWolf Nintendo: Span_Wolf SW-7097-4917-9392 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Span_Wolf/
The_Spaniard on
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They're huge. You really can't appreciate how big they are until you hold one in a case or have one on your lap slowly giving you first degree burns. If you really want a laptop for mobility purposes, then get a smaller one. Like RuddurBall said, you won't be playing the newest games, but there are games out there that you could still play.
I don't really mind the size of gaming laptops, I won't be playing with it while walking down the street, I just have to be able to carry it to a table and then size won't be an issue.
Anyway, I've had a 17". They are, indeed, huge, so don't imagine you'll be able to whip it out to play Crysis on the train or whatever. Or on your lap. The ideal usage scenario is travelling from one desk to another desk, really.
And if you have a desktop at home, then that leaves whereever you're going to. Where are you going to?
Full sized is not necessarily a better quality in a notebook... you may, indeed, be better off getting a netbook with a dedicated GPU. Or at least a 14" or 15.4" instead of a 17" (with an appropriate GPU. Yes, laptop GPUs come with 'notebook size' recommendations. Smaller means less cooling means slower GPU, but the resolution'll be lower too, so it works out).
Anyway, again, what's your usage scenario? Where do you see yourself suddenly having an irrepressible urge to shoot aliens?
When I said I didn't mind size, I meant in both directions, I don't mind if it's big or small as long as it is competently powerful.
Usage scenario? I travel, sometimes I'll go to Europe for a few weeks at a time, or around the country or to Mexico for a week at a time. Next week I might be in Chicago for a week for work. I want to be able to take my home gaming experience on the go with me when I'm not in SoCal. I'd also use it for work, documents, Photoshop, and such, but work is the gaming industry so yeah more gaming too.. I'd watch videos and such on vacation as well. Can't forget the all important email, chatting, and web browsing as well, if it was only that I'd get a netbook, but I want gaming too.
If your games are all 'crysis supcom ololol' then we can limit laptop ranges to the desktop replacement end, but if you're playing mostly Source games or whatever then a 15.4" may be more appropriate.
Specs:
2.53GHz Core 2 Duo
Nvidia Geforce GT 130M 1GB
4GB RAM (2x 2GB)
320GB HDD
16" 1366x768 screen
It runs CoD4 at the highest settings which is all I really need. I'm very satisfied with it.
I play a little of everything. What exactly would be the problem with a desktop replacement besides size, weight and battery life? Those 3 things don't bother me, price is the only real hold back for me.
Yeah, you seem like the ideal candidate for a desktop replacement. Just be aware that in about 18-24 months a good portion of modern games are going to start being unplayable (unless you get one of those monsters with crossfired 4850s (they are over 2k)).
I only have one other piece of advice, keep an eye on the screen resolution to size ratio, large screens with low resolutions makes RuddurBall a sad, sad boy.
As long as you are eyes open, enjoy your new gaming brick!
Also, don't forget the extra chiropractor costs associated with a heavy laptop (I'm joking, but I have one and seriously they are ridiculous).
* without looking ugly ass, that is. You can get 1900x1200 14" screens, but I'm not sure why.
Ok so it seems we've established that I'm a prime candidate for a desktop replacement, now we know what kind of laptop I need and my price-range, now I'm ready for recommendations.
Oh, your boxer avatar is adorable btw.
Mid-range graphics card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220578
It's right at my cap, but fantastic specs, lots of extras, and comes with a damn backpack! I'd love to hear all your thoughts, but so far a buddy of mine that I found it with while searching online says he'd jump on it.
It seems like a solid lappy. My only concern (at least as far as gaming goes) is that it has a quad core duo instead of a dual core. I.e. you are paying for more cores than you need. I am currently under the influence of a multitude of beverages, but give me 12 hours before you buy and I will try and find something better. If you don't have the time, you will be perfectly happy with that laptop.
Best wishes,
Your friendly neighborhood RuddurBall
Same model, lower price, longer warranty. Also, configurable.
edit: it's on Amazon for $50 cheaper (plus free shipping!) O_o I don't think a 'Gaming Backpack, Gaming Mouse and Eee Stick' are that valuable, really.
I saw it on Amazon when I was looking around, but they still list it as not out yet, and I don't know if I should trust the other 2 sellers on Amazon as far as giant ticket items like computers and laptops go. How do I know they didn't do something like just buy it, take out the Win7 upgrade coupon, and then resell each individually?
Though hmmm on the Xotic link, I'd like to add a Blu-ray drive so that would be a plus, are they trustworthy though?
Edit: I'd also like to trying this feature out: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=389130
Random discount mentions, found while trawling Google.
I don't know about the Amazon resellers, nor Xotic - haven't shopped from any of them. Someone else here might have though.
Ok guys, I appreciate the help thus far, but instead of being impulsive and jumping upon a purchase I've been trying to look into everything, weigh my options, get outside help and opinions, etc, so that I can make the best choice on a purchase. While pouring over the specs of that decent looking mid range Asus I noticed a couple of just plain unacceptable part choices from the manufacturers, such as DDR2 RAM clocked at 800MHz... ewww.
So I've thought about it a bit more and came to a couple of realizations. I still want to get a gaming laptop, a mobile gaming platform, but I really want something that can last. I'm willing to pay the extra money in the short term for the long term gains of having a dream machine laptop that I can game on for a few years. I do travel, not tons, but enough that I'd want to be able to game on vacation or work trips. But if this job I'm working on really pans out, and I mean really becomes a viable career move for me, I'll be traveling a whole fuckton more around the world. I'd be regularly hitting up things like E3(already do), TGS, GDC, Leipzig, PAX, traveling to developers and studios for interviews and to preview upcoming games, etc. Hell I'm being flown out to Chicago next week for a week of live broadcasts.
A dream gaming laptop would be a long term investment that would get a lot of use for work and play, both of which would intermingle quite a bit, but look at me I'm prattling, so why don't I just get down to brass tacks. I would now like to spec out a top end gaming laptop, I'll be a power user and I want something with a long lifespan that will be future proof for at least a few years. Buuuuut, I don't want to buy it just yet, well I want to.. badly, but I'm not going to. I want to spec it out right now and wait a couple of months, tweaking and updating what I have in mind as necessary till the moment I'm ready to buy. Then after a couple of months when I have a bit more capital, everything's a bit more settled in my life, and I'm sure of my future and that this will be a solid investment for me I'll jump on it and buy.
I specked out a couple laptops last night at quite a hefty price and you can see the laptops and specs behind the spoiler tag.
Sager NP9850:
- Display: 18.4" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Display
- Processor: 45nm Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Processor Q9000 / 6MB L2 Cache, 2.0GHz, 1066MHz FSB
- Video & Graphics Card: Dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 Video Memory in SLI Mode
- Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® VISTA ULTIMATE 64-Bit Edition with Upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Coupon
- Memory: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 X 2GB
- RAID Storage Options: Non-RAID Storage
- Primary Hard Disk Drive: 500GB 5400rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
- 2nd Hard Disk Drive: 500GB 5400rpm SATA 300 Secondary Hard Disk Drive
- Optical Drive: 2X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
- Wireless Network Card: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
- Primary Battery: Smart Li-Polymer Battery Pack
- Integrated Security Device: Fingerprint Reader
- Microsoft Office: Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
- Warranty: Sager 3 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty
- Carrying Bag: Standard Carrying Bag
Total with shipping:$3,343.15
iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 D900F [2] Notebook:
Case ( Battalion 101 D900F 17" WUXGA 1920X1200 Widescreen LCD TFT Notebook w/eSATA port, Bluetooth (EDR), Li-ion 12 cells battery, Universal AC Power Adapter - Original Metallic Black )
Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 950 Processor (4x 3.06GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Memory ( 6GB [2GB x 3] 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM [Notebook Memory] - Corsair or Major Brand )
Video Card ( Mobility DDR3 1GB NVIDIA GTX280 PCI-Express 3D Video [D900F] )
Hard Drive ( 500 GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
2nd Hard Drive ( 500 GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
Optical Drive ( 2X Blu-Ray-R/8x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [D900F] )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Built-in 56K V.92 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Network Card ( Built-in 10/100/1000 Network LAN [Notebook] )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard One(1) Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
Additional Software ( Microsoft Works 9.0 (make the most of your home PC) )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in 4x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Built-in 1x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
Video Camera ( Built-in 3.0 Mega Pixels Digital Web Video Camera )
Power Protection ( None )
Headset ( None )
Internal Wireless Network Adapter ( [Free !!!] Intel Pro/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( Built-in 7-in-1 Media Card Reader/Writer [Notebook] )
MP3/MP4 Player ( None )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
Carrying Case ( Free Deluxe Carrying Case )
Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon ( [*** Free Upgrade Coupon ***] Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit Edition - $29 -$29(mail-in-rebate) = $0 )
Total with tax, shipping, and small rebate: $3,382.91
And for shits and giggles how about an Alienware?
Alienware M17x:
System Color Space Black – Anodized Aluminum QSBLK [224-5967]
Operating System Windows Vista Ultimate (64 bit) + Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade Coupon VHU61E7 [330-5418][420-3250]
Processor Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9000 2.0GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB) Q9000 [317-0820]
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz 4GB1333 [317-0859]
Mouse Pointer Mouse Pointers, Standard MPSTD [421-0415]
LCD 17-inch WideUXGA 1920x1200 (1200p) LCD1200 [320-8140]
Video Card Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 2GB – SLI® Enabled GTX260D [320-1000]
Hard Drive 1TB - 2x 500GB 7,200RPM - RAID 0 1TBR0 [341-0012]
Name Plate Personalized Nameplate (Span_Wolf) NPLATE [330-3924]
AlienFX Color Quasar Blue BLU [421-0726]
Avatar Alienhead Glow AVITR2 [421-0371]
Windows Style Windows Style, Default WSDFT [421-0389]
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 ADOBER [410-0173]
CD ROM/DVD ROM Slot-Load Dual Layer Blu-ray Combo (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW) BDCOM [313-7710]
Wireless Internal 300Mbps Dual-Band a/g/n Wireless with MIMO Technology DW1510 [430-3558]
Automatic Updates Automatic Updates ON AON [421-0405]
Power Plan Power Plan, High Performance PWHIP [421-0398]
Time Zone (GMT - 6.00) Central Time (US & Canada) TZCNTRL [421-0399]
Service 3 yr In-home Service after remote diagnosis + Complete Care S3CC [412-0358][950-3339][960-3249][993-8522][993-8552][993-8582][994-3660][994-3730][994-6858][994-7017]
RSS Feed Alienware RSS Feed RSSAW [421-0381]
Bluetooth Internal Wireless Bluetooth® 2.1 with EDR TM370I [430-0628]
Standard Nameplate Trigger Thank you for Purchasing Alienware
Total after taxes and shipping:$3,713.99
Now there are 3 top end laptops, roughly the same price (the Alienware of course being a couple hundred more), all with similar specs. Each one of them has something over the others in an area or two, but they are all generally quite similar in setup. Now guys, which do you think is the best of the bunch, which would last the longest as a top performance gaming PC? Which system should I go with and start shopping around for the best price on it? Does anybody know of a deal that a particular website might be running on one of these models that might knock off a few hundred bucks (a temporary deal might just make me jump on it now instead of waiting a few months). Great now with all this NEW stuff and mind, I'd like some recommendations.
Are you kidding? I can't really see that working, WITH a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, AND all the cables on a train, plane, automobile, hotel room, deck, or just any time I happen to be on the go and need to type up some work with a laptop in the trunk. A gaming laptop may be big, but that comparison just makes no sense, at least with a laptop I have a fully self-contained unit that I can use anywhere, then fold up and stick into a messenger bag for easy travel.
And trying to use an 18.4" on the plane or car is completely implausible, sadly. I think you are badly overestimating just how mobile a desktop replacement will be in practice.
If you're thinking of work 'on the go', get a cheap netbook and whatever, because a 17" simply won't cut it in terms of mobility and battery life. If you want meaningful future-proofing, build a desktop - laptops, even Sagers, do not have appreciable future-proofing in the range of years that you mentioned.
Seriously, run the numbers - the Sager NP9850 is a hilarious monster machine, yes, but it's also more than double the price of Asus G51Vx-A1 you linked earlier. How much more future-proof do you think it is? More future-proof than just saving $1600 for the future's equivalent of the Asus? Because in the grim dark of the future there'll still be gaming laptops, y'know.
If budget is a limitation at all, and given what you've said, I do think a netbook + SFF desktop will be a better fit. Assemble it in your hotel room and then chuck it back in your luggage when you're travelling - then you can have high-performance future proofing on a budget. You can even rip apart your existing high-end desktop for parts. If you drop the idea of future-proofing, then you can just get a ~1.5k high-end desktop replacement + netbook. And those are pretty much your options.
I think there are a lot of places that you can cut back and save some dough, i.e. CPU, Hard Drive, and Ram.
You can save the money you would have spent, and upgrade your laptop a year or so earlier than planned.
Unless you are planning some heavy CPU tasks you can cut back to a dual core.
Multiple hard drives for a laptop really aren't neccessary, especially if you have a desktop at home. You wont have to put everything you own on the laptop, just the stuff you need for your trip.
Don't buy upgraded ram from an OEM, 1 4 GB is pretty much what you need for gaming, and installing aftermarket ram in a laptop is incredibly easy and much cheaper.
Here is an example build for Alienware that will game just as well, for 1.5k less at $2349 + $100 for more 4GB of DDR3 ram +$100 for an larger harddrive (if you want/need).
Video/Graphics Card: Dual 1GB ATI Mobility Radeonâ„¢ HD 4850 - CrossFireXâ„¢ Enabled!
Processor: Intel® Core™2 T9600 2.8GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB) New Low Price!
Design & Display: Black Ripley Design
Chassis: 17-Inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology
Keyboard Options: Non-Illuminated Keyboard – with Numeric Pad - No color options available
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1 plus Free Windows 7 Upgrade Option
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM at 1066MHz – 2 x 1024MB
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 320GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW )
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® Ultimate N 5300 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card with MIMO Technology
The World's First 450 Mbps Wi-Fi Adapter!
It's something that might be hard to really have an appreciation of unless you've tried to make a laptop that large mobile to any degree.
Honestly, if you want that kind of power on the go over so many years... SFF or just buy a new laptop every three years or so.
I've never owned a laptop, but I've used my mothers 17"ers in the past on family trips in the car, hotel rooms, and in bed, and the size wasn't much of an issue, are you saying that gaming laptops, or the 18" Sager are that much more unwieldy? If I can get 2 hours of use before having to plug it in that's not terrible for me, and if I'm using it in bed or in a hotel room, or airport, I can easily plug it in. I'm also a power user, I realize now that I do need something fairly beefy as I do lots of multitasking, heavy CPU load stuff, and hardcore graphics whoring gaming. I started out this thread thinking of a simple portable gaming laptop and now I've changed my views towards something that will be a secondary computer that I want to stand next to my primary and function as a primary when I'm away from home. I appreciate the suggestion of a mini-pc-box, but I'm not just lugging around a gamecubeish sized box, I'd also have to lug around monitors and keyboards etc to go with it.
I'm a little confused with the whole thought about it not being mobile, I'm not going to be walking around while using it, and if I can fit it in my messenger bag and whip it out when needed, I'd consider that more mobile and convenient than any kind of desktop setup could ever be.
3 years is really what I was hoping for high end gaming, then maybe a year or two of mid-range gaming, or an upgrade at that point. Sagers are meant and designed to be easily upgraded.
But you will not be able to toss this thing into a messenger bag (maybe its own messenger bag, the power adapter alone is going to be the size of a book), and that two hour battery life will probably be halved in a year. These are things to plan ahead for, not to sway you otherwise.
A laptop that big and heavy will be best carried in something designed to hold a laptop that size. This is not something that can be "whipped" out. An 18'' penis would be easier to wield.
Do you know how heavy these laptops you are looking at weigh? Carting around an extra 15lbs in a small volume is, again, a fucking hassle.
Having had a laptop that had a horrible battery life, traveling and having to plug the thing in often is a ginormous pain in the ass and not as convenient as I thought it would be. Hell, you might want to buy an extra battery now and replace both of them in a year and a half (or so). I got my powerful laptop years ago, so surely things have changed, but I can't imagine they've changed so much to as render this stuff useless.
I wouldn't expect you can run the Crysis of 2012 on whatever you buy today on high settings, but you'll probably still be able to run it.
Two hours under minimal load would be pretty good for a 18.4", I daresay. Note that this means about twenty minutes under gaming load. Laptops are like that (compare battery life measurements for the eee, which typically show a 'minimal load' battery length idling with screen off, and a practical battery length with wifi + browser. The former can be 2x the latter, easily. Then consider a laptop with two GPUs, two hard disks, huge screen - the stated battery life is generally with all those off or on standby. My 17" could surf the 'net for three hours solid, but running Left 4 Dead would drain the battery completely in thirty minutes.)
The mobility issue is something that really only becomes apparent when trying to use it outdoors, perhaps. If you're going to only use it in a hotel room and airports and other nice places with large tables and AC outlets, then go ahead. Just be aware that Starbucks and McDonald's and other such places with dinky little tables and small chairs will be inconvenient at best.
As for laptop upgradeability... heh. It's true that Sagers are easier than most laptops to upgrade, but laptops do suck at this. Desktops GPUs today use PCI-E; you can be pretty certain that the NVidia GPUs of 2012 will still be using PCI-E. The Sager you quoted (the NP9850) uses MXM3.0-type B. Great and all, but you might get maybe one other MXM3.0-type B grade option before the industry moves on to the next iteration (MXM3.0 is itself not backward-compatible, and is less than a year old, and is not expected to last longer than any of its predecessors). This is particularly true because the NP9850 is already using the top-of-the-line GPU of its series, and the next series is not liable to stick to the same standard, never mind the GPUs of three year's time.
So when laptop users say "hey Sagers are easier to upgrade" we don't mean like-a-desktop easy, but rather "hey there is one rather than zero upgrade options". And, essentially, you get upgrade options within the possible upgrades that were already available when you buy a laptop. Welcome to the world of laptops.
Here is a thread talking about this precise laptop model. To quote:
which is pretty much how it is.
Three-four years, then a new laptop, is how gaming laptops usually roll. You buy Sager when you need that new CPU with dual GPUs in a laptop right now, well before any of the mainstream laptop retailers dip their toes into the bleeding edge. And then you upgrade to the CPUs/GPUs within that formerly-bleeding-edge series as the series matures. And that's it. After three years you still have to switch to the next line of Sagers for the next line of CPUs and GPUs. I don't think this is what you envisioned when you looked for future-proofing, but this is how it works, really.
No, about 3 years was what I was looking at, with a year or two of mid range before moving on.
My prices were before the warranty etc. but just remember those places I mentioned earlier when you are speccing out your laptop and you can easily save 500-1000 dollars from the "top-end" stuff.
You aren't going to get 3 years of high-end gaming no matter the laptop you get. You will get many more years of high-end gaming if you DONT get a bleeding edge laptop now and upgrade in 1.5 years. Future proofing a laptop is basically impossible. You will get less time for your money now than you will later.
tl;dr Buy really good stuff, but the best isn't usually worth it.
Gaming Laptops are built for rich college students who take them to university buy a laptop lock and then don't every move them again. They're technically portable computers but they really aren't.
If you take yours to a meeting or a seminar unless you have a power supply you'll be boned if it goes for more than an hour.
I was in the same boat as you, I was considering buying a balls out laptop but then I remembered why I wanted to buy one. I wanted to buy one because I wanted something portable. Shit that big (and with such a low battery life) just isn't portable. Now I'll probably buy an Eee.
You can say that you want to play games on it, but remember people have been making a long time and I guarantee you that there are plenty out there that were made a while ago that you haven't played. They will be cheaper too.
It's your money and you do what you want, what everyone is trying to say though is that high end speced laptops are not as portable as they seem to be.
Satans..... hints.....
Satans..... hints.....
I think it only had a 15'' screen... 18 is fucking ridiculous.
Satans..... hints.....
Weight is less of a concern than it was a few years back.
This said, it's still 17", so using it on the plane or lecture hall or public transport is still going to suck (it's the simple problem of: will there be enough table space to open the lid and still have elbow room to use the keyboard and touchpad with? and the answer, with a 17", is usually 'no'.)
However, OP has said he's using it in places like hotel rooms, so that's ok. Portability then just goes to being able to quickly stuff it in your luggage in between such stops, so a high-end machine is appropriate. Just make sure you get enough bang for your buck... if $3.5k~/4 years is Your Thing, then by all means throw it at the Sager... otherwise $1.5k~/4 years will already play most games on reasonable settings (you won't be dragging around a 22" LCD, so your screen resolution will be lower to begin with).
Hmm, so I see what you mean, about the other thing. Are you saying I'd be better off spending chunks of cash at a time at a staggered rate of every couple of years, instead of spending that same amount of money all at once? Are you saying that if I spend 2 grand 2 years from now I can easily get the same computer that was 6 grand today? What is the re-sale value on gaming laptops? If I could find somebody to give me a couple hundred bucks a few years down the road that would be super.
No, I don't feel like I'm being called stupid, I actually appreciate it. I hope you guys don't find me argumentative, but I believe I should question, dig and probe. Only an idiot would ask really big computer questions like this and then drop a few grand taking everything at face value alone without at least having some back and forth.
Anyway a few more questions as I'm not one to just jump on big purchases without crippling over them for a while first.
If I had the choice between a laptop with an Intel i7 CPU or a laptop with dual graphics cards, which would be more important for gaming or in general?
If I really want a decent gaming laptop and decided to get one of the Asus ones, is DDR2 clocked at 800MHz a real deal breaker? I've been told it should be, because industry standard now is DDR3 clocked at least at 1066, and in about a year I'll be wanting to put my head through a wall because of my slow as fuck RAM.
Are you guys saying that I should give that second Asus that I almost settled on a shot for the next couple of years and just get another better one 2-3 years from now? Or do you know of another 2 thousand dollar laptop that matched or exceeded the specs of the second Asus with a Blu-ray player added and at least half a terabyte of space? I looked at XoticPC again and they just started pre-orders on the next Asus that will come out this month, the G71GX-A1, it's the same specs, but with a 17" screen at 1920x1200 instead of a 15.6" at 1920x1080, 2 gigs more ram (though DDR2 again..), a more powerful battery, and it's about 100 bucks more expensive. How's that sound/look?
Or since I'm not really familiar with gaming laptops, should I wait just a couple more months for some new line of laptops/ tech that's coming out that will be standard?
For right now, I'd say dual graphics cards. The i7 will future-proof you a bit, but your biggest bottleneck is going to be your graphics card. The i7 is a Quad-Core processor, and has been pointed out here, most games don't even use more than two of your cores.
Yeah but what happens in 1 or 2 years?
I know you weren't asking me, but I'd say yes to this (performance-wise, that is). Basically, just consider a laptop from 2007 and do the math (those would have been using a 8800m gtx card, which was The GPU of 2007).
(oddly, it looks like Sager likes to re-use the tagline "the fastest laptop in the world" or some variant... you can find 8800m gtx-sporting laptops floating about with that tagline. Huh. :rotate:)
Dual GPUs. And go for a faster dual core CPU over a quad core. Games that will come out in the next three years will have steadily better and better usage of multiple cores, but many will still be optimised for dual core setups.
No, not really.
In a couple month's time, there'll be a new standard rolling in a few month from then, I daresay :P