Looking for a High Performance Laptop

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raybender

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Aug 17, 2013
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Hi guys,
I'm new to the forums and I would like to say thank you in advance to anyone who helps me in recommending a build for my new laptop.

I'm fully aware that what I want may not be available pre-built. I need suggestions on which brand should I pick to customize a gaming laptop.

1. What is your budget?
I'm from Malaysia, a budget ranging from RM7000-8000 (Roughly USD 3000+)
Willing to increase my budget if it means much better cooling and performance.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Anything bigger than 15 inches is fine

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1980 x 1080 or higher (Your recommendation be it higher or lower is appreciated)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Not sure what this means, but I'm going to be studying abroad, so this will be my only gaming device.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Anything is fine (Maximum performance) :)

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Definitely high. Some examples are Planetside 2, Dota 2, Skyrim and any other high performance games
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Nothing but gaming and using Microsoft Office for assignments I guess

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
1 TB should be fine

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Don't know of any sites. Do recommend those that can be CONTACTED and don't take years(Sarcasm) to reply or perform repairs, maintenance or services.

Had a bad experience with a Sager laptop before, sent it back for warranty but the problem was never really fixed and it made me go without the laptop for a month+.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3 years or more. I do have a question, I asked a few technicians and they say that whatever graphics card you buy can only play games(High quality) within the year it was released, is this true?

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
No need for one, will buy an external one.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
MSI caught my interest with their new gaming laptops (Not sure but willing to try)
Lenovo, no particular reason, never tried one before
Sager (Will be willing to try again, but had bad experience with service in the past)

Any other brands which the brand name itself isn't half the price of the hardware

13. What country do you live in?
Malaysia

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I am looking for a hardcore gaming laptop that can be overclocked and have a EPIC and I mean EPIC EPIC cooling system (or recommend me an external solution) that can maintain temperatures below 40-50 celsius.

Frame rates of 60+ if possible, if not I'm fine with 40+ or whatever frame rate that doesn't deliver the choppy bull shit.

A Solid State Drive as well

FYI: I'm not experienced in laptops
 
Solution
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Ok; first things first. The hard drive affects both gaming performance and startup/load times for programs in general. The y510p features the standard 5400rpm which is quite slow in accessing files saved on it. Faster drives like 7200rpm drives, or even better, SSD's offer much higher access rates and so load programs (and games) much faster thus helping you gain a potential few fps.

As for warranty... It's a tough choice because you always have a chance of getting a "lemon" which is full of problems from day one. Amazon does, however, have a 30 day grace period in which you can return disfunctional items:

"Amazon.com Return Policy: You may return any new computer purchased from Amazon.com that is "dead on arrival," arrives in...
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Axi0m

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How portable do you need this laptop to be? A $3000 dollar budget will get you a wide variety but if you want a top performance machine, you should expect it to break your back when you lift it up.
 
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raybender

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Well, my current Sager laptop weighs around 5kg+ I don't mind that amount of weight, if you're talking about 10kg and above that's definitely going to be a problem. Does a laptop that heavy even exist?
 
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Axi0m

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Well I researched a bit and have found some pretty awesome (but heavy) laptops:

First off is the 17" MSI with a GTX 780M:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT70-2OD-039US-17-3-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00CU9GNA0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376844012&sr=1-1&keywords=msi+gt70+dragon+edition+2

Then I found 2 alienwares-
The 17" with a GTX 770M:http: //www.amazon.com/Alienware-ALW17-6869sLV-17-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B00DL49A1W/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376843958&sr=1-1&keywords=alienware+m17x+r5

And the 18" with dual GTX 770M (there is also a version with dual GTX 780M's, but its over your budget): http://www.amazon.com/Alienware-ALW18-6491sLV-18-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B00DL49602/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376844243&sr=1-6&keywords=alienware+alw+18

There is also a great Sager Notebook (17") I found with both dual GTX 780M's or dual Radeon 8970's:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP9390-S
 
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Indefatigable

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Are you sure you want to spend everything?

Alienware and ASUS ROG have the best cooling and chassis strength in this class. The Alienware 17 and 18 are much easier to upgrade, come with better warranties, and have sturdier chassis, but the ASUS G750 is quieter and cheaper.

If I thought to spend $3000 on a gaming laptop, I would buy an AW 17 with a GTX 780m or AW 18 with GTX 770m SLI and a three or four year warranty. I don't know how generous Dell is with discounts in Malaysia, but 20-30% discounts on Alienwares are common in the US.
 
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raybender

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Actually my budget has reduced significantly and im looking at the lenovo y510p dual graphics going for USD 1499. However I'm having some doubts as I found that one of its problems is heat and a review mentioned it can only go up to 27 fps on bioshock infinite 1980 resolution.

Can anyone recommend me a good external cooler and maybe give me some feedback on the laptops fps if you have it?
 
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raybender

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I am not interested in alienware as I have heard quite a few discouraging reviews about the brand after being taken over by dell.

My interest currently lies in the lenovo y510p sli. Im worried about the cooling system and is fps though. My new budget is Rm 4500
 
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raybender

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I checked the lenovo site and its $1499 for both th glossy screen sli y510p and matte screen non sli y510p. Where can I find one under $1200.

And axion can you post the link for msi and sager that you mentioned? And possibly a recommended reseller. Just worried about sending it back for warranty and waiting months for it to return.
 
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Axi0m

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I'm not quite sure what lenovo site you are looking at... I found a matte 1080p screen version with all the upgrades for $1,200 USD on their website http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/ (the model on the far right).

The offer I'm waiting for though, which I think is a better deal is currently out of stock but costs $1,250 for the maxed out laptop and a Blu-ray RW optical drive to swap out with the second GT 750M graphics card. I found this deal both on Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312836) as well as amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Y510p-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00CRXZRQ0). Unfortunately they are both out of stock, so I suppose we will have to wait.

The MSI I hinted at is slightly less powerful than the Lenovo in some aspects as it only has one GTX 765m but it makes up for it with a faster hard drive (7200rpm). It's an option I was also considering in the same price range http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152406.
Now if you want a more powerful GTX770m MSI, the price goes up to $1,400 unfortunatley - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152401

Upon revision, the most basic Sager and Asus to include the GTX 770m are over budget by atleast 200 dolalrs.

Finally, as for the reputation of both Newegg and Amazon: I hold both very highly, and have purchased merchandise frequently from Amazon never a problem. Newegg, according to my research is very reputable, accredited by various online customer protection sites, and one of my personal top choices for computer parts and laptops.

Sorry for the long post.
 
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raybender

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Thanks for all the information I found it very informative. I am also looking at the same lenovo site you are looking at. The price of $1200 that you see may not be available to me as I am from Malaysia and when I tried paying there was no option to choose my country, only states in the US.

I have decided to stick to the y510p after referring to a link from another thread http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html . I dont see much difference in the fps at ultra settings for the games I want to play compared to the ones you recommended, although I don't know how a harddrive affects fps or graphics.

I am very interested in both the newegg and amazon deals you posted. What I need to know now is do they ship to Malaysia and whether the warranty is connected to lenovo still and whether I can extend the warranty to 3 years. I will probably be picking your answer as the best solution.

Cheers
 
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raybender

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Additionally realized I will have to get the rosewill usb extension as the laptop only has 1 usb 2.0 port and I need to conned my mouse, headphones and cooler.

I looked into the warranty and my god it costs a hell load of money. Considering the 2 year warranty, you recommend?
 
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Axi0m

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Ok; first things first. The hard drive affects both gaming performance and startup/load times for programs in general. The y510p features the standard 5400rpm which is quite slow in accessing files saved on it. Faster drives like 7200rpm drives, or even better, SSD's offer much higher access rates and so load programs (and games) much faster thus helping you gain a potential few fps.

As for warranty... It's a tough choice because you always have a chance of getting a "lemon" which is full of problems from day one. Amazon does, however, have a 30 day grace period in which you can return disfunctional items:

"Amazon.com Return Policy: You may return any new computer purchased from Amazon.com that is "dead on arrival," arrives in damaged condition, or is still in unopened boxes, for a full refund within 30 days of purchase. Amazon.com reserves the right to test "dead on arrival" returns and impose a customer fee equal to 15 percent of the product sales price if the customer misrepresents the condition of the product. Any returned computer that is damaged through customer misuse, is missing parts, or is in unsellable condition due to customer tampering will result in the customer being charged a higher restocking fee based on the condition of the product. Amazon.com will not accept returns of any desktop or notebook computer more than 30 days after you receive the shipment."

As for Lenovo warranty... It mentions a 1 year limited warranty when purchasing from their website. It mentions however that this warranty is subject to their "limited warranty" found here - (http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/WW/emea/merchandising/pdf/Lenovo%20Limited%20Warranty.pdf). Haven't had the time to read it though, unfortunately.

Finally, you won't need a usb adapter port if the items you mentioned above are bluetooth capable. The laptop comes equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 so it can communicate directly with wireless usb devices without the need for plugging them in (as long as those devices support bluetooth of course). The cooler will probably need the usb port, but I've seen various models of coolers which have an integrated adapter so you don't loose a usb port. A good example of this - (http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-Configurable-R9-NBC-8PBK-GP/dp/B002NU5V4A)

In conclusion, the warranty matter is really up to you. If it were up to me, I think i'd just stick with the 1 -year warranty which is pretty good. I would take very delicate care of the laptop though.

Regards;
Axi0m
 
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Rhavi Marques

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Ram won't affect fps unless you have too little of it, 8gb is fine, I have a y500 with the dual 750m and I'm very happy with it, it is a little on the hot side, the gpu reaches up to 80c under high load without a laptop cooler, but it's at no risk, i use a separate keyboard, so the heat doesn't affect me much.
 
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Axi0m

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You can always upgrade it to 16GB for quite cheap, however, I don't really see a need for that much presently unless tou do some really heavy movie/pocture editing. Make sure you're getting the sli though, that will REALLY affect the fps.
 
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