Looking to buy a new Gaming laptop

[Cyclops21]

Here is the info please let me know your opinions.

1_What is your budget?
2k-3k

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15-17in

3_What resolution do you want?
1440x900 minimum

4_Do you need a portable or replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement

5_How much battery life do you need?
3 hours for movies or general web browsing, not really interested in gaming on the battery.

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)?
Battlefield2142 – High
Spore – High
C&C Red Alert3 – High
Diablo3 – High
Starcraft2 - High

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing, surfing the web, playing music, watching movies, Etc.)
Surfing the Web, Watching Movies, & Video Editing

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
150GB - 200GB 7200RPM, can add an external drive for massive data storage later.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
N/A

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2-3 years

11_If you would like to mention some other things about purchasing your ideal laptop, post them.
This is mainly a gaming laptop. I will have it plugged in most of the time but I would like some portability if possible to watch movies or surf the web when traveling.
I am also leaning toward ATI video since my last HP laptop had an NVIDIA video and I believe that is the component that failed.
Would also like to have video out through HDMI and S-Video if possible.

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.
Would like to stay away from HP, my last Laptop was HP and failed soon after the warranty expired. Not to mention the monitor hinges started to crack. Not impressed with their quality.
I prefer a durable notebook.

13_What country do you live in?
USA

 

[dwellman]

The ultra hot gaming notebooks right now are:
15.4:
Sager NP8660 / Clevo M860TU

17:
Gateway 7811FX
Sager NP5796 / Clevo M570TU

[EDIT]
Actually. . . I'm pretty sure those won't supply your battery life requirement. . . so:

15.4:
Alienware m15x
XPS M1530

17:
Dell XPS M1730
[/EDIT]

[RE-EDIT]
Shoot! I just saw the ATI preference. . . ok. . .
15.4:
Lenovo ThinkPad T500 (ThinkPad T500 2082)
Asus M50Sa

17:
Toshiba Satellite P305-S8844
Dell Studio 17
Asus M70Sa
[/RE-EDIT]

 

[dwellman]

Of course if you really want to spend all 3,000 there is the ThinkPad W700. . .

 

[Silver Fox Fury]

these are the specs i am looking at.

1_What is your budget?
2k-3k

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.4 in.

3_What resolution do you want?
High Resolution, 1440x900

4_Do you need a portable or replacement laptop?
replacement laptop

5_How much battery life do you need?
3 hours

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)?
C&C Red Alert3 – High
Diablo3 – High
Starcraft2 - High
Entropia Universe-High

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing, surfing the web, playing music, watching movies, Etc.)
Surfing the Web, Watching Movies, playing music and doing school work.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
whatever the most is that i can get.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
N/A

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3 years

11_If you would like to mention some other things about purchasing your ideal laptop, post them.
This is mainly a gaming laptop. I will have it plugged in most of the time, but that can hold its own for awhile unplugged.
Would also like to have video out through HDMI.

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.
i am looking for a gaming laptop that is made for extreme gaming but still have the power to do my school work. my laptop currently is from ibuypower which sucks cause i paid around 1500 for it and i swear it is used. so i wouldn't like another computer from them. i keep hearing dell and alienware is bad. I am looking at a dell xps M1530. here is the link to what i am looking at https/ecomm2.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?cart_id=1000398372374&toEmail=ecomm@dell.com.

13_What country do you live in?
USA

what do you guys think?

 

[frozenlead]

Cyclops, I think that for you, the gateway FX series is a great choice - check up on it's battery life though. I'm not sure on that point.


Silver, get your own thread.

 

[Cyclops21]

Wow so many choices, thanks for the info.
Are their any ATI laptops with anything better then the HD3650 video card? I didn't notice any.

The gateway 7811FX looks like the best deal even if it is against my ATI preference.
How durable is that laptop? Does it feel solid or just a bunch of cheap plastic, much like HP laptops.

 

[dwellman]

Are their any ATI laptops with anything better then the HD3650 video card? I didn't notice any

Not yet. The 3800 series was only announced about 5 weeks ago-- that I recall.

 

[lostandwandering]

Wow so many choices, thanks for the info.
Are their any ATI laptops with anything better then the HD3650 video card? I didn't notice any.

The gateway 7811FX looks like the best deal even if it is against my ATI preference.
How durable is that laptop? Does it feel solid or just a bunch of cheap plastic, much like HP laptops.

OCZ is releasing a Whitebook in the next few weeks that uses single or dual 3870's. I've seen some prelim numbers on it and it looks fairly strong. Price looks to be pretty good too.

http/guruofgaming.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2294

^He's run 3dMark and Crysis on the system and it looks promising.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

There are MSI laptops w/ HD3850 as well;

http/www.msimobile.com/nblist.aspx?series=GT735

Also the GX630 was supposed to get the update sometime this fall.

Unfortunately they are hobbled with AMD CPUs. They are OK CPUs, but really I prefer the power and flexability of intel solutions for a gaming PC.

 

[dwellman]

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle (and I'm not talking about The Chimp)! Lookey here! http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009297&prodlist=froogle

[EDIT] or even here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FB6OT4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-pc-mp-20&linkCode=asn

I swear that wasn't there when I was looking. Promise.[/lies]

That actually seems like a fairly good deal, though. . . I might buy one myself.

 

[Cyclops21]

I went to BestBuy to look at the Gateway 7811FX it seems ok, but the monitor and the hinges seem similar to the HPs.
That MSI notebook looks nice too.

Seems these may be the final 2 choices. Would like to see an MSI notebook in person before I buy if that is possible. Also see some info on battery life.

 

[zenmaster]

If you want a durable notebook, I don't think you want a Gateway.
Probably one of the if not the lowest brand around.

Nice Specs and Low price, but that does not leave room for quality construction. The reviews are horrid and it has massive over-heating issues. I would not be surprised if it was in the shop within a month.

I like the specs for it and considered it myself, but was scared off by the poor reviews and cheap feel from handling it at the store.

 

[theworminator]

I second the OCZ Whitebook choice right now, based on specs, though I'm not sure on its battery life. It would be more than enough to power your games of choice.

 

[zenmaster]

http/www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=29175&action=customize looks like a monster.

Just don't expect batter life :>
Perhaps you could buy a portable generator.

 

[lostandwandering]

http/www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=29175&action=customize looks like a monster.

Just don't expect batter life :>
Perhaps you could buy a portable generator.

The Clevo D901C is no doubt the performance master in the laptop world. Unfortunately, it comes at a cost of looks and battery life. It only averages about an 1hr on batter while surfing the web from reviews I have seen.

 

[Cyclops21]

Anyone have experience with MSI notebooks that GrapeApe and Dwellman referenced?

http/www.amazon.com/dp/B001FB6OT [...] nkCode=asn