Buying a Gaming Notebook - $2000

[xmasterx17]

1_What is your budget? ---> USD$2000


2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? ---> 17"+


3_What screen resolution do you want? ---> 1080p Support


4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? ---> Desktop Replacement


5_How much battery life do you need? ---> Doesn't Matter


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)? ---> Yes, I want to play the latest games,
on above average settings, preferably
high.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.) ---> Photo and Video Editing


8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need? ---> Doesn't Matter


9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. ---> www.newegg.com
www.amazon.com


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


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? ---> Blu-Ray


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. ---> Theres not really much preference here, I would just like a all round good
performing laptop.


13_What country do you live in? ---> Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. This doesn't matter since i will first ship
it to a skybox in the United States and then it will be shipped to me.


14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

The following were my choices:

http/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N7O3EG/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=03DZB1QJYT4P7S7SZ9TX&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

^^^ This to me is the best choice.

http/www.amazon.com/Republic-Gamers-G73JH-A2-17-Inch-Gaming/dp/B0036ZE6SS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1278860049&sr=1-2

^^^ Lacks Express Card (Not really useful to me) +side, I love the mate black finish.

http/www.amazon.com/MSI-GT660R-004-16-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B003OQULV0/ref=sr_1_4?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1278860138&sr=1-4

^^^ This laptop seems to have everything, which makes me question it slightly.


Thanks for any guidance and help.

 

[xmasterx17]

bump

 

[singingigo]

I would think all of three seconds before recommending the ASUS. I have worked on many toshibas and would not accept one as a gift. In my experience, they last all of six months.

I have friends who are very happy with some MSI, but even more with ASUS machines. They are well built, high-quality, and are serious gaming machines.

Spec wise, a couple points:

1. The ASUS has a slightly slower cpu, but I don't think it will be too much of a drawback.
2. The ASUS has the best graphics, in my opinon. At least, it's the latest & greatest. (ATI 5870 > Geforce 285 > Geforce 360)

Hope that helps!

 

[the last resort]

i recently received my G73jh-A1 after waiting a month from ordering. It is, IMO, completely worth the month wait for it to arrive. Overall, it is a very nice laptop, the cooling is incredible (nearly silent when playing games). The screen is crisp and clear, and has plenty of brightness, even when working in sunlight. The hard drives (I have replaced one of my 500GB drives for an Intel 80GB SSD) are fast with around 100MB/s transfer rates.

The CD/DVD/BR drive is good and not very loud even when burning a DVD.

The rubberized coating feels very nice, it is definitely a lot harder to notice any fingerprints.

The 5870m is incredibly powerful, I have no problem running BC2 at 1080p max, with 2x AA and 2x AF. The FPS will stay solid in the 40s. It has no problem playing MW2 maxed, or any other game of mine (sorry, no Crysis).

The camera is functional, however it is a little laggy and the microphone is sub-par.

It would nice if they included an eSATA port on the side, since there really is plenty of room, and there are 6 hardware SATA ports according to the BIOS. Im not sure as to why ASUS didnt include it.

The 8GB ram has been more than plenty, I even installed 3dsmax for some 3D work and it had no problem rendering 1080p video. Compared to my 2yr old desktop (athlon 6000+ and 6GB ram and 4850) it is significantly faster in both the video card and CPU.

I highly recommend the G73jh; I paid 1645 for it and am thoroughly happy.

>> If you do buy the G73, DO NOT upgrade the graphics drivers to 10.6, they are unstable and cause serious artifacts when any load is applied to the GPU. The pre-installed 10.4 work perfectly.

Hope this provides some info for the G73, might need some more info to make a final decision.

 

[xmasterx17]

Thanks, great insight... I am definitely leaning towards the ASUS Republic of Gamers G73JH-A1.

 

[xmasterx17]

JUST MADE MY PURCHASE!

ASUS Republic of Gamers G73JH-A1

....

Excited!

 

[the last resort]

Awesome! Hope you like it.