Need help picking a gaming laptop

[Punk_]

Hi all,
1_What is your budget?
2000 AUD/1850 USD

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
11 inch to 15 inch

3_What screen resolution do you want?
720p - 1080p

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
semi-portable desktop replacement

5_How much battery life do you need?
not important

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)?
would like to run WoW at med to high and games like SC2 and Diablo 3 at similar levels

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
limited text editing and occasionally watching movies but these are secondary and unimportant

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
250GB (SSD if possible/cheap)

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

Alienware M11x (i7-640um, Geforce GT335M 1GB, 8GB 1333MHz DDR3)
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/top...n/en/alienware_m11x?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Dell Studio XPS 16 (i7-740qm, Radeon Mobility 5730 1GB, 8GB 1333MHz DDR3)
http://syndication.intel.com/DistributeModule.aspx?id=7981

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 ?
as cheap as possible, it doesnt worry me that the M11x does not feature an optical drive

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 have limited experience in buying laptops however i am reasonably computer literate and i dont anticipate having to repair/service my machine outside of faulty construction

13_What country do you live in?
Australia

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.
i am looking for a machine powerful enough to run games at a good standard and i am willing to forego frills such as energy efficiency, anti-virus and setup services to get the most bang for my buck so to speak

 

[The_Prophecy]

I would look at the Asus G51J series. 2 year global warranty, including 1 accidental damage incident (spilling a drink on it for example).

I bought one of the early G51J series systems about 9 months ago and love it. Cost me about $1500 CAD when I bought it. Newer models in the series have roughly the following parts:

CPU: Intel Core i7 720QM
RAM: 6GB DDR3-1333 (some variants have 8GB)
Video: Nvidia Geforce GTS360M
HDD: 500GB
Monitor size: 15.6"
Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080

This unit is a bit bulky, but with a proper laptop bag is still portable enough.

 

[Punk_]

Cheers, ill have a look.

 

[HyperBladeST]

+ 1 for the G51J. I have one and I absolutely love it even if it's the first revision (GTX 260M and 4 GB but 2x 230 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM).

 

[The_Prophecy]

+ 1 for the G51J. I have one and I absolutely love it even if it's the first revision (GTX 260M and 4 GB but 2x 230 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM).

Same one i've got, except I've upgraded mine to a pair of 500GB Seagate Momentus XT drives, and 8GB of DDR3-1333. Also replaced the crappy thermal paste on the CPU and GPU so now the unit runs much cooler when I'm gaming on it.

 

[Jzcaesar]

Asus is launching some new laptops with the 460m (the G53JW in particular), which look really impressive. Not sure if it's out quite yet; i only managed to find this website that is selling it: http/www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=861

 

[Punk_]

Thanks all, the ASUS machines look pretty good and seem to have good reviews.
Also can anyone give me an opinion on GPUs? The GeForce GT series confuses me, it seems like the GTX260m or whatever its called is superior to the 360. What does that mean for the GTX460M and how do they stack up against the ATI Radeon 5870 and the like? This is with 8gb 1333 and a core i7 740QM or 840QM.

 

[The_Prophecy]

For some strange reason, Nvidia made the GTS 360M perform lower than the GTX 260M (why that is, is still a mystery to us), but the GTX 460M definitely beats both of the previous 2 chips. The Mobile Radeon 5870 holds a slight performance edge over the GTX 460M, but the 5870 is usually found in models that are 17" and larger. The performance king right now appears to be the GTX 480M, but I have yet to actually find a laptop that has the 480M in it.

 

[Jzcaesar]

Well, the MSI laptop in the GTX 480m review had one, but I think I actually looked up that laptop at some point and it was in the $2000+ range.

 

[Punk_]

The GTX 460M should be well and truly be able to run things like WoW and SC2 at high setting though, shouldn't it?
Also i found a Sager NP7280 which features the GTX 480m here:
http/www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=869

 

[Jzcaesar]

Found a gtx 460m notebook: http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8690-built-clevo-w860cu-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2659.html

 

[The_Prophecy]

The GTX 460M should be well and truly be able to run things like WoW and SC2 at high setting though, shouldn't it?
Also i found a Sager NP7280 which features the GTX 480m here:
http/www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=869

Yes, the GTX 460M should have no problem running WoW and SC2.

 

[Punk_]

Best answer selected by Punk_.

 

[DavidHill76]

Found a gtx 460m notebook: http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8690-built-clevo-w860cu-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2659.html

Looks like a good deal, are they a reputable dealer?

What sound card option would be the best to choose?