Looking for A/V production and gaming notebook

[allawayr]

I'll just jump in and answer the appropriate questions...

1. What is your budget?
1000-2500 (though prefer to be under 2k)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15inch, could be convinced to get 17inch if there is a good enough reason

3. What screen resolution do you want?

1920x1080, looking for a high-quality visual experience!

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portability is a plus as i'll be working as a grad student in a lab next year, but I do have a netbook that could be used for data acquisition

5. How much battery life do you need?

4+ hours at a minimum, though I plan on doing processor-intensive work on AC power

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, medium to high

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Video editing, HD footage (in software like Adobe Premiere)
Audio editing, (FruityLoops, Adobe Audition, Abelton)
Stupid other stuff like writing/excel sheets etc that this computer will be easily capable of

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

500GB minimum, 1TB preferred. Wouldn't be averse to having a external HD at home though

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

Specific computers I'm looking at so far are: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-152-239&ReviewNo=3014646&SortField=0&Pagesize=10&IsFeedbackTab=true&rdm=10#scrollHelpful1

and

15 inch macbook pro with: ($2405 after tax)
2.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Hi-Res Glossy Widescreen Display

and

Alienware M17x with ($2374)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
1.5TB Raid 0 (2x 750GB 7,200RPM)
17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

3 years minimum.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

DVD rom/writer is a must, Bluray reader is a plus, bluray writer is not required

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.

No aversions or preferences, that's why I'm here!

13. What country do you live in?

In the US.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.


Thanks for any help!!

 

[AntiZig]

In terms of recommending a good gaming laptop and since you don't have a big preference in vendor, I'll recommend to you to check out the following boutique custom laptop vendors. Chances are you might be able to get same hardware as that alienware for cheaper.

http/www.xoticpc.com/ - NE, very good prices.
http/www.digitalstormonline.com/ - CA, good reputation
http/originpc.com/ - FL, old alienware executives

The systems that would fit your requirements are Sager-8170, Asus G73 or similar.


However, I'd like to point out that, gaming and AV production have slightly differing opinions. From what I've heard most of the time macbooks are the best for AV production and video creativity. At the same time Windows based machines are often far better for gaming. So you will have to figure out which is more important, and whether you care for MacOS or not.

 

[allawayr]

In terms of recommending a good gaming laptop and since you don't have a big preference in vendor, I'll recommend to you to check out the following boutique custom laptop vendors. Chances are you might be able to get same hardware as that alienware for cheaper.

http/www.xoticpc.com/ - NE, very good prices.
http/www.digitalstormonline.com/ - CA, good reputation
http/originpc.com/ - FL, old alienware executives

The systems that would fit your requirements are Sager-8170, Asus G73 or similar.


However, I'd like to point out that, gaming and AV production have slightly differing opinions. From what I've heard most of the time macbooks are the best for AV production and video creativity. At the same time Windows based machines are often far better for gaming. So you will have to figure out which is more important, and whether you care for MacOS or not.

Thanks. I'll take a look at these; although a quick comparison makes it seem as if the prices aren't heinously cheaper than the alienware. The promise of no bloatware is attractive, though...one of my pet peeves with dell.
And that is something I have been considering. I've done a fair amount of video work on both, and they seem comparable, but I suppose with more experience I may be able to differentiate mac vs pc.

 

[AntiZig]

well, the prices on the hardware for laptops are what they are, if you want a really good laptop for gaming be ready to spend upwards of $1500.

One major advantage why I decided to buy from custom boutique instead of dell/hp or any similar is that you get to pick all the hardware you get, you get to tell them exactly what you want in your machine, and if you find something for cheaper at another company they will often price match. So in the end you know exactly what you're getting, exactly who manufactures each piece of hardware that will go into your laptop, so you can compare using manufacturer's data and pick what's best for you.

I just found that even comparing alienware vs a custom built, I can often get much better options for far cheaper than what dell offers. Plus, dell is known for saving their money on GPU, not surprisingly, the alienwares all have GTX460M with no options.

 

[allawayr]

Best answer selected by allawayr.