Gaming Laptop - Almost Decided

[newbie1992]

Hello, I am looking for a new gaming laptop to replace my older one because my sister is buying my current one:

Current Laptop:
Sager Notebook
Intel p8700 @ 2.53ghz
4gb DDR3 RAM
320gb HardDrive @ 7200rpm
Nvidia 1gb GTX260m


My needs are exactly, if not, similar to this guy's needs http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/68073-35-another-gaming-laptop

1. What is your budget?
2,000 dollars

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15" - 17"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Full HD, 1920x1080 or 1920x1280

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Something in between, cause I game, so I won't complain about ultraportability

5. How much battery life do you need?
Not much since I will be plugged in when playing games.

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)?
Of course I would like High Settings, at least on Starcraft II or Crysis

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Will be using laptop for SolidWorks for engineering classes.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Not much 320+ is good

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
http/www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP8150-S1

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 ?
No preference

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 avoid major brands due to bloatware and I have had very good experience with Sager

13. What country do you live in?
USA, California

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I have read his thread and I have decided to buy this laptop but am not sure if I should upgrade the CPU above i7 2630QM 2.0ghz to a 2.2 ghz because I have read somewhere that CPU's power should match well with GPU's power, in my case, a 2gb Radeon HD 6970m

Another thing, is it worth paying an extra $260 for GTX 485M and $160 more for i7 2720QM 2.2 ghz?

http/www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP8150-S1

I am pretty sure I want this laptop since I've had a very positive experience with Sager Notebooks, however, does anyone else have other recommendations, I am sorry if this isn't the right way to post a thread like this, I am in fact new to forums.

 

[AntiZig]

Hello and welcome to the forums. This is definitely the right way to post and you've provided very good info on what your choices are and what your questions are.

Regarding the 2630 vs 2720. The answer I got asking the same question is that it's probably not worth it to $160 more for 0.2 Ghz increase.

Regarding the 485M vs 6970M. I don't really have an opinion on this, as you can see from the thread you linked (notebookcheck.net) lists 485 as being slightly better than 6970. if you go to benchmarks by fps for particular games, the 485 is slightly better, but usually no more than 10 fps difference. I can't tell you if 10 fps is worth the $260.

One thing that I considered when I was choosing mine: in the long run, as new games come out you will have to decrease the settings to medium and then even low settings in order for game to maintain a stable 30 fps. thing is that if you look at lower end settings for both ati and ndivia, nvidia typically comes out ahead there, while ati performs better at medium to high. So longevity wise, nvidia will be able to last longer while ati is the type of card that you'd be looking to replace in 4 years or so.

So long story short, if you can afford the extra $400, get it, it won't hurt you, the laptop will last longer (spec wise), but seeing how you say it will only last 2-3 years for you, probably not worth the investment. If not, even if you get 2630 and 6970, you won't be disappointed with performance as the specs are very very close to 2720 and 485.

 

[newbie1992]

Thanks for your input, I do have some other questions...

Any idea if the NP8150-S1 will be able to run Battlefield 3 at very high settings?

When will the next line of GPUs be released for Laptops? cause if it's soon, I may as well wait.

I have been looking at the NP8170 which is the 17" model, it adds an extra 500gb HDD, a bigger screen, and Nvdia GTX 485m and it's about the same price as the NP8150-S1.

I want to know if the extra 2" will have too much of a hindrance for portability, from my experience, the 15" is pretty heavy since it's a gaming laptop, so portability shouldn't be too much of an issue. What do you guys think?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

That Sager model I believe is based upon the Clevo 150HM. You might want to look at other brand names that are based upon the Cleco 150 and 170 series.

http/forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/91510-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info.html

CLEVO is a large Taiwanese computer company specializing in laptops. While the Clevo brand name is perhaps not widely known, their products are re-branded and sold by known boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)… notably Sager, VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, etc. They are also considered (by whoever knows about notebooks) to design and manufacturer the best of the best notebooks in terms of superior build quality and innovative designs.

Clevo resellers include Sager, Xoticpc, killernotebooks, Prostar, WidowPC, Falcon Northwest and many others. This site has them all on the same page which is nice for comparison purposes.

http/www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=product&filter=4

 

[AntiZig]

Thanks for your input, I do have some other questions...

Any idea if the NP8150-S1 will be able to run Battlefield 3 at very high settings?

When will the next line of GPUs be released for Laptops? cause if it's soon, I may as well wait.

I have been looking at the NP8170 which is the 17" model, it adds an extra 500gb HDD, a bigger screen, and Nvdia GTX 485m and it's about the same price as the NP8150-S1.

I want to know if the extra 2" will have too much of a hindrance for portability, from my experience, the 15" is pretty heavy since it's a gaming laptop, so portability shouldn't be too much of an issue. What do you guys think?

I'm not sure about BF3, I'd say it will probably run it ok on medium for sure, super high, just don't know yet...

it depends what you mean by next line? GTX 500M series? 560 is already out, dunno the eta on 585 (probably Q4 if at all this year).
ATI cards, well, they just released 6970M so I don't imagine we'll be seeing an update very soon, plus the next installment will have to be 7000 series. so it'll be a while until you see the laptop versions of those.

17" vs 15", well it's an extra 2" in diagonal, so it's a pretty significant size increase. in terms of weight, check the specs on xoticpc or clevo website, I'm sure approx total weight is listed somewhere.
here:
17":
Size & Weight
8.60 LBs with Battery Pack
16.22" (w) x 10.87" (d) x 1.65" ~ 1.79" (h)

15":
Size & Weight
6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38" ~ 1.69" (h)

as you can see about 2lbs difference, that's almost a kilogram!

 

[newbie1992]

Thanks for everything guys, I decided on the 17" since I can get the GTX 485m, 2" increase in screen, bigger keyboard, intel wireless ultimate, and an extra 500gb 7200rpm for the same price as the NP8150, thanks.

My only question are the RAID Options... mirror enabled or stripe enabled. or RAID HDD Settings OFF.

 

[AntiZig]

actually the keyboard is exactly the same size. only the casing around it is bigger.

Raid, well read what each one does and decide what you need.
one is for data protection, another one is for performance speed.

 

[newbie1992]

Thanks guys, I've done a lot of research and no one knows for sure when 580m will be released, and will the NP8170 be able to upgrade to the new kelper cards?

My final question, is upgrading GPU on a laptop simple?

If yes: I'll get the Radeon HD 6970m
If no: I'll get the GTX 485m

Is my logic sound?

all and all I'm still debating between GTX 485m and HD 6970m. I want to know if the ATI cards are reliable nowadays because I've had bad experiences with their cards before.

 

[reavers]

as i read a lot of posts about nvidia nowadays cause i want to buy myself a new laptop i found out that ati is more mobile-optimal than nvidia...more because of nvidia having driver problems with optimus tech so i've changed my mind and i'll go for ati...

 

[reavers]

as for changing video graphics on a notebook is not easy at all it's problematic so i'll say no

 

[newbie1992]

Best answer selected by newbie1992.