Solved! Best Gaming Laptop for $1200 Total (CDN)

[had0ken]

1. What is your budget?
Preferrably $1,200 total including shipping and warranty, if you guys recommend getting warranty. A little more then $1200 wouldnt hurt as well.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15 Inch or a bit bigger or smaller.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Highest resolution possible, however, something high enough to keep the FPS stable for a game like world of warcraft or starcraft at max settings.

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

5. How much battery life do you need?
It will be mostly plugged in, so no need to worry aboiut this.

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)?

Mostly world of warcraft, starcraft 2, or diablo 3 when it comes out. I would prefer to play at max settings. or as high as I can get. Other games would be a plus .

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Just basic internet, good sound would be nice for some music. but not a necessity, I want to focus more on game running perfect.

8. How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
Anything about 200 gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
Any site that ships to canada, no preference

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Most likely 3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc?
DVD write/reader - nothing fancy

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.
To be honest, I am not sure what brands I would prefer.

13. What country do you live in?
Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I want something that can play all blizzard games including wow, diablo 3 when it comes out and starcraft 2. Preferrable at a high res with settings maxed. Music sounding nice is a bonus but not a necessity if it lowers the standards of the gaming.

Thanks alot for your time

 

[had0ken]

going through the site i notice an asus g53 is rly good. would that be the best for me?

 

[DarkYoshi]

I'd get the standard M14x, I'm considering it. It's only $1099, plus id get the three year warranty to be absolutely sure it lasts 3 years or more. You can also get $100 off with dell online coupons which should lower it to 1400.
Alternatively, I would go to newegg.ca and see what they have there; here's a good-looking one
http/www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152280
About the asus, many people on amazon seem to be complaining about the power button or the ac adapter. Anyways, here you can see it for yourself: http/www.amazon.com/G53SW-XA1-Republic-Gamers-15-6-Inch-Gaming/product-reviews/B004X5XL3Q/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Best of luck and please tell me what you end up choosing! (im in the same position )
this is actually my first time posting on this website, so feedback on how i did would be appreciated

 

[had0ken]

Thanks for the quick reply, i was thinking of:

http/www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230099&Tpk=asus%20g53

I also checked out the M14x, looks pretty good too, is there a big dif b/t the gtx 560m and the 555m?

 

[DarkYoshi]

Yeah I actually just found that one right after I posted . It looks great, I'd just be worried about the weight, it's almost eight lbs! But other than that the resolution is better, better graphics card. Here's a comparison:
http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-555M.41933.0.html
http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-560M.48313.0.html
Just looking at Crysis 2 the 560m seems significantly better on high at 40 fps vs 60. then again, the Alienware is 900p while the Asus is 1080p, so it might even out. Also, I think that's the G53 you mentioned b4.

 

[had0ken]

haha ya for some reason i cant let go of the g53 lol. but the comments on amazon re the power button etc made me not want it.. i wonder if its really that bad

 

[DarkYoshi]

oh, S**T my bad theyre 2 diff computers (at least they have diff names), amazon's a ASUS G53SW-XA1, while newegg's a ASUS G53 Series G53SX-XN1. I hope that means the XN1 is better Oh, they are, just noticed the amazon is 12.6 lbs (HOLY S**T ), makes the newegg seem like the tinkerbell

 

[had0ken]

ah lol wow 12.6 lbs. I think i might go for the g53, hopefully i dont have the same prob. as the amazon one. I think the dell might be a bit too expensive, and im sort of looking for something a bit bigger then the 14 inch and a bit higher res.

the msi one i was considering then i did a video card comparison on it from the site u gave me (with the same res)

thanks for ur help!

 

[DarkYoshi]

Please let me know how it is, I'm considering getting it for myself. I finally managed to find a review though:
http/www.digitalversus.com/asus-g53sx-p479_11612_150.html
Thank Gd it says that the cooling system is relativity quiet and smartly built with the fans pointing backwards, one of asus's trademarks of greatness. The battery seems alright since its a gaming laptop so i dont know what he's talking about. Only now, he's got me concerned about the speakers . I know, I know, I'm really picky with my PCs but i cant help it. Anyways best of luck , let me know how it goes, and most importantly GET THE $300 WARRANTY, IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY AND WILL SAVE YOU LATER ON MORE TIMES THAN YOU CAN COUNT!!!!!
New Edit: I found another review (with a 460m instead of a 560m though, I think its the one from amazon but its 8 lbs now) Its really heapin' on the praise, the only problem is apparently the awkward-feeling keyboard, but it blows any similar laptop out of the water, assuming the benchmarks they give are reliable, which i bet they are:
http/www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6137&review=asus+g53+g53sw

 

[had0ken]

lol thanks ill do that, yeah ill let u know for sure, im prob gonna order it in about 2 weeks time tho. so not sure how long it will take for the cheapest shipping lol. yeah just finished watching youtube reviews and im pretty much convinced too.. unless someone else has anything else to add?