In the market for a new gaming laptop. Advice needed.

[AndrewFox]

So, recently my MSI Gaming Laptop took a dive and I'm in the market for a new one.

The reason I'm in the market for a laptop and not a desktop is because I travel constantly for my job. I'm never in one place for more then a few months. Got to game on the go.

I already had a few ideas that I found on newegg and tigerdirect, but I wanted to get some expert advice before I hit that "checkout" button.

Goal: If someone can help me find a good gaming laptop within my price range.

Thanks in advance to all who post.

Ideas: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-152-364&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29

1. What is your budget?
No more then $1800 (not including shipping etc)

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

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920x1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement? This will be my only computer.

5. How much battery life do you need?
2-3 hours. Most time I'll be able to plug it in, but for my flights I'd like to be able to watch a movie or two without it dying.

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, on High to Ultra settings.

Games:
Skyrim
Tomb Raider
League of Legends
Crysis 3
FarCry 3
Bioshock Infinite


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Both photo and video editing as well as music creation. (FL Studio)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
At least 750, more would be great.

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

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
1.5-2 years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Blu-Ray player would be awesome but not mandatory. I don't need a BR Burner however.

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'm new to the gaming laptop scene. The only one I've ever bought has been my previous MSI.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Thanks for your help.

 

[AndrewFox]

bump

 

[DGlenn]

Looking for a prefabricated solution, this seems like an OK deal.

With a bit of tinkering:
MSI Laptop 1150$ - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152370
128GB SSD - 84$ - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-171-646&IsVirtualParent=1
8GB ddr sodimm - 50$ - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144592

Combination 1284$ for a i7 3630QM, 16GB ram, 128GB SSD + 750GB HDD + GTX 660M. That's $400 less.
You'll just have to check for a laptop that offers a 2nd drive cage, or swap out the optical drive. Or, swap out the hard disk and use an external drive for storage.

The base laptop has to have a good CPU and video card, you're far better off installing SSD and memory yourself.
When you select these items in the shop, you'll end up in a price range that's 100 to 400% more expensive than the cost price of those elements.

 

[AndrewFox]

Looking for a prefabricated solution, this seems like an OK deal.

With a bit of tinkering:
MSI Laptop 1150$ - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152370
128GB SSD - 84$ - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-171-646&IsVirtualParent=1

8GB ddr sodimm - 50$ - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144592

Combination 1284$ for a i7 3630QM, 16GB ram, 128GB SSD + 750GB HDD + GTX 660M. That's $400 less.
You'll just have to check for a laptop that offers a 2nd drive cage, or swap out the optical drive. Or, swap out the hard disk and use an external drive for storage.

The base laptop has to have a good CPU and video card, you're far better off installing SSD and memory yourself.
When you select these items in the shop, you'll end up in a price range that's 100 to 400% more expensive than the cost price of those elements.

Thanks DGlen

Before I can do this however, I need to make sure that the laptop has sufficient space in the case and the ram needs to be the same. Any idea how I can do this?

Also, if anyone else has any other ideas, I'd be glad to here them.

 

[Tibbs01]

I would recommend looking at some of the Sager/Clevo models (either from their site or Xotic PC). Most options are in your budget and in my opinion are a bit of a step up from MSI and Asus while in the same price range.

Here is a link to their 15" options that would suite your needs: http/www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=special&mid=NP9150

 

[Tibbs01]

Sorry I am having edit problems so forgive the additional post.

In my opinion the 660m is far too weak for solid framerates on even high settings at 1080p. It is a good step below a desktop 550Ti which is a generation old entry level desktop card. If you want to stay above ~45fps on more demanding titles like crysis 3, and high settings, I would personally not go below a 675MX. You are spending a good chunk of money and the 660m is going to hold you back on many of the newer titles if you are wanting higher settings and 1080 resolution.

 

[AndrewFox]

Sorry I am having edit problems so forgive the additional post.

In my opinion the 660m is far too weak for solid framerates on even high settings at 1080p. It is a good step below a desktop 550Ti which is a generation old entry level desktop card. If you want to stay above ~45fps on more demanding titles like crysis 3, and high settings, I would personally not go below a 675MX. You are spending a good chunk of money and the 660m is going to hold you back on many of the newer titles if you are wanting higher settings and 1080 resolution.

Thanks a bunch man, really liking those Segar computers. A few questions for you, if I may.

I've been reading about placing your programs and OS on an SSD and under the options for customization, it has a "Crucial" 128GB SSD. Also, mentioned before though was how it would be cheaper to buy my own SSD and instal it myself.

My question is this;

Is this a good option, to have Sager do it for me? (Install and make the SSD the C: drive) ($145) or purchase an SSD drive and do it myself?

While I'm fine with doing it myself, is this an easy task to do? (Installing and setting up the SSD as the C?

Thanks again man, I'm having a blast just learning.

 

[Tibbs01]

Sorry I am having edit problems so forgive the additional post.

In my opinion the 660m is far too weak for solid framerates on even high settings at 1080p. It is a good step below a desktop 550Ti which is a generation old entry level desktop card. If you want to stay above ~45fps on more demanding titles like crysis 3, and high settings, I would personally not go below a 675MX. You are spending a good chunk of money and the 660m is going to hold you back on many of the newer titles if you are wanting higher settings and 1080 resolution.

Thanks a bunch man, really liking those Segar computers. A few questions for you, if I may.

I've been reading about placing your programs and OS on an SSD and under the options for customization, it has a "Crucial" 128GB SSD. Also, mentioned before though was how it would be cheaper to buy my own SSD and instal it myself.

My question is this;

Is this a good option, to have Sager do it for me? (Install and make the SSD the C: drive) ($145) or purchase an SSD drive and do it myself?

While I'm fine with doing it myself, is this an easy task to do? (Installing and setting up the SSD as the C?

Thanks again man, I'm having a blast just learning.

It should be a relatively for you to do it yourself and will save you money as you already know. Sager uses Clevo chassis and I think they are one of the easier ones to work on/access. You definitely want your OS on the SSD and then I would prioritize which programs you want to add from there. For instance games with the frequent loading screens etc. would be my first priority as the ssd will make the biggest improvement on those. Also games that tend to need to access the hard drive more frequently might be another priority.

 

[DGlenn]

It'd be a no brainer for me: Get the SSD myself and install it. For the exact same reason you give: You'll have a blast learning. Installing goes the same as with old tech drives: just plug it in, boot up, and install Windows.

Don't clone Win from an old drive to the SSD, you should allow the OS to set SSD specific settings during install.
Figure out if the manufacturer delivers OS install media with the laptop, if he only provides a restore partition, you'll have to source OEM install media yourself. You can use this with the OEM license key on the back of the laptop.

Tibbs: good catch on the gfx card. My knowledge of mobile graphics is shoddy.

 

[AndrewFox]

Before I hit that "Checkout button", can you guys do a once over of my current laptop selection?



Display

15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Sager Screen

Dead Pixel Warranty

Standard Dead Pixel Pixel

Monitor Calibration

No Professional Monitor Color Calibration

Processer

Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP

Thermal Compound

IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)

Graphics Video Card

nVidia GeForce GTX 680M 4,096MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable]

Copper Cooling Upgrade

No Copper Cooling Upgrade

External Display Video Adapters

No Video Adapter

Ram

16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 sticks)

mSATA SSD Drive

No mSATA SSD

Primary Hard Drive

750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache-ATA III]

Optical Drive Bay

6x Blu-Ray Reader / 8x DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive

Wireless Network

Sager - Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3)

Sound Card

Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included

Operating System

No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only

$1667.43

I already have a copy of windows 7 and will purchase my own SSD and install it (as my primary C).

Anything in missing or final thoughts/comments?

The laptop case is a Clevo/Segar so I should have an extra space for both my ssd and internal HD.

a question about the external video adapters. Does the option I have selected mean I will NOT be able to hook my laptop up to my TV?

Here's a link to the SSD I will be buying: Recommendations?

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7812945&CatId=5300&SRCCODE=MDOTTD&MobileOptOut=1

Or

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820329001