Need a gaming/everyday Laptop ($1700 Budget)

[wilsar1]

1. What is your budget?
>= $1700

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6 or 17.3

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Depends on the laptop.

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

5. How much battery life do you need?
6 hours is fine.

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. Med-High

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Movie Creating (Projects for school)/School Work

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Enough for games/movie projects

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
What its come down to:
1. Choice 1
2. Choice 2
(Sure the mac is using an integrated chip but I really like macs for school work.)


10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Couple Years. 3-4 give or take a few.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Doesn't really matter.

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.
1. Apple
2. Lenovo
3. MSI

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I would like to use this for school work and gaming. Its a tough mix but I need something everday for school and then my gamer side wants to play games like Rome:Total war 2, BF4, COD: BO2. So hard to choose the right PC. I want it to be thin and lightweight for school but packed with the gaming hardware I need.

Help! Cannot decide!

 

[VGMMkubed]

We'll, if you want gaming hardware, the first thing you need to know is that Macs are NOT for PC gaming. Not nearly as many options are readily offered, and just cannot preform to the standards. They are meant for, and are excellent at, business/school, video/photo editing, and many others, but NOT heavy gaming.

Secondly, the MSI is nice, and I personally do like MSI, but the same specs can be got for quite a bit cheaper. I configured the Sager NP8235 (Clevo P151SM1) that has these specs:

15.6" FHD (1920x1080) Matte Type LCD (LED Backlit) Screen
Intel I7-4700MQ (2.4 Ghz, Turbo Boost to 3.4 Ghz)
nVidia GeForce GTX 770M (Upgradeable and User-Upgradeable to nVidia Quadro K1000M)
16GB DDR3 1600Mz RAM (Upgradeable and User-Upgradeable to 32GB)
750GB 7200 RPM HDD + 120GB Crucial M5 mSATA SSD (Changeable/Upgradeable if need be)
8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive
Smart Lithium-Ion 8-Cell Battery
Windows 8.1 (64-Bit) (Can be changed to Windows 7 or other OS for some extra dough)
No MS Office (Can be added for $145)

All of this coming in at $1,478.29 (1,618.94 with MS Office Addition)

Better GPU, RAM User-Upgradeable to 32GB (which is awesome), same CPU, same HDD+SSD, than the MSI. However, a 15.6" screen rather than 17.3", if that matters.

I would go for the Customized Sager if I was you.

 

[wilsar1]

Thanks for the reply,
I like the macs because of there build. They are strong laptops, and sleek. I do agree that the customized sager saved me money but I need something thin and lightweight.

 

[VGMMkubed]

Needing something thin and lightweight will definitely add quite a heft of money just for getting it a bit thinner/lighter than a standard laptop. Having seen other Sager/Clevo laptops, and this one alike it is thinner and lighter than many other standard gaming laptops, but not quite as thin/light as your MSI choice (to my knowledge, could be wrong)

Thin & Lightweight for a gaming laptop basically means: more money, less performance. It's all based on that. Still, no Sager/Clevo laptop is like Alienware-level thick.

EDIT: Went and checked out the Sager/Clevo, dimensions are 14.8" (width) x 10.08" (depth) x 1.38" -1.69" thick, and 6.83 lbs (battery included)

Not the lightest/thinnest, but also not the heftiest.

EDIT 2: Here is link to customization for that computer, you will have to change:

RAM to 16GB
OS to preferred (Windows 8.1 was what I had)
SSD Slot 1 to 120GB Crucial m5 mSATA SSD (not OS-ready option)

In order to get my customizations.

http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8235-clevo-p151sm1-p-5840.html?wconfigure=yes

 

[wilsar1]

This is so true, and would I be able to do school work/movie/recording projects on the sager?

I really don't like when a laptop is big and bulky, hopefully the sager is thinner than the usual gaming laptop.

Also do you mind posting a link to the upgraded sager (I'm on my phone right now)?
Thanks!

 

[VGMMkubed]

Updated my previous thread with a couple edits. Check them out.

Also, yes, Sager would most likely be able to handle any other programs you throw at it, possibly excluding CAD programs (though I have never once used them and are therefore not sure).

 

[wilsar1]

Okay I'll customize from there. Would that be the thinnest you think I'll find?

 

[VGMMkubed]

I'm not an expert on Ultrabook-level gaming laptop portability. I mostly just go for better performance with more heft than an Ultrabook, but not overly hefty, like an Alienware. There might be another option out there, but the thinnest high-end Ultrabook-level gaming laptop that immediately comes to mind is the Razer Blade, but that is $1,800 minimum, and with specs that can be just as easily got for around $1,200, but with more heft.

Portability is a wallet killer, just keep that in mind. If money is not an issue, there are more options that are more portable with very similar specs.

No, this is not the thinnest option. It's a bit bigger, but has better performance and is cheaper than, the MSI you have picked out (possibly, need to double check this).

EDIT: Yep, checked out the dimensions of your MSI pick. It's almost half as thin as the bulkiest level of that Sager laptop. If having it that thin is worth the few hundred extra dollars, and you need it really thin, the MSI is definitely thinner. Also, it is almost a pound lighter. But again, at a cost.

Basically: MSI pick is a fair amount thinner & lighter, but with a little worse specs and a fair amount more money. Sager is bulkier, but not ludicrously, has a couple better specs and can be upgraded later on to be even better, and is a couple hundred bucks cheaper (no MS Office included).

 

[VGMMkubed]

Heading to bed this night, pretty late at my location (12:45 AM). I will keep checking this thread and helping you out as much as I can in the future, so keep checking back until you have reached your final verdict. Hope I've helped!