I have been out of the loop for awhile and was hoping to find some advice. I'm looking for a decent gaming laptop. 1500-2000 bucks is my price range but I would love to go lower if possible. I'm hoping for at least a 17" screen, 2gb ram, 120gb 7200 rpm HDD. Laptop video card knowledge eludes me so if someone would be so kind as to post a few options I should look into that'd be great. I've ran through dell, sager, alienware and a few other customizers and come up with a few that are what I want, but they are a bit too pricey. Maybe there's a site someone knows about that produces good laptops for lower prices?

edit: also, a link or some knowledge about some video cards would be cool. 8400M, 8700M GT, 7950GTX. how bad is the 8400 compared to the 8700 compared to the 7950GTX?

Well, in terms of video cards you mentioned: 7950GTX > 8700M GT >>> 8400M.

If even Dell's too pricey...hm...check out the Asus gaming laptops, you might be able to find those for cheaper.

Firstly, thank you for the response. After a good amount of research, I think this is the system I'm going to go with. It's over my price range, but oh well. I picked a brand spanking new 45nm Penryn Intel processor. There's not much info on them yet so we'll see how that works out. Anyone have any criticisms about this notebook? Is it worth the price of $2,250? I've never bought a Sager before, but I've heard good things. Thanks for the help.

- Display: 17" Wide Viewing Angles WUXGA LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1200)[+$145.00]
- Processor: 45nm Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 / 6MB L2 Cache, 2.50GHz, 800MHz FSB[+$140.00]
- Video & Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GO 7950 GTX Graphics with 512MB DDR3 Video Memory
- Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® VISTA Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
- Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 X 1024MB[+$55.00]
- Primary Hard Disk Drive: 200GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive[+$165.00]
- Optical Drive: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
- Wireless Network Card: Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth Module
- Intel Robson Technology: Intel 1GB TurboMemory Module[+$35.00]
- Primary Battery: Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
- Integrated Security Device: Fingerprint Reader
- Warranty: Sager One Year Standard Warranty
- Carrying Bag: Standard Carrying Bag

For 2250, I think that's a really good deal. Well worth the price, and you'll be satisfied with its performance I think. Unless you really want that DirectX 10 capability or a bit more firepower (the 8800m GTX), the 7950 GTX is a fine card.

Which model is it, to be precise? The NP5792? I'm just asking because you /might/ be able to get it a bit cheaper (not much, a bit) if you look around at resellers and distributors.

Yeah, it's the NP5792.

Yeah, most resellers like XoticPC will stock that model, maybe for cheaper. Also, as a buyer of a Killer Notebooks Executioner, just wanted to say that the owner of Killer Notebooks is offering to beat any competitor's price by 50 dollars, but he won't add any of his custom heatsinks and mods (so it'll be stock, like from Sager).

If you want mods though, you'd pay full price

take a look at the gateway 6860FX at BB. Kinda slow processor (1.8) but has 8800GTS, 4GB ram, 320GB HD (5400). On sale at <1300. Runs CoH on high DX9 settings at 50+

Definately get a 8800 series GPU over the 7950. There is a huge difference. No reason to put your self in old hardware from the start. If your going to drop $2k, you may as well have it last awhile.

XoticPC and Power Notebooks are both good Sager resellers and will give you a decent price and good customer service.

You may want to consider buying a 5793 with a 8700 in it if you cant swing the price. You can always update from a 8700 to a 8800, but not a 7950 to a 8800. A 5793 with a 8800 in it will run about $2300 including a 3 year factory warranty. I recommend a warranty on any laptop. They do break, and they are pricey to fix, its worth the piece of mind.

The Gateway isnt a bad machine either. But the Sager is faster by quite a bit and should last longer on the technology end of it.

My 5793 cost $2500 without the warranty. You can get a nice 5793 with an 8700, 2gb of ram for about $2k. Gateway carries a nice 8800gts machine for a price a little lower.

You can go for the 7950 if you want, but I would get an 8 series card.