1500 ish gaming laptop that will be good for a long time

dethklic

Honorable
Jul 16, 2012
8
0
10,510
first off, ive been coming to this website for all my tech needs and always found it very usefull. this is my first post and i hope that i can get some quality help. if there are any questions for me ill be coming back alot to answer any. hello and here i go...

1. the budget i want it to be is around 1500, but if a extra hundred or 2 is WORTH IT then i can do it

2. 15 inch should be good enough but if a 17 inch can be found then ill take it

3. the screen resolution isnt important, widescreen or not. 1024/ 768 has been fine the last decade

4. the laptop will mostly be at a desk but i will occasionally lug it around

5. battery life is not important because i will be buying a extra one in a few months

6.will i be playing games? HELL YEAH. of course i want to play the newest games on highest settings but if i cant then owell. the games i will mostly be playing are skyrim and league of legends. i really want those on max.

7. the only other thing i will be doing with the laptop is video chatting and and regular surfing

8. hard drive capacity should be around 250minimum.

9. dont care where i buy it from as long as the warranty will be upheld

10. i plan on keeping this laptop for 5 years minimum.

11. cd drive not important but im sure a basic one will be included

12. i have no preference to what i buy as long as it has a nice look to it

13.usa

14.this is an important part, it has to have the ability to have different colored lighted keyboard. preferably one that can change on its own or be customized. i really want a i7 3rd gen. the laptop itself should look awsome. id like the killer wifi thing thats meant for gaming, sorry i dont have more details.

thanx in advance for any effort you give.
 
Solution
MSI GE70 17" custom gaming notebook ~$1279 plus $100 rebate
Core i7-3610QM 2.3Ghz Ivy Bridge CPU, 8GB 1600 RAM, 750GB 7200rpm HDD, 17.3" 1920x1080 anti-glare LCD w/ Geforce GT 660M Kepler graphics card.

Includes programmable keyboard lighting. 2 Year Warranty and 1yr Accidental Damage coverage

Suggested optional upgrades: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU $35
Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1202 + Bluetooth 4.0 (Dual Band) $59
Clean Windows Installation (Install drivers only - no bloatwares) + $15
MSI GE70 17" custom gaming notebook ~$1279 plus $100 rebate
Core i7-3610QM 2.3Ghz Ivy Bridge CPU, 8GB 1600 RAM, 750GB 7200rpm HDD, 17.3" 1920x1080 anti-glare LCD w/ Geforce GT 660M Kepler graphics card.

Includes programmable keyboard lighting. 2 Year Warranty and 1yr Accidental Damage coverage

Suggested optional upgrades: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU $35
Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1202 + Bluetooth 4.0 (Dual Band) $59
Clean Windows Installation (Install drivers only - no bloatwares) + $15
 
Solution
There are is also the 15" GE60 GT 660M model.
And you can check out the 15" and 17" MSI GT60 and GT70 models with higher end graphics cards like GT 675M and GT 680M.

If you decided you don't need programmable keyboard lighting the Asus 15" G55VW / 17" G75VW are also worth looking at.


-> For overall gaming price/performance your best value might be the Sager NP9150 15" model equipped with Core i7-3610QM 2.3Ghz Ivy Bridge CPU and Radeon HD 7970M for around $1600.
Check with the XoticPC people to see if the optional backlight SteelSeries keyboard is the programmable version (a $90 option over the standard backlit keyboard).
 

dethklic

Honorable
Jul 16, 2012
8
0
10,510



thank you for your input, i have a few questions

where did you see the 100 rebate, i looked but all i was able to find was the 3 percent that they automatically give. how long do you think that video card will be viable? is the thermal compounds really worth the money? what do they do? i couldnt find anywhere that the keyboard was lighted and programmable, you'd think that would be a selling point that they talk about
 
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It may be that only the MSI GTxx models have the programmable keyboard backlighting. Check with XoticPC to see if you can get it on the GE70.

That GT 660M graphics card will be viable until you're not happy with it's performance. Certainly with games you mentioned (Skyrim / LOL) the GT 660M will be viable for 5 years.
Future games? Which ones will you want to try? What graphics card will they require. There are no guarantees you'll be happy for a full five years.

Premium thermal compound worth $35? Probably. But it's your money.
 

motorhead018

Honorable
Jul 2, 2012
1
0
10,510



I bought a Malibal P170EM with a 7970m and I love it! Mine was about $1630 after shipping and taxes. There is a $20 difference between the P170EM and P150EM SE. These guys are also based in Nevada, which is kind of nice to me.

PM me if you would like full specs on it.