Solved! ASUS G73SW-XA1 vs Qosmio X505-Q8102

[dwright]

I am looking for a laptop to replace my current desktop. The two that I am considering are the ASUS G73SW-XA1
http/www.amazon.com/G73SW-XA1-Republic-Gamers-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/tech-data/B004LRO9AK/ref=de_a_smtd
and the Qosmip X505-8102
http/www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Qosmio-X505-Q8102-18-4-Inch-Gaming/dp/B004GTNCQK/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1
I will primarily be using this for gaming (I generally play MMOs) and would like to have my graphics setting on high. Which one of these two would you pick? (are there any other recommendations?) Any thoughts on the two? Other suggested brands? See below for more details.



1. What is your budget?
I'd like to stick around $1500


2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
17" +

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920x1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement. Mobility will be confined to moving the laptop from room to room in my house.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Not a whole lot. PC will usually be plugged in.

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, gaming will be the primary use of the computer. Want settings on high.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
After gaming this PC will mostly used for internet, email, and office programs.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500 GB is enough.

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

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

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
If I can get a bluray that would be a nice to have but not a necessity DVD is fine.

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.
Besides the two listed above I am open to suggestions.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

 

[Maziar]

Congrats,post some benchies when you got it

 

[AntiZig]

ooh, definitely post some feed back here when you get it. I want to buy NP8150-S1 in a week myself from the same vendor.

 

[randomstar]

Glad you were able to make the choice. I waffled back and forth for weeks before I could make the decision, due to the SandyBridge delay..

 

[dwright]

Glad you were able to make the choice. I waffled back and forth for weeks before I could make the decision, due to the SandyBridge delay..

It really became clear when I looked at the value for performance between the systems. That along with the upgradability of the Sager made the decision an easy one. Had I ordered the Asus I'm sure I would have been happy too. Now I just want my new toy!

 

[dwright]

ooh, definitely post some feed back here when you get it. I want to buy NP8150-S1 in a week myself from the same vendor.

So far, so good with XoticPC. I'm impressed that they called me to confirm my specs before charging me. I also had quite a few questions prior to my order which they were very good with answering. I will let you know how things go from here out.

 

[dwright]

My Sager 8170-S1 is arriving tomorrow! Woot! Can't wait to play with my new toy.

For those asking about XoticPC, they have been great so far. Great customer service and very responsive.

 

[dwright]

It's here! Time to set it up and play! More to come. BTW XoticPC rocks!

 

[dwright]

OK. I've finally come up for air. Some first impressions.

- This machine is fast! Who says you can't game on a laptop. I was fretting over whether I should have upgraded to the 6970 but I was rocking on Rift last night on Ultra setting with 30-40 fps consistently.
- Well made. Very solid. Yes, a bit heavy but feels made to last.
- I read some bad things about the stock LCD but it looks great to me.
- Did I mention this machine is fast?
- The keyboard is different from what I'm used to but it is not cheap. The chicklet will just tack a little bit of getting used to.
- I'm not sure what the complaint is about the fan ramping up and down. I barely hear the fan.
- A few things on the negative side. I don't like the touch pad. The brushed aluminum (or whatever it is) feels strange and doesn't seem really responsive. Not a big deal for me since I generally don't use them anyway. I don't seem to be able to set different power settings for battery vs. plugged in. I'm used to being able to have the laptop automatically switch to a lower power setting when it is unplugged. Not a big deal and mabey I just havn't figured it out yet. I didn't spend a whole lot of time trying. I went right to gaming.
- Oh yea, and it's fast.
__________________
Sager 8170-S1; i7-2630QM; nVidia GeForce GTX 470M; 8GB RAM; Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD; 2x 500GB HD

 

[Maziar]

wow glad to hear it enjoy your new beast,and post some more benchies if you had time

 

[AntiZig]

hehe sounds great, yeh the touchpad got covered by the same finish as the rest of the casing which I think wasn't very smart on Clevo's part.

Mine should be getting shipped in about a week or two, but I'm glad to know there's satisfied customers in TH community that used XoticPC and are happy about it.