Best gaming laptop for under $1350.

[silvertounge]

Hey guys, this is a continuation of the last thread I opened. After talking to people at work, I have found that many of the professors actually will not allow laptops in the classroom. So as a result, I am much less worried about a mobile 15inch laptop, and looking for more of a mobile gaming system. The new price I am looking at is $1350. Keep in mind, it doesn't have to be $1350, and cheaper is definitely better. $1350 is definitely the max I probably want to spend though.

I currently have a few laptops in mind.

http/www.gateway.com/systems/series/529598056.php
You can view Gateways P series from the above link. They seem to have a good, average processor, with a good GPU, and nice sized hard drive all for a reasonable price.

http/www.xoticpc.com/gt729-wsxga-order-p-2633.html?wconfigure=yes
This link show's MSI's GT729. Just like the Gateway, MSI has a nice processor, very nice GPU ( ATI 4850), and once again a good sized hard drive. However, this laptop has a better 1680x1050 resolution, compared to the 1440 x 900 resolution on the Gateway. I'm probably most leaning to MSI's GT729 now.

http/www.alienware.com/customize/M17-notebook.aspx?SysCode=PC-LT-M17&Subcode=SKU-DEFAULT
The above link shows Alienware's M17. When I first started researching a few months ago, Alienware was out of the question. For the price you were paying, you weren't getting near the amount of hardware you could with other brands. However, just recently Alienware has reduced the price of both their M17 and M15x to $1099, a much more attractive price. This $200 off has definitely made it a consideration again. I was thinking of a setup such as taking the base parts, with the Crossfire 3870, making the price $1350. Or sticking with the base ATI 3870, and just getting the 2.4Ghz processor and possibly the 1920x1200 resolution monitor, bumping up the price again to $1350. I'm honestly not sure how much the 1920x1200 would be worth it though. It seems like to me you would be bumping down the resolution most of the time anyway in order to get better performance with most of the games out today. I do realize though, you are still going to be paying a little for the name with Alienware.

I definitely would not mind having one of these Alienware laptops. The main question is though, is the price for the M17 comparable/reasonable, considering what you can get with other laptops? Everyone's opinions about the laptops I have listed, and their own personal recommendations will be greatly appreciated and considered. Any input I can get will be great. Thanks!

 

[silvertounge]

I couldn't agree more! Weights not to much of an issue for me though. The only thing I am slightly worried about, is that it has a 6 cell battery. When using the power management settings, do you guys think this would get me through a day of taking notes in class? I would google and find some info about it myself, but we are pretty busy at work right now ^.^

 

[silvertounge]

Oh and, how does the GTX 260M compare to the 3870 in crossfire, and the 4850?

 

[Espada]

For video cards heres how it goes..
3870 Crossfire > GeForce GTX 260M >Mobility Radeon HD 4850 > GeForce GTS 160M > GeForce 9800M GTS > 3870
for power management settings you should get about 1hr 30min to two hours depends on what video card you go with.

 

[lostandwandering]

^Keep in mind the Xfire and SLI configs will probably top out around an 1hr and 15.

 

[silvertounge]

Another cool thing with the Asus I've found, is that it has the 8 second boot up. "express gate", or whatever the feature is called. I'm just hoping that it would be able to make it through 2 to 3 hours of simple word processing. MSI's has a 8 cell battery. Very hard decision, haha...

 

[lostandwandering]

^The Sager in my sig has an 8-cell and I still only get about 1 hr 45min at the max and that was under Windows XP. My battery life is worse under win 7 topping out around 1hr 30min.

 

[silvertounge]

was that 1h 45m gaming/videos, ect.? Or just kinda sitting there not doing much, like word?

 

[lostandwandering]

^basic use like web surfing.

 

[habeebh]

the reviews on the p-7807u were saying something like 3hr 45min bat life on a 9cell

 

[jgh7]

Hello, these posts have been very helpful for me as I'm considering getting a budget friendly gaming laptop too. One suggestion I might add is that if you're worried about your gaming laptop not having enough battery life to get you through your note-taking, then you could just buy yourself a cheap netbook to handle all of your schoolwork. They can have decent battery life since they're low powered, they're very light (sub 3lbs) so it's easier for you to take around, and they're very cheap (can be less than $300). This is what I plan to do. If it were up to me, I'd get that Asus laptop. Sexy!!!

 

[silvertounge]

That's the one I'm leaning towards now also. And dell is also offering a great deal on there stuidio XPS laptop until the 13'th. 25% off base price, and 25% upgrades. It's a really awesome deal. Oh, and if you talk with a dell rep, they can offer you 5-7% off orders over $1100. Just a little hint ^.^. I'm still waiting until the after the 13'th-17'th to make a decision though. Since Alienware will be at quakecon again, and they might be offering nice discounts.

 

[silvertounge]

I was also highly considering getting a net book also.

I have a quick question though, with the laptop batteries, are there different batteries for each brand/ or model laptop? What I want to know, is can I buy a higher 8 cell or 9 cell battery for the Asus later if I want to?

My thinking is, why spend $200-300 on a net book when you can just spend $100 on an extra battery, to get those extra hours you want on your main mobile machine.

Also, good news! The Asus laptop is down to $1300! It's looking more and more like the laptop I will be going with.

 

[Espada]

yes you can find a 9 to 12cell battery for it depending if they made a 12 cell for it. Reason why people get netbooks because its extremely small and portable and weighs like 2lbs.

 

[silvertounge]

That is good news. I'd just like to clarify though, would I need to buy a battery that has the specific Asus brand name. Or could I just buy an HP 12 cell battery for $109 like they are offering on newegg? I am pretty confident is brand specific, but it doesn't hurt to ask

 

[Espada]

Yea they are hp 12cell will only work with the hp (certain laptops) you would have to buy from asus or ebay or anotherplace they go around the same price no more than 150 if im not mistaken. since batteries are different sizes like completely square or rectangle.

 

[silvertounge]

Thank you for clarifying. Can't wait until I get back from Quakecon to make my decision!

 

[Espada]

tell me how quakecon is!

 

[silvertounge]

Sure! It's August 13'th-16'th. If Alienware can't give me an offer, then the 17'th I'm ordering the Asus

 

[Guest]

Stay away from the Alienware M15X. Is it junk. I ordered it on the 12th, got it about a week later.
It is a beautiful machine, the color change is great, it is pretty solid, but who cares about that. I replaced the stock 7200rpm drive immediately with a OCZ Summit 120GB SSD. I installed Steam and DL'ed L4D. It ran like a slideshow, even after I tweaked the bejeezus out of this POS. So I fired up my Dell XPS 1530M and ran a benchmark against the 15X. L4D set on max resolution ran at 40FPS average (it is a Geforce 8600M 256mb) the 15X with an i7 and a 1GB GTX260M ran at 29FPS with exactly the same settings. My little 1530 even runs Red Faction: Guerrilla at 29-30 fps, the 15X wouldn't even load. Jeeze, what a piece of trash! So I called Dell tonight and requested a return. Get this. I said I want to return this 15X, they asked why. I told them that the machine did not perform as advertised, so they said "we will give you a $100.00 discount if you keep the system" I said "no, it is not worth the $$" So they said, "what if we give you a $200.00 discount?" I said no, even at $1700, this was not a good deal" so they said, ok, we will be charging you a 15% restocking fee. (=$249.00) I was shocked. This sounded like "sour grapes" to me. They shifted from offering me free $$ to charging me $249.00. Dell is a joke. Avoid at all costs.