Buying a gaming laptop 2012

[mikehurley]

Hey guys,

I've been using an alienware M11x for the past 2 years and am sick and tired of it. I need something new, beautiful, fast and cool (literally). Any advice or suggestions will be invaluable for my future purchasing decisions and all the gaming fun!

1. What is your budget?
1000 - 1200

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

3. What screen resolution do you want?
min 1360x768

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
no, this is for gaming on the go and other random stuff

5. How much battery life do you need?
5-7h

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)?
starcraft 2 - high
battlefield 3 - med
etc

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Adobe Creative Suite

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

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
The usuals or something unknown but a sweet find

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2years min

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
no optical drive needed, i have an external drive but if it has i don't care

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.
Not alienware. - had one for 2 years and want a change...

13. What country do you live in?
Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Ultrabooks are on my mind

Thanks

 

[dudewitbow]

as a heads up, 5 contradicts the build, as all gaming laptops drain batteries like no tomorrow.

 

[mikehurley]

it was wishful thinking

 

[dudewitbow]

cant say for sure about prices in canadas laptops, but the price range fits around the gtx 660m, which will do what you asked for. a common laptop that gets looked at with a gtx 660m is the lenovo y580


here are very generic benchmarks for the 660m at the bottom. hover over low/med/high/ultra to see what settings the game is at

 

[mikehurley]

That card looks perfect for what I need.

This is a laptop I've seen mentioned on the forums and was considering:
http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/builder.workflow:Enter?mtm-item=%3A000001CA%3A00001376%3A

any alternatives / suggestions for under 1200?

 

[Nanovinnie]

http/www.originpc.com/Laptops/Gaming/EON15-S/?TAB=FEATURES&ACTIVE=TRUE&SYSTEMID=4

Its a little over your budget, but worth it.

 

[Nanovinnie]

http/www.maingear.com/custom/notebooks/vybe-15/customize.php

Found this one, starts at $1100, great notebooks.

 

[mikehurley]

Thank you for your input, these are some good sites I will keep in mind! I am still looking for a good gaming laptop for myself and will continue to try and find a good deal.

I'm looking for something with a gtx675m for under 1300 or the 660m under 1000 with an i7.

The search continues!

 

[mikehurley]

I took a look at that list and I was interested in the Valkyrie CZ-17 but it's HEAVY!! 6.9LB... the price is right though. (also 17" screen is a no go)

Was looking at:
http/www.reflexnotebook.ca/index.php/sager-notebooks/sager-display/sager-15display/sager-np9150-1475.html

just a bit over budget after tax though. (with 675m upgrade of course)

 

[mikehurley]

good advice, any idea if the prices will drop in the near future? I'm anxious to get my gaming laptop soon and I've been trying to find a steal

 

[mikehurley]

yea im wanting decent settings on any future games... I wanted the 7970m in a NP9150 but I don't know if 1700 (/w tx&shipping) is a bit much...

 

[mikehurley]

Federal, and our Provincial in Quebec taxes the federal tax... in the end 15%

+duty(100~)
+shipping(35-75)

(reflexnotebook has no duty/shipping fees)

 

[mikehurley]

Bravo! that's more like it. This is very appealing, if I buy, details in a new thread

 

[mikehurley]

Best answer selected by MikeHurley.