Choosing between a gaming laptop

[Intile]

Hello Forum.

I've decided to purchase a gaming laptop, and I've narrowed it down between a couple of prospects.


Here they are

Option #1.

Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78

http/www.amazon.com/Toshiba-X775-3DV78-17-3-Inch-Gaming-Horizon/dp/B0053Y427K/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1309558583&sr=1-1

Option #2

Toshiba Qosmio Q8104

http/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GTNCRO/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6


Or waiting up until the G74 from Asus is sold on Amazon.


http/www.amazon.com/G74SX-A1-Republic-Gamers-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00542SUD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1309559082&sr=1-1


Right now what's keeping me is the screen resolution. The X775 has a lower one than the Q8104.

Why Toshiba? You may wonder.


I've been deciding towards toshiba since toshiba gives me Warranty here in Costa Rica

That's what has been turning the scales towards Toshiba, any other options will be considered and appreciated.

My budget is around $1800-$1900
I want a big screen and it is solely for gaming purposes.

Thank you.

 

[hpfreak]

I'd choose the G74, graphics card benchmarks are slightly higher then GTX 460m...
There is more RAM on the G74... (12 GB..)
And, if I remember right, Asus gives a 2 Year global warranty with the G74...
I know for a fact that the G73 had a 1 year accidental damage warranty, but I don't know of the G74 has the same...

The Toshiba will give you a larger screen (18.4" instead of 17.3") But, it is up to you if you want better quality, or slightly larger.

Also, you should know, that you are going to be paying in total over 2000 dollars for either systems... You have to pay shipping, and regular tax.

Anyways, I think an advantage that you may get with the Toshiba laptop is the 3D... But the 3D is practically useless for gaming, you have to mess with the shaders... the quality goes down... and is an overall "headache" experience...

The G74 looks like a better deal


EDIT:
I found out you do get full advantage of Asus' warranty: http/www.excaliberpc.com/607356/asus-g74sx-a1-17.3-notebook.html

 

[b-dub92]

There both not bad deals but im sure you can find better. Everywhere you look each laptop will be a little bit different, with better or worse specs very annoying, so find a website where you can customize the crap out of it! if you havent already check out xoticpc.com. They have some pretty good deals on laptops. So does Newegg. If you want the gtx 560m with 1080p screen and the same specs as the toshiba check out the Asus, nice deal on that bad boy and it'll save you $200 and very customizable.
http/www.xoticpc.com/asus-g74sxa1-pre-order-p-3095.html?wconfigure=yes

Bit of fact...If your only using this for gaming not video editiong, running multiple programs or CAD you will never use more than 4gb of ram playing any game! anymoe than 4-6gb is a waste of money

 

[Intile]

Thank you for your responses. Mainly I chose amazon because the accept my Credit Cards. Newegg only accepts C.C's with Billing Address inside the US. I dont know if its the same for Xoticpc.com

The problem is that ASUS doesn't have a dealer here to be able to give me the warranty they state its global. That is why I've beeng inclining towards Toshiba.

 

[Intile]

Another Option I've seen is the X-775-Q7272

http/www.amazon.com/Qosmio-X775-Q7272-17-3-Inch-Gaming-Horizon/dp/B0053Y41GM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1309588691&sr=1-2

Seems like a viable option and not that expensive. What do you think?

 

[hpfreak]

The G74 has the same graphics card as the X-775-Q7272.
But the G74 has better specs overall... More RAM, Full HD...Better audio in my opinion.
The strong point of the X-775-Q7272 is the price. It is cheaper then the rest, and you get the same GPU... But, you lose a few advantages that the other laptops offer.

 

[Intile]

Yeah The Q7272 is kind of winning me right now, I really like the Chasis and the price is not that terrible. What do you think about the Chasis? Do you think it will be giving me issues in the long run? Don't get me wrong, The G74 is beastly, I love the way it looks. But the price + warranty kind of scares me off.

 

[Intile]

After further investigation I realized that the body of the Qosmio is made out of plastic. Quite disappointing. The Asus seems kind of atractive at this point. Any other recommendations regarding gaming laptops?

 

[hpfreak]

Judging a book by it's cover is a mistake... But anyways, I like the way the G74's are built. They're very comfortable to rest your hands on for long periods... extremely cool... Nice to the touch... It also feels very... expensive, it doesn't feel like a cheap plastic that you'd get on other systems. It's premium, the price is premium. But you get more Performance and quality then you payed for, which is the main reason why I recommend you getting the G74.

I wasn't payed to say this, I said this just because I'm a happy customer of Asus myself.

 

[Intile]

I appreciate all the feedback. The G74 seems like a solid laptop and i feel like buying it. I just would like to feel safer when I buy a laptop, making sure my investment will last. Saving the money is hard enough as it is

 

[hpfreak]

Yeah, I get what your saying, but then again, Asus gives a 2 year warranty globally, and then on top of that, you get a 1 year accidental damage warranty.
I got a G73 that was built way back in 2010... It is factory refurbished, been using it 12 hours a day since December.

I have had only 2 issues, 1. the touchpad is a bit glitchy, but it means nothing for me... I don't really use a touchpad, and Asus fixed up that problem.

Now, the other thing I had to deal with was the thermal compound, the thermal compound on the laptop was garbage... It caused my system to start heating up real high on idle. So, I took it to a shop (I don't trust myself ) And I let the guys over there replace the thermal compound with Artic Silver 5. Now it is just working spectacularly fast and cool. And from time to time, I take advantage of that overclock button that gives me just a bit more.


Well, I've had a good experience with my laptop for the most part, every laptop has it's problems, some can be fixed, some can't...

Once you've made your descision, please tell us!


Ohh.. yeah >_> I though you should know that my pick on the G73 was after 3 months of 6 hours a day sessions browsing online stores, retailers... etc.. looking for the perfect deal, which I'm happy to say I found.

 

[Intile]

I feel you on those 6 hour/day browsing. I've been browsing like crazy just trying to find the right laptop for me, for a good price. The G74 is tempting right now, what really attracted me of the Q7272 was the price for the specs it had, yet again, I really don't know how the chasis will work out, for me a laptop running cool is a high priority, and I really can't find any reviews of those laptops.

 

[Intile]

Now I really wonder which one to get out of these 2. $200 difference in between.

http/www.amazon.com/G74SX-A1-Republic-Gamers-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00542SUD8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309719275&sr=8-1


http/www.amazon.com/ASUS-G74SX-XT1-17-3-Laptop-Computer/dp/B0058JWP9W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1309719244&sr=8-3

 

[hpfreak]

Get the ASUS G74SX-XT1.
I didn't see any difference, I did notice that the ASUS G74SX-XT1 had a 1 year warranty, instead of 2 years..
I check the specs of the ASUS G74SX-XT1 (the 1599 dollar laptop) and I saw nothing that could comprimise your gaming experience, I'd get it. It is right in your price range too... your not going to have to pay over your budget for tax/shipping.


I'd get it if I had the wallet and I didn't have the G73. It's a sweet deal. The only thing I'd add would be better thermal compound, but I haven't heard of any "native" issues for the G74...

 

[Intile]

Excellent. I've made a choice. I really appreciate your help and your feedback, not many wanted to answer my post. Thank you.

 

[Intile]

Best answer selected by Intile.

 

[hpfreak]

Excellent. I've made a choice. I really appreciate your help and your feedback, not many wanted to answer my post. Thank you.

No problem Glad I was able to help.