Gaming Laptop -- Barebones Wanted

[Sh3nl0ng]

1_What is your budget? As cheap as possible

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 17"

3_What screen resolution do you want? Any

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Desktop replacement

5_How much battery life do you need? Doesn't matter.

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!
Counter-Strike 1.6.... High?
Counter-Strike Source.. Medium
World of Warcraft.. High

And will also want to play new games that come out. Sure.. Don't care

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing, surfing the web, playing music, watching movies, Etc.) Playing music, watching movies, surfing the web.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need? 250gb at least

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
Haven't yet. I'm looking for a barebones that I can build myself. With at least 2.4ghz dual core.

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3-4 years.

11_If you would like to mention some other things about purchasing your ideal laptop, post them.
I just need a well running laptop I can build. I am looking at a 8600 series gfx card for it, and a dual core intel. Bigger the screen, the better. I'm considering an alienware but I know I can get the same stuff, for a lot cheaper.

The one thing I saw in reviews that scared me a bit was that it performed poorly in Directx10. I know that isn't a big deal right now, but 2 years down the road, will it be? Will upgrading the processor change that?

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.
No preference.

13_What country do you live in? United States.

Thanks for your help!

 

[frozenlead]

There is a reason for the first question - can we have a number? It saves a lot of time.

Don't consider alienware. It's overpriced, by far.

Also, building a laptop and "as cheap as possible" do not come with each other. I don't recommend you build a notebook, simply for cost reasons. It's more expensive than you think.

 

[dwellman]

Actually, if you don't need to pay for software. . . building your own has two advantages besides being cheaper:
1) you can spred the cost out over time (but without interest)
2) you get better warranty length (retail versus OEM and depending on the component)

Keep in mind, though, you don't build a notebook anywhere near the same degree that you build a desktop.

Current manufacturer's offering diy chassis:
Clevo
Compal
MSI
ECS
Asus

MSI is about the most abundant. Asus is the least. . . probably