Gaming Laptop for college

cyroiv

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Nov 6, 2012
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I'm looking for a good gaming latop for college. I have a budget around $1500 and was curious what brand of computer would give me the best performance for the money. Ability to play games on ultra graphics settings would nice, but it's not a top priority. Thanks in advance!
 

NoUserBar

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Nov 1, 2011
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MSI has some good gaming laptops. If you go to their website.

Here is a review that: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/23/msi-gt70-gaming-laptop-review/
It states it can be sold for $1550 if you just get a harddrive. (750)

Here are some other ones (some cheaper some more expensive): http://www.msimobile.com/level2_productlist.aspx?id=6

Heres an alterniative Qosmio X875: http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/qosmio/X870/available-models

These are all expensive of course. And if you want real good gaming you need to plug it in usually, the laptop will go asleep otherwise..

If you juts want low- medium good graphics at 1600 res then there are A-10 APU laptops available as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-NP535U4C-A01US-14-Inch-Laptop/dp/B0083S3N3W
^Theres one ($750) It will play games fine, not on the highest res or the highest detail though. (should have better battery life without a graphics card though

Might want to get a laptop that has an upgradeable battery and is not proprietary. Not sure if the ones I showed you are upgradeable though..
 

cyroiv

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Nov 6, 2012
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How good Is the sager build quality?I have never heard of them before.
 

cyroiv

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Nov 6, 2012
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I have narrowed my decision to either a sager NP9150 or an Asus G55 VW. Decided a 15 inch screen would be more portable. Which laptop has a better cooling system? I usually game for a couple hours at a time and I don't want the laptop to overheat and risk rendering it useless.
 

KernalPanic

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Oct 29, 2012
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If I had $1500, I'd go with this one:
http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=1367

That's an MSI white-box laptop with a 680m with an i7 3610qm (free IC diamond on cpu and gpu due to cpu upgrade) and 8GB, 500GB 7200rpm HDD and 1080p matte screen. (no OS though) for $1501.56 if you pay cash.

The Sager 9150 with the 675mx or 680m or 7970m is a decent option too. (the 7970m is a hair slower than the 680m at stock, but has some problems with its hybrid adaptation, the 675mx is a solid value choice, but not on par with a 7970m or 680m)

The ASUS G55VW is a nice cheaper choice, but only sports a 660m. The 660m is nowhere near the performance of any of the above GPUs. (it is designed for thinner and lighter gaming laptops)

All of the above laptops (MSI, Sager/Clevo, ASUS) have excellent cooling systems and can use their GPUs at full potential.
 

jackspeed

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Jun 29, 2011
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The sager would be a better machine and therefor a better choice then the asus. The msi laptop kernal mentioned does not have an OS. Get a 675M or MX if you can afford it. Also one thing to note. YOU WILL HAVE NO BATTERY LIFE IF YOU GAME UNPLUGGED
 

bertrandsbox

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Nov 7, 2012
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If I were looking for an all-round laptop that's capable of gaming on the go, this would be one of my choices. With a lower price, you could easily throw in another 4GB of RAM (and boost performance as the APU can take advantage of dual-channel memory quite effectively) as well as an SSD.
You'd get decent gaming performance and great everyday performance.

The only downside is the relatively low-res screen, and it won't manage high-detail presets on the latest games.
 

KernalPanic

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Oct 29, 2012
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Most gaming laptops have hybrid solutions and thus usually automatically switch to the integrated GPU on battery. Thus, you will have plenty of battery life, you will just have extremely low performance in comparison to a 660, 675m, 675mx, 7970m, or 680m on battery. :)

It is completely correct that the MSI I listed above does not have an OS.
However, students usually have methods to legally purchase operating systems for VERY cheap.
Microsoft offers extremely low educational prices for college students, and thus paying for retail or even OEM pricing is not really recommended.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/buy/Pages/eligible.aspx
 

jackspeed

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The problem with the Microsoft deals for students is that it is the upgrade copy that is discounted. And while you can do a clean install with an upgrade copy it is unethical, more work, and against the EULA. It also can put the OP over budget.

A sager with a 15" screen would be my suggestion because it will have more performance for the money vs the asus.
 

KernalPanic

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Oct 29, 2012
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Please read the site I listed. The poster above is mistaken in his claims. Obviously you should purchase the right version, but your specific college will have the right info for you and perhaps even load the student OS onto your laptop for a marginal fee if you have issues. Note, if you buy the OS from Sager or a reseller, you are paying a lot more for the OS and you are still paying for the OS to be loaded as it is included in their markup of the OS installed (sager) or base price (ASUS).

Yes, my solution results in going slightly over budget... however, you end up with the most performance by far, and will pay less for your Windows license.

If your budget is truely hardlined at $1500, then either sager or MSI whitebox with a 675mx is fine, but I'd once again, I'd leave the OS out and take advantage of your student status. (can always ask if the retailer can offer student versions of an OS, even if they can't they might shave the difference off the price)
 

jackspeed

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Following your site I used the link
Teachers and students: Find special offers on Windows, Office, and other products.

Then following the link for windows 7 pro $65 it is the upgrade option there are not other options. I am assuming that he himself is not the educational instituion.
 

KernalPanic

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Oct 29, 2012
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You might note every click on "windows" on that site whether it is normal, student, 7, 8, or anything in between is the "upgrade" version...
(possibly because the people browsing it obviously already have an OS)

We both know they have full versions for normal retail.

The ONLY difference between student windows 7 and retail windows 7 is the academic label and the discount. If Microsoft chooses not to sell academic full versions, then I guess that's their call, but it really doesn't make sense.

Microsoft intends students to have discounted prices on all of their software... They intend to get you "hooked" on their products. :)
When I was in college, they literally gave away full copies of XP just for attending a microsoft-sponsored event on campus.

I know for certain a friend of mine had a full academic win 7 copy installed on her macbook at a local college. (no windows license)
This means a Microsoft qualified AER sold it to her and installed it for her.
Maybe somehow you know better than they do?

I encourage the OP to ask the college and his retailer... before they buy.
If you are a student, you might as well ask if you can get the discount.
 

jackspeed

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Jun 29, 2011
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Sorry I was misreading your comments I thought You were telling the op to pick up windows 7 from that website.

Also according to EULA, which we never ever break and I mean ever, on the "academic" versions of windows, office, ect you are supposed to, and we all do, remove it after school.
 

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