Gaming Latop - ASUS G74SX-XN1

[jsp1969]

1. What is your budget?
~$1,500

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6" to 17.3"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Preferably 1920x1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement, but will be used for LAN parties.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Not critical, will be plugged in almost 100% of the time.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? YES!
Black Ops, Rage, Space Marine, etc., on Super, Mega, Ultra-High setting. I want to everything turned up and on and still get a fast frame rate. I also want to be able to get decent frame rates on Medium-High to High settings with the next few years' games.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop?
Surf the 'net, homework, etc.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD should be sufficient.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Preferably Newegg

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
4-6 years, if it survives that long.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM/Writer. Bluray ROM would be nice but not necessary.

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.
Acer and Asus seem to be a reliable name in laptops, otherwise I have no prejudices.

13. What country do you live in?
U.S.A.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Despite the 500GB HDD, the ASUS G74SX-XN1 still looks like a good deal. Any thoughts? http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230100&Tpk=ASUS%20G74sx-xn1

I just saw Newegg have an ASUS G74SX-XC1 which has a 750GB HDD and 8GB RAM but otherwise appears identical to the XN1 for approx. the same price. http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230214
More thoughts?

 

[gmcizzle]

ASUS G74SX-XN1: 8gb RAM + 750gb HD + BR player
ASUS G74SX-XC1: 16gb + 500gb HD + DVD player

The best gaming laptop Newegg currently has for $1500 or under is http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152283

GTX570M + quad core i7

 

[Chainzsaw]

I would agree with gmcizzle.

MSI has been coming out with great gaming laptops lately.

 

[gmcizzle]

If you want more RAM and 1TB storage here is a 15" slightly more expensive: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152286

 

[jsp1969]

For a shade under $1600, which is still (just) within my budget, Amazon have an ASUS G74SX-A1
www.amazon.com/ASUS-G74SX-A1-17-3-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B00542SUD8/
I know it only has the 560M versus the 570M but it does come with a 1.5TB HDD, 12GB RAM, and a BluRay, which is not essential but is a Bonus at that price.

I like Newegg because the reviews are usually very useful, but Amazon has the advantage of "No Sales Tax", so if I can find a good laptop on Newegg that's also available on Amazon but for less then I'd be a fool to spend more.

 

[gmcizzle]

The 570m is roughly 15% faster than a 560m. If gaming at 1080p is your primary focus I would go with the 570m, unless you really need the extra storage and BR drive.

 

[jsp1969]

The 570m is roughly 15% faster than a 560m. If gaming at 1080p is your primary focus I would go with the 570m, unless you really need the extra storage and BR drive.

BluRay is not crucial and the 1.5TB is probably overkill versus a mere 1TB

I'm trying to find comparative data on the 570m vs the 560m but it's so new there's not a lot of information out there. I am running across an apparent issue of minimal driver support (at the moment) for the 570M.

One last thing, as per Newegg it seems that it's only MSI who are equipping their laptops with the 570M, and from what I've been reading about the build quality of MSI machines I'm not as comfortable with their products as I am with ASUS.

 

[jsp1969]

So at $1650 but (hopefully) with no Sales Tax ergo still within my budget you folks would lean more toward this MSI rig?
http/www.amazon.com/MSI-GT780DXR-095US-17-3-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B005F3TKSU/

 

[gmcizzle]

Yeah I would go with that one. That actually uses two 500gb drives in RAID 0 so you will get almost twice the disk performance vs. a single drive.

 

[jsp1969]

Best answer selected by jsp1969.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar