Gaming Subnotebook- NOT M11x

[sllewgh]

I'm looking for a gaming subnotebook. I'm willing to go up to 14.5", as seen on the HP Envy 14.

I do NOT want the Alienware M11x, as I believe it overtly lumps me in the alpha-nerd crowd (which I belong in, but not everyone has to know that )

More importantly, I think it's one of the most profoundly ugly laptops yet made.

Looking in general for:

-Decent display, useable outdoors

-Minimum 3 hours runtime

-<15" screen

-Good build quality, sturdy, attractive, preferably with aluminum/some metal

-Power enough to play most modern games on medium settings. I have a desktop for heavy gaming, but I want to especially be able to play upcoming titles like Brink and Diablo 3, as well as Starcraft 3, on the go.


Turn offs:

-Cheap look/feel
-Cheap looking display
-Dell
-Weight or thickness, impeding portability
-too much heat, impeding lap use
-too much noise, impeding classroom use

I was nearly settled on the HP Envy 14, as my budget is 1300$ and it fits the bill. But then, they started putting really crappy displays in them, nixing the Radiance display that got such positive reviews, and this is a turn off for me. I also looked at the Acer Aspire TimelineX 3820TG with its 330m, but its poorly reviewed display also concerns me.

Any suggestions? There don't seem to be many powerful options in the subnotebook category, unless I'm missing something.

Also, MAC is NOT an option. <insert rant here>.

***EDIT***
Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I think I've mostly narrowed my choices to the Envy 14 Beats Edition, or the TimelineX 3820TG.

My thoughts on either- Anyone know of a way to swap out the display on the new Envy's to the Radiance display? If this is possible, I'm capable of doing it.

On the Acer, I haven't been able to find a supplier for the 5650 equipped model in the States. Does one exist? Or will I have to factor in the cost of swapping out the keyboard for a standard QWERTY one as I've seen others do?

Thanks again for your feedback!
**********

 

[Maziar]

HP Eny 14 is the best 14" laptop you can find.HP really shouldn't have removed the radiance display option but that's it.If you need anything better,then you have to look at 15" laptops,there are great options available.Is 15" fine with you ?

 

[sllewgh]

I'd rather not go as large as 15" as it goes with me to class and around campus. Portability is key. That said, if it were thin/light enough to be highly practical, I'd go for it.

 

[blackjellognomes]

The 3820TG has a 5650, not a 330M. To me it seems like the best gaming sub-notebook available, despite it's lackluster display. I don't mean to advertise, but it's got a far superior cooling system compared to the E14, and nearly twice the (actual) battery life. Some guys at NBR have stably OC'ed their i5s to nearly 4GHz in the 3820TG. Along with GPU OCs, their lappies have broken 10,000 in 3DMark06. Also, the E14, while more expensive than the 3820TG, has a downclocked 5650 - a major turn-off for me.

Anyway, this is for college, right? Why not just hook it up to an external monitor when in your dorm? No need to be picky about the laptop's display. Few laptops come with such high quality displays these days, and generally with high premiums.

And Lenovo didn't forget you; take a look at the Y460, too.

 

[sllewgh]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I think I've mostly narrowed my choices to the Envy 14 Beats Edition, or the TimelineX 3820TG.

My thoughts on either- Anyone know of a way to swap out the display on the new Envy's to the Radiance display? If this is possible, I'm capable of doing it.

On the Acer, I haven't been able to find a supplier for the 5650 equipped model in the States. Does one exist? Or will I have to factor in the cost of swapping out the keyboard for a standard QWERTY one as I've seen others do?

Thanks again for your feedback!

 

[blackjellognomes]

That's correct, the most feasible options for the 3820TG are to order an i3 variant from Canada for ~$750 or an i5 variant from Taiwan for ~$1000. The CPU is not soldered in, so if you really want an i5/i7 and would rather not buy from Taiwan, you could also buy an OEM CPU from eBay and drop it in to an i3 variant. The upgrade does void the warranty, however.
The 3820TGs come with bilingual KBs afaik, but if you want to replace one, they're ~$15 on eBay.

 

[sllewgh]

Best answer selected by sllewgh.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar