GT660-003US or wait for MSI GT680

[Scott53219]

1. What is your budget? About $1500

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15 / 17 inch

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1080P....720P for the right setup.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need? Not important...over 1.5 hours?

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)? CODMW1/2/WaW, Crysis, Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 as high as I can.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.) Video editing,watching movies, ect.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 500gb at least with two drive slots...(RAID)?

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152204 And this one is not out yet - MSI GT680 http/blog.laptopmag.com/msi-announces-new-high-performance-notebooks-with-2nd-generation-core-cpus-usb-3-0#axzz1ATik0aoc - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214052 - http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220845

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? As long as I can.


11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Would love Bluray but not a deal killer.

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 Dell...I do like the MSI, Asus G73, and the TOSHIBA Qosmio.

13. What country do you live in? USA


14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. I want my laptop to be able to do everything my desktop does...because it will be replaceing it.



At the moment Newegg has a great deal for the MSI with a 285M for $849.99 after $100 rebate, but is the 460M worth waiting/paying for? Is it just DX11 or is it that much of a jump?

All input about my choices above will help because if I don't stop comparing, I will be asking about input next year! Thanks, Scott

 

[richardsharpe]

Out of the Sager here are two I'm liking alot.....

Sager NP8130
15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Screen
Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU ( + 40 )
nVidia GeForce GTX 460M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)--------------------------------------Like this
6X Blue-Ray Burner/Reader / 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive ( + 195 )
750GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 55 )------------------------------------------What do you think?
Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module ( + 25 )-------------------------Is this worth it?
Total cost = $1477.37

OR This
Sager NP8170
17.3" FHD LED Backlit 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
nVidia GeForce GTX 470M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 ( + 200 )---------------------Wish the other 1 could have this!
4,096MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
6X Blue-Ray Burner/Reader / 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive ( + 195 )
500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 20 )
Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module ( + 25 )
Total cost = $1773.03

Even cutting corners for the 470M, that's not a bad price.....I hear the 470 beat the 480? http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-470M.35971.0.html

The 480M is 180 points higher than the 470M where as the 470M is 330 points higherthan the 460M.

also if you want more bang , Up the 2630QM to the 2720QM it's only 160 on the Sagers and it's a HUGE leap in performance. from the 2720QM to the next tier up and so on - very minimal performance upgrade.

I am not sure what your budget it but if you want both these upgrades - which are great for price - i'd pitch the Blu ray burner and keep the stock - also - if you don't need the 17" screen try the NP8150. Again there are a couple more upgrades you can do after you buy later, but I think you might like this setup:
Sager NP8150 / Clevo P150HM
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 2.2-3.3GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)-( Way Faster than 2630QM)
-Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6970 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11-----------( huge upgrade over 460M and also better than 470M - it's around 4% slower than the NVidia Flagship 485M)
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)--( you can upgrade later )
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Software
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)-( i recommend two things here: 1 convert this to storage later by replacing boot drive with a OCZ SSD 3 120Gig or 250Gig, and 2, perhaps upgrade to a faster storage unit a 1T WD 10K )
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
-- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
-- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase ( I'm not sure if you forgot to add this or have a copy ready to install but the Sagers do not come standard with windows - it's a 90$ add )
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs

All this amounts to around 1800 - The few upgrades i added were leaps over the stock models - you can upgrade your memory later and also the SSD later since that's a big cost part. ( if you want )

Edit: I just saw your budget was 1500 - which pretty much puts this out of your reach unless you revert to stock graphics and processor - but even then you'd have to still add Windows which would still push it over 1500$ . However, if you could manage to swing the extra 300 - it would be worth it over the other models you built. (Especially since you seem to want to beable to play graphically intensive games and video editing etc.) If you want to play high end games you're going to be pushing more towards 2000$ If you aren't concerned with the ability to have high or maxed settings on those games - then stick with the stock options.
I did another build that renders around 1500-1600$ The only issue i don't like is not having a designated 2nd Hard drive slotfor that model NP8130 - Again you know your budget and needs - but if you want to beable to play high end games you're going to need high end parts - and the best way to go on that note - is CPU, GPU and SSD. Memory you can upgrade later at small cost.

I may be rambling on but i hope this helps.