Help Buying Gaming/College Laptop

[Kangster]

Yea so im gonna be heading off to college in the fall (Emory) and ill need to buy a laptop for college. I'll probably be gaming a little there (starcraft 2) so i need a laptop that can play sc2 smoothly. I'm not very informed about how to buy a good laptop (i've tried looking around cnet and newegg) so can you guys find a good laptop that fits these specs:

< $2000
> 2.2 gHz dual
15-17 inch sceen
Good battery Life
Good graphics card
atleast 4g RAM

Thats all, i don't have a brand preference either

 

[JackNaylorPE]

For $2k, I'd get a Clevo P170HM-PS1, customized as you see fit.

http/www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=productdetail&model=P170HM-PS1

Never heard of Clevo, that's OK, bet you never heard of any company that actually makes laptops. The vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Original Design Manufacturers (ODM). Major relationships include:

* Quanta sells to (among others) HP/Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, Acer, NEC, Gateway and Lenovo/IBM - note that Quanta is currently (as of August, 2007) the largest manufacturer of notebook computers in the world.
* Compal sells to Toshiba, HP/Compaq, Acer, and Dell.
* Positivo Informatica sells to Samsung, Sony, Siragon, Toshiba, HP
* Wistron (former manufacturing & design division of Acer) sells to HP/Compaq, Dell, IBM, NEC, Acer, and Lenovo/IBM.
* Flextronics (former Arima Computer Corporation notebook division) sells to HP/Compaq, NEC, and Dell.
* Itautec sells to Siragon, LG, Samsung, Sony
* ECS sells to IBM, Fujitsu, and Dell.
* Asus sells to Apple (iBook), Sony, and Samsung.
* Inventec sells to HP/Compaq, Toshiba, and BenQ.
* Lanix sells to Sony, Compaq, Toshiba, Siragon, Itautec
* Uniwill sells to Lenovo/IBM and Fujitsu & PC World UK own brand Advent.
* Clevo makes Sager, VoodooPC, Widow PC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, etc.

For more about Clevo, read

http/forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/91510-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info.html

 

[oz73942]

agree with jack, but i would go for the

http/www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2981{76}2672{94}1074{92}1860{187}2742{88}1461{186}1532{93}2003{112}656{98}667{96}2843{115}3019{168}1453{199}3018{194}2594{116}696{117}705{120}702{110}1748{169}1449{119}1898{100}734{164}1441{107}1539{106}1696{121}694{108}710{109}711{170}1591{173}1175{167}1452{205}3007{103}2707{113}1413{111}1414{69}714{196}2719

Sager NP8150-S1 / Clevo P150HM Out Of Stock ETA March
- 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)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 460M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)-
- Standard Finish
- ~ 6X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive-
- ~ 500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache)
- No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay - When Selecting, Optical Drive is NOT Included-
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- None Standard--
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- ~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
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 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
- No Xotic PC Gear
$1,769.00


Sub-Total: $1,769.00

To meet your budget you can add the gtx 485, or ssd. Battery life from owners on forums is a little over 3 hours under normal usage, although thier normal usage was still pretty intense.

 

[Kangster]

Thanks for your help guys but im not really interested in these because they seem too powerful for what i will be using the laptop for (sc2, movies, college work) I know i said i was willing to spend up to 2000 but it doesn't mean that i have to spend that much (unless the laptop is really that amazing). Is there something more suitable for me?

 

[Kangster]

Also whats the big deal with the new sandy bridge CPU?

 

[WR2]

SAGER NP5160 @ $765 w/o OS
2nd Gen Core i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz CPU, 15.6” 1366x768 LCD w/ GT 540M video card, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HDD
Upgrade options available like 1920x1080 LCD resolution +$65 or 500GB HDD +$20
If you can get a good student price deal on Win7 you won't need to order from the OS from them.

 

[WR2]

*cough cough*

Intel’s Sandy Bridge: Upheaval in the Mobile Landscape

 

[WR2]

That's not the same as saying the Core i3/i5/i7 systems are bad deals.
Especially if you can't wait a few more weeks.

Acer Aspire AS5742G-6600 Notebook $730
Intel Core i5 480M(2.66GHz) 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ GeForce GT 540M 4GB RAM 500GB HDD 5400rpm


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Kangster]

Ok so i am down to the Sager NP8150, Sager NP8130, and SAGER NP5160 since they offer the new sandy bridge CPU. So Now how to i pick which one to buy? Also how long should i expect to wait to get these laptops?

 

[WR2]

Choose your GPU, screen resolution and price. Find the best match.
You can call and ask, they might have an idea.

 

[Kangster]

I decided on the Sager NP5160 THANKS!!

 

[Kangster]

ONE LAST QUESTION:

would it be worth the extra 150/260 dollars to upgrade to 2.2/2.4 gHz and how much of a difference would the upgrade make?

 

[oz73942]

ONE LAST QUESTION:

would it be worth the extra 150/260 dollars to upgrade to 2.2/2.4 gHz and how much of a difference would the upgrade make?

Well the stock processor is above the last gens 1000 dollar flagship in performance, as for performance u won't notice in real time performance, but maybe a few seconds in encoding and about two extra frames in games, best to invest in a ssd

 

[WR2]

I agree with oz73942 that added cost doesn't win you enough performance to justify a 25~35% hike in base price.

A few nice details not yet mentioned;
Optimus switched graphics card to extend battery life, USB 3.0 and XoticPC 3 yr labor warranty and tech support.

 

[dj1001]

STOP don't buy a sandy bridge laptop yet. Intel still hasn't sorted out all the bugs yet.
I would wait for the ASUS G53SW It will be
15in' 1920x1080 res.
nvidia GTX460M
2630QM i7
4-8GB ddr3 depending on exact model
and will include a seagate momentus XT HDD/SDD hybrid drive

price is going to be in the range of 1300

 

[Kangster]

Isn't that why they arent shipping them until march?

 

[oz73942]

STOP don't buy a sandy bridge laptop yet. Intel still hasn't sorted out all the bugs yet.
I would wait for the ASUS G53SW It will be
15in' 1920x1080 res.
nvidia GTX460M
2630QM i7
4-8GB ddr3 depending on exact model
and will include a seagate momentus XT HDD/SDD hybrid drive

price is going to be in the range of 1300

That is why they are pre-order, According to sellers such as xotic and lpc digital clevo won't be shipping these bad boys until march. Even though the good chips have been sent out, they will be testing them for two weeks before hitting retaill.

As for the asus it might be a while to, he can customize it to the same for nearly the same price, and still have better superior build quality and service. My opinion though. It would most likey depend on his style likings.