Help finding the right laptop

[killcaustic68]

1. What is your budget?
$1,200 or under, preferably under
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Less than 17 inches
3. What screen resolution do you want?
1152 x 720 or better
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Needs to be somewhat portable.
5. How much battery life do you need?
Most of the time it will be plugged in
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)?
Yes, Diablo III High
World of Warcraft Med-High
Guild War 2 Med-High
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Mostly just internet browsing, streaming, and school assignments, which may include use of photo editing software.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500gb+ and 4gb ram minimum
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
I've had my current one for 6 years. So 4-6 years.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Dvd rom/writer
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.
Brands not too picky but want one that does not have too many problems and good customer service if I do have a problem with the laptop.
13. What country do you live in?
Usa
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Would not mind if the laptop had a hdmi out port.

 

[killcaustic68]

D3 will be good with GT 650M
WoW will fly with GT 650M
GW2 is still on a question mark but I guess that GT 650M / GTX 660M would be fine if you're ok with medium settings.

Now, you can get away with 800$ for a good laptop that will do what you asked and you can get away with 1200$ for a faster laptop that will allow higher settings for more demanding games (but will be heavier and such). Do you prefer to save money?

Of course I'd prefer to save money but if the difference between getting away with an $800 laptop and $1200 comes down to a big performance difference, a laptop from a reliable company in terms of customer service, and will have better longevity I do not mind spending towards the top end of my budget. Looking for it to last about 4 years. And those are the only games I for see playing right now but may change later of course and I'm not really a graphic snob where I need to play every game at ultra or high but don't mind if I can as long as the fps are there is what I care most about.

 

[edit1754]

Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) - $999 + tax
- Sign up and sign in here: http/shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/na/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/Lenovo:EnterStdAffinity?affinity=barnesnoblegold (Barnes and Noble Gold discount page)
- http/shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/barnesnoblegold/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/config.workflow:ConfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000001C9:00003940: (i7-3610QM, GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080, 1TB 5400RPM) - $999
- http/shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/barnesnoblegold/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/config.workflow:ConfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000001C9:00003943: (i7-3610QM, GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080, 1TB 5400RPM + 32GB SSD for hybrid cache) - $1139
- These models come with the 1920x1080 display. There are other models that come instead with a 1366x768 display, but those models are not recommended unless you need the larger text. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have this resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast.
- Note: You can buy and install a 32GB mSATA SSD for much cheaper than the $140 it costs to buy the model that has one instead of the model that doesn't. But you would have to do some research on how to set it up as hard drive acceleration cache. Should be doable though.
- Click the green "Activate eCoupon" button in the cart.

Sager NP9130 (i5-3210M, NVIDIA GTX 670M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $1095 no tax
- http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9130-clevo-p151em1-p-4340.html?wconfigure=yes
- http/www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=524
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.
- Downgrade the memory to 8GB 1333MHz, unless you have a particular need for 8GB 1600MHz memory. (Only available on XoticPC configuration page).

MSI GE60 0ND-006US (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $1099 no tax
- http/www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-GE60-0NC-006US-15-6-Inch/dp/B007YDHLYE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341841468&sr=8-2&keywords=ge60
- http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152339

MSI GE60 0ND-042US (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $1199 no tax
- http/www.amazon.com/MSI-Series-GE60-0ND-042US-15-6-Inch/dp/B0082JFCZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341841468&sr=8-1&keywords=ge60
- http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152349

Sager NP6165 (i5-3210M, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) - $920 no tax
- http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6165-clevo-w150er-p-4344.html?wconfigure=yes
- http/www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=557
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.

HP DV6t (i3-3110M, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte IPS display) - $724 + tax ($769 + tax w/ i5-3210M)
- http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7367534
- Use coupon code: NBY8552
- Don't: Downgrade to the 1366x768 display, unless you need the large text. You generally shouldn't buy the HP DV6 in any configuration that includes the 1366x768 display. 15.6" 1366x768 displays make things onscreen large, and tend to be low-tier LCD panels with very poor image quality due to low contrast.
- Don't: Downgrade the GPU to the GT 630M unless you only plan on doing light / moderate gaming. The GT 650M is considerably faster.
- Don't: Downgrade the GPU to integrated graphics unless you only plan on doing very light / no gaming. Integrated graphics will probably provide disappointing game performance in the majority of modern titles.
- Consider: Backlit keyboard, Larger/faster HDD.

 

[killcaustic68]

I've checked out all of these computers recommended and I have a few more questions now.

1. I haven't heard of Sager or MSI computers before, are they good reliable brands?
2. What is the difference in glossy displays and matte displays? Is one better than the other?
3. It seems that between the computers suggested all the video cards on the computers are either gt 650m, gtx 660m or gtx 670m, so I assume the gtx 670m is going to give me the most fps and should be able to handle games longer into the future?
4. The computers suggested either have a core i5 or i7. Does it really matter which to get. I know the only real difference is cache size and how many threads. Will this matter with games/multitasking?

 

[edit1754]

1) Sager is a brand that uses Clevo barebones on all of their computers. They're great, as long as you buy through a reputable reseller such as XoticPC or Malibal. (Note: XoticPC resells Sagers, Malibal resells Clevos directly, but there is little difference.) MSI is actually a fairly common brand.

2) Matte displays are generally better. Glossy displays are shiny/reflective, and can be hard to use outside or with a window / light source directly behind you. Matte displays are anti-reflective, but some believe that the matte finish takes away from color vibrance.

3) The GTX 670M is the fastest. The GTX 660M is a hair slower, but is much power power-efficient (Though NVIDIA Optimus disables the dedicated GPU when nothing is utilizing it, so it shouldn't affect non-gaming battery life). The GT 650M is just a slower-clocked version of the GTX 660M.

4) Some games benefit more from CPU upgrades than others. Gaming tends to be bottlenecked more by the GPU than it is by the CPU. All of the computers I listed that come with Core i5 processors by default can be upgraded to Core i7 processors if need-be.

 

[killcaustic68]

1) Sager is a brand that uses Clevo barebones on all of their computers. They're great, as long as you buy through a reputable reseller such as XoticPC or Malibal. (Note: XoticPC resells Sagers, Malibal resells Clevos directly, but there is little difference.) MSI is actually a fairly common brand.

2) Matte displays are generally better. Glossy displays are shiny/reflective, and can be hard to use outside or with a window / light source directly behind you. Matte displays are anti-reflective, but some believe that the matte finish takes away from color vibrance.

3) The GTX 670M is the fastest. The GTX 660M is a hair slower, but is much power power-efficient (Though NVIDIA Optimus disables the dedicated GPU when nothing is utilizing it, so it shouldn't affect non-gaming battery life). The GT 650M is just a slower-clocked version of the GTX 660M.

4) Some games benefit more from CPU upgrades than others. Gaming tends to be bottlenecked more by the GPU than it is by the CPU. All of the computers I listed that come with Core i5 processors by default can be upgraded to Core i7 processors if need-be.

Thanks for all the information. I'll have to go to best buy or something and find a matte and glossy fhd screen to compare to see which I like better.
I can't decide which processor I will need, the i5 or the i7.
Right now I am leaning towards the sager 1930

 

[killcaustic68]

Ok this is what I am leaning towards right now. I am going over budget by almost 200 but I forgot I need it to include os since I don't have any only spare ones. This should last me about 4 years as well as play the games I want, and such. Any more suggestions of any other computers? Under the 1400 with at least all of this in it if not better?
Sager 1930
15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R303)
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU - S2N224)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology (SKU - S3N501)
- FREE! - 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (w/ i7 CPU Upgrade) (SKU - S4T761)
- FREE! - 750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R306)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
Windows 7 Home Premium.
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