High Performance Laptop for Traveling!

ac3x

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
Hi, I`m leaving on a semi-long term trip around the world playing poker, during such trip I will be spending a ton of time on my laptop but also a ton of time travelling.

1. What is your budget?
If it makes a decent difference in what I am getting, up to around $2000, however $1000-1500 would be ideal.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
As I will spend a ton of time looking at the screen, the screen being nice and not tiny is important, I`m pretty sure 15.6 is around optimal as anything bigger is a pain to travel with.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Screen space is very important to me, so 1080p seems pretty important? My current screen (lenovo y560) is 1366x768 and it`s pretty much the only reason I am buying a new laptop. Maybe 1600x900 is an ok jump, but I would probably like 1080p

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Any average weighing 15.6 inch should be portable enough, lighter is nice but not a huge priority.

5. How much battery life do you need?
As I'm going to be travelling something that doesn't die in an hour or two would be awesome. I would rather not sacrifice too much performance here but it is definitely something I don't like about my current laptop.

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)?
I play a ton of games, and although settings aren't something I really care about while playing having a good graphics card is also a priority for me. I'm not sure how best a graphics card can be balanced with a travel laptop for battery life, which lead me to post here.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Web surfing / games / Database work

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Any normal HD should be fine, but I was wondering about how I would purchase one of these laptops with a SSD. I store large databases of information, and having them run off of a SSD would likely do wonders for laptop performance and battery life. I'm not sure if this should be a priority for me, but the more I research do, the more it seems like it is.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
None

13. What country do you live in?
Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

So basically travel laptop that can handle games well with a SSD? I feel like I am asking too much but there must be something out there that will fit.
 

mark4685

Honorable
Aug 23, 2012
4
0
10,510
I just bought an ASUS G75VW off of newegg and it's actually a lot lighter and a lot less bulky than I had expected even though it's a 17". It only comes with a 500GB HDD though; you might be able to find one with a TB. I bought an SSD with it and put all of my programs and most played games on it and the rest on the secondary drive. The battery life is not that great but I haven't tried using on battery saving mode. It will be really hard to find one that will go to 2 hrs+ that has high end graphics and video. Anyway here is the link for the one I bought: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408
 

ac3x

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
A few hours doing databse work or surfing the web should be fine enough for me, I don't expect real battery life while playing games.

Games wise, mainly mainstream stuff like league, CS GO, guild wars 2, etc. No super intensive FPS's or anything but being able to run games for a few years would be nice.
 

mesab66

Distinguished
Aug 5, 2009
117
0
18,640
It is very hard to combine mainstream gameplay with 'acceptable' battery life. Even nowadays - each year, current games are still taxing even the most efficient current gfx card. We're still waiting for the equivalent of an embedded minaturised featherlight portable nuclear power plant :)

Of course it's nice to have the option of playing current games at reasonable detail levels - we're not talking ultra detail using sli/xfire. However, even 1080p moderate detail gaming won't last very long.

So, as you already realise, you're pretty much looking at a compromise. What about including one or more spare battery packs? or, depending on where you are, limiting this kind of gaming primarily to the laptop connected to it's AC supply?

An SSD offers very real and visible benefits. If you are able to get one large enough for your needs then you could leave out the HDD. Additionally, depending on your average storage use, you could prolong battery life a wee bit in this way. I would recommend a 1080p screen - the extra real estate is handy for everything, not just gaming.

Good luck with the poker!
 

ac3x

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
I am currently looking at the MSI GE60 as a possible choice (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152349)

The great screen reviews, good performance, and the fact that it isn't too big/heavy are leading me to this choice.

Are there any other laptops with a great screen and comparable specs?
 

ac3x

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
I am leaning closer towards the GE60, and probably buying it from XoticPC with a SSD installed and having it shipped to Canada. Anything I should be aware of?

The Sager models seem comparable to the GE60, but screen/weight/price considerations make the GE60 seem like a bit of a better deal.
 

ac3x

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
The Lenovo Y580 is at least as fast and offer more (bluray)
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/hp-pavilion-dv6t-7000-quad-edition-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-ivy-bridge-i7-3610qm-nvidia-gt-650m-1gb-high-quality-fullhd-display-8gb-ddr3-memory-32gb-mssd-drive-1tb-hdd-1000-30-coupon-code/

GTX 660M, good FullHD screen, I7.

But if you are willing to go to around 1200$, you have better choices for gaming or mobility.

The Y580 is not a choice for me, I currently have a y560 and the lenovo screens are just way too awful to consider purchasing another one.
 

ac3x

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
this is not the same screen. The reviews rate the Y580 FullHD screen pretty high - at least as the GE60s. The battery and cooling system are worse than the Y580, keyboard and mouse too.

And again, for 1200$-1300$ you have better choices if what you want is a good screen and, but you have to decide if that's what you want.

I see, I'm just a bit wary about the lenovo Y series but I guess I'll give it some more research. What are these better options for 1200-1300?
 

thirdshopping

Honorable
Apr 16, 2012
17
0
10,560
If I travel arond the world,I want a surper laptop.

10.1-12 inch,the price is about 1000$,and it is important that a long life battery(http://www.thirdshopping.com).

Maybe dell and acer just for me.

What do you think about?