Solved! Laptop for gaming, photo editing and video transcoding

netarc

Distinguished
Nov 18, 2011
1
0
18,510
1. What is your budget?
$1200-1500


2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
preferably 15.6, but would consider 17"


3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920x1080


4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement, but since it'll be used on my lap rather than a desk, a slimmer/lighter one is preferable (e.g. along the lines of the HP Envy?), ideally a laptop < 7lbs, if possible.


5. How much battery life do you need?
2 hrs of general use is fine, I plan to plug in for gaming/heavy processing


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)?
Skyrim, Dragon Age, Diablo 3 (if it ever comes out!)


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Photo & Video editing, ripping/transcoding movies, running VMs
A matte or anti-reflective display would be preferred, 3D is a nice-to-have.


8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Would like a laptop which can support two HDs. A system with 2x 500GB HDs is fine, but would prefer a SKU with only one 500 or 1TB HD, and I can add on the 2nd HD myself later.

Memory: 12GB RAM minimum; ability to scale to 16+GB (for additional VM support) would be ideal
Other: USB3 is a must, as is Gb ethernet.


9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
n/a


10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2 years


11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD-R at least, Blu-Ray is nice to have


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.
Not a fan of ASUS, have heard too many bad support experiences of them. Currently have a Dell Studio 1747, and I'm not a fan of the Dell build quality. I'm looking for a laptop with excellent build quality.


13. What country do you live in?
US