Looking for a portable gaming notebook, for school, under $2000 ?

[Cpereira94]

Hey guys i need some help finding a portable gaming notebook for college this fall. Haven't quite found the right cross between performance/portability/battery life so I'm hoping someone can help me out. I've never had a laptop or notebook before so I'm not quite sure what dimensions/weight would contribute to better portability. I am not opposed to smaller notebooks/laptops as long as they provide both good gaming performance as well as solid battery life (preferably around 4 hours for when I'm not gaming but at school). Would like the notebook to have the new Haswell mobile cpu's, as well as a good mobile graphics card(765m, 770m, 680m, 780m if possible.) I'm not looking solely for a gaming machine but something that is definately capable of 1080p gaming on high settings and above(a little bit of anti aliasing would be nice too). I need something that I'm going to be able to carry around and not be bulky for when I'm at class. As far as brand is concerned i have no preferences but I'd prefer some pretty reputable brands such as msi, sager, asus, etc ...



P.S. Not opposed to online shopping suggestions( preferably retailers that ship to Canada such as NCIX, Newegg, Amazon, Xotic Pc, etc...



Thanks ahead of time to all those who post suggestions on my thread!!!!

 

[gbryan101]

Battery life and gaming sort of have trouble coexisting. I like Asus and the G750 would be an excellent choice with a large budget, even the G750JX is within that price constraint.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231090

 

[David Lugarov]

If you're looking for a good cross, want something slim and portable, and not too heavy, your best choice is the new line of ASUS R.O.G. laptops, the G750, there's currently a model for 1800$ on XOTIC PC, the extra 200$ will come in handy if you want them to add better cooling solutions and some nice add-ons like afterburner LEDs, etc. The reason I chose ASUS is because it's a laptop that excells in all fields, gaming? Check! Portability? Check! Good cooling solution? Check! Good looks? Check! It's the kind of laptop that will make jaws drop.

Here it is: http/www.xoticpc.com/asus-g750jxdb71-p-5789.html

 

[David Lugarov]

Oh, didn't notice Bryan's answer. But there you go, 2 random guys with the exact same answer, just proves that it's the best choice, and if you care about temperature, performance and all, get it from Xotic PC, and spend the rest of the cash on some customization and upgrades, they offer a great choice of upgrades.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Larry the laptop guy offers nice student laptops.... I prefer custom builds as they let me pick what I want AND no performance killers snuck in .... like 5400 rpm HDs. I also put a lot of options like Killer Wireless card, Blue Ray player for dorm movie nite, etc. which ya can cut to save cash.

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

CLEVO is a large Taiwanese computer company specializing in laptops. While the Clevo brand name is perhaps not widely known, their products are re-branded and sold by known boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)… notably Sager, VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, etc. They are also considered (by whoever knows about notebooks) to design and manufacturer the best of the best notebooks in terms of superior build quality and innovative designs

http/www.lpc-digital.com/sager-np8270.html

$1819 web price should net ya additional discounts
http/www.lpc-digital.com/notebook-review-members-military-and-student-discounts.html

Instant $50.00 OFF! (order is over $1, 350.00)
17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with MATTE Surface (1920 x 1080)
Switchable GPU by NVIDIA® Optimus™ Technology - NVIDIA® new generation GPU / Intel® GMA HD GPU
NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 770M 3GB GDDR5 Memory
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)
Intel® HM87 chipset
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GP
Genuine Microsoft Windows® 8 Professional 64-Bit Edition
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 8GB
750GB Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 8GB SS
6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Killer™ Wireless-N 1202 with Bluetooth 4.0 (Dual Band)
8 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack 76.96Wh
Integrated Fingerprint Reader
FREE UPS Ground Shipping
High Definition audio interface
S/PDIF digital output
Built-in Microphone
Built-in two speakers made by Onkyo
Built-in one sub-woofer made by Onkyo
External 7.1CH audio output supported by headphone, microphone, S/PDIF and Line-in jack
Sound Blaster X-FI® MB 3
Integrated illuminated touchpad with multi-gesture and scrolling function
1 HDMI™ output Port (with HDCP)
1 DisplayPort 1.2 output Port
1 Mini DisplayPort 1.2
1 USB 2.0 Port
3 USB 3.0 Ports (One powered USB port, AC/DC)
1 eSATA Port (USB 3.0 combo)
1 Mini-IEEE 1394a Port
1 Headphone Jack
1 Microphone Jack
1 S/PDIF output Jack
1 Line-in Jack
1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/SD/Mini-SD/SDHC/SDXC)
Built-in 2.0M FHD Video Camera
Intel® Rapid Start Technology
Intel® Smart Response Technology
Intel® Smart Connect Technology
Intel® Anti-Theft Technology
Rubber Painting
Kensington® Lock
Integrated Fingerprint Reader

If ya comfy with SSD + HD can have a Samsung 840 pro (256 GB) and 750 GB 7200 rpm HD for $185

 

[Cpereira94]

Thx for the reply! I was actually just looking at that exact version today but i was only skeptical about the portability and overall size because it seems to take up quite a bit of surface area, other than that it seems to be well balanced, well mad, and pretty versatile.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The smaller 15" version is $1650 configured same way....$1835 w/ Samsung 840 pro and 750 GB 7200 rpm HD
http/www.lpc-digital.com/sager-np8270-special.html

I sent two off to college already ....one got a 15" and wishes he got the 17" (dorm movies) .... the other got a 17" and wishes he had the 15" .... to bad ones year older than the other or they'd switch

 

[David Lugarov]

Thx for the reply! I was actually just looking at that exact version today but i was only skeptical about the portability and overall size because it seems to take up quite a bit of surface area, other than that it seems to be well balanced, well mad, and pretty versatile.

Which laptop are you talking about?

 

[Cpereira94]

The smaller 15" version is $1650 configured same way....$1835 w/ Samsung 840 pro and 750 GB 7200 rpm HD
http/www.lpc-digital.com/sager-np8270-special.html

I sent two off to college already ....one got a 15" and wishes he got the 17" (dorm movies) .... the other got a 17" and wishes he had the 15" .... to bad ones year older than the other or they'd switch

Thx for the reply! Ya i figured customization would be the way to go, as far as a clevo notebook is concerned however how portable are they?

 

[Cpereira94]

Thx for the reply! I was actually just looking at that exact version today but i was only skeptical about the portability and overall size because it seems to take up quite a bit of surface area, other than that it seems to be well balanced, well mad, and pretty versatile.

Which laptop are you talking about?

The Asus.

 

[David Lugarov]

Thx for the reply! I was actually just looking at that exact version today but i was only skeptical about the portability and overall size because it seems to take up quite a bit of surface area, other than that it seems to be well balanced, well mad, and pretty versatile.

Which laptop are you talking about?

The Asus.

Oh good, and I saw your other comments, if you want portability, don't look any further, I'm telling you, it's ASUS, only 1 laptop matches it in portability, the Razer Blade Pro, but they're REALLY, REALLY overpriced, so Asus is your best option, SAGER is more like a portable desktop, they're fat and heavy. Clevo, less so, but still bulky.

 

[gbryan101]

I have yet to see one in person, but the MSI GS70 might also meet your needs.
http/www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=410

Personally, I would still prefer the Asus.

 

[Cpereira94]

I have yet to see one in person, but the MSI GS70 might also meet your needs.
http/www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=410

Personally, I would still prefer the Asus.

From what i saw of the current Asus G750 series notebooks, they are exceptionally heavy at around 10 pounds or so !!! And I am interested with the MSI GS70 but i dont think the 765m will be beefy enough for somewhat high fidelity 1080p gaming?

 

[David Lugarov]

I have yet to see one in person, but the MSI GS70 might also meet your needs.
http/www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=410

Personally, I would still prefer the Asus.

From what i saw of the current Asus G750 series notebooks, they are exceptionally heavy at around 10 pounds or so !!! And I am interested with the MSI GS70 but i dont think the 765m will be beefy enough for somewhat high fidelity 1080p gaming?

They are heavy, but that's mainly the coolers and heatsink, Asus G series laptops have incredible cooling. But it's not really big, heavy, but not fat. The 765M will perform around 60% of a 780M, HUGE difference. Simply put, BF3 ultra settings with some light AA on to no AA on won't be playable on a 765M, a 780M can handle BF3 ultra at 50 fps.