Solved! Looking for best gaming laptop for about $1000

[apav]

Looking for a good gaming laptop for around $1000 that can hold me for the next several years. Looking for around 15" Portability is a must, but battery life doesnt matter. Play mostly WoW but will be playing Portal 2, Skyrim and Battlefield 3 when they are released. Right now I am currently looking at two models.

1.) Sager NP8130 GTX 460m(with operating system)=$1260-whatever student discount
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8130-built-clevo-p151hm1-custom-sager-laptop-p-2973.html?wconfigure=yes

or

2.) HP Pavilion dv6t Quad Edition HD 6770m= $787 with student discount(normally $1174!)
http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=dv6tqe_series


As you can see, the Hp is a lot cheaper, but I am wondering how different is the performance between these two models? It seems as if the display on the Hp can only run at 1366x768 resolution other than that its a great buy so which one is the better buy? Thanks!

 

[apav]

bump! Help would really be appreciated.

 

[apav]

Please help!

 

[saood06]

welll if u have the money the first option is better because of the 1080p and the 460m which is much better then the 6770m

 

[apav]

Are there any laptops with the Sager's performance that are a little cheaper?

 

[WR2]

Sorry; there aren't any.
If there had been - we would have listed them.

 

[apav]

Sorry; there aren't any.
If there had been - we would have listed them.

I see, so then what is a good laptop in the $900-$1000 range that has good performance and portability? I can't afford the Sager, so this is my next option. I was looking at the XPS 15, but they start with an i5 processor. Overall would the XPS be the best bet for my price range, or this Sager?

http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5160-clevo-w150hn-p-2999.html?wconfigure=yes

I would be getting the hd screen, and they both use the 540m graphics card. Is that a good gpu?

 

[WR2]

The Sager NP5160 is an excellent mid-range gaming system at a good price.
Although you do get a better performance option with the HP Quad Core i7-2630QM and HD 6770.

The GT 540M is a good mid-range graphics card.
It does fall behind the GTX 460M of course and its a notch or two below the HD 6770M.
With a mid-range card you can leverage the GPU power by NOT increasing the resolution of the LCD screen. It will perform 'better' at 1366x768 than at 1920x1080.

 

[apav]

The Sager NP5160 is an excellent mid-range gaming system at a good price.
Although you do get a better performance option with the HP Quad Core i7-2630QM and HD 6770.

The GT 540M is a good mid-range graphics card.
It does fall behind the GTX 460M of course and its a notch or two below the HD 6770M.
With a mid-range card you can leverage the GPU power by NOT increasing the resolution of the LCD screen. It will perform 'better' at 1366x768 than at 1920x1080.

Thanks for the help you are great So I found one more laptop for an insanely good price:
http/www.logicbuy.com/deals/Coupon-NEW-HP-Pavilion-dv7t-17-3Inch-Notebook/11471.aspx

So theres 4 laptops I'm looking at.
The 15" HP DV6t QE
The 17" HP DV7 QE
The Sager NP5160
and the NP8130

Obviously the best one for performance is the NP8130, but it is also the most expensive. The DV7 is a great deal, because it has the 6770 and the better screen than the DV6t. I'm not sure if the NP5160 is as good as the DV7, but its around the same price when the HP is discounted. My final questions to you are this:

1.) Is the NP8130 worth coughing up the extra several hundred dollars so it can play future games for the next several years?
2.) The DV7 seems to have a better default screen and processor than the DV6, but it doesnt have a backlit keyboard. Also I''m not sure if I can take a 17" around with me. What is the size and portability difference with the DV7? Is the laptop dramatically bigger?
3.) If I decide not to get the NP8130, in your opinion whats the next best buy in terms of performance and portability?

Thank you so much again and with those answers I should be pretty set on a laptop.

 

[WR2]

1. This is all down to your expectations of gaming performance. If you're a 'relaxed' gamer and don't mind playing games on medium graphics settings then you're a good candidate for a GT 540M / 1366x768 screen. If you're not going to be satisfied with anything less than high graphics settings and higher resolution screens then the extra cost of the NP8130 is more likely to be 'worth it' to you.
2. A backlit keyboard is not a performance feature. It's more along the lines of a luxury like use of metal instead of plastic and other esthetic touches. It's important to how you feel about your laptop and that is a pretty big variable based on personal preferences. You know better what you like than I do.
-> You should go compare a 15" and 17" notebook for yourself. My opinion is likely different from yours.
2. If you set aside the NP8130, DV6t and NP5160 are equal in portability with DV6t QE have a performance edge when equipped with the HD 6770. DV7 trails in portability, is equal in performance with DV6t but has the 1600x900 resolution, Blu-Ray and 2yr warranty. Just be sure to change out the 750GB 5400rpm HDD for the 640GB 7200rpm HDD.

 

[dabspalalabs]

please try to look at these choices

http/www.bestgaminglaptop.net/articles-guides/top-10-gaming-laptops/