Need a laptop, budget $1,300, not really sure if Clevo/Sager is any good or if I should stick with ASUS ect

[Dijas]

What is your budget? $1,300

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? Anything bigger than 14". Not sure about 17" though, might be too big

3. What screen resolution do you want? nothing less than 1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? I need a laptop that has extremely high 3D performance and general performance.

5. How much battery life do you need? Need at least 2 hours

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)? Games are an added bonus. CSGO and LoL are easy to run, but for the price I'm paying I should be able to play games like Skyrim and Battlefield 3. I don't care about performance on battery.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Video editing, 3D modeling/rendering (not too much rendering), 3D editing (Unreal Engine), photo editing, general word processing and web browsing.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 1TB minimum. I'll upgrade to SSD in the future.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. I've been looking at Clevo .

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 5 years. I need it through college and 1 year of high school.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? I don't need one, but wouldn't mind one necessarily.

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. Nah

13. What country do you live in? The US of A

Thanks!

 

[TechyInAZ]

Here are two good choices:

ROG: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232405
MSI: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152711

ROG has the slightly less powerful gtx 960M but has an SSD. Where as the MSI model has the newer gtx 965M but no SSD.

 

[stefank]

These are my favorites in ur budget (MSI is a bit over but I totally love it's look):
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-republic-of-gamers-g-series-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/2506065.p?id=1219542310971&skuId=2506065
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gs60-ghost-003-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hdd-128gb-ssd-brush-aluminum-gray/6495172.p?id=1219222476183&skuId=6495172
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-8gb-hybrid-hard-drive-black/3577088.p?id=1219588123867&skuId=3577088

 

[Dijas]

Here are two good choices:

ROG: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232405
MSI: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152711

ROG has the slightly less powerful gtx 960M but has an SSD. Where as the MSI model has the newer gtx 965M but no SSD.

I like the look of the MSI one. The question is, can I replace/upgrade the ram and HDD?

Also, are these going to give me the same price: performance ratio as spending the same on a Clevo from Xotic or somewhere similar? The ones you linked look a lot lower profile than the Clevo's I was looking at for the same price, which is a bonus.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Here are two good choices:

ROG: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232405
MSI: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152711

ROG has the slightly less powerful gtx 960M but has an SSD. Where as the MSI model has the newer gtx 965M but no SSD.

I like the look of the MSI one. The question is, can I replace/upgrade the ram and HDD?

Also, are these going to give me the same price: performance ratio as spending the same on a Clevo from Xotic or somewhere similar? The ones you linked look a lot lower profile than the Clevo's I was looking at for the same price, which is a bonus.

While companies like Clevo, Xotic, and origin pc give you customization (which is awesome), they are generally more expensive because they have to customize your specific laptop. Now if you can fit a 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD, i7 quad core, and GTX 960M into a custom laptop from clevo for cheaper then go with that.

 

[Dijas]

While companies like Clevo, Xotic, and origin pc give you customization (which is awesome), they are generally more expensive because they have to customize your specific laptop. Now if you can fit a 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD, i7 quad core, and GTX 960M into a custom laptop from clevo for cheaper then go with that.

Makes sense.

Another issue I have is that apparently you can't upgrade the RAM or install an SSD without voiding your warranty.

I wonder if there is a way to get around this?

 

[TechyInAZ]

Nope. If companies made the warranty valid even if you replaced the SSD then if something's wrong with the computer and it was the users fault, then the user could easily blame the company. So there is no way around that.

 

[Dijas]

Nope. If companies made the warranty valid even if you replaced the SSD then if something's wrong with the computer and it was the users fault, then the user could easily blame the company. So there is no way around that.

I don't see any other companies having this policy.

It also doesn't make any sense. if the user genuinely has an issue with their computer that is not their fault, it wont have anything to do with the SSD anyway. What is so hard about them actually diagnosing the computer and determining if it was user error or an actual defect?


I wonder if I could heat up the sticker and take it off/put it back on to keep the warranty intact.

 

[ClevoFan]

Clevo P650SE

I picked up one from Eurocom (they call it an M5 Pro). I had my own SSD and asked if I could install it on my own, and if it would void the warranty. They told me they don't void warranty if a customer decides to upgrade or add a part.

It should be right in your price range, I recommend checking it out, I'm happy with mine.

 

[velo3100]

Its really a matter of personal preference as you said that games are an added bonus. The clevo range will be able to handle intensive 3d programs easily. I don't how good they are in terms of games as I have never used on. I personally would get asus for gaming as they are very good with their cooling and I own one from their n range which are made to be multimedia laptops.

 

[Prostar Computer]

Both systems have advantages over each other. Asus ROG series tends to be quieter than most Clevo systems, while Clevo laptops almost always offer more for your money and have more wiggle room/potential for changing components. If you purchase a Clevo through a Clevo or Sager reseller, you will almost certainly receive better customer support than what the major OEMs offer.

And, of course, it comes down to which model looks better to you (aesthetics) and what's important to you. Apples to apples, current models from each OEM are fairly comparable as far as overall quality is concerned.