Need a new gaming/media laptop.

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4745454b

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I'm finally back from EDC and can start buying things again instead of saving money for my trip. I actually came back from Vegas with over a grand so I'm doing well. (didn't win it, just didn't spend it.) My first purchase is going to be a new phone as the S2 I have isn't doing well. (and a monitor stand, but I can pick both of these.) What I need help with is my new laptop. I currently have a Dell M1730. In a word, HUGE. Has a 220W power brick that is the size of a paperback book. The laptop is so large I had to go out and buy a new backpack just it fit it. And even then when I put it in there, I have like no room for clothes or anything else. I like to take it with me to friends houses so we can watch things. In a nut shell I am looking for a laptop with a 1080 screen, Blu ray reader, able to play games though not at highest settings is ok, and MUST have LOUD speakers. One thing I love about my m1730 is I can take it to work and play music on the holidays. The room is LARGE. Think warehouse but without the rows of stuff.

Approximate Purchase Date:

Next 1-3mo

Budget Range: (e.g.: 300-400) Before / After Rebates; Before / After Shipping

Slightly open. Would like to keep it between $600-$1k. I can go more if for the right system. But of course the less the better.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: (e.g.: Folding@Home, gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies)

Watching blu ray movies at 1080. (3D?) playing games at 1080. Highest detail settings not needed, but of course the higher the better.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (e.g.: newegg.com, ncix.com -- to show us selection & pricing)

Doesn't matter. Dell outlet is ok. Mostly looking for a model number that fits what I need so I can hunt down a good price.

Location: City, State/Region, Country - we need to know where these parts are being assembled and whether there are good store-only deals available

Northern CA. No microcenters near by. Will be ordering online. (Unless the local best buy has what I need...)

Parts Preferences: by brand or type (e.g.: I would like to upgrade to Intel CPU)

As my second machine it doesn't bother me. AMD or Intel is fine. Nvidia or AMD is fine. Really don't care. I have my desktop which does have the parts I like. This is just my road warrior to keep me busy at friends houses.

Your Monitor Resolution: (e.g.: 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200 or if you're upgrading please state what you'd want to get)

Again, MUST be 1080. None of this 1366x768 stuff. Will get a 17"+ if that's the only way, but would prefer a smaller 15.6" laptop.

Additional Comments: (e.g.: Need to have a window and lots of bling, I would like a quiet PC. Please also list specific software or games you're using)

See above. Loud speakers, 1080, blu ray. Lights are ok, more so if I can turn them off. My current laptop has a back lit keyboard that can be turned off which is really nice.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: (e.g. I'm having trouble running game X or my PSU broke)

Because my M1730 is to large. Need a smaller laptop.

I'm ok with an older laptop as well. Doesn't need to be the newest and greatest. If there is a model out there with a i5 750m, 4-8GBs of ram, and a 6950m or 6970m that's fine. Just needs to do the tasks I've listed.
 
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My searching powers aren't any better. What I did was buy a blu-ray burner from Newegg that came in an external USB case (portable), and removed it and mounted it in my laptop. I did that in case I ever wanted to replace it in my laptop with something else. Then I could remount it in the case and use it externally, which I did (replaced it with a 2TB HDD in the optical drive bay).

I specifically got this one, because of the sturdy aluminum case, as opposed to a...


"Will get a 17"+ if that's the only way, but would prefer a smaller 15.6" laptop." :D

Damn, all the 15.6" ones in the second link don't come cheap, do they? Might be cheaper to buy a 15 incher without blu-ray, and add one aftermarket.

 

4745454b

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Perhaps my searching powers aren't that good, where are the blu ray readers that I can put in? If I go this route, what is the good laptop to get to add one to?

There is a guy on a forum I trust selling one for $950 shipped. Might take another look at that.
 


My searching powers aren't any better. What I did was buy a blu-ray burner from Newegg that came in an external USB case (portable), and removed it and mounted it in my laptop. I did that in case I ever wanted to replace it in my laptop with something else. Then I could remount it in the case and use it externally, which I did (replaced it with a 2TB HDD in the optical drive bay).

I specifically got this one, because of the sturdy aluminum case, as opposed to a plastic one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA14J0F99901

Obviously, a reader would be cheaper than this writer.

 
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Nice laptop, Eduello! I see it recommended all the time in many forums. The biggest knock I ever see about it is the fact that it can run quite warm because of the 2 GPUs in SLI configuration. Lot of bang for the buck, though.
 

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I really like that VX7SX-DH71. But it seems that it only has 2.0 speakers. Most of the better speaker options are 2.1. I can't find a legit review of that model however so I'm not sure if that speaker option is loud enough.

Tired of carrying things with me. I used to carry speakers with me but that's a pain. I'd like to just throw my laptop and brick into my backpack, and stop carrying so much stuff with me. (I also bring a SATA to USB and drive with me so we have things to watch. Need to get all this stuff into the case of the laptop so I have room for other things. Still open to other ideas.
 

Eduello

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+1 to that, I completely forgot about that feature.
 


He could even leave the blu-ray in semi-permanently, and run the lappy with just one GPU.

Although I have no idea how loud the speakers are...

 


True that. Not sure how many laptops these days have LOUD speakers. Looked up your Dell, and it is so large it should be registered as a lethal weapon, LOL. My point being that because it is so large, there was probably a lot of room for large and LOUD speakers.

 

Eduello

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Well I'm not the best with speakers, but as far as JBL goes, I'd say they're a quality brand. Can't accurately tell how loud they are since you can't really find that out from looking at the specs, but assuming that the sensitivity of the elements is not completely awful, 1.5W should get you plenty of sound pressure, especially since the speakers have small chambers of their own.

Since the Lenovo has those speakers and the ultrabay, you should be able to satisfy both of the requirements by getting one of these, although I'm not 100% sure that'll work with the ultrabay since I have not handled one of those Lenovo laptops myself.
 

4745454b

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Thanks for that link Eduello. I've looked on newegg before and couldn't find any Bluray drives. Nice to see they've added about 2 of them in there now. I guess this frees me up some as this means I can get a non bluray enabled drive, and just spend the extra $<75 to get it in there.

Yes Shado, it's HUGE. I had to go out and buy a larger backpack to fit it as it doesn't fit in normal size backpacks. This is why I want a newer one. As I said, doesn't need to be cutting edge. Even older ones will do what I want. Once that bluray drive is in there.
 

Eduello

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No problem :)

I'm (once again) not 100% sure what is the maximum thickness of the drives that go into the ultrabays (there seems to be differentiation between models), but 9.5mm seems to be the slimmest they have on the Lenovo website, so getting a 9.5mm internal BD drive should work. The drive i linked earlier is 12.7mm so it might not work in some ultrabays.

Here's a 9.5mm version: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-UJ-162-Blu-Ray-Player-BD-ROM/dp/B00ENXEOA2
I don't know if you need some special mounting hardware to fit it into the ultrabay though.
 
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