Need advice on choosing a laptop.

[ChrisTaylor6]

So I plan to buy a laptop for college that is able to game as well but my budget is below $1,000 and above $750 (15.6 inch prefer). I will like a simple look laptop without any designs or patterns on the external or internal laptop, I want the laptop to last about 3-4 years before I replace it with a better one when I have the money to customize a better laptop. I have minimal knowledge of laptop/computer, so I will also like to receive advice and recommendation. I have seen three laptops from xoticpc.com. and ibuypower.com

I selected this one because of the review of quality build laptop from Clevo but honestly I am not sure, since I do not know anyone that own one. I will also like to hear some reviews from owners of NP2650, since I had tried doing research on the product's review but have found close to nothing.

Sager NP2650 (Clevo W650SZ) $881.73
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Sager Screen (SKU - S1P318)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4700MQ (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – SPU201)
- Intel® HD 4600 Graphics
- 8GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4D222P)
- No mSATA SSD
- 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache] - Default (SKU - S5T306)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included)(SKU - S7R455)
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- Bluetooth Included *With select wireless cards only* (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - SWF801)
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (64&32-Bit CD Included (Supports up to 16GB of RAM)) + MS Office 2013 Trial

1 x HDMI 1.4a output Port (with HDCP)
1 x VGA Port
1 x USB 2.0 Port
3 x USB 3.0 Ports
1 x eSATA Port (USB 3.0 Combo)
1 x Headphone Jack
1 x Microphone Jack
1 x RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
14.72" (w) x 9.92" (d) x 0.55"-1.24" (h)
5.51 lbs with 6-cell Battery, Single GPU, and Optical Drive

The second laptop is from ibuypower.com

Battalion 101 W650SR ($1025 USD)
15.6" Full HD 1920x1080 LED-Backlit Display Laptop w/ Fingerprint Reader, HDMI Port, USB 3.0, eSATA port, Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power Adapter
Processor
Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ Mobile Processor (4x 2.4GHz/6MB L3 Cache)
Memory
8GB [4GB x 2] 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM [Laptop Memory]
Video Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750M 2GB GDDR3 Video w/ NVIDIA Optimus [W650SR]
Primary Hard Drive
500 GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Super Slim Laptop Hard Drive
Optical Drive
8x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [W650SR]
Built-in 9-in-1 Media Card Reader/Writer [Laptop]
Sound Card: 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card
Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN [Laptop]
Internal Wireless Network Adapter
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi + Bluetooth Combo [W650SR]
Operating System
Windows 8 + Office 2010 Trial [Free 60-Day !!!] - 64-bit
USB Ports:
Built-in 1x USB 2.0 + 2x USB 3.0 + 1x USB 3.0 / eSATA Combo Ports [Laptop]
Built-in 2.0 Mega Pixels Digital Web Video Camera

Between the Sager Np2650 and Battalion 101 is the graphic card. The Battalion 101 have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750M 2GB GDDR3 Video w/ NVIDIA Optimus [W650SR], while the sager NP2650 from xoticpc.com is Intel HD 4600. Which is better when it comes to gaming performance?

The third laptop I was deciding is from Asus because of the reviews of good quality build laptop

ASUS K55A-XH71 $751.75
- 15.6” HD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1366x768) Super Clear Glare Type Screen (SKU - X1R312)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – X2X317)
- Intel® HD Graphics 4000 (SKU – X3N521)
- No Video Adapter
- No External Mobile Display
- 4GB DDR3 1600MHz [SKU-412P] (Dual Channel Memory (1x4GB SODIMMS)) - Default
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (SKU - X7R451)
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card (SKU - X8R001)
- No Network Accessory
- Internal SD Only Card Reader
- Integrated Digital Video Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk

2 x USB 3.0 Ports
1 x USB 2.0 Port
1 x HDMI
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x VGA Port/Mini D-Sub 15-Pin for External Monitor
1 x Microphone
1 x Headphone
14.90" (w) x 9.90" (d) x ~1.00 - 1.30" (h)
5.8 lbs with 6-cell Battery

I really like the (Clevo P151SM1) SAGER NP8230 because of the sleek black and simple external and internal look that seem causal but its over my budget.

I am also curious about the RAID 1 Confirguration of mSATA's in Primary HDD Bay? it cost zero dollars but is it good to include it?

I will also like other recommendation for other brand of laptops that are build great and the quality is worth the dollars spent within my budget of less than $1,000 including taxes.

 

[mosedavid1]

Hi,

just found this on the net, reading up on the GPU...

"The average performance increase among the three real-world games we tested was 39 percent, and adding in the synthetic tests boosts the gain to 53 percent. That’s about in line with what Intel promised, and more importantly, it was enough to make two games that weren’t enjoyable on HD 4000 a treat on HD 4600.

Improvements don’t mean HD 4600 is an acceptable pick for gamers, however. Our tests were performed at 1366 x 768, which is common among inexpensive laptops, but increasingly rare among desktop PCs, Ultrabooks, and multimedia laptops. Gaming at 1080p will slice a huge chunk off these results and make many games unplayable once again.

We also think it’s reasonable to believe graphics quality in AAA games will see a surge in 2014. Why? Next-gen consoles! With the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 out in winter of 2013, developers will be able to explore new limits. While HD 4600 is quicker, it probably won’t stand up well in PC ports of games built for next-gen consoles.

Intel HD 4600 doesn’t change Intel HD’s position as graphics of last resort, but we’re happy to see the last resort become significantly more powerful. Consumers who can’t afford a discrete GPU can at least play 2011′s best games at reasonable detail, something which could not be said of Intel HD 4000."

http/www.digitaltrends.com/computing/haswells-hd-4600-graphics-tested/


Basically if i read that right it says 4000 is not acceptable, 4600 is possibly acceptable for old games. Any old laptop will do for you, its the graphics you need to be looking for. If you can't afford a laptop with the spec you need to play what you want, don't bother.. buy a cheap laptop and put your money towards either a console or a cheap gaming rig. full sized pc bits are much cheaper. I looked at the Sager laptop - nice!... but again, if the graphics don't measure up, pointless. As far as I know Alienware are THE gamers laptop company. Not cheap though.

 

[ChrisTaylor6]

thanks mosedavid1, I will take a look at the link you have provided during today. So basically I only have to care about the GPU quality as the main factor of choosing a laptop.

I forgot to mention the laptop will be use as a college laptop and the main games I plan to play is COD black ops 2, crysis 3, far cry, mayb counter strike global offensive. I do not expect a expert's quality of gaming. Just that the laptop will able to play it without lags or slower than average frame rates.

hmm.. i was unaware of Ps4 and Xbox 1 is coming out next year, but if that happens and as you said the graphic quality will surge, do you recommend I should settle for a cheaper laptop with maybe a Intel 4000 and lower intel processor than replacing it after 2014's surge.

I still like the Np2650 because of the 1920x1080 compare to my other choices, but after what you said, I am kind of leaning toward the cheaper (plastic build) Asus with 1366 x 768 screen.

• 
  

Toward the comment about Alienware is that I have been lusting for the Alienware 14 or Alienware M14x. I want a smaller 15.6 inch for portability. but too expensive and if I plan to adjust it a little, the price to rise to at least 2,000 to 3,000. In that case I heard Falcon Northwestern produce stronger luxury brand of laptops. The Samsung series 7 gamer (NP700G7C-T01US) looks pretty sleek. <------- but this is off-topic.

nVIDIA® GeForce GT 750M GDDR3 (2.0GB) w/ Optimus Technology
Microsoft® DirectX® 11, do you think this will last at least a couple of years or a GeForce GTX 780M will have a better chance?



Don't...

Bump posts


http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/283384-33-read-first