Need gaming laptop - deploying

[Zlyback]

1. What is your budget? 3000-3600
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 17-18"
3. What screen resolution do you want? 1080p
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? prefer desktop replacement
5. How much battery life do you need? 3-6 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)? Gaming on highest possible
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) basic powerpoint/word
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 256gigs - 1TB (no issue deleting games off after done with it, maybe some room for music)
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Alienware m18x (for the HDMI In socket), Origin, malibal
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 1-3 years (want to build my own desktop once back)
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Blue-ray
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. N/A

13. What country do you live in? U.S. - Hawaii
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. Deploying and don't trust putting a desktop inside a container with a monitor or trying to ship to my destination, so it has to be a laptop. Going to build a desktop once done with deployment

 

[Zlyback]

Was looking for something with a little more GPU power, thinking i'll go with th m18x, don't like some of the limited options they provide but overall seems like a good setup plus the HDMI In which lets me hook up a xbox or playstation if I don't have a tv.

Standard HDD or hybrid hdd? Can always buy a SSD in the future for it if needed.

 

[ntcosa]

zlyback, check out www.sagernotebook.com - best gaming hardware available, high level of customization, high quality, and magnificent support.. if your budget really is 3000-3600, i would go here and build up a beast. Best part about the following build is that it is a desktop replacement, it will be good for several years, until people want to try teleporting with their laptops... and it is under your budget, thumbs up for saving money and still tearing up the games in free time.

my suggestion is the NP8170

upgrade to -
Screen: 17.3" 120Hz 3D-Ready Full HD Display with Matte Finished screen (1920 x 1080) and NVIDIA 3D Vision Glasses Kit Bundle
(ONLY IF YOU PLAN ON GAMING IN 3D)
CPU: 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2920XM Processor Extreme Edition
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
Primary Drive: 120GB Intel 510 Series SATA3 Solid State Disk Drive
Secondary Drive: 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Secondary Hard Disk Drive
Optical: 6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card: Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module

the only reason anyone would need a superior desktop processor in a laptop is if you do a ton of video/audio rendering.. otherwise you won't notice a difference except the price tag.

I own a laptop with the Nvidia GTX560M 1.5GB GDDR5 192-bit GPU, and I can assure you, you won't need much more then that.

 

[Zlyback]

Think I am going with this, it comes with HDMI In so I can connect an Xbox 360

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS)
VIDEO CARD Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990M AMD CrossFireX
HARD DRIVE 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 3.0
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

for 3,400

 

[ntcosa]

that works too, the 6990M benchmarks very very well. to add suggestions though, you said you don't feel like dealing with monitor, etc.. but you are running dual 2gb 6990s.. the only reason you would need that much power is if you are running multiple displays in eyefinity to support the larger resolutions. why not just save money for something else, or use it to upgrade to an SSD for better drive performance, fast boot times, fast shutdowns, etc. any GTX480 or greater, or AMD 6970 or higher with 1gb-2gb or even 3gb configuration will run any game in 1080p on ultra settings just perfectly. dual is overkill, its more of a "my D**K is bigger then yours" build then a respectable gaming build.

just trying to help. save you a few hundred $$$

 

[Zlyback]

Not trying to show off my d**k, just wanting to ensure the laptop can play games on max setting for the next couple of years.

I do want a SSD but dell overcharges for theirs so I figured I'd go with the 500g hybrid for now and buy a SSD in a couple months to add on to it. If Alienware didn't have that HDMI In, I would probably do malibal, with great customization options.

 

[sugjavier]

Not to bash alienware my friend, but take a look at digitalstormonline.com, it has better prices than origin/malibal and other custom builders or OEM

I compared an alienware laptop vs a digitalstorm and I ended up going with digital storm because it is cheaper + reliable(their testing so good) + 3 yr warranty compared to alienwares 1 yr.

Going with digital storm laptops might even save you a couple hundred bucks for the exact same specs