Trying to get a high-performance laptop

[Portizoa]

Hello, I've been looking for a high performance laptop with Windows 7 for under 1,200 dollars. My best option right now is the Toshiba Satellite S70, which I've customized to be $1,144.98. It would have 12 GB of SDRAM and an Intel i7-4700MQ processor and 2 GB Nvidia GT 740M graphics. I'm wondering if there are any better options for me with these similar stats that I could order exclusively online. I would build a PC, but I'm not very good with assembling hardware, more of a software techie, and I don't have time. My usage of the computer would be using Adobe programs like Flash and Photoshop at the same time and running some graphic intensive games, video editing and obviously surfing the internet. I hope you guys could help me out! Thanks!


(Full stats here: http/img14.imageshack.us/img14/2995/gj.png )

 

[Estix]

I'd strongly recommend you look at Sager - sagernotebook.com the lineup is all impressive, and you can find a number of them for under $1200, and they basically all offer windows 7 as an option. They're basically Clevo units, and quality is second to none.

The NP7352, NP7370, and NP 7330 are all excellent choices, and it's essentially your choice which you'd want.

 

[Portizoa]

I'm looking at Sager (I've heard a lot of good things about Clevo notebooks) and I'm liking what I'm seeing. It seems like you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. My only concern is that all the laptops with 17.3'' screen are past my budget, are there any other brands you know of that offer a 17'' or larger screen, if not the Sager can suit me, I'll just buy an external monitor. Do you know if the NP7352 keyboard IS backlit? Also, are there any reasons not to go with my Toshiba setup, because the Sager setup I just looked at costs about the same as the Toshiba and has basically identical features with a larger screen on the Toshiba than the NP7352.

 

[Estix]

...My only concern is that all the laptops with 17.3'' screen are past my budget... Do you know if the NP7352 keyboard IS backlit? Also, are there any reasons not to go with my Toshiba setup...

I told you to look at the 7370 already - that's a 17".
I don't know for sure - you can call them if you want (I think it is, but I'm hesitant to give answers I'm not 100% on)
The Toshiba has a 740M. That is not a good GPU. The Sagers have the 765M, a notably more powerful one.

 

[Portizoa]

Oops, duhr. You're right. Do you think it'd be a good idea to customize the Sager with Xotic, or order off Sager?

 

[Estix]

Oops, duhr. You're right. Do you think it'd be a good idea to customize the Sager with Xotic, or order off Sager?

I've never personally dealt with Xotic, but I've never heard anything bad about them either, so I think they're a perfectly valid choice - I'd say go with whoever's cheaper for the build you want/ whoever you can get a better build from

 

[Portizoa]

I went with NP7370, with customization costing around 300 more, I was able to stretch my budget a bit. Unfortunately I was not able to get an SSD as a secondary hard drive. I'm very excited though for this computer to shio. I hope XoticPC will serve me well.