On the go Laptop - Some gaming, record keeping, word processing, etc.

[Daedalus685]

I posted for myself, and am pretty sure I'll end up with a gx640 (unless something wows me in the next couple of weeks). That being said, my partner needs a new laptop as well so I might as well start shopping for that. Will post additional comments after the form.

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
Around 1500 CND

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

I'd prefer in the ball park of 15", but this is not all that important

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
Somewhere in Canada

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like:
b. Dislike: Mac (has to have windows)

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
Will consider anything

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Light gaming, movies, text editing, record keeping

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
Primarily on the go.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
Yes, Something like Sins of a solar empire, WoW, StarCraft 2 at at least reasonable settings.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
I'd like at least 3-4 with Internet/word use, at least 2-3 while watching a movie. The more the better though, would obviously prefer as much as possible.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Doesn't matter

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Will be running windows 7 professional regardless of what it comes with, I have a bulk licence. Though I'll keep the included install if it is relatively free of bloat ware.

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. If you are unsure of what to purchase, we would highly recommend you check some notebook screens before you buy to see what you like. You may also wish to take a look at the notebook screen guide for more information.

* Midrange Resolutions: WXGA+, HD+, 900p
* Maximum Resolutions: WSXGA+, WUXGA, FHD, 1080p

I only want to consider less than 900p on something smaller than 14", though if everything else is perfect I'd consider it.

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Doesn't matter, Matte would be better though.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Functional looks are important.. The fewer pointless buttons (media control) the better, a number pad is a bonus though. I don't want a lot of keyboard bending. I doubt id consider looks until the end, but build quality is important. For instance the ethos pictures floating around have me drooling, for an idea of what I think looks good. (Boy I wish they were out today with a decent resolution)

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Some time before June I'd like to have it, it will have to last about 2 years at the least.

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
About 500Gb, I'd love to add in an SSD myself but I'm not sure if that would give me enough space on its own... a second drive bay would be ideal.

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
Don't need one particularly but I'd consider blue ray a plus.



Comments:
Living in Canada my only option for the new envy 15 is to order from ebay and more or less give up all of my options of RMA and decent warranty coverage, thus I can't really consider it at this time.

The resolution is quite important to me, 720P is simply too low for anything above 13"... but I'd make concessions on this in some situations.

I require Esata, USB3 would be very nice as well. This computer will likely contain very important work (My partner is a medical professional), and will be mirrored on the order of nightly. I don't consider raid 1 all that useful in a laptop as being dropped in a puddle is being dropped in a puddle

While "size" is not important thickness certainly is. The thinner the better.

So to sum it up:
-Above average graphics (on the order of ATI 5650)
-Good pixel pitch and really anything less than 900P just isn't enough real estate for some of the work.
-Thin and light as possible
-High build quality
-Must run windows programs
-Esata required
-Number pad a bonus
-Above average battery life

I am interested in the Timeline X, and the Ethos from acer... though I have no idea when they will be out or if there will be options with higher resolutions than 720p (on that note, if the ethos is 'around the corner' I might want to consider one of the larger ones for myself). Would love more options.

[wishmaster.dj]

check out the asus N61JQ @ 1100usd. only thing resolution will be poor. it has usb3 though.

or you could also have a look at toshiba qosmio X505-860 @1099 @ amazon. Great screen It's an 18.4". true desktop replacement.

[Daedalus685]

I would go for the N61JQ easily if it had a better resolution, for that size I really can't deal with 720P At 14" I could swing it... but not at 16.

As for the Toshiba, it is just too big. 17" would be on the large side but doable, 18+ is just too unwieldy for what it will be used for. I'm sure many think I'm crazy for thinking a 17" is portable... but I'm just limiting the size based on 11*17 paper that will often accompany it. That being said it would have to be mighty thin for as large as 17" to work Don't get me wrong.. I'm not looking for "thin and light" a la some of the 11" around, just not "big and bulky" which I equate the x505 with (at roughly 40mm thick and 18+ diagonal).

[sean473]

MSI GX640 would be great for ur budget.. has a core i5 processor , 15 inch 1680X1050 screen , ATI 5850 , which is a smasher of a card... for about $1200 USD... battery life is a good 2-3 hours too..

[MonPireSire]

I agree with Sean473. From what I've read, the Gx640 is definitly the best one : the best price I believe is at pccanada.com. I heard that if you live in Ontario, you better go with ncix.com.

Build quality seems to be there; battery life too (for a gaming laptop). It is also lighter than most laptop of this category (it's less than 6 lbs while N61JQ is 6,5).

The screen is very good for a non-LED one and it has a full size keyboard with numpad.

HP Envy could be good if you lived in USA, but it's too expensive in Canada.

[Daedalus685]

The gx640 would be great for myself, but is there anything out there that sacrifices some graphics power (not all of it, but this machine won't need a 5850) for some more battery power? Is the gx640 about as compact as 15" machines go these days?

[MonPireSire]

Maybe look at something with NVIDIA optimus 335m... the Asus N62 that is suppose to come out soon for example.

[Daedalus685]

Hmm, I will consider it... When will companies learn to make exactly what I want... lol If the N61 was at least 900P I'd have one already... same for any number of other machines out there...

The 335 should be somewhere in between a 5470 and 5650? I think that would be enough for the light gaming at some alright resolutions if it is closer to the 5650..

Maybe the new Acers will be nice...

[csinth]

You're going to want to look for a laptop with switchable graphics.

If you can wait for the new Acer TimelineX series, then those will fit your needs except the screens aren't very high resolution. Honestly, you don't need that powerful of a computer to play Sins, WoW, or Starcraft II.. I was able to play Sins with just a 7600.

See this chart for graphic card rankings:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compute...s.13849.0.html

[min2209]

It's funny that in terms of compactness, not many beats the GX640. Actually, the GE600 by MSI has switchable graphics and HD 5730 in it, and is a fait bit cheaper at under $1000. It's also a bit lighter as far as I know. It's using I think the exact same case, but has an LED backlit display.
http://www.msi.com/index.php?news_no=949&func=newsdesc

Other than that there's pretty much just Macs and Envies, unless you want to go the integrated GPU only route.
Ah, saw your resolution thing. Hmm... Maybe go consider customizing a Dell. Other than that.. I don't really know any notebooks that come standard with a high resolution screen other than ones like Asus G series or this GX640. But the G series from Asus are big and heavy.