Gaming laptop with decent battery? Size does NOT matter.

[shadowdude777]

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

~$1000

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Makes no difference, really.

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

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: I've heard Asus is good. Also interested in Sager.
b. Dislike: Bad experiences with HP in the past.

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

No.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Notes during college lectures (hence I will need a battery that lasts ~3 hours).

Also, gaming. I have a desktop with an 8800GTS 320MB so anything that will bench lower (I think the 555M/460M and 67xx/69xx series do this) is probably going to be disappointing because I built that desktop three years ago and I don't think I'm willing to downgrade now.

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

Both.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

I want most modern games (like Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, etc. Not games like Crysis or Metro 2033) to play at med to med-high settings at 40+ FPS at native resolution.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

3 hrs.

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?

Whatever, as long as the seller has a decent return policy.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Whatever.

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?

1366x768 and up.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?

Matte is preferred, I'll live with glossy.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Nope.

15) When are you buying this laptop?

Within the month.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

I want to be able to play modern games at least on low-med settings for the next 2-3 years.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

250GB+ mechanical hard drive is fine. A 7200RPM one is preferred but not needed.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

I want an optical drive because I will be using a caddy to replace it with a 60GB SSD I have.


So far, the best-looking candidates are the:

1) Sager NP5160: Sager NP5160 Custom Laptop (Built on the Clevo W150HN)
- Very nice price point, matte screen, 3-5 hour claimed battery
- However, 540M graphics seem a bit lacking

2) Sager NP5165: Sager NP5165
- Higher price and glossy screen are unfortunate (I'd rather have the 1600x900 matte than the 1920x1080 glossy)
- However, 555M graphics bench about 20% higher than 540M

3) Asus N53SV-XE1: Newegg.com - ASUS N53 Series N53SV-XE1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
- Expensive for 540M graphics
- Has an i7, though I'm not sure what merit this has for me


Any other suggestions? I was considering seeing how the refreshed Envy is on June 15th, but I don't really like HP.


Basically, I'm really fine with bulk if it means the device is affordable, has a good graphics card, and 3 hours of battery.


I was also dabbling with the idea of the Thinkpad X220 + DIY ViDock route. That would still let me play games in Dolphin on the go because that's CPU-intensive, right? Any input on going down this route instead?


Finally, can the 555M be overclocked to equivalent or near-equivalent power of a stock GTX 460M?


I'm going to stop talking now. Thanks in advance if anyone can help me stop being so confused.


EDIT: SORRY! Forgot to mention that since I'm a student and I don't own a 360, it'd be really cool if someone were to point me to something at a participating store that would get me the free 360 you can get as a student currently. I think it might only be Dell, HP, Best Buy, and MS themselves that are doing this though?

[edit1754]

Originally Posted by shadowdude777

3) Asus N53SV-XE1: Newegg.com - ASUS N53 Series N53SV-XE1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
- Expensive for 540M graphics
- Has an i7, though I'm not sure what merit this has for me

I wouldn't suggest the XE1 because it's got the ultralow 1366x768 resolution which is much worse than 1600x900. I'd suggest taking a look at the N53SN-XV1 which has 1920x1080 and a GT 550M.
Newegg.com - ASUS N53 Series N53SN-XV1 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M

[soguxu]

You have to ask yourself if you really need the GPU if you're getting the free Xbox anyway and only interested in console ports to begin with.

[shadowdude777]

Originally Posted by edit1754

I wouldn't suggest the XE1 because it's got the ultralow 1366x768 resolution which is much worse than 1600x900. I'd suggest taking a look at the N53SN-XV1 which has 1920x1080 and a GT 550M.
Newegg.com - ASUS N53 Series N53SN-XV1 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M

1366x768 is fine. But I don't really like either of those Asus choices now that I think about it; the Sagers seem to be more robust AND they're cheaper. Also, XoticPC's customer service seems to be top-notch and I'd love to continue dealing with them as opposed to Newegg, who is still pretty good, but no company other than XoticPC has consistently gotten back to my email questions within 4 hours.

Originally Posted by soguxu

You have to ask yourself if you really need the GPU if you're getting the free Xbox anyway and only interested in console ports to begin with.

I guess. I actually have a friend who might be willing to sell me a used Arcade, so I might take him up on the offer. Most of the games I will play are available on a console as well, it's true.

And if I really wanted to, I guess I could do a DIY ViDock. It's just the convenience of having games to play on the go. I suppose if I can run Dolphin well on a laptop, I'll be happy; that'll give me the ability to play modern games while I'm out. And I do want to play the significant PC-only games, which tend not to be too GPU-intensive (the Valve games are really all that comes to mind?).

Got any suggestions? Like I said, I was looking at the Thinkpad X220; it looks really sexy, it's portable, the screen size is just right (in my opinion), but the only downside is that it's pricey.

[Mr MM]

you could also try the dv6

[edit1754]

Originally Posted by shadowdude777

I suppose if I can run Dolphin well on a laptop, I'll be happy;

From what I've noticed, Dolphin's biggest bottleneck is memory speed. Just be sure you get a laptop with 1333MHz memory at least (most do), and probably some sort of discrete graphics card (though SandyBridge graphics may even suffice).
I'm not sure if GPU memory speed also has something to do with this, but I think it's mainly the system memory.

Brawl runs flawlessly on my laptop. MKWii stutters a bit, especially in multi-player, due to all of the excessive EFB transfers. Disabling EFB allows it to run smoothly, but causes a 1/4 square on the screen to remain constant or black.

I'd suggest the HP DV6tqe with the 1080p display upgrade and the 6770M 1GB DDR5 graphics card upgrade, but HP is on your dislike list.

[shadowdude777]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of HP at all. And I used to own the dv6t select edition but returned it because everything ran at literal slideshow speeds. This was WITH the 6770M enabled. The touchpad even lagged at certain points just in general use of the OS (Chrome and Word open). It may have been a defective model, I'm not sure. Maybe it's worth looking into again.

[nando4]

Originally Posted by shadowdude777

And if I really wanted to, I guess I could do a DIY ViDock. It's just the convenience of having games to play on the go.

With a little bit of clout could do a GTS450 12V/120W setup OR a GTX460 203W xbox360 PSU portable setup. Either could be used on the go (when attached to a powerpoint) using the Optimus internal LCD mode. A desktop GTS450 has similar specs to a GTX460M. There's thinner single-slot GTS450/GTX460 units available.

NOTE: We do not as yet have a x1.Opt confirmed setup on the Series-6 chipset like the X220 uses. There is no reason why it shouldn't work other than if NVidia wanted to shut down the driver support. If you're serious about it consider waiting for confirmation or perhaps jump in and show us if it can be done

[shadowdude777]

Yep, read all about that in your post. But I don't want to lug a huge- 360 PSU around. At that point, I might as well stick the ATX PSU I modified into a bench power supply in my backpack. :P

I'd be MUCH more willing to do it if I could run the DIY ViDock off the same supply I can charge my laptop off. Is that possible? Almost every laptop takes 19.5V and the ViDock requires 12V. 12V is easy, ATX has 12V rails. In the ATX supplies, the closest I could get to 19.5V would be +12V and -5V to give 17V, and I'm not sure the computer will charge off that, nor does the -5V rail generally support the several amps a computer requires at 19.5V. So I don't think ATX would work. Any other way you can think of to get a universal laptop/ViDock PSU? It'd definitely make the ViDock more appealing.

[nando4]

Originally Posted by shadowdude777

I'd be MUCH more willing to do it if I could run the DIY ViDock off the same supply I can charge my laptop off. Is that possible? Almost every laptop takes 19.5V and the ViDock requires 12V. 12V is easy, ATX has 12V rails.
..
Any other way you can think of to get a universal laptop/ViDock PSU? It'd definitely make the ViDock more appealing.

Before my Optimus setup, I had a 12V/80W HD5750 which I found was easy to carry around. I can see your point on the AC adapter. Carrying two would clutter any backpack/manbag.

A PE4H allows 19V input. It has a 15-19V to 12V voltage regulator. Only problem the PE4H is it's a bit bulky for portable use. PE4L is smaller and better for this purpose. SO then consider a ...

Portable 12V/120W GTS450 DIY ViDock

A NVidia GTS450 (rated at ~106W peak) + PE4L + $15-delivered 12V/120W universal AC adapter. The linked adapter has the required 12V and 19V output plus numerous tip ends. One surely good enough to power your X220.

You'd wire it up as described here. A 12V/120W GTS450 DIY ViDOck has already been successfully implemented &.

Only one final dilemma. That arrangement draws 3.3V with the expresscard slot max at 1.3W, which might not provide what is needed OR overdrive the expresscard slot. A better setup would be to connect the AC adapter's USB plug to the PE4L USB plug and route on the PE4L the 5V USB line to the floppy molex 5V input using a small patch wire. The 5V is downregulated to 3.3V on the PE4L. USB can supply 500ma, so there would be 2.5W at least on tap, more if the AC adapter can provide it. A future PE4L 1.6 will supposely provide a jumper to eliminate the need for patching but for now that would be required.

The looks you'd get in public with your el-primo X220 portable + GTS450 attached would be priceless