New Desktop Replacement Help

[WillyWonka23]

What is your budget?
Around $2,000

What country will you be buying this in?
United States

What size notebook do you prefer?
Desktop Replacement (17-inch + screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Like: Asus and Clevo
Dislike: Alienware

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Listening to Music, Video Chat and Conference, Movie Streaming and Viewing, Output Video to TV or Large Monitor, Casual Gaming, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
I will be playing GW2, maybe Diablo 3. Also keeping other gaming options available.

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places and Will stay on desk

How many hours of battery life do you need?
1-2

Will you be buying online or in store?
online

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 05/30/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3-4 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Yes

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
DVD Burner

I currently have an HP Envy 17 (The first model with the ATI Mobility Radeon 5850) It has an Intel i7 Q720 at 1.6GHz and 8GB of RAM

I was looking to upgrade my laptop to a more hardcore gaming machine. I played in the GW2 beta and it was pretty laggy on max settings with an average to high population around. I was looking at the Clevo because it offers the 7970m. The Asus G75 looks pretty slick but it sounds like it won't offer anything that will outperform the 580m of last year. Seems kind of pointless throwing $2,000+ on a machine that is using rebadged cards.

[idiot101]

Have a look at the Sager NP9170/Clevo P170EM with the AMD 7970m from any of the custom builders like Mythlogic, Xoticpc, Malibal, Powernotebooks, LPC Digital etc.

[WillyWonka23]

Yeah that was the one I was checking out. If I were to decide on that laptop, is it better to pre-order it now even though the 7970m isn't available yet? I guess I don't know if I would get it faster by pre-ordering it now when it does become available later this month.

[idiot101]

You can talk to the reseller of choice and ask them which would be faster. They are pretty helpful. You can get a few benefits for being a Notebookreview forum member. They have representatives in the Sager/Clevo section of the forum whom you can PM for more information.

[nissangtr786]

the 7970m is a big leap over your 5850m. In fact a 7870m will be a big leap over your 5850m, should be basically double your performance on some benchmarks but have similar tflop. The 7870m scores double your envy's 5850m on 3dmark vantage and should play most games at 1080p as it is basically performs as well as a 6970m but has more advanced features that make it better for game fps like aa I believe.

[Curs3]

For a budget that huge I would definitely be not looking below the 7970m unless you feel its an over kill and you will not be using such a powerful card. By other games if you meant Witcher II, BF3, Metro 2033, Arkham City, Skyrim etc and if you want to play these games at the max settings possible then by all means get the 7970m. Considering your budget you should be easily able to get an SSD too. Go to Xoticpc and configure the NP9170 and see for ur self.

I have configured it below for you.

Sager NP9170 / Clevo P170EM
- FREE!! Continental (U.S. Lower 48 - UPS Ground Only) Ground Shipping on ALL Sager Laptops (Enter Coupon Code: "SAGERFREESHIP" during order process)
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R506)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – S2R174)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- AMD Radeon HD 7970M (2048MB) GDDR5 DX11 [User Upgradeable] (ETA: Late May) (SKU - S3R155)
- No Video Adapter
- 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) - SPECIAL! (SKU - S4P369)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- No mSATA SSD
- 120gb Intel 520 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - S5R055)
- 750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R305)
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- 6x Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive - Special! (SKU - S7P557)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- No Back Up Software
- Bluetooth Included (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth (SKU - S8R110)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- No Spare AC Adapter
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No Headset
- No External Keyboard
- No External Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- No Operating System Redline Boost
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs (SKU - X9R009)
- No thanks, standard double boxed packaging is okay with my order
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- No Xotic PC Gear

Total : 1889$ without OS.

[WillyWonka23]

Thanks for the replies! Greatly appreciated. I changed the setup a little on the P9170 for a bit more RAM and the 90% color gamut. I figured the better screen gamut would be great being colorblind and all. I added 12 GB of RAM because the extra $40 was hard to ignore. But I am thinking that I may just not need it.

As for the SSD. I chose the 80GB mSATA SSD preconfigured for the OS with a 750GB hard drive. But after looking at your choice with the 120GB SSD instead of getting an mSATA, is that a better option? It is only $15 for a larger SSD.

[s2odin]

SSD + HDD is the best option for speed and storage.

As far as RAM is concerned, 90% of users won't use more than 8gb of RAM. The $40 would be best saved for IC diamond (yourself of the reseller) or going into the 95% gamut screen, or just being saved.

[WillyWonka23]

I guess I could always go the 12GB 1333 because that's free to upgrade. The 12GB will help distribute usage more but its a slower speed than the 1600MHz 8GB. What are thoughts on that? Will that just slow my system down a little since I probably wouldn't utilize all 12GB?

[Karamazovmm]

nope, the idea is that more ram = better, however for you it wont matter