Gaming laptop help

[kimterran]

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Around $1100

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

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?

Not really

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

Maybe

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

Watching movies, gaming

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

Mostly on my desk

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

SC2, D3, Arkham City, Skyrim, etc.

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

Doesn't really matter

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?

Not really. Pictures are good though

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

Win 7

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. Click here for Screen resolution information.

1080p preferably

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

I don't know which is better actually

Build Quality and Design

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

As long as it doesn't look like trash lol

15) When are you buying this laptop?

Hopefully I can make my decision within this week

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

3-5 years

Notebook Components

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

500GB is fine, but if I can upgrade without paying that much that is good too. I am intrigued about SSD drives actually, maybe planning on upgrading down the road

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

DVD is fine


I am currently looking at 2 laptops, the HP dv6t that has the coupon right now and the Sager NP6165. Any ideas? Thanks

[maverick1989]

You will be pushing the 650m with those games on the 1080p screen of that Sager. On reduced settings though, they should play fluently. This is with the 3610qm upgrade which puts you at $1150 without the 3 year parts and labor. If you get that, then that puts you at around 1300. Without the 3610 upgrade, you are stuck with an older Sandy - which isn't bad at all actually - but is a generation more senile

[kimterran]

Will the 650m be able to play SC2 and D3 at max settings on 1080p though? That's the games I'll be playing the most at the meantime.

With all the stuff I am reading I think I'll get the most bang for my buck with a Sager. I am currently looking at this configuration and its just gonna cost me about $1000.

- FREE!! Continental (U.S. Lower 48 - UPS Ground Only) Ground Shipping on ALL Sager Laptops (Enter Coupon Code: "SAGERFREESHIP" during order process)
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen (SKU - S1P318)
- 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 - S2N224)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)
- nVidia GT 650M 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology (SKU – S3R520)
- No Video Adapter
- 8GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R378)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- 500gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) - Default (SKU - S5R207)
- None Standard
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
- 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
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-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

I am curious about the monitor and whether the upgrade is worth it. I also don't know stuff about wireless networks and why there's an upgrade for that. I am also debating whether to spend the extra $20 on a 750GB HD. Any other stuff you think I missed? Warranty I think I'll just get the 1 year one, I trust the Sager will last me a long time right.

[christalbott]

I just ordered the NP9170. Hoping this machine will fly for the next several years.

[Karamazovmm]

have you thought about the msi force 16f3? it comes with a 670m which is a much more powerful card than the 650m, and it comes around at that price

[kimterran]

I am checking it now. Does the i5-2430 make a huge difference in performance compared to the i7-3610? How about the 670m to the 650m?

[Karamazovmm]

I would go for thr i7, and the 670m to 650m there is quite a gap around 20-30%

[kimterran]

Its gonna cost me $1264 for this configuration though

15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Screen (SKU - X1R354)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Contact us about our Significant Savings on our 30-Day No Dead Pixel Warranty. Heavily Discounted!
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – X2N307)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU – X3R518)
- No Video Adapter
- 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2x4GB SODIMMS) - Default (SKU - X4N370)
- Standard Finish
- 640GB 5400RPM 8MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default (SKU - X5R252)
- No Second Hard Drive (Primary Hard Drive Required When Adding a Secondary Hard Drive) (SKU - X6R953)
- No Caching Solid State Drives
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (SKU - X7R451)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card (SKU - X8R001)
- No Network Accessory
- Integrated Digital Video Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- No Spare AC Adapter
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- No Headset
- No External Keyboard
- No External Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system
- No Operating System Redline Boost
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Antivirus Essentials Software Bundle
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 1 Year Complete Care Warranty - 1 Year Parts with Ground Shipping, 24/7 Telephone Tech Support & Lifetime Labor Warranty (SKU - X9R000)
- No thanks, standard double boxed packaging is okay with my order
- Standard Production Time
- No Xotic PC Gear

While the NP6165 is gonna cost me $1064 with the screen upgrade. Another question, is a screen upgrade with the 95% gamut worth it?

[Karamazovmm]

if its too salty, I would go for the i5 base option, it wont affect gaming

[kimterran]

What does it affect then? And how big of a difference does the i7 3610 make compared to the base i5? Will it affect me down the road? Sorry I have limited knowledge regarding PC specs, that's the reason I am here in the first place lol.

And I am also very intrigued about the screen upgrade, cause I want my screen to be great especially when gaming and watching movies.