Time for a new laptop

[Zilthai]

What is your budget?
$1000-1500 (not including shipping and handling)

What country will you be buying this in?
Hawaii, US

What size notebook do you prefer?
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Dislike: HP, Dell

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, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
I would like the laptop to be capable of playing: Diablo III, Guild Wars 2, Dota 2, XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Less important: Borderlands 2, Planteside 2, GTA V

Where will you be using this laptop?
I'll be bringing the laptop to class if the fans aren't loud.

How many hours of battery life do you need?
2-3

Will you be buying online or in store?
online or in store

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7 (Please do not factor in the cost of the OS. I think I can get a student discount on it elsewhere.)

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?
No

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 07/31/2012

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

How much storage capacity do you need?
180-256 GB SDD and 500-720 GB HDD

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Yes (Would it be cheaper to buy the SDD separately?)

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
No

[Curs3]

Get the Lotus P150EM/Sager NP9130 from Malibal/Xoticpc.

Lotus P150EM

Sager NP9130

Stick with the i5 as it wont make any difference to your gaming experience. In case you feel your laptop might feel outdated with a dual core CPU or if you feel getting a quad core might remove the need to upgrade in a few yrs then go ahead and get the i7-3610QM.

Stick with the 8gb ram stock config in malibal. In Xoticpc select the special offer to get the 1333 Mhz ram 8gb and save 50$.

The GTX670m should be more than sufficient for the games you have mentioned.

Get an SSD for your primary bay. It is cheaper to get an SSD yourself and insert it. So its your choice.

Get a HDD caddy for the DVD drive and you can insert an HDD later. Or get it with a HDD inserted. 750gb 7200rpm HDD should do just fine as it is just a 20$ upgrade over the 500GB HDD.

With an i7 3610QM, 8gb ram, Intel SSD and 750GB 7200rpm HDD in the DVD bay it would cost you 1424$ which is within your prescribed budget.

In case you leave the CPU and get an SSD separately then it would be even cheaper.

Configure the laptops at both Xoticpc and Malibal and go with the cheaper one.

[pepper_john]

Also Thinkpad W520 or W530.

[nissangtr786]

curs3 firstly why would anyone want to buy a new laptop with a 32nm dual core sandy bridge and a rebadged 40nm fermi card when ivy bridge 22nm cpu and 28nm gpus are out. Anyway I am pretty sure I saw laptops with gt 650m and i7 3610qm laptops and some people have 7970m already.

[Curs3]

A 7970m would be more than what he actually needs. The games he will be playing hardly require a GT660m.

Also I did mention that in case he would feel his CPU might be outdated in a few yrs he can choose the quad core i.e the ivy bridge 3610QM.

Also in spite of the GTX670m being a rebadge of the GTX570m I see noting wrong in buying one as it still performs better than its kepler brothers.

The GTX650m does run most of the games he cited but max resolution but will it do so for the nest 3 yrs? I doubt that. Hence I suggested him a better card comparatively that can definitely run these genre of games for 3 yrs. If he possibly develops a liking for other games he should be able to run them too say Witcher II, BF3 etc at high settings.

The advantage of the Kepler is its power consumption and probably heat. The Sager has excellent cooling systems so heat is not a concern.

And the OP barely expects 2-3hrs of battery life which the previous generation cards already deliver.

Hence considering all these options I honestly believed the GTX670m would indeed be a good choice for the OP and hence the suggestion.

That would not mean the GTX650m would not be a good card. It might but bcoz of the above reasons I chose the GTX670m though it is just a rebadge.

Also the reason why I suggested the OP to stay with the i5 first is because the games he is going to be playing hardly require a quad core. An i5 would suffice any day. Just because he has a budget of 1500$ need not necessarily mean that we haev to suggest the best available in each segment.

All our suggestions are first based on his need and only then the cost comes into play. If we can save him a lot of money then so be it. The CPU is just like the GPU we just discussed about. He doesnt need the 7970m. Hence he is settling for something lesser. His budget does allow him to get one but it would be an over kill. Same with the CPU. An i5 would not cause a bottle neck to his gaming performance considering the games he plays.

But I felt obliged to let him know that it is an old CPU and hence in case he does feel it is out dated he might upgrade it as it would still fall within his budget.

[Koomdin]

Check out the Asus G75, model number G75VW-BBK5, it ticks all the boxes at $1250. It has a GTX 660M and the new Ivy Bridge i7 3610QM. For about $1500you can get the Asus with the Blu Ray Player and 16GB Ram. I know you said you don't like Dell, but the M17X starts at $1499 with the GTX 660M and the Ivy Bridge. I have had the Alienware M11X for over a year and have been pretty happy with it, despite alot of the negative press the Alienwares get.
Lastly check out Powernotebooks.com, as you can configure MSI, Alienware, Asus, or Sager to your specs.

[Zilthai]

Get the Lotus P150EM/Sager NP9130 from Malibal/Xoticpc.

Lotus P150EM

Sager NP9130

Thanks Curs3, this model comes really close to what I'm looking for. I don't need the laptop until early August so in the meantime I'll be reading the Clevo P151EM1 Owner's Lounge.

Also, would I benefit from an i7 if I like to keep several other applications running in the background while I play games?

Also Thinkpad W520 or W530.

Interesting suggestions. I've never owned a Lenovo laptop but I hear they are quite durable.

How would a Quadro 1000M fair against the games I listed?

Check out the Asus G75, model number G75VW-BBK5, it ticks all the boxes at $1250. It has a GTX 660M and the new Ivy Bridge i7 3610QM. For about $1500you can get the Asus with the Blu Ray Player and 16GB Ram. I know you said you don't like Dell, but the M17X starts at $1499 with the GTX 660M and the Ivy Bridge. I have had the Alienware M11X for over a year and have been pretty happy with it, despite alot of the negative press the Alienwares get.
Lastly check out Powernotebooks.com, as you can configure MSI, Alienware, Asus, or Sager to your specs.

Thanks for the suggestions but I will be avoiding laptops with 17" displays.

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

Also, would I benefit from an i7 if I like to keep several other applications running in the background while I play games?


Interesting suggestions. I've never owned a Lenovo laptop but I hear they are quite durable.

It wouldn't make much of a difference; I'd just stick with an i5 unless you have any games/applications that do benefit from multithreading (Rockstar games like GTA love more cores, for example).

The W520 is a rock, as far as toughness goes. I abuse the crap out of mine and after a year of ownership, all I have to show for damage is one of the locking hooks is broken off as well as part of the vent grill, both cosmetic damages. Being a college student that just throws his laptop in with his books and takes off, my W520 receives a somewhat tough love from me. Still works to this day, and should continue to work for a few more years until I eventually replace it.

The Quadro 1000M is comparable in gaming performance to the GT 540m, which is a middle-low range gaming GPU. The 2000M is a bit better (like a GT 555m), but if you want a business/gaming laptop, you'll be better off getting a Dell Precision M4600 with the FirePro 5950M GPU (similar to the Radeon 6770M) for cheaper. Just as durable as the W520, and it even comes in a nice metal finish.

[Curs3]

Thanks Curs3, this model comes really close to what I'm looking for. I don't need the laptop until early August so in the meantime I'll be reading the Clevo P151EM1 Owner's Lounge.

Also, would I benefit from an i7 if I like to keep several other applications running in the background while I play games?


Interesting suggestions. I've never owned a Lenovo laptop but I hear they are quite durable.

How would a Quadro 1000M fair against the games I listed?



Thanks for the suggestions but I will be avoiding laptops with 17" displays.

The i7 would make a noticeable difference only in games that demand more cores like BF3 etc. Considering normal day to day use the i5 should be just fine. Also your other gaming performances will not see any difference. So in my honest opinion, if you have a budget constraint for gaming and normal day to day use, the i5 is an excellent choice. The only downside being that it is an old CPU comparing the newer Kepler quad core. But that shouldnt bother you as for a normal user anything that can get the job done is more important than owning the latest stuff.

[nissangtr786]

if the op wants to play gta 4 he should get a 3610qm. Also the new gpu's overclock far better asthe clocks are low vs the limit of the 670m vs 675m.

Getting a gtx660m is more future proof even if it is less performance as it is next gen 28nm kepler. Alo the hd 4000 should be basically twice as fast as a hd 3000. The 3610qm is twice as fast as the i5 and probably takes slightly more watts.