gaming PC w/ display like mac book pro

[coldengrey]

Hope I've not overdone, just trying to help you help me
* Would also prefer to add/upgrade overpriced vendor upsell components myself from New Egg eg RAM, maybe hard drives too?
** Want Ivy Bridge with one of the latest gen gpu's if superior to previous gens..

What is your budget?
$1500-$1800

What country will you be buying this in?
US

What size notebook do you prefer?
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)
Desktop Replacement (17-inch + screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Like: ??? Dell, Alienware, Samsung, Asus, HP not sure? HIGH QUALITY SUPPORT, Drivers, Warranty, ect
Dislike: ?

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Photo Editing, Video Editing, Movie Streaming and Viewing, Output Video to TV or Large Monitor, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

1) **** Gaming big priority: Ultra Max Settings as much as possible w/o crazy overpriced dual GPU (dual-gpu microstutter big no-no)

2) ***Important*** Would really like to play pc games on television - as close to console experience as possible (Sitting on couch!). If someone could address needs/cavets, what to and what not to expect from (wireless?) video output and pc gaming on television....

3) Battery life IS IMPORTANT when NOT gaming (running integrated graphics) for stuff like web surfing, movies/video maybe.

---------->IMPORTANT<-------------
4) Display quality is of absolute importance.
*** Reference: Have seen AND LOVE the display on the mac book pros
Want display to look as much as possible like the mac book pros!

Finally
6) MFR support and quality...
Prefer a Large well funded and mature product support operation
eg online tech support, drivers, warranty, ect

What games will you be playing?
Games: Star Wars the Old Republic, Mass Effect 3, Call of Duty No compromise settings possible w/o desktop?

Torn between 15" and 17/18" - advise on difference between..
(will actually play games on notebook display occasionally, as well as video/photo editing on display)

a) >15" loss of battery life vs. extra screen size
(not worth?)

b) >15" loss of graphic performance @ highest settings from given gpu. Additional resolution cause loss of performance?

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?
4-6+ when not gaming

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

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

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

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 06/01/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
2-3+ years

How much storage capacity do you need?
750 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe Possibly caching if it'd be worth?

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
Blu-Ray

[edit1754]

Sager NP9130 / Clevo P151EM1 - XOTIC PC - Sager 15.6" Laptop
or Lotus P150EM - MALIBAL

It offers the nice 95% color gamut 1920x1080 displays as upgrades. Both in matte and glossy.

Be sure to select an OS.

[s2kPanda]

If you're budget is 1500-1800 then get the p150em/9150 through a sager reseller and you can opt for the 7970m or 675m if you cant wait a couple more weeks for the 7970m.

[User Retired 2]

.. wait for MSI GUS-II Thunderbolt enclosure then pop in a GK104 Keplar desktop GPU. Choose a Thunderbolt-equipped notebook from the thin-and-light link in my sig.

[RiddlelddiR]

Yea, I'd suggest a Malibal P150EM with the 1920x1080 95% gamut screen and the 7970M. That should fit right into your budget and fill both your performance and screen quality requirements.

[coldengrey]

.. wait for MSI GUS-II Thunderbolt enclosure then pop in a GK104 Keplar desktop GPU. Choose a Thunderbolt-equipped notebook from the thin-and-light link in my sig.

Interesting option, will have to see how much it costs.

---
- As for the Sager/clevo and Lotus, probably short-siding myself with line of thought, but am leary not buying a large mainstream mfr machine.

A) The 95% gamut is not vital, though would be nice for video/photo editing.
Is the MacBook Pro a 95% gamut screen?

My referencing the macbook pro display was more an attraction to the fineness of the display rather than the color in specific I guess.

Q1)The macbook pro looks SHARP with the fine PIXEL DENSITY/DOT PITCH. Any ideas of other laptop displays that have similar displays to that of the macbook pro?
---
B) Interested in playing pc games on my tv...
Can anyone explain options and if they are full of compromises?
My laptop is in the same room as the tv, would have line of sight.
Don't want to deal with any lag or other major compromises though!
--
C) As for laptop gpu:
What would you guys recommend - can't spend some outrageous amount need to keep the laptop budget well under $2000 approx $1500-1800

- NVIDIA 675m (is there a model below that is still the newest gen keplar?) is the 675 going to be superior to it if so? * Is this currently available or within next several weeks?

-AMD 7970 (same deal, is there a model of the same gen at a price point right below?)
How far off is the 7970 for being available in mass, like in laptops from major mfr/vendors?

-> NVIDIA vs AMD: -- How does the 7970 perform vs the 675m - is either one significantly better than the other? Is either on significantly more expensive vs the other?

thanks and sorry for the mess of questions... Will likely lose participation due to lack of uniformity

[Fat Dragon]

Interesting option, will have to see how much it costs.

---
- As for the Sager/clevo and Lotus, probably short-siding myself with line of thought, but am leary not buying a large mainstream mfr machine.

A) The 95% gamut is not vital, though would be nice for video/photo editing.
Is the MacBook Pro a 95% gamut screen?

My referencing the macbook pro display was more an attraction to the fineness of the display rather than the color in specific I guess.

Q1)The macbook pro looks SHARP with the fine PIXEL DENSITY/DOT PITCH. Any ideas of other laptop displays that have similar displays to that of the macbook pro?
---
B) Interested in playing pc games on my tv...
Can anyone explain options and if they are full of compromises?
My laptop is in the same room as the tv, would have line of sight.
Don't want to deal with any lag or other major compromises though!
--
C) As for laptop gpu:
What would you guys recommend - can't spend some outrageous amount need to keep the laptop budget well under $2000 approx $1500-1800

- NVIDIA 675m (is there a model below that is still the newest gen keplar?) is the 675 going to be superior to it if so? * Is this currently available or within next several weeks?

-AMD 7970 (same deal, is there a model of the same gen at a price point right below?)
How far off is the 7970 for being available in mass, like in laptops from major mfr/vendors?

-> NVIDIA vs AMD: -- How does the 7970 perform vs the 675m - is either one significantly better than the other? Is either on significantly more expensive vs the other?

thanks and sorry for the mess of questions... Will likely lose participation due to lack of uniformity

- Pixel Density is determined by resolution and size, so if you're looking at a 1080p MBP 15 screen, you'll have the same density on a 1080p P150EM. Their 95% gamut screens are supposed to be quite nice.

- To play on your TV you just need to be able to output the display to it, probably with an HDMI cable. That should be pretty common in most laptops.

- Right now the AMD 7970M is the prohibitive leader in the laptop GPU market. No other laptop GPU comes even close to it in terms of performance. If you want maximum performance, get one. As others have mentioned, you can afford it in your price range.

Note that the 675M is not the newest-generation Nvidia tech - it's last-gen Fermi. The only mobile Kepler GPUs so far are mid-range to upper-mid-range, but nothing that will perform at the high levels you're expecting.

Clevo has been making laptops for a long, long time, and they've got a great reputation for quality, reliability, and service. There are tons of resellers out there, and the bottom line is that Clevo-based machines offer the best prices on top-end gaming performance. Additionally, aside from Alienware, you'll have a hard time finding that level of gaming performance anywhere else, and Alienware will set you back quite a bit more.

[coldengrey]

- Pixel Density is determined by resolution and size, so if you're looking at a 1080p MBP 15 screen, you'll have the same density on a 1080p P150EM. Their 95% gamut screens are supposed to be quite nice.

- To play on your TV you just need to be able to output the display to it, probably with an HDMI cable. That should be pretty common in most laptops.

- Right now the AMD 7970M is the prohibitive leader in the laptop GPU market. No other laptop GPU comes even close to it in terms of performance. If you want maximum performance, get one. As others have mentioned, you can afford it in your price range.

Note that the 675M is not the newest-generation Nvidia tech - it's last-gen Fermi. The only mobile Kepler GPUs so far are mid-range to upper-mid-range, but nothing that will perform at the high levels you're expecting.

Clevo has been making laptops for a long, long time, and they've got a great reputation for quality, reliability, and service. There are tons of resellers out there, and the bottom line is that Clevo-based machines offer the best prices on top-end gaming performance. Additionally, aside from Alienware, you'll have a hard time finding that level of gaming performance anywhere else, and Alienware will set you back quite a bit more.

Well put. I'm still confused, but that's on me! Thanks for sifting through my jumbled thought and questions...

Have to question my understanding of what equates a machine that is capable of playing 'great looking' games....

Is the necessity of a 'gaming' laptop not necessarily a correct assumption, on my part, in order to play pc games without too much compromise?

Meaning, could I just as well get a mainstream laptop and still play games for the foreseeable future w/o too much performance issues? Especially since I've never really tasted a full blown desktop pc gaming experience; coming from only consoles.

* I don't really even understand what x setting (game quality settings) equates to what as far as quality goes. What gpu would be capable of running a given game visual enhancement a fast fps vs a gpu that would not (if that makes sense to you guys)

Q1) What gpu would you guys consider upper-mid level that would handle games like Star Wars the Old Republic, Mass Effect 3, Call o0f Duty and any other coming blockbusters...

Q2) Will I need a gaming specific machine to be happy w game performance... I mean a Dell XPS isn't gonna quite have the gpu chops or is it? I know this depends greatly on what gpu hardware options are available in configuring. I'm sure the upper-mid gpu's are set aside in the gaming marketed models, I guess?

Q3) I'm really confused with the naming and chips, ect that are actually in the newest gens (and previous) mobile gpu's...
Especially NVIDIA kelpers.... There are 28nm Fermi's too (not just 28nm Kelpers?)
* @ Fat Dragon , you explained that the AMD 7970m was the most elite, but was cost prohibitive. I'm puzzled, then, by the fact I was configuring one of the new ivy bridge Alienware 17" laptops and the AMD 7970m was the base gpu with the NVIDIA 675m being an additional $150!
Are the 675m's inferior, but MORE expensive than the 7970m?

Thanks for some direction here.
I'll name my future system after anyone able to set me straight

[saturnotaku]

Any 15-inch notebook with a 1920x1080 display will have higher pixel density than a MacBook Pro because Apple only offers 1440x900 and 1680x1050 screens. Also, the color gamut of the Apple displays is only about 60-75%. As such, the 95% option will give you sharper, more defined color. This is actually the feature I miss most having gone from a Clevo notebook with a 95% display to a MacBook Pro. Not that the Apple is bad, but the Clevo was better.

[RiddlelddiR]

Well put. I'm still confused, but that's on me! Thanks for sifting through my jumbled thought and questions...

Have to question my understanding of what equates a machine that is capable of playing 'great looking' games....

Is the necessity of a 'gaming' laptop not necessarily a correct assumption, on my part, in order to play pc games without too much compromise?

Meaning, could I just as well get a mainstream laptop and still play games for the foreseeable future w/o too much performance issues? Especially since I've never really tasted a full blown desktop pc gaming experience; coming from only consoles.

* I don't really even understand what x setting (game quality settings) equates to what as far as quality goes. What gpu would be capable of running a given game visual enhancement a fast fps vs a gpu that would not (if that makes sense to you guys)

Q1) What gpu would you guys consider upper-mid level that would handle games like Star Wars the Old Republic, Mass Effect 3, Call o0f Duty and any other coming blockbusters...

Q2) Will I need a gaming specific machine to be happy w game performance... I mean a Dell XPS isn't gonna quite have the gpu chops or is it? I know this depends greatly on what gpu hardware options are available in configuring. I'm sure the upper-mid gpu's are set aside in the gaming marketed models, I guess?

Q3) I'm really confused with the naming and chips, ect that are actually in the newest gens (and previous) mobile gpu's...
Especially NVIDIA kelpers.... There are 28nm Fermi's too (not just 28nm Kelpers?)
* @ Fat Dragon , you explained that the AMD 7970m was the most elite, but was cost prohibitive. I'm puzzled, then, by the fact I was configuring one of the new ivy bridge Alienware 17" laptops and the AMD 7970m was the base gpu with the NVIDIA 675m being an additional $150!
Are the 675m's inferior, but MORE expensive than the 7970m?

Thanks for some direction here.
I'll name my future system after anyone able to set me straight

-ME3, CoD, and SWTOR are not all too demanding. An upper mid range card like a 650M even would likely give you better quality than could be found on a console.

-Non gaming specific laptops with upper mid range cards like the 650M could keep you happy, but they won't give you anywhere near as good visuals as you could be getting on a dedicated gaming laptop. Though, if you just play SWTOR, ME3, and CoD, that's not as much of a problem. If you wanted to get a mainstream laptop, you should go for at least a 650M or a 7690M.

-As far as I'm concerned, all Fermi's are 40nm, and all keplers are 28nm. There are currently no high end Kepler cards available.

-Nvidia tends to charge more for their cards than AMD, so it's entirely possible Alienware is charging more for an inferior card. If you were to buy a Clevo, the 7970M upgrade is $100 more than the 675M upgrade.

-So basically you could go for a mainstream laptop (with a 650M/7690M) and still be satisfied, considering the games you play, however if you really want to max those games you're still going to have to go for a gaming specific laptop (with a 660M or better).