Buying 1100$ gaming notebook. need advice

[ztrimby]

What is your budget?
1100$ or so

What country will you be buying this in?
USA

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

What brands do you like or dislike?
Like: sager, msi
Dislike: dell, apple

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Computer Programming, Movie Streaming and Viewing, 3D CAD Design, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

What games will you be playing?
SC2, Guild Wars 2, Maybe some battlefield, minecraft,

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?
at least 3

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 or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
No

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 05/31/2012

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

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

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

This will be for college with a computer engineering degree plus gaming and such. I have been looking at Sager Np6165 and an MSI Ge60. Def want a 1080p screen, at least 650m, I7. Any other suggestions for this price range? I was looking for something with a backlit keyboard but thats a minor point. Do the sager or the MSI have the ability to be user upgradable at that price range? and at what price range would i get those features if not?

[kevmanw4301]

I'd say you hit the nail on the head with the NP6165. It's get everything you need, and is very upgradeable. The only thins not upgradeable is the GPU.

[ztrimby]

What would be the difference between the MSI and the Sager?

EDIT: also forgot to mention build quality is very important.

[Exposed88]

get the lowest model of the NP9150, has backlit keyboard and if you pay cash will be around 1,230$

The computer is fully upgradeable almost, so it'll last quite a while

[Exposed88]

Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM
- 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 - S1R319)
- 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)
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable] (SKU – S3R517)
- No Video Adapter
- 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) - SPECIAL! (SKU - S4P369)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- No mSATA SSD
- 500gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) - Default (SKU - S5R207)
- 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
- 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

[ztrimby]

The other sager is a good idea too. A 670m plus backlit keyboard for not too much more. Sounds pretty good to me. Thank you

Also would a thermal paste upgrade do all tht much or is it nbd?

[edit1754]

That base price does not include Windows. Windows is +$80.

But you can get the sans-backlit-keyboard NP9130.

Sager NP9130 / Clevo P151EM1 - XOTIC PC - Sager 15.6" Laptop
- Select "Windows 7" under "Operating System"
- Downgrade to 1333Mhz memory

It'll be $1095 after those two changes.

[ztrimby]

That base price does not include Windows. Windows is +$80.

But you can get the sans-backlit-keyboard NP9130.

Sager NP9130 / Clevo P151EM1 - XOTIC PC - Sager 15.6" Laptop
- Select "Windows 7" under "Operating System"
- Downgrade to 1333Mhz memory

It'll be $1095 after those two changes.

Yes but that does not include the I7. Could I get away with an I5 or should I def stick with the i7? It's only another 70$

And my I can get windows for like 20$ through my dads work. Nbd there

[KumquatWrath]

i5 should be fine if you're just gaming. I don't know too much about CPU myself but from what I learned on this site, the heaviest workload my laptop gets is gaming so i5 is fine for me - if you program or do CPU-heavy stuff then go for the i7.

[ztrimby]

Ok the sager looked perfect until I saw that it's a little over noisy. Now considering a msi barebones from xotic with no hard drive Becuase the one they have first is over priced. So for about the same or even a tad less I get the gt 60s amazing keyboard and backlight and then just get a cheap copy of windows through "ppl" and buy an hdd.

Edit: I lied I'll keep the hard drive