Laptop Advice

[Garia68]

I'm looking at finally getting a now laptop. I have been using a Lenovo T61p with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, nVidia 570fx, 4GB DDR2 memory, and a 500 GB 5400 RPM HHD, and a Intel 802.11 a/g/n wirless card.

I'm thinking of the ASUS G75VW.

I do play games but I am not a serious gamer. I do some photo editing and also programming. I want another laptop that will be as reliable as my T61p and last for 4+ years while still being able to handle the latest games.

ASUS G75VW-DS72 - PRE-ORDER
- FREE!! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code "FREESHIP" in Checkout - U.S. Only, Not Available to Alaska and Hawaii)
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Matte Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - X1R553)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Day Pixel Guarantee - (Included on ASUS Standard NON-Upgraded Displays)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – X2N300)
- Stock OEM Thermal Compound ( IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU Provided FREE with Processor Upgrade!)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670M 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU – X3R525)
- No Video Adapter
- No External Mobile Display
- 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4x4GB SODIMMS) – Default (SKU – X4N211)
- Standard Finish
- Red Afterburner LED Light Package
- Standard White Backlit Keyboard
- 256GB Internal Solid State Drive (SATA III 6/Gbps) - Default (SKU - X5R414)
- 750GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) (SKU - X5R303)
- Disable Raid and Set up Hard Drives as Independant Drives
- 6X Blu-Ray Writer/Reader + 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive (SKU - X7R551)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- No Back Up Software
- Bluetooth Included (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3) (SKU - X8R052)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- No Spare AC Adapter
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- No Headset
- No External Keyboard
- Asus G Series Gaming Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system
- No Operating System Redline Boost
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk
- Keep factory installed operating system
- No thanks, do not create backup recovery DVD's
- No Antivirus Essentials Software Bundle
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year ASUS North America OEM Warranty 24/7 Support / 1 Year Accidental Coverage (Accidental Requires Registration) (SKU - A9R107)
- No thanks, standard double boxed packaging is okay with my order
- Standard Production Time
- No Xotic PC Gear

[Garia68]

Also I forgot to mention when I bought the T61p I spent $3k. I am looking to spend under $2300 for the new laptop.

[Fenom96]

Man this is complete overkill. If you wan to run the latest games on medium graphics settings, all you need is an Nvidia GeForce Gt630M and nothing higher. You could get away with spending $1200 on a gimped version of this laptop from BestBuy, and still be able to play great games.

Message me if you have any questions. Also, if you insist on going with this model, I have no issues with that, as I own a pervious version and love it.

[Garia68]

Well I would like to be able to play games on the highest detail setting for a portion of the laptop's life. I know i'll be playing in medium detail later in the laptop's life. Won't buying something like this extend the life of the laptop as long as I am willing to compromise in the quality I play my games in as the laptop gets older?

Also I see the have the Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1103 card in your G74. How does it preform and does it provide Bluetooth connectivity too?

[anotherusername]

If you are willing to spend $2300 on a laptop you should be going for a better GPU than 670M. AMD's 7970M is currently the King of the jungle. I would suggest looking at either Clevo 9170 or Alienware M17x.

[Mr_Mysterious]

You can get a 7970m in a 9150 for under $1600 these days Talk about savings.

Mr. Mysterious

[Bartlett]

Yep Mr. Mysterious is right. The Sager 9150 is a good laptop and a great deal. The 17" version is the 9170. You can buy it from PowerNotebooks and XoticPC.

[Garia68]

The following is the 9170 with the same configuration as the ASUS G75
Differences are:
Graphics cards: 7970m w/ 2GB memory vs 670m w/ 3GB memory
Hard Drives: 240GB SSD serial ATA-III vs 256GB SSD SATA III 6/Gbps
Wireless: Intel Ultimate-N 6300 vs Bigfoot Networks Killer 1103
Also the G75 has a Thunderbolt port

The price difference is ~$200
So it looks like I can get just about the same performance for a little bit less money and I also get a laptop that is more pleasing to the eye.

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)
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- AMD Radeon HD 7970M (2048MB) GDDR5 DX11 [User Upgradeable] (ETA: Early June) (SKU - S3R155)
- No Video Adapter
- No External Mobile Display
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4P761)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- No mSATA SSD
- 240gb Intel 520 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - S5R070)
- 750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R305)
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- 6x Blu-Ray Burner/Reader / 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive (SKU - S7R556)
- 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 - Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (SKU - S8R112)
- 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
- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit 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
- Sager 3 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support - Special! (SKU - S9P211)
- No thanks, standard double boxed packaging is okay with my order
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- No Xotic PC Gear

[Bartlett]

That 9170 looks great! The 7970M is one hell of a card.

[Garia68]

I keep hearing that the 7970m is a good card but in the past I've had problems with the ATI cards. It's made be partial to nVidia cards. Also ascetically I think the ASUS has a leg up on the Sager