Desktop Gamer Goes to University, Needs Notebook

[jamesman32]

As the title states, I'll be starting college in the fall, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. As painful as this is for me, I know I cannot bring my watercooled full tower desktop PC to college with me, so begrudgingly I must search for a laptop. Frankly, I have no idea where to begin.

What is your budget?
1500

What country will you be buying this in?
U.S.

What size notebook do you prefer?
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen)
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Like: ASUS, Sony
Dislike: Toshiba, Dell, HP

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
3D CAD Design, Graphic Intense 3D Gaming

A lot of CAD. I mentor a high school FIRST robotics team and I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Also will be using the internet a lot, using MS Office, and Skype.

What games will you be playing?
TF2, CSS, DODS, Left4Dead2, Red Orchestra 2, etc. Valve games mostly.

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?
3+

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

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
High Resolution (1600 x 900)
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

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

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 06/16/2012

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

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Yes

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

I've been looking a lot at the Sony Vaio S 15.5" laptops that just came out. I saw some Vaios at Best Buy and I really like the edgy fit and finish. One thing I've always hated about laptops was their bulky, bulbous, round plastic casings. Vaios seem to be very thin with clean lines and hard edges. I like that quality in them. ASUS seems to have similar designs too. This is my main reason for really disliking brands like Toshiba, HP, and Dell. Lots of shiny round plastic.

I'd also like to mention that I'd prefer greatly to only purchase a laptop with the newest hardware. I'd greatly prefer a 3rd gen Intel i7 CPU to a 2nd gen. Same goes for GPUs. Would prefer Nvidia 600 series to the 500 series, or AMD's 7000 series to the 6000 series. I would also like the ability to add an SSD, as I've had them in my desktops for a while and I'm addicted to the access times. I will NEVER go back to a single HDD setup. I, however, have no problem buying a laptop with an HDD and buying the SSD myself if that seems to be cheaper. Same goes for RAM. I don't mind buying the laptop with a low amount of RAM and installing extra myself in order to keep costs down.

Thanks in advance guys!

[ForeverZen]

The $1500 Samsung at best buy is pretty nice. Don't have a link but it comes with an IB i7 and a 650m

[Bartlett]

Sony laptops, although aesthetic and nicely built, are backed by subpar customer service and, depending on the model, below-average screens. I wouldn't immediately discredit Dell or other brands on the basis of generalizations though. Although a lot of their low-end laptops--especially in the past--have been quite bulky and unaesthetic due to their mainly plastic build, the Precision series is quite nice. Though with the Quadro 2000M, a 2820QM, and their RGB LED screen, it is a bit outside your budget. Perhaps you can get 10% off though if you haggle.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...recision-m4600

Otherwise, what I'd recommend is a Sager NP9150. They are built by Clevo and are great quality laptops. They may not command attention like Vaios or Macs, but they aren't unappealing.

Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM - Gaming Laptops

XoticPC is a pretty good retailer based on some reviews around the forums.

If you upgrade to the matte screen and a 7970M, it just barely fits in your budget of $1500. The 7970M is currently the fastest mobile GPU on the market until it gets dethroned by the 680M (maybe), so unless you want to wait a few more weeks for that to be released (it will be more expensive) the Radeon is your best bet.

[User Retired 2]

Another option is docked gaming to a Thunderbolt eGPU. This is emerging technology.

We have just seen MSI GUS-II and BPlus TH05 eGPU products being revealed at Computex 2012. They promise x4 2.0 (SB) or even x4 3.0 bandwidth to a Thunderbolt equipped notebook. That being the first viable external pci-e link to a desktop video card. x4 3.0 providing x16 1.0 equivalent bandwidth, making it as good as some desktop systems.

Consider that a desktop GTX670 Thunderbolt-attached eGPU would require a hefty mobile SLI GTX670 notebook to provide comparable FPS performance.

See the thin-and-light link in my sig for a list of Thunderbolt-equipped notebooks entering the market now. A 14" Gigabyte U2442N, 14" Lenovo T430s or 15" Asus G55VW being a good ones to consider for your purposes. Could even look at bootcamped Macbooks. A Sandy Bridge 15" Macbook Pro had a i7-quad + HD6750M + Thunderbolt port (x4 2.0). We are yet to see the specs of the Ivy Bridge versions.

[nantesfrance]

Another option is docked gaming to a Thunderbolt eGPU. This is emerging technology.

We have just seen MSI GUS-II and BPlus TH05 eGPU products being revealed at Computex 2012. They promise x4 2.0 (SB) or even x4 3.0 bandwidth to a Thunderbolt equipped notebook. That being the first viable external pci-e link to a desktop video card. x4 3.0 providing x16 1.0 equivalent bandwidth, making it as good as some desktop systems.

Consider that a desktop GTX670 Thunderbolt-attached eGPU would require a hefty mobile SLI GTX670 notebook to provide comparable FPS performance.

See the thin-and-light link in my sig for a list of Thunderbolt-equipped notebooks entering the market now. A 14" Gigabyte U2442N, 14" Lenovo T430s or 15" Asus G55VW being a good ones to consider for your purposes. Could even look at bootcamped Macbooks. A Sandy Bridge 15" Macbook Pro had a i7-quad + HD6750M + Thunderbolt port (x4 2.0). We are yet to see the specs of the Ivy Bridge versions.

I'm concerned with Thunderbolt not working in bootcamp for Macs. Is that an issue?

[frodoz737]

My son just started his undergrad for Mechanical Engineering. Suggest you read M4600 vs. W520 vs. 8560w. Signature reflects laptop I bought him, but consider the W520/W530 as well. The Elitebook has heat issues that forced HP to deactivate Turbo-Boost in the BIOS. It is also heavier and the most expensive for like configuration. One thing I would have done different would be use a single SATA III 512GB SSD vs the mSATA and HDD. As you stated, buy low on HD and RAM, but up on CPU. Then buy a Samsung 830 512G SSD (optimize it) and Memory at Newegg, and your set many years. NVidia Optimus is your battery's friend if you go Quadro (strongly suggested for drivers, Solidworks, CATIA, AutoDesk, ect...).

We all game and most all real laptops are capable, but you might want to consider a Business Class machine. I am not your parent and I'm not preaching, but at this point you should prioritize your computer more as a tool that can also toy. For what it's worth, my boy couldn't be happier with his. See also my thread. M4600 vs 8560W. He gets the Samsung 830 512 for his Birthday if he doesn't f--k up. Best wishes.

[User Retired 2]

I'm concerned with Thunderbolt not working in bootcamp for Macs. Is that an issue?

An external Thunderbolt-to-pcie enclosure such as a TH05 is an exciting and revolutionary product for notebooks. It brings true desktop-levels bandwidth available to host pci-e cards, with a lot of interest in hosting desktop video cards for accelerated graphics/gaming/CUDA processing.

Just as soon as the MSI GUS-II or BPlus TH05 is released we can get answers to these questions and more. BPlus' facebook page comment they will get Intel Thunderbolt certification of the TH05 with a ETA for public release of July 2012.

[DaCM]

I am in a similar situation to yours with a similar budget. I've been considering the HP DV7t series as it's widely recommended on these forums, but it's overheating issues and weaker GPU didn't appeal much to me. The one I'll probably go with is the MSI GE60. It costs 1200$ and has a quad core i7 CPU, GTX 660m GPU and a 1080p screen. You can buy a 256GB SSD for 200$ on newegg and maybe some other upgrades (thermal paste, wireless card) and you're at about 1500$.
It's a nice option, however definitely have a look at it's design first as it has more of a gamer look, not a professional one that you may want.