Best gaming laptop for $1400-$1600?

[Curs3]

Ok good a 2-3 year minimum should be fine this will be my first gaming laptop and major purchase so I just want to get all my facts straight before I put that kind of money out. Are there any legit complaints about Sager products? Or any kinks people just don't like about them? I can't seem to find any problems from my research.

Should I spend the extra $75 to have then OC my PC? I don't know how easy it would be to do it myself so would it be worth it?

The Sager do not have any noticeable issues that need to be mentioned. Their build quality is top notch and their cooling systems are great. They are adequately quiet for a gaming laptop. The keyboard is said to have certain "Ghosting" issues, but I wouldn't really bother about it. These are hardly any serious issues to mention.
And regarding the speakers, I really haven't heard or seen any issues. These are laptop speakers and I would never expect too much from them. There is a reason why gamers use headphones/earphones. Having said that the speakers in the Sager are no pushover. They have the Onkyo speakers which is quite an upgrade compared to the older terrible speakers. These newer speakers are not on par with the Dynaudio of the MSI but are certainly pretty good.

Regarding OC'ing I would suggest you to do it yourself by following Slick's step by step guide. It is no big deal with this guide and fellow people in these forums to help you in case of any minor issues.

[GUIDE] Installing and Overclocking the AMD Mobility 7970 in the M17x R3,an illustrated guide

[MX5J6]

Well with all this help I shouldn't have any problems then. I use headphones anyway when gaming so speakers aren't a big issue for me.

Is the Bigfoot killer worth the money? I don't know much about it and feel like a nub now. Haha

[Curs3]

Well with all this help I shouldn't have any problems then. I use headphones anyway when gaming so speakers aren't a big issue for me.

Is the Bigfoot killer worth the money? I don't know much about it and feel like a nub now. Haha

I really dont see the need to buy one. I use broadband at my place and I am sure the stock wireless card will do the job.

[MX5J6]

OK just making sure because I saw someone else on these forums talking about it so I though I'd ask. What about the thermal compound?

[Curs3]

OK just making sure because I saw someone else on these forums talking about it so I though I'd ask. What about the thermal compound?

The thermal compound is the material applied between the heat sink and the card itself in the case of the GPU and the processor in the case of the CPU. It as good thermal conductivity and allows for proper contact.

Considering you are getting the 7970m, you can get the IC diamond paste. But they apply it only once for 35$. The best thing would be to get it and re paste it yourself may be once in 6 months. Considering the temps on the 7970m it really is not necessary. But since it is after all the fastest GPU, and also seeing its overclocking potential, it doesn't hurt to get once just in case.

So this is a decision completely on you. The best thing would be to get a tube of IC diamond and apply it yourself. Else if the 35$ is no big deal for you, yes it is worth it. If you want to save the money then its fine. You can skip it. It is not a must.

[MX5J6]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I think I will have then do of now for $35 since its not really an outrageous number and like you said, do it again later on. Just want to get the best out of it without going over budget which is around $1600, give or take.

[phill1978]

can the samsung be purchased with a 7970m ? and can those horrid speaker lights / red circles be turned off ?

[Curs3]

As far as I know the Samsung still hasn't released its Samsung 7 series with the 7970m. I am not sure when it is expected too. And what speaker lights are you talking about? The Samsung or the Sager?

[MX5J6]

So I decided to go with this configuration.

Sager NP9170

17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)
Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU ( + 35 )
AMD Radeon HD 7970M (2048MB) GDDR5 DX11 ( + 200 )
8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) ( - 50 )
750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 20 )
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit ( + 80 )

Total after all discounts - $1581.54

Thanks for everyone's help. =]

[smokinokie]

So I decided to go with this configuration.

Sager NP9170

17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)
Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU ( + 35 )
AMD Radeon HD 7970M (2048MB) GDDR5 DX11 ( + 200 )
8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) ( - 50 )
750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 20 )
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit ( + 80 )

Total after all discounts - $1581.54

Thanks for everyone's help. =]

That should give you years of solid performance. Get yourself an SSD when you have some spare $, gotta love the current SSD prices wars.