Which of three notebooks?

[Anzor]

First, a huge thanks to this site and it's members. It has been immensely helpful in my research for my new notebook. I game a lot in my free time. I do basic video editing for work (vids average 90s in length). All three options are within my budget.

• 15" Asus G55VW. It has a nVidia 660M GPU, 8GB (2x4) 1600MHz RAM and a Bigfoot 1102 for $1854.
  
• 17" Asus G75VW. It has a nVidia 670m, 16GB (4v4) 1600MHz RAM and Bigfoot 1102 for $2098.
  
• 17" Sager NP9170 with AMD 7970, 8GB (2x4) 1600MHz RAM and Intel 6235 for $2172.01.

In all other respects they are the same. CPU is Intel i7-3610QM. Primary drive is 128GB SSD. Secondary is 750GB 7200RPM HDD.

What kind of performance differences may I see and how long might the notebooks last? My current is six years old which is my goal. Also debating using budget surplus for Asus models to upgrade screen color gamut or improving cooling (not planning to overclock).

I hope I included enough information, feel free to ask for more.

[navdeepz]

well buy the SSD from some retailers . they would sell it cheaper then the ones offered by sager ... and sager has the best config. 7970amd would outdo any card from the above 3 ...

[jrfox87]

The sager with the 7970m gpu will wipe the floor with the cards in both the Asus models.

[Anzor]

I understand the 7970 is superior. But how much of a practical difference will it make? Are we talking, for example, WoW on Ultra settings with 30 fps on the 670m vs 60 fps on the 7970? Or is it as great as High vs Ultra?

Also, no consideration made for reinvesting savings from GPU into improving other aspects of the notebook.

Still wondering how long it will last. I haven't been following computer development for a few years so I don't know how fast hardware improves or the demands of software.

For reference, my current computer is an old Dell never meant for gaming. I run League of Legends on Custom Low (lower than even the Low settings) and am lucky to get 20 fps. I really don't have a clue what it takes to run games/programs at peak performance.

[jrfox87]

Here are links to benchmarks of the 7970m and the 670m. They should give you a better idea of the performance differences between the two beyond just other people's opinions.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

AMD Radeon HD 7970 - Notebookcheck.net Tech

I also lean towards the sager as it is more customizable and weighs less than the Asus G75. And of course for gaming, since the 7970m in the Sager is more powerful, it will last longer as far as playing new games in the future goes.

[Mobius 1]

Don't take asus, take the Sager.

[Anzor]

Thanks jrfox87, I didn't realize the difference was so staggering. Any recommendations for things to change or improve otherwise?

The last thing I'm debating is getting the SteelSeries chiclet keyboard. It's a hundred more but worth it if it's more dependable/durable.

Don't take asus, take the Sager.

Really an unhelpful comment when it doesn't include any support.

[jrfox87]

Thanks jrfox87, I didn't realize the difference was so staggering. Any recommendations for things to change or improve otherwise?

The last thing I'm debating is getting the SteelSeries chiclet keyboard. It's a hundred more but worth it if it's more dependable/durable.

In my opinion it sounds like a great build and the only think I personally would add is the IC Diamond thermal compound upgrade to help things run a little more cool. Other than that small thing it sounds like a beast of a machine.

I personally have no experience with the SteelSeries keyboard but from what I have heard from others it seems pretty much that half the people couldn't care less about it and other absolutely love it. I have also heard many people say great things about the stock keyboard as well so I can't say if it would be worth that much to upgrade to it.

[Anzor]

Thanks again, jrfox87. The price listed already includes the IC Diamond and Copper Cooling upgrades. My old laptop has heating issues so I have a small desk fan blowing over it constantly while in use. I'd rather not have the experience again.

I'll do more research for about the keyboard. I'm leaning towards not upgrading since I typically have issues typing quickly on chiclets since I'm not used to the spacing and it is quite expensive.

Thanks for your help!