Lookin' for a gaming rig!

[Zephik]

My buddy who is currently serving across seas at the moment is coming back for an unknown amount of time and wants to pick up a new gaming laptop while he's here. I currently don't have a reliable means to stay connected to the web so I need your guys help on this one.

He wants an alienware, but it doesn't have to be if there's a much better machine elsewhere. He also doesn't want to go over $1500.

So help me find the best gaming laptop for under $1500. Thanks!

[StormRider]

well, as far as Alienware goes, this looks like something he'd like
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-alienware-m17x/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-alienware-m17x&s=dhs&cs=19

[diluzio91]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220696
+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153057
+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834998051
+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826999069

1192.96+S&H, gives you a laptop, mouse, chill mat, and mousepad. Its not alienware, but it handles every game my roommate has thrown at it at med to high settings. just be sure to use the chilmat when gaming, it gets pretty toasty otherwise.

[BuzzKillington]

I would recommend a 5L Steel mouse pad. They're expensive but very nice. I've had mine for about 4 years now.

[NightrainSrt4]

I don't think you can get much better than the Asus G73 at Best Buy. (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7 +Processor+-+Black/9741729.p?id=1218165344675&skuId=9741729&st=g73&cp=1&lp=1)

i7 CPU
6GB RAM
5870 Mobility
500GB
.
.
.
$1,200.

:eek:

Edit: And you can grab these at your local BB.

[x88x]

I would second the G73. Great machine, that. Looks like that's a G73JH-X1...and a good deal on it at that, I think that normally goes for ~$1,300. Might want to consider the G73JH-A2 though, for the upgrade from a 1600x900 to 1920x1080 panel. It is ~$250 more, though you also get a second 500GB HDD, and another 2GB of RAM.
http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=11071040&cac=Result

[dr.walrus]

I don't think you can get much better than the Asus G73 at Best Buy. (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7 +Processor+-+Black/9741729.p?id=1218165344675&skuId=9741729&st=g73&cp=1&lp=1)

i7 CPU
6GB RAM
5870 Mobility
500GB
.
.
.
$1,200.

:eek:

Edit: And you can grab these at your local BB.

Um, wow, that's a lot of kit for that much money.

Yeah, buy this!

[Luke122]

G73 FTW. :) I managed to get my hands on a G71 and G72 in the last few weeks (just to work on, not to own.. *sigh* )

[Zephik]

Sweet Zombie Jesus, that thing is a friggin' beast! Lol

Can someone build a similar or better setup with alienware while remaining under $1500? Just for comparison cuz' I know he really wants one.

[dr.walrus]

Sweet Zombie Jesus, that thing is a friggin' beast! Lol

Can someone build a similar or better setup with alienware while remaining under $1500? Just for comparison cuz' I know he really wants one.

Nope. If he wants to spend $1500, why not take x88x's advice and buy the upgraded model, which is an absolute tank. To get an Alienware M17x at the exact same specification, I priced it up on their site and you're looking at $2449. Edit: No, $2649. Almost double the cost.

I've had an Alienware laptop, and all it was good for was looking leet. One of the worst purchases I've ever made, and fortunately it died twice so I ended up getting a refund!

[Luke122]

I've worked on a Dell XPS M1710, and it was a nice machine, but certainly not worth the price, and compared to the G7x series Asus, it was a MONSTER. Very thick, very heavy, and it ran really hot.

I still vote G72 or G73. :D Put an alienware sticker on it if he's that attached to the branding. :D

[diluzio91]

i vote the G73, i would still pick up the cooling matt though... those slim laptops get pretty toasty, idk if he has other peripherals already though. ( i concede my defeat, i just did a quick search)

[dr.walrus]

Put an alienware sticker on it if he's that attached to the branding. :D

I still sorta miss how my alienware laptop used to light up in the dark. Looked like a bit of a nutter with it on my desk at the office though!

[Zephik]

I still vote G72 or G73. :D Put an alienware sticker on it if he's that attached to the branding. :D

not so much the brand as it is the way they look. But yeah I'm going to recommend the Asus along with this Alienware.

http://i862.photobucket.com/albums/ab190/Zephik72/74cc7795.jpg

Is the i3 a good processor? I'm so out of the loop I don't even know a single thing about the new Core series except that i7 is quad core. (I think anyways lol)

[x88x]

Think of the i3 as more along the lines of the Celeron. I don't know what Dell is smoking, letting you configure that laptop with one. So, to answer your question.. Yes, the i3 is a fine processor...just not for what your friend wants to do. There is a very good reason why the i7-720 is a $300 upgrade on that model.

EDIT:
Here's a much better comparison to the Asus:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/Screenshot.png

[Zephik]

Speaking in gaming terms, what would be the difference between the i3 and i7?

Also for both laptops, what are we talking here settings wise? Medium for most games? High?

[x88x]

To be completely honest, I don't know how well the i3 would perform gaming, and really it depends on what kind of gaming he's doing. That being said, the i3 is almost definitely going to be the bottleneck in that system, and I know on my desktop with a Q9450, it's pretty common for my CPU utilization to be in the upper 25% for all cores when I'm playing recent games. I suppose it's really none of my business what he ends up choosing, I just think if you're gonna spend that much on a laptop, you shouldn't be saddled with a budget CPU.

What is it about the Alienware design that he likes? Try showing him some pictures of the G73. Who knows, he might like it. :D

EDIT:
Oh, missed the settings question. For the G73, very high, for the Alienware like you configured I would say probably medium; up that to an i7-630 or i7-720, and that'll boost to high.

[dr.walrus]

Here's a much better comparison to the Asus:


Actually, I think it's these two that best represent the G73 X1 and A2

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/5962/capturemp.jpg (http://img704.imageshack.us/i/capturemp.jpg/)http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/8401/capture2mq.jpg (http://img704.imageshack.us/i/capture2mq.jpg/)



Each one a sweet thousand bucks more expensive than the Asus.

There is nothing more frustrating than people coming over and looking at your sweet, sweet glowing Alienware laptop and saying 'what's it running under the hood?' and then them MOCKING you about how crap it actually is.

[x88x]

Yeah, you make a good point. I was going off the M15x because that's the one that he configured.

[Zephik]

I don't suppose that Asus comes in a 15" version? He's now trying to stray away from having a giant lappy to lug around, which is understandable.

Maybe we can pull up a few more, albiet smaller, options?

[Zephik]

Oh boy... Lol

okay, so, now he wants a best option per screen size. So we need to find the best laptops for 17" models, 15" models and like what? Isnt it like 13" after 15"? Hmmm, this might be tricky. Let's eliminate anything that isn't a gaming rig, obviously. Let's also be sure it can handle WoW on high settings. I know he plays that a lot among FPS games like counter strike. WoW shouldn't be that hard tho, even my 5 yr old rig plays that on medium to medium high settings. Counter Strike... I've never played. Would it be difficult to find something that can play it on high without going over $1500? It doesn't have to be, like, maxed or anything. But... He does want to "play games like they were meant to be played". Hmmm.

Ahh, curse budget builds with specific needs. Lol

[x88x]

Hahaha, ok, let's see..

For 15", there's the G51. Here's an example of one of the models of it:
G51J-A1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PAQXCW/ref=s9_k2as_se_tr01?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-no-results-center-1&pf_rd_r=0N727D9Q321D1YCM62ZH&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=480051571&pf_rd_i=G51JX-A2)
Vital stats:
15.6" 1920x1080 screen
i7-720
4GB RAM
GTX260M
Nice, but it's capped at 4GB of RAM (at least according to Amazon..Asus' website seems to be on the fritz).

There's also the Sager NP8690 (http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP8690)
Vital Stats:
15.6" 1600x900 or 1920x1080 screen
i5 or i7 CPU
4,6, or 8GB RAM
Mobility Radeon 5870/Geforce GTX260M/Quadro FX 2800M (you choose, you don't get all 3 :P )

Both are around $1500. One nice things that I just remembered about the G73 though; unlike most laptops that only have 2 SO-DIMM slots, it has 4 slots, so you can either take it up to 16GB, or you can take it to 8GB without paying an arm and a leg.

You're not really gonna find much in the sub-15" category. The only one I know of is the Alienware M11x with a Geforce GT335M.

Out of curiosity though, does he do any gaming besides WoW and CS? The reason I ask is that both of those are pretty lightweight games, so really any of these would be massive overkill for those games.

[Zephik]

Well, I almost murdered my iPod in the process, but it is done. Took me only like two hours too! Lol...... ... .

Best 18" Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114797

Best 17" Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220695

Best 16" Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127052

Best 15" Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220721

Best 14" Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127032

Best 13" Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220717

okay, so now I need those sorted from most powerful in gaming to least powerful in gaming. I appreciate it! I'm now going to take a breather. Lol

[x88x]

Well, personally I wouldn't touch most of those for cost/performance reasons, but..

G73JH-X1 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220695)
G51JX-3D (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220721)
X505-Q870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114797)
VPCF117FX/B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127052)
VPCCW27FX/B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127032)
U30JC-A1 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220717)

If I were you, if he wants a 15", I would go for the Sager. Their stuff is at least as well made as Asus, and it will kick the crap out of most of those laptops, for about the same price.

[Zephik]

Where does this Alienware place in that list?

http://i862.photobucket.com/albums/ab190/Zephik72/74cc7795.jpg

[x88x]

I would place it between the two Asus'.

[dr.walrus]

your friend sounds like a pain. no offence ;)

[Zephik]

lol nah, that's mostly just me making him sound that way. It's not like how it sounds at all. I may or may not have suggested to look at more than just 15" models... And I may or may not have kept saying how cool the alienware does look and how it's still a major improvement over what he has now. His current rig doesn't even have a dedicated card. It's an onboard gpu. lol

But yeah, he wouldn't have asked for help from me if I weren't a willingly thorough person by nature so it's all good. I enjoy all this even if it's a bit frustrating at times. lol

The Asus has seriously grown on me though, so I'm really pushing it now. I sent him a bunch of glamor shots lol it actually does look pretty cool once lit up. It has a nice faux rugged/professional look. Combine that with the pretty lights and it's actually kinda impressive looking.

[x88x]

It has a nice faux rugged/professional look. Combine that with the pretty lights and it's actually kinda impressive looking.

And combine that with it being one of the most powerful laptops on the market at any price.. :twisted:

[Zephik]

Alright, so he bought the Asus G73, but apparently it never got to him. Paid for it and everything. I wish I knew what was up, but he never has enough time to say anything. This time he's going to have it delivered to his parents house here in the states. lol

I told him that there really isn't anything better than the G73, but... yeah. Is there anything out there with it's guts? Ignore price for now, within reason. Like, don't go over $2000 I guess. lol

Edit: Oh and also maybe a blu-ray player. Not required, but, you know. If you find one anyways.

[x88x]

Where did he order it from?

[Zephik]

Well, I think we can say no to Falcon Northwest. lmao

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/2488/fnwbs.jpg


Where did he order it from?

I haven't the slightest idea. He's over in Afghanistan right now, so probably from somewhere over there since he wanted it delivered to him there. I really have no idea.

The Asus G73 IS the best laptop out there apparently, though. It even has the Blu-Ray and 1080p screen. I looked but couldn't find anything better without being extraordinarily more expensive.

[x88x]

Yeah, the last I looked, there wasn't anything even close under $2,000. Has he tried contacting the company he ordered it from to try and work it out with them or has he tried contacting the company he used to pay for it (VISA/Paypal/etc)? If he can prove that the company stole his money, he can probably (hopefully) get it back. Don't give up on the G73 just because some sketchy company didn't deliver. :P

If I were him, what I would do if a known, reputable company won't deliver to his military base (a lot of them will deliver to US military bases, including Newegg, iirc), is have it delivered to a trusted family member or friend in the states, and have them ship it to him, or just wait till he's on leave next to pick it up.

[Zephik]

It was Newegg. They replaced it free of charge. Just awesom.

Btw... It is AWESOME! It feels amazing, it's very fast, it handles everything and it doesn't even get hot! Only hour and a half of battery life though.

I think I'm in love...

[x88x]

Great to hear!

Oh, hells yeah, if I'd known it was Newegg I would have just said contact them first. ;) They are really awesome about stuff like that. I think they might be one of the only companies that I've dealt with that it hasn't been an ordeal to work with the customer service. Them, Logitech, and EVGA are on my short list atm for consumer support awesomeness.