The Laptop Guide - Post here for questions, deals, etc.

**Eragon** · 2012-04-14 13:31

Looks real good. The G75/55 series is coming out soon, maybe that means a price drop on their older stuff. Maybe...

**Restrat** · 2012-04-16 13:13

I was looking at this laptop from earlier in the thread, and I notice it only lists WiMax for the wireless... Is this just a newegg typo?

**The Stig** · 2012-04-16 13:39

Rest assured a laptop of that calibre would support your usual WiFi needs. I would say it's a typo for sure.

If in doubt you can always check the manufacturer's page:

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming_Powerhouse/G74SX/

Integrated 802.11 b/g/n

EDIT: I just realised, I have no idea what WiMAX is. Infact, I've not kept up to date with my wireless technologies. As far as I'm concerned, if it's got WiFi, it's sufficient. But I'm sure you don't need anything that specific/special =p

**Restrat** · 2012-04-16 13:40

thanks !

**fren.** · 2012-04-17 14:58

Originally Posted by Irohuro

I looked through and didn't see this one posted, but this is a nice one for if you're on a budget
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230216
It's been out of stock at newegg for a couple months, but I've heard its only $50 more around other places. This is the one I got after my Macbook died, and I absolutely love it.

This shit is out of stock everywhere

I don't have a desktop (rarely home) so I abused my shitty HP till it gave it out a few days ago (on about 12-13 hours a day).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

Thoughts on this one?

**Vandole** · 2012-04-25 15:17

http://www.maingear.com/boutique/pc/...idproduct=1192 thoughts?

**The Stig** · 2012-04-26 02:13

Originally Posted by fren.

This shit is out of stock everywhere

I don't have a desktop (rarely home) so I abused my shitty HP till it gave it out a few days ago (on about 12-13 hours a day).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

Thoughts on this one?

Bit late on this one, I didn't see the post. It's out of stock and might never be restocked

Otherwise, I'd rate it as average. Nothing special on it, would run things "average"

Originally Posted by Vandole

http://www.maingear.com/boutique/pc/...idproduct=1192 thoughts?

It's mentioned in the configurator there's "HD Bay 1" ... since they labelled that, I was expecting a HD Bay 2 somewhere for a SSD option, but I don't see it.

Otherwise, going by $ standards, 1200 seems incredibly expensive for such a laptop. It does look incredibly slim from that picture, so I assume this is somewhat an Ultrabook?

The graphics card is also pretty meh, Tier 2 I believe from the model number, but of the "upper tier" of Tier 2. But for a slim laptop, I guess it's quite nice, on second thought.

Any reason to go with this instead of those lovely cheap Asus Gs on NewEgg? I'm unfamiliar with this brand. The chassis looks incredibly generic, but I cannot think of where it's most used at this moment.

**Khamsin** · 2012-04-30 08:51

So a lot of 'next gen' releases of various laptop series (e.g. Asus G75, Sager/Clevo P170, MSI GT70, etc.) all with the new ivy bridge processors and usually with GTX660-680 cards are coming out now. They all have very similar specs, with some flexibility for customization. Options aside (I can stick my preferred amount of memory or HDD arrangement in any of them), anyone know anything about what might make one a little better than the others? Or does it simply boil down to finding a good deal on one I like, and getting that.

I've done the most research thus far on Asus G75s, and it seems to solve a few issues they had with their G74s (such as the lack of a numlock key). Don't know enough about last year's sager/clevos or MSIs or other brands to know what they improved. But if anyone's seen any good ones just coming out, please post about it!

**Dominico** · 2012-05-11 15:44

Soooo I was looking around for a decent laptop and found this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+15....ptop&cp=1&lp=1

Any good? Wasn't looking to spend more than around 500-600. Looking to mostly just use for FFXI and some Photoshop stuff. Would also like to be able to play Diablo 3, though I know it won't be on high (would at least like mid settings, though). My main concern is the fact that it's an AMD (only used Intel my entire life) and not sure how they've been holding up lately.

**The Stig** · 2012-05-11 15:58

Khamsin: I have no investigated/bothered to read about the new new stuff yet, so I have no comment but to sit it out and wait and see. GPU wise, lets see what benches better than what, but as it's a laptop I would say all would be pretty much the same if you're not looking to balls to the walls max your games out.

Dominico: That's a AMD A8-3520M in that laptop there. Benchmark and rating wise, it's just nearly as fast as a "tier 2 2007" laptop back in 2007. In today's terms, that, in my mind/own tier list, is a Tier 3 CPU. With the exception of it being quad core, it should be on par with an Intel Core 2 Duo T9200. In other words, not really that good. Although for that price, it's expected. What Intel CPU do you currently have right now?

It doesn't matter if it's Intel or AMD, we just need to investigate what benchmark it's capable of to get an idea overall. It's true however, that currently Intels rule the notebook CPU world, but sooner or later AMD will creep up with their improved versions of their APU (CPU+GPU in one chip) and take over the "lower tier/end" notebook world. We have yet to see if they're going to push on with a high end notebook CPU.

**Dominico** · 2012-05-25 08:45

Bit late on the reply, but I'm currently using a Core 2 Duo (don't remember the exact model, I'm not home atm) in a tower I built roughly 6-7 years ago. I'm just sorta low on space and wanted to make the switch from tower to laptop without having to drop a shitton of cash. Ideally I'd love to get a Macbook Pro, but I'm not gonna spend 2k. I'm not looking to do anything over the top like I said in my first post, just some basic stuff. Would love to be able to play D3 (mid settings is fine), but if I can't then so be it. Really just looking to get something for no more than 600 (I'd probably go to 700) that could last me for a good couple of years. The laptop in the link I posted had pretty good overall specs imo, I was just iffy on the processor. It looks like I'll be able to run FFXI on max settings just fine with those specs, I just wasn't too sure about more modern-day stuff.

Just saw this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+1...ack&cp=1&lp=2s
and this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+14%...2014&cp=1&lp=3

EDIT: Was reading reviews (yeaaaaaaah, I was bored) on the first one I posted and people are claiming they're running D3 and TOR on mid settings just fine. I'm starting to lean in the HP's direction....still iffy though. I always get all paranoid about buying something whenever it's over $100

**Anakron** · 2012-05-26 00:33

Two 17" laptops:

http://www.amazon.com/K73SV-DH51-17-...dp_ob_title_ce

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-AS...ref=pd_cp_pc_3

Both have dedicated GPUs, so they'll be better than the ones you listed. The Asus' is much better.

**Kenshiin** · 2012-05-29 18:18

I'm trying to pick out my first laptop and would like some advice. My work will be buying it but I'm trying to keep it around $500-600. I plan to multi-task, but mainly it will be for the typical everyday work things like MSoffice, email, and web browsing.

First, is there anything to look out for when dealing with the different brands? I saw a few ASUS and ACER that caught my eye as well as a Lenova.

I was looking at getting an I5, but is it overkill for what I need? Will 4GB of memory be enough or should I jump to 6?

If you have any recommendations to show me, I don't want to go bigger than the 15.6" size and it needs to have a numpad.

**The Stig** · 2012-05-31 03:06

i5 is good, any slow down will probably be less noticable using one.
4gb of memory is sufficient unless you plan to run some very demanding applications (50 tabs in Chrome?)
Most 15.6 laptops have a numpad these days, anything smaller would most likely not

Asus/Acer are fine really. I would pitch Asus to be more in the Gaming Category and Acer to business based on their range of laptops (in the UK).

**Khamsin** · 2012-06-10 21:21

So I was looking at a couple options for a new laptop.

Both have i7 3610QM, 16GB RAM, 128GB Crucial M4 SSD + 750GB 7200RPM HDD, Intel Advanced-N 6235 a/b/g/n, 17" 1920x1080 Matte Display w/72% gamut, Win 7 64-bit (coupon to upgrade to 8, but not sure if I'd want to)

The options are:

Asus G75VW - GTX 670m (Optimus is disabled by the manufacturer)

or

Sager NP9170 - HD 7970m (Enduro is unable to be disabled)

Very similarly priced, except for a little bit more for the Sager because of the 7970m vs the 670m in the Asus. Any opinion on either laptop? Also, would Enduro (ATI's "Optimus", except it's load balancing instead of graphics switching) cause any issues with FFXI?

**Mellema** · 2012-06-10 21:59

Originally Posted by Khamsin

So I was looking at a couple options for a new laptop.

Both have i7 3610QM, 16GB RAM, 128GB Crucial M4 SSD + 750GB 7200RPM HDD, Intel Advanced-N 6235 a/b/g/n, 17" 1920x1080 Matte Display w/72% gamut, Win 7 64-bit (coupon to upgrade to 8, but not sure if I'd want to)

The options are:

Asus G75VW - GTX 670m (Optimus is disabled by the manufacturer)

or

Sager NP9170 - HD 7970m (Enduro is unable to be disabled)

Very similarly priced, except for a little bit more for the Sager because of the 7970m vs the 670m in the Asus. Any opinion on either laptop? Also, would Enduro (ATI's "Optimus", except it's load balancing instead of graphics switching) cause any issues with FFXI?

The 7970 is the best mobile graphics card available right now, so if you want to run 3 monitors and 3D graphics then it's the way to go. If you really don't need it for those applications though, keep in mind it will run hotter and use more power than the 670. The extra heat would be my biggest concern when dealing with a laptop.

**Toxictaru** · 2012-06-10 22:45

Buying a G75 can be a major hassle as well, as there was a manufacturing problem for a while with them at the start. Regardless, The G-series of laptops from Asus has been popular but pretty significantly flawed. Their constant focus on nVidia cards has been annoying too, as they haven't released a model in the G-series since the G73 (and even that was in the first batch of them).

Honestly, if you're getting them at a similar price, the Sager laptop is better. Just starting from the graphics card and moving on up its better. I look at it like this: Asus is doing mainstream gaming laptops, Sager and Clevo are doing more dedicated machines.

The biggest thing you sacrifice is going to be actual noise. The G-series of laptops tend to be extremely quiet, the laptop itself is built around its cooling system instead of the other way around. Sager will tend to be a bit louder, but realistically, it isn't an issue.

**Khamsin** · 2012-06-10 23:25

Well, I had placed an order for the Asus last month which has been pending arrival of the actual machine, since they've been held up by Thunderbolt certifications. The current ETA is Mid June. But all this waiting has made me consider other options, because since I originally placed my order, the 7970m came out and the 680m is due soon, too. But the 680m is $300 more than the 7970m, and I keep hearing about optimus switching problems (especially with games that go from launchers). So I'll probably pass on that.

Since my order is still in pre-order status, I may switch to the Sager NP9170 with the 7970m. Though I'm sure it runs hotter than the 670m (though the 670m itself is an overclocked 570m Fermi, and not a Kepler), as long as Sager has good cooling and the palm rest area isn't warm, I'll be happy. I have a Dell XPS M1730 from a few years ago and the palm rest area gets uncomfortably warm just playing FFXI. My only concern regarding FFXI, at least, is whether or not Enduro's load balancing will interfere with it. I know FFXI gets pretty finicky about changes to the graphics while you're playing.

**Eragon** · 2012-06-11 00:24

This is all based on my stalking the Sager/7970m threads on notebookreview for months but Sager is definitely the way to go. Card temps don't go too far past the 60C range under full load and the capacity to overclock on it is crazy. The laptop itself doesn't get too hot either. With Enduro people are saying the way it works is when you click on a program for the first time it asks you whether you want to use the dedicated or the integrated card for that program. On Alienware laptops its been reported that having Enduro on lowers the performance of the 7970m but you can disable it to fix it. On the Sagers you can't disable it but there is no performance hit so it's all good. Plus since its a new card their isn't exactly that great of driver support out yet so it should definitely improve. The only way I would say the Asus over the Sager is if money was an issue. I have a NP170 with the 7970m on order, hopefully it arrives within a week or two

**Anakron** · 2012-06-11 14:08

Yea, I've also read that the 7970M actually runs at pretty low temperatures. Also, if you really want a 670M, you can get it on an NP9170 as well, and it'll be $200 less than getting one with the 7970M.

The Asus does have a chiclet style keyboard, but if you get the NP9170 from Xoticpc, you can get have them substitute a chiclet keyboard for $90.

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