Looking for a new gaming laptop. Advice?

[PitPat]

I'm in the market for a new gaming laptop, thought I'd ask for recommendations.

Current specs:

CPU: Intel i7-3630QM
VGA: Nvidia 660M/2GB GDDR5
RAM: DDRIII 8GB (4GB*2)
HDD: Too small (750GB, needlessly separated onto separate drives)
802.11b/g/in

I usually play via HDMI on 1080 HDTV, so I'm thinking a higher resolution video card may not be all that much worth it. Lately I've been finding my FPS has been dropping, a lot due to video card limitation or perhaps bad porting, IMO. I've also sent it back to the manufacturer for repair, twice within one month, and spent some more on it being independently repaired...it's a lemon.

Essentially I want a rig that will adapt to new games that require a fairly high threshold without a whole lot of stuttering. (Yes I'm a graphics whore.)

I may be mistaken, would a later video card with a little more video memory will make a world of difference. I don't want to break the bank on it; would like to stay under $1500. Any advice or experiences with brands other than MSI or ASUS would be appreciated.

 

[Shalamar]

Sager/Clevo. Basically the 'no name brand' of the Laptop world. They tend to be less expensive than the name brands, are actually MORE upgradeable (You can swap/change the video cards)

A quick look at the place where I bought my current Sager (Couple months ago):
$1500 will get you:
17.3" screen
i7-4810MQ
16gb ram
120gb SSD
750gb HD
nvidia 870/4gb DDR5

No warranty.. And I ALWAYS get the three warranty with my gaming laptops.

I'm pretty happy with my current machine, Though the Sagers ARE loud when the fans ramp up.

 

[jnelso99]

And the general rule for Sagers is: Sager as a company sucks and is horrible to deal with. So go through resellers like xoticpc or the like. I've been saving my pennies for a new gaming laptop, and Sager is high on my list.

Be sure to check out forums like notebookreview to see how other people like the system you're looking to purchase.

 

[Shalamar]

And the general rule for Sagers is: Sager as a company sucks and is horrible to deal with. So go through resellers like xoticpc or the like. I've been saving my pennies for a new gaming laptop, and Sager is high on my list.

Be sure to check out forums like notebookreview to see how other people like the system you're looking to purchase.

Very True. My new sager actually died a week into my having it. But I bought from XoticPC. Turn around was pretty good, Laptop returned fully functional.

 

[Soapy Sam]

You might have a look at Schenker. German. Clevo cases mostly. I don't know if they have a U.S. supplier.
I have an A102 , because I wanted something netbook sized, but powerful.
i7, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GT650, currently cranking 30k a day onthe Folding @ Home project. Doubles as a space heater. Battery life stinks, but it would.
www.mysn.co.uk

 

[GlennB]

You might have a look at Schenker. German. Clevo cases mostly. I don't know if they have a U.S. supplier.
I have an A102 , because I wanted something netbook sized, but powerful.
i7, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GT650, currently cranking 30k a day onthe Folding @ Home project. Doubles as a space heater.

Made me laugh

 

[Shalamar]

Made me laugh

It's also quite true! With the heat that a gaming laptop can put out, you can heat a small office!

 

[Damien Evans]

It's also quite true! With the heat that a gaming laptop can put out, you can heat a small office!

Good for keeping a room warm on a cold winters night, that's for sure.

 

[Dessi]

..

 

[Aepervius]

..

Tell us it all ! Let the flame of your passionate post kindle our feeling !




Just kidding

 

[Rairun]

After doing some research, last week I ordered this Clevo laptop from pcspecialist.co.uk. I'm currently waiting for it to be built.

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 4.0GB DDR5, 1152 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED PORTUGUESE KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price
£1,088.00

 

[Soapy Sam]

That should be adeqate for basic browsing and the odd email.

 

[Soapy Sam]

One question. If it has a Portuguese keyboard, why are you paying in poundses?

 

[Rairun]

I live in the UK (and the shop is UK-based), but I asked them for a PT keyboard because I work as a translator and prefer to have my special characters easily accessible.

 

[Soapy Sam]

That makes sense. Might stop people messing with it , too.

 

[PitPat]

Thanks for the advice (my fan sounds like it only has minutes left). Looking into Clevo/Sager now through resellers.

And the general rule for Sagers is: Sager as a company sucks and is horrible to deal with. So go through resellers like xoticpc or the like. I've been saving my pennies for a new gaming laptop, and Sager is high on my list.

Be sure to check out forums like notebookreview to see how other people like the system you're looking to purchase.

My current MSI is a piece of crap and their customer service/turnaround is worse, so will definitely take that into account.

ETA: If anybody cares, I'm leaning toward a Sager NP8278-S (Clevo P170SM-A). Got a few questions for their sales dept tomorrow. I was surprised the default build came without an OS, that's a first for me. Makes me wonder what other obvious things I may be overlooking. Thanks again for your advice.