[BucketInABucket]

Well, I have decided to sell my Alienware M17x R4. I have a good price of GBP1000 (USD1614.50) and I'm looking to buy a new gaming laptop with:

Must-have

• At least GTX 765m graphics card
• Reasonable mass (under 9 pounds)
• 5cm (2in) or thinner
• At least 15in screen
• USD2200 or less

Preferable

• As customizable as possible
• GTX 770m graphics card or better
• 17in screen
• Backlit keyboard (doesn't have to be fancy)
• Not ugly, but doesn't have to be beautiful
• Less than 6 pounds of mass

I'm aware that these are a tight set of requirements and that I will have to make a few compromises on the preferable section. With that in mind, right now I'm considering (ranked in order of preference):

1. Sager NP8275-S
2. MSI GS70
3. GIGABYTE P35K

Any other suggestions or problems with my considerations will be good, thanks.

 

[barryirvineca]

Lenovo Y510p with dual GT 755m/750m graphics in Sli can do the trick
 
Not expensive imo
 
If I were you, the MSI GS70 has a really reasonable weight... but for the value, it is a little bit too overpriced
 
Good Luck!
 
Check this out - it might give you a pretty good idea of what to look for!: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0An1ksLSUsclxdDU1NE8zR3dkMG8yRUs1Ykh6N19aVlE&usp=drive_web#gid=0

 

[BucketInABucket]

Its my second option because it only has a GTX 765 card. If it had a GTX 780, it would straight-up be my first.

 

[whitedragon551]

  Lenovo Y510p with dual GT 755m/750m graphics in Sli can do the trick
 
Not expensive imo
 
If I were you, the MSI GS70 has a really reasonable weight... but for the value, it is a little bit too overpriced
 
Good Luck!
 
Check this out - it might give you a pretty good idea of what to look for!: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0An1ksLSUsclxdDU1NE8zR3dkMG8yRUs1Ykh6N19aVlE&usp=drive_web#gid=0

A single 770GTX is better than 2 755's in SLI mode.
 
Look into the Sager NP8235 or if you want backlit keyboard the NP8265. Up to 32Gbs of RAM, 770GTX. They are very nice all around. I just picked up an NP8235. I plan on using it for BF3 and 4. The Sagers also have the option for a main SSD drive and 2 mSATA drives for a RAID configuration as well. In mine I ended up using a Samsung 840 Evo 120Gb SSD for the main drive and bought a CD drive HD caddy and took out the disc drive and replaced it with the 7200RPM 750Gb HD that came in it. All of my Steam and Origin games are set to install to the D drive to save space on the SSD.
 
If you check out XoticPC.com they are offering $50 off on orders over $1250 on Sager laptops. If your budget is $1600 you could upgrade the GPU in the NP8265 to either the AMD 8970 or the GTX780 and still come in under your budget.

 

[BucketInABucket]

Hmm I'll think about that but I prefer a 17in laptop for some reason, xoticPC seem to be a good reliable website though.

 

[whitedragon551]

Hmm I'll think about that but I prefer a 17in laptop for some reason, xoticPC seem to be a good reliable website though.

Ive ordered through XoticPC multiple times over the past few years. They offer military discounts, free shipping, cash discounts. The Sager does have a 17" variant that should off the features your after and still come in under $1600.

 

[BucketInABucket]

Yes I think it's the version of the number 1 in the laptops I'm already considering, the Sager NP8275 without the S (the difference is DVD instead of blu-ray and no SSD drive), and it comes out to about USD1888.44 inc. 2 year warranty and windows 8 if I don't upgrade anything else (I will customize it with a laser engraving which is USD59 extra though). That reminds me, is it necessary to upgrade the cooling and screen to a higher gamut %? It's an extra USD114 if I additionally upgrade the cooling system and USD149 if I upgrade the screen.

 

[whitedragon551]

Yes I think it's the version of the number 1 in the laptops I'm already considering, the Sager NP8275 without the S (the difference is DVD instead of blu-ray and no SSD drive), and it comes out to about USD1888.44 inc. 2 year warranty and windows 8 if I don't upgrade anything else (I will customize it with a laser engraving which is USD59 extra though). That reminds me, is it necessary to upgrade the cooling and screen to a higher gamut %? It's an extra USD114 if I additionally upgrade the cooling system and USD149 if I upgrade the screen.

The only things I would consider upgrading are the thermal paste and copper cooling. Any of the other hardware you could upgrade yourself down the road if you wanted to.
 
Highly doubt you will recognize any difference in the screen. The screen's on these Sagers are very nice. I have an 8235 because I didnt like the backlight keypad design. Its a tank.
 
I upgraded my RAM myself, upgraded to a SSD myself and used a hard drive bay and placed it where the CD drive was for extra storage. Everything these days is cloud based so I have no need for a disc drive.

 

[BucketInABucket]

I have decided on the NP-9380. Will be adding:
Adding 8GB ram since it's only USD19
Gloss screen for USD100 (I prefer it to matte)
HDD to 7200RPM 1TB for USD20
Copper cooling + IC diamond thermal compound for USD114
GTX780 for USD250
Laser etching for USD59 (couldn't resist)
Bigfoot Networks Killer for USD50
Windows 8.1 for USD80
2-year warranty for USD

Total: USD2231.97 on xoticpc (slightly over-budget but worth it for the laser engraving )

Any suggestions?

 

[whitedragon551]

I have decided on the NP-9380. Will be adding:
Adding 8GB ram since it's only USD19
Gloss screen for USD100 (I prefer it to matte)
HDD to 7200RPM 1TB for USD20
Copper cooling + IC diamond thermal compound for USD114
GTX780 for USD250
Laser etching for USD59 (couldn't resist)
Bigfoot Networks Killer for USD50
Windows 8.1 for USD80
2-year warranty for USD

Total: USD2231.97 on xoticpc (slightly over-budget but worth it for the laser engraving

)

Any suggestions?

My suggestions:
 
1. You should skip the Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless card. It doesnt do anything special that you cant do from your router. Also pretty much useless if you have a decent internet connection.
2. Skip the HD as the main drive. Go straight for a 120 or 256Gb SSD. Load times in game are much much faster.
 
Also have you used Windows 8? If not I would strongly suggest Win7 64 bit.

 

[BucketInABucket]

What advantage does the Bigfoot Networks Killer card have over the:

Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI99)
Or the
Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI98)

Also, I will be purchasing an mSATA later on to compliment the 1TB HDD. Is that a smart thing to do?

And yes I have used windows 8 since January this year so I'm used to it

 

[whitedragon551]

What advantage does the Bigfoot Networks Killer card have over the:

Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI99)
Or the
Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI98)

Also, I will be purchasing an mSATA later on to compliment the 1TB HDD. Is that a smart thing to do?

And yes I have used windows 8 since January this year so I'm used to it

 
The bigfoot Networks Killer card has built in QoS (Quality of Service) capabilities so it optimizes network traffic for games, or skype, team speak, ventrillo, or what ever you want to take priority. Any basic wireless router can do this.
 
I went with the Dual Band AC7260 in my Sager. It offers the new AC protocol which is in theory gigabit wireless speeds. To take advantage of the AC protocol you have to have a wireless router that supports AC.
 
Are you sure that laptop has mSata? Mine was advertised as having it, but I cant find the bays in it anywhere. They make 4 different versions of the 8235 that I have. Only 1 version has mSata so I would double check if your specific model has them. You will always want your SSD as your main drive. Boot times will be much faster.

 

[BucketInABucket]

Ok I will get the AC7260 then.

I have the option of adding mSATA drives to my laptop so I would assume I can do it myself as well. I hope I will be able to at any rate, I'm planning on getting SSD when I can afford it but for now I can only afford the HDD.

 

[whitedragon551]

Ok I will get the AC7260 then.

I have the option of adding mSATA drives to my laptop so I would assume I can do it myself as well. I hope I will be able to at any rate, I'm planning on getting SSD when I can afford it but for now I can only afford the HDD.

When you order I would also request that they put the additional RAM under the keyboard. There are 2 slots under the removable back and 2 under the keyboard. To install RAM under the keyboard you have to send the laptop in. If you have them install both slots under the keyboard it leaves the other 2 slots free for upgrade on your own.

 

[BucketInABucket]

Right ok thanks, I will keep that in mind. Now I have the exact setup I want, time to wait until I have all the cash needed to buy it :rolleyes: