Gaming Laptops

[Zephyr952]

Hey everyone this is a new thread based that I am creating to gather input on buying my new gaming laptop.

Yes I know ideally you'd always rather have a desktop PC as opposed to a laptop but a laptop is what I need for several reasons.

Anyways I have looked at a few sites already and still in the process of shopping around. Pretty much I am looking to spend between 2k-4k$ (preferably less) to get a top of the line gaming laptop.

Any sites or suggestions of where I should continue looking would be great! I need to know what I need to splurge on (such as graphic card/processor) and what I can be conservative on.

Thanks!:mrgreen:

[Randomness]

here's one site that might be helpful, with plenty of reviews and very helpful forums:
http://www.notebookreview.com/

[Obby]

If you're willing to spend that much, get an Alienware. You can customize it fairly well, and you don't really need to worry about it breaking down for about a year or two.

Normally, I wouldn't recommend them, but since your budget is so high, there's no reason not to, really.

[Zephyr952]

If you're willing to spend that much, get an Alienware. You can customize it fairly well, and you don't really need to worry about it breaking down for about a year or two.

Normally, I wouldn't recommend them, but since your budget is so high, there's no reason not to, really.

But could I get more for less/same price buying something else? Theres an interesting post here about the m-tech laptops that I am curious about a reply to.

[Obby]

But could I get more for less/same price buying something else? Theres an interesting post here about the m-tech laptops that I am curious about a reply to.
That depends what you're doing with your laptop. Obviously, you're going to be playing WAR, so gaming is in mind. This cuts out a substantial part of the market of sellers. In laptops, if you're gaming, you tend to get a lot of value for your money from Alienware since there aren't many high-end retailers for laptops. A lot of companies offer more powerful laptops than the most commonly sold Alienware laptops, but they cost twice as much for not much performance gain.

A good analogy would be SLI setups. If you're on a budget, there is no reason at all to go SLI since you're paying twice as much for a 30% increase in performance. But, if you've got the cash to burn, it can't hurt to use it. Similar situation with laptops, IMO. Other retailers might offer more powerful stuff, but the price jump between that and Alienware laptops isn't justified IMO.

Edit: I should mention, this is based on research done by myself about 5 or 6 months ago. This information very well may have changed since then.

[Randomness]

But could I get more for less/same price buying something else? Probably - just shop around sites like http://www.pugetsystems.com, http://www.velocitymicro.com, http://www.avadirect.com, http://www.voodoopc.com and so on, compare the configurations, compare the prices, compare the www.resellerratings.com (http://www.resellerratings.com) scores, etc. Maybe visit forums/sites like http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=0&f=10 or http://www.notebookreview.com/dellCoupon.asp where you might get lucky and find a good discount coupon for Dell gaming laptops. Just do some research :mrgreen:

[Obby]

Probably - just shop around sites like http://www.pugetsystems.com, http://www.velocitymicro.com, http://www.avadirect.com, http://www.voodoopc.com and so on, compare the configurations, compare the prices, compare the www.resellerratings.com (http://www.resellerratings.com) scores, etc. Maybe visit forums like http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=0&f=10 where you can get lucky and find a good discount coupon for Dell laptops. Just do some research :mrgreen:
Quick note: Puget systems and VooDoo PC are rather expensive for what you're getting.

[Randomness]

Quick note: Puget systems and VooDoo PC are rather expensive for what you're getting.
"Expensive" is such a subjective word... Some people might consider their prices fair considering the level of customer service they'll be getting from such shops (note the Puget's customer ratings here: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Puget_Custom_Computers)

[Walker]

If you're willing to spend that much, get an Alienware. You can customize it fairly well, and you don't really need to worry about it breaking down for about a year or two.

Normally, I wouldn't recommend them, but since your budget is so high, there's no reason not to, really.

I thought the same thing. I am in the same boat atm, im looking to spend around $4500 for a new laptop. The new Alienware Area-51 M15x fully maxed out shipping and handling taxes and all is right at $4600. Thats for a 15.4inch widescreen core2 duo extreme, 8800m GTX etc. A Dell XPS1730 17incher with SLI x2 8800m GTX is right at $4900 but i heard a few bad things about them "exploding" lol.

I just made a post about M-tech laptops that offer almost twice the "power" of the new area-51 or the dell for under $4k. They weigh over 13lbs tho with all that hardware in them and im wondering how hot they run. Wish i could find someone that actually owns one.

[Obby]

"Expensive" is such a subjective word... Some people might consider their prices fair considering the level of customer service they'll be getting from such shops (note the Puget's customer ratings here: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Puget_Custom_Computers)

True. But, out of curiosity, I built the same system I have now on VooDoo PC, and it cost almost $7000 with shipping. I definitely didn't spend anywhere close to even 1/4 that to build this. And, to top it off, I don't have to deal with crappy customer support.

I can't imagine Puget would be much less, I'm gonna guess probably about $4500 or $5000 on their site.

Edit: I was little off, it was about $3000 on Puget. I spent about $1200 total getting the machine I have now.

[Randomness]

True. But, out of curiosity, I built the same system I have now on VooDoo PC, and it cost almost $7000 with shipping. I definitely didn't spend anywhere close to even 1/4 that to build this. And, to top it off, I don't have to deal with crappy customer support.

Yes, but not everyone is willing to build their own systems by themselves, so for people who prefer to buy a pre-built system the quality of customer support is important and worth paying extra $$$ for.

[Zephyr952]

All helpful information. I guess it will come down to me finding whats best for me. I will just be comparing prices but I appreciate the input and any added advice is welcomed. Again in reply to Walker's post I am also curious about the m-tech laptops because they seem to be the best priced for a high end gaming laptop that I have found so far (I have spent about 3 hours today total researching so I am sure there is more for me to discover).

[Zephyr952]

Does anyone know about the m-tech laptops? http://www.m-techlaptops.com/specifications/mtechd900c.htm Check out the price and specs. In short the one I am looking at has a 8800 GTX (512mb DDR3 memory), 4gb ram, and intel core 2 duo 3.0ghz 200 gb 7200rpm hard drive all for about $3,000 USD. Now I think this is almost too good to be true. For a setup like this elsewhere I am looking at around $500-1000 more.

In another post someone stated that they are possibly just using techy words to try and confuse the buyer (me) in thinking I am getting more than I am. I would love to purchase one of these laptops but there is very little I actually have found about them so I almost am afraid this is a scam.

[Yog]

I am kinda in the same situation. Though, my budget is $1500. It's basically impossible to find a laptop with a graphics card better than an 8600M GT or GS for this price. So if you really want a good one you will have to shell out the money. If you aren't too concerened with the size or weight of you laptop I recommend the HP HDX series. It appears to be a great laptop with a 20 inch screen and it has all of the options you could want with a price range of 2k-4k. The only problem is if you want a 64 bit OS you need to get Vista Ultimate as they don't have home premium in 64 bit.

If you don't want a laptop that size the best I've seen is alienware. They have decent prices and are probably the best quality gaming laptops you can get.

[Yog]

Sorry, double post. I'm in the habit of pressing the back button and this site is in the habit of glitching when you do that.

[Zephyr952]

actually my budget is $3000 and this laptop has to last me several years not only for gaming but school and eventually work. I really want the specs from above, (8800GTX, 4Gb ram, 200gb HD 7200rpm, ~3ghz core 2 duo Processor). Is this unreasonable, I can go a hundred or so over but I want to keep myself from going overboard. Ill check out that HP though and plus I will be buying in anywhere from 1-4 months (I might choose to just wait til Warhammer is released) so prices may/may not come down by then.

[Obby]

Does anyone know about the m-tech laptops? http://www.m-techlaptops.com/specifications/mtechd900c.htm Check out the price and specs. In short the one I am looking at has a 8800 GTX (512mb DDR3 memory), 4gb ram, and intel core 2 duo 3.0ghz 200 gb 7200rpm hard drive all for about $3,000 USD. Now I think this is almost too good to be true. For a setup like this elsewhere I am looking at around $500-1000 more.

In another post someone stated that they are possibly just using techy words to try and confuse the buyer (me) in thinking I am getting more than I am. I would love to purchase one of these laptops but there is very little I actually have found about them so I almost am afraid this is a scam.
I would be wary of those M-Tech ones just because of the wording they're using on that site. All of their boasting about "Double!!" this and that are a bunch of crap. Sure, they're twice as fast, or hold twice as much, as some other brands, but they're acting like they're the only ones who offer those kinds of parts on a laptop, which is simply not true. Plus, the page is riddled with typos, and any professional business that wants any kind of respect usually makes sure that they at least can present themselves in a professional fashion.

And seriously, the way they word the Blu-Ray drive stuff, you'd think they're trying to say that the drive itself can store that much data, which is a complete lie. The Blu-ray disk is what holds the information, and it hold 10x as much as a standard DVD because it's new technology.

[oakae]

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529667905.php

This laptop is really good for $1,600.