Shopping Laptops

[Kohta]

Hello everyone, iv'e been looking for a good laptop, i'm trying to get out of gaming, but with a gamer wife it's pretty difficult when she wants someone to play with. I sold my desktop (AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 4.2ghz, 4GBs 1333 Ripjaw, Radeon HD 5970) Because i had way to many problems with the 5970, i absolutly hate that card, nothing but errors and crashes and subpar performance, my wife has a 6870 and it performed just as good, sometimes better than that $700 paper weight.

I was looking into going more mobile, i don't really care how big it is, the biggest laptop they make is plenty mobile, i do however want speed and if i do decide to game again, i would like to be able to. We are showing interest in a game called Tera, which will run the Unreal Engine 3, but i don't know how much we'll be able to play it now that we have a little girl. I'm not looking to break any benchmarks, and i'm sitting the budget around $2000.

I don't know anything about the mobile line of chips, and iv'e done a bit of overclocking, so i'm familiar with terminologies.

The following are games i play regularly:
Final Fantasy XIV (Run's very smooth on 6870, runs like crap on 5970)
Grand Theft Auto IV
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Metro 2033 (I really am not enjoying it, i'm just trying to beat it because i paid $40 for it)
and that Batman Arkham Asylum game, i would like to run this maxed out, i do like the envoirment.

This is one i have dug up that i am interested in:
Alienware M17x

Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
320GB 7,200RPM HDD
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED

$1,874

I don't know anything about the sandy bridge, i'm having a hard time finding credible sources that don't look like they were paid to say something.

Amung that, i just browse the web and watch netflix and hulu. Thanks for the input guys.

Edit: I talked to a nice lady on the alienware/dell chat thing, and they recommend the Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache) because it has more "headroom for overclocking" two things sound really odd about that, one- I didn't realize you could overclock a laptop, and two- i don't know of -any- company that tells you to go overclock your brand new $2000 machine. Sounds fishy.

 

[Bluefalcon13]

Alienware is happy allowing you to overclock. Even their small M11x has a small OC option built into the Bios. As far as the M17x overclocking, I am sure you could use something like SetFSB if there is not any overclocking features built into the BIOS.

As far as CPU performance, Turbo Boost is surprising to say the least. I have an Asus G73JH, which comes with the i7-720QM cpu (1.6ghz, 2.8ghz turbo boost) and I do not know a game that doesnt perform well on this machine. Metro2033 does perform poorly, but that is because the game is a bad port to PC...

 

[Kohta]

Alienware is happy allowing you to overclock. Even their small M11x has a small OC option built into the Bios. As far as the M17x overclocking, I am sure you could use something like SetFSB if there is not any overclocking features built into the BIOS.

As far as CPU performance, Turbo Boost is surprising to say the least. I have an Asus G73JH, which comes with the i7-720QM cpu (1.6ghz, 2.8ghz turbo boost) and I do not know a game that doesnt perform well on this machine. Metro2033 does perform poorly, but that is because the game is a bad port to PC...

Thanks, the only options i have are sandy bridges, atleast with the R.3 of the M17x, and i only have two options for a GPU, Radeon Mobility 6870, or a Nvidia Geforce GTX 460m, i can't find much on either, but i would bet neither of them are worth $2000 in terms of wanting to play a game

Here is a list of options for the R3:
CPU
Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)

GPU
1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870M
1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M

And this is the older one (Non-R3)
CPU
Intel® Core™ i7 740QM Quad Core Processor, 1.73GHz (2.93GHz Turbo Mode, 6M Cache)
Intel® Core™ i7 840QM Quad Core Processor, 1.86GHz (3.20GHz Turbo Mode, 6M Cache)
Intel Core i7 Extreme Processors
Intel® Core™ i7 940XM Quad Core Processor, 2.13GHz (3.33GHz Turbo Mode, 8M Cache)

GPU
1024 MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5870
Dual 1024 MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5870 with ATI CrossFireX™ technology

 

[Kohta]

I did find this image, if you can see it, it's a 3dmark06 test with results of SM2.0 : 8077 | HDR/SM3.0: 9334 | and CPU: 5681. Under system it says: GFX: AMD radeon HD 6900m | CPU: Intel Core i7-2720qm @ 2.2ghz | Mem: 4032

The score was 20,155 which is pretty amasing to me, i think i only scored about 21k with my 1090t @ stock and 5970 @ stock. A laptop that scores in this area would be to my liking, the problem is, you can't find a 6900 serise GPU for a laptop, and the 6870 shows up as a 5870, so thats definatly not it.

 

[thobel]

http://originpc.com/eon17-gaming-laptop-features.asp

Sick laptops if the prices don't cause you to passout

 

[Bluefalcon13]

A single 5870m is essentially the same as a desktop 5770 card. I havent looked up the specs on the 6870m, and I've never used the 460m, but my understanding is they will be good for gaming uses

TBH, another major selling factor of Alienware Laptops is the fact that you are ALLOWED to upgrade the Vid card, they will even sell you newer cards. In a year, you can upgrade to the latest and greatest, for a fraction of the price.

The M17x R3 is supposed to get some killer battery life if you go with the nVidia card thanks to Optimus..

 

[Kohta]

A single 5870m is essentially the same as a desktop 5770 card. I havent looked up the specs on the 6870m, and I've never used the 460m, but my understanding is they will be good for gaming uses

TBH, another major selling factor of Alienware Laptops is the fact that you are ALLOWED to upgrade the Vid card, they will even sell you newer cards. In a year, you can upgrade to the latest and greatest, for a fraction of the price.

The M17x R3 is supposed to get some killer battery life if you go with the nVidia card thanks to Optimus..

Oh wow i didn't know the chip could be removed, i thought all of that was soldered onto the board. i'll look into the optimus thing, thats a new one to me.

 

[thobel]

Oh wow i didn't know the chip could be removed, i thought all of that was soldered onto the board. i'll look into the optimus thing, thats a new one to me.

I have a m11x and I'm not thrilled with the Optimus thing.

 

[Bluefalcon13]

I had an M11x R1 for about 30 days (they effed up my order, then 30 days later, still didnt fix it). I did like the laptop, and I am not sold on optimus. I'd almost rather have switchable graphics as you can tell your computer how you want it to roll... either performance, or battery savings.

 

[Kohta]

I'm probably going to get there 9cell battery upgrade, but im not to worried about how long it will last battery wise, my PSP only lasts about an hour and a half playing Phantasy star portable 2 online because it has a constant wifi connection, plus it's a pretty demanding game when theres a bunch of people around, i usually just plug it up while i play, and i would do the same for any laptop i get, i don't travle much, unless im near a wall socket anyway, like the moutains in a cabin for a week. I don't know, i wish i could find some performance comparisons, i'm almost tempted to just build another desktop and skip out on a 5970, go for a 6870 or hell, i might even give Nvidia a try, my past experiance with them was awful paid like $300 for a Geforce FX 5200 about 5 years ago and it sucked.

 

[thobel]

I'm probably going to get there 9cell battery upgrade, but im not to worried about how long it will last battery wise, my PSP only lasts about an hour and a half playing Phantasy star portable 2 online because it has a constant wifi connection, plus it's a pretty demanding game when theres a bunch of people around, i usually just plug it up while i play, and i would do the same for any laptop i get, i don't travle much, unless im near a wall socket anyway, like the moutains in a cabin for a week. I don't know, i wish i could find some performance comparisons, i'm almost tempted to just build another desktop and skip out on a 5970, go for a 6870 or hell, i might even give Nvidia a try, my past experiance with them was awful paid like $300 for a Geforce FX 5200 about 5 years ago and it sucked.

If you don't need it to travel

2600k
and GTX570/GTX580 and your golden imo

 

[Kohta]

http://originpc.com/eon17-gaming-laptop-features.asp

Sick laptops if the prices don't cause you to passout

i completly missed this, sorry! i looked through it and they start way beyond where i want to even end lol, thanks though! bookmarked either way.

 

[Kohta]

If you don't need it to travel

2600k
and GTX570/GTX580 and your golden imo

Have you ever started posting something and returned to notice your quote was missing half of what you were thinking of posting? lol well i ment to have in there, that my wife wants me to get a laptop so she can feed the baby and do her college work, the way i have things set up, it doesn't work comfortably, that was 40-50% of the reason i started looking into a notebook to begin with, i do apologize for not originally mentioning that. I'll take a look at those GTX 500's, last thing i heard about Nvidia was the 250? i believe? it was thier answer to the 5970 and it didn't go as well as they wanted.

Edit: I don't want to make a new thread, but she told me to "get whatever" she mentioned she doesn have to have a laptop, my budget is $2300, Desktop, laptop, whatever, what can i get with that? (keep in mind iv'e had a horrible experiance with dual-GPUs! Half the time the GPU cores wouldn't crossfire into modern games thanks to driver issues, random desktop crashes because of one GPU idling at 157/300, and horrible frame rates even tho the games use only 30% of the GPU usuage) I have never owned an Intel nor a Nvidia since 1998, and she said she is -definatly- going to make me play this: http://www.tera-online.com/ - I have been keeping up with it, even got to test it, but the 5970 screen tearing with Vsync on was horrible, open ears guys, I would like to keep my Antec 1200, i'm rather attached to the dust filters.

 

[thobel]

Have you ever started posting something and returned to notice your quote was missing half of what you were thinking of posting? lol well i ment to have in there, that my wife wants me to get a laptop so she can feed the baby and do her college work, the way i have things set up, it doesn't work comfortably, that was 40-50% of the reason i started looking into a notebook to begin with, i do apologize for not originally mentioning that. I'll take a look at those GTX 500's, last thing i heard about Nvidia was the 250? i believe? it was thier answer to the 5970 and it didn't go as well as they wanted.

Edit: I don't want to make a new thread, but she told me to "get whatever" she mentioned she doesn have to have a laptop, my budget is $2300, Desktop, laptop, whatever, what can i get with that? (keep in mind iv'e had a horrible experiance with dual-GPUs! Half the time the GPU cores wouldn't crossfire into modern games thanks to driver issues, random desktop crashes because of one GPU idling at 157/300, and horrible frame rates even tho the games use only 30% of the GPU usuage) I have never owned an Intel nor a Nvidia since 1998, and she said she is -definatly- going to make me play this: http://www.tera-online.com/ - I have been keeping up with it, even got to test it, but the 5970 screen tearing with Vsync on was horrible, open ears guys, I would like to keep my Antec 1200, i'm rather attached to the dust filters.

Thats everything short of a power supply even threw in a 27" monitor


Edit Just noticed you ment the Antec 1200 case. Well swap the case I selcted for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

 

[Kohta]

View attachment 90314


Thats everything short of a power supply even threw in a 27" monitor


Edit Just noticed you ment the Antec 1200 case. Well swap the case I selcted for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

Oh nice, i do still have my monitor, it's a ASUS VW246H 1920x1080 2ms monitor, i kept that because i use it on my PS3, speakers too.

I'm scared of SSD's - I hear they slow down after a couple months. Is the 2600k overclockable? (asking while doing research) for 2000$ i would like ot break some benchmarks

 

[thobel]

Oh nice, i do still have my monitor, it's a ASUS VW246H 1920x1080 2ms monitor, i kept that because i use it on my PS3, speakers too.

I'm scared of SSD's - I hear they slow down after a couple months. Is the 2600k overclockable? (asking while doing research) for 2000$ i would like ot break some benchmarks

SSD's are 100% fine. 2600k many people are getting 5ghz on air with 4.5 childs play With the cooler and that cpu yes you will get some amazing scores

 

[Kohta]

SSD's are 100% fine. 2600k many people are getting 5ghz on air with 4.5 childs play With the cooler and that cpu yes you will get some amazing scores

Alright, i'm throwing together my shopping cart, but i'm see'ing 2 differant prices on the same CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071
Any differance?

 

[thobel]

Alright, i'm throwing together my shopping cart, but i'm see'ing 2 differant prices on the same CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071
Any differance?

yes the 2nd one is not a "K" series so is not unlocked for overclocking

Ps grab windows 7 x64 if you don't have a copy

 

[Kohta]

yes the 2nd one is not a "K" series so is not unlocked for overclocking

Ps grab windows 7 x64 if you don't have a copy

I have Windows Professional X64, just curious, how come you picked that Asus P67? I only ask because i had more bad experiances with the AMD side of Asus boards, it didn't support my 965 back when it came out, and they didn't have a fix for about a month or so, so i had no PC.

 

[thobel]

I have Windows Professional X64, just curious, how come you picked that Asus P67? I only ask because i had more bad experiances with the AMD side of Asus boards, it didn't support my 965 back when it came out, and they didn't have a fix for about a month or so, so i had no PC.

I only use Asus boards myself. But I picked that one because the price is nice (they do have better boards) and my buddy just got it monday and has his cpu stable at like 4.7 without ever overclocking before.

also If you want to overclock more you may want to get a higher end memory

like
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145330

If I was building a new system I would also go with

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131692

but its all about prices