HALP

[Doors]

Trying to buy a pre built gaming laptop. Need advice, links, scrutiny, insults about my family, general advice on what website to use, etc.

So far I've been recommended to this site by a friend at IBM. My price range is about 1-2k but am looking to spend around 1600 tops if possible.

http://www.xoticpc.com/

Thoughts?

[Knuckle]

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/gaminglaptops.asp

best gaming laptops per dollar hands down.

[Harrison]

Laptops have shit for lifespans. Go for the longest possible warranty possible, and if it costs extra, do it. You won't regret it.

[Hobby]

Oh hey thats what my laptop is...


A+ for DSO




I had a small tech issue, and Robert at the Tech Support literally called me and talked to me 5 different times through the month regarding my issue for up to an hour each call. Their support is fantastic, their laptops are top of the line...Once this laptop gets old enough for an upgrade, Im going straight back to these guys (mostly because of Robert and his help). You can't buy great customer support...so if you ever find a company that excels at it, I suggest staying with them.

[Doors]

I'd rather build a desktop but I may end up moving around too much this year for rl issues. Don't wanna transport a tower, monitors, mouse, keyboard, etc. I'm banking on paying good money now for a laptop that will last me about 4 years.

With most laptops usually the issue is batteries dying after a year. I think with most of these websites though you can custom build before you buy and choose to order an extra battery.

I'm basically looking for advice on video cards, how much memory I'll need, a cooling system and warranty.

Appreciate the help so far, will look more into Knuckle's shit when I get a minute later tonight.

[SyanideGas]

Alienware? Those are some nice laptops. :D

[Hobby]

Doors...what type of gaming or shit? I mean I can get away with only 4gb of ram easily since I don't do anything extreme. I use photoshop rarely, and MIRC + IE + minecraft + age of empires...

If you have questions about specific hardware and whatnot, http://www.tomshardware.com/ is the best place to look around on.

I'd suggest going 8gb of ram, 1tb (i have 500gb and I havn't gotten close to halfway), and of course the 3year extended warranty.

All of that DSO offers, plus a variety of options that let you add or take off shit you dont want (TV tuner, accessories).

Look at the website for laptops and play with the options.

[Doors]

I've seen a few deals with laptops offering 12GB of RAM. Is that overkill? Also don't know much about video cards these days. Trying to build something that will run red99 on max settings. Oh and future lesser games like Diablo 3.

Like if I could put together something that will run the latest shit on max settings for at least 2 years without having to worry about upgrading or turning down graphical settings I will be extremely happy.

[Honest]

for more current games are you trying to run max or ultra? Because that can be a big jump. The rate at which video cards are being released 2 years can be a few generations down the line. As far as playing p99 at max, that shouldnt be an issue for anything your getting in your price range.

[Doors]

I probably won't nitpick over max and ultra, just trying to express that I don't want to buy a game 6 months down the road from when I buy this thing and have to tune down settings.

[Honest]

Here is a list of benchmarks for various laptop video cards. Not sure how well versed you are in these things. I would get something that has a decent processor, at least 8gb of ram and either a mid-high to high range video card. ATI or NVIDIA is up to you, im a bit of an ATI fan myself, but no just as many NVIDIA fanboys. Get something with DX11. There will always be games that will just melt your machine (Crysis 2).

[Honest]

forgot the link

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

[xshayla701]

Alienware because you get a hat

http://i56.tinypic.com/2wn0kzc.jpg

[Thulack]

i just picked up a alienware m11x r3 for a grand. I like the portability of the 11 inch model and the power of the 6gb ram and 2gb video card to basically play anything i want. If i feel like playing a bigger screen i just run a HDMI to my TV.

[Hasbinbad]

Can you spend $13,000 on a computer?

Yes you can.

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=599110
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Cryo-TEC Edition
Exterior Finish: - EXOTIC StormWhite High-Gloss Automotive Paint Finish (HailStorm Chassis Only)
Trim Accents: Paint Chassis Vents and Grills (White)
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 990X 3.46GHz (Six-Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme (Intel X58 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 24GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (6x4GB Sticks)
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair Pro Gold Series (CMPSU-1200AX) (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 2x (300GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 2x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition) (SATA 6Gbps)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 2x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition) (SATA 6Gbps)
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Internet Access: !PROMOTION: Killer 2100 (Optimized for Online Gaming) Lag and Latency Reduction
Video Card: 4x SLI 4-Way (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (PhysX) (Overclocked Edition)
Add-on Card: ATI TV Wonder HD 650 Combo (PCI-Express Slot Based) (Model: TVW650PCIEWB)
Sound Card: Auzen X-Fi Hometheater HD 7.1 (Model: AZTHTHD02817) (PCI-Express Slot Based)
Extreme Cooling: Digital Storm Cryo-TEC CPU System & Chipset + Triple Video Cards Liquid Cooling
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With Zalman Performance Fans (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: Strike-X AeroCool Temperature Display & Fan Controller (Requires Chassis Airflow Upgrade)
Chassis Mods: HailStorm & 950Si: Processor & Video Card Area: Drill and Mount Two Side Window 120mm Fan Blow-Holes
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 3: Overclock the processor between 4.2GHz to 4.6GHz (Requires i7 990X Processor)
Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Boost OS: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Advanced Recovery Kit (40GB Hard Drive Partition of Image With OS & Drivers)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Display: Samsung 24 inch (Widescreen) (Black) (5ms Response Time)
Surge Shield: APC 1500VA Uninterruptible Backup Surge Conditioner (Recommended)
Speakers: Corsair High-power 2.1 System (Includes Subwoofer) (CA-SP211NA)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Gaming Keyboard (USB) (Mechanical) (RZ03-00380100-R3U1)
Mouse: Razer Lachesis 5600 Gaming Mouse (High-Speed Gaming Grade)
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 6 Year Limited Warranty
That's most, but not all of the available options turned up to 11.

http://i.imgur.com/pdEbf.jpg

You get a T-Shirt too.

[Hobby]

Im not going to do the research for what video cards are offered at the different tiers of laptops from DSO. It'll all be done for you on tomshardware. Just gotta look.

[Doors]

Alright thanks everyone! I'm torn between buying a quality computer and clothing apparel based on where I buy.

I'll sit down and read through some of those sites in a bit.

[Autotune]

ASUS G74SX-A2


just a tad above what you want, but it's good as gold man.


The design and fans in it will keep it from overheating, which is the main killer of all gaming laptops.
Also, about battery life. You can check out some good tips on making your batter last as long as possible.