W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
I've done the Macbook pro thing.

I want to invest in a new laptop.


Well, I like playing pc games. Macbook pros don't really run games well (at least not the 2 that i've owned). I don't need to run FC3 maxed, but I would like to be able to run something like Skyrim either maxed or close to it smoothly (at least consistent 75 FPS).

I also want to be able to do some music work on the lappy (which is totally doable on the right machine).

Can I get some advice? My budget is flexible, between 700-1400.

15" screen for me. 17" is too big (yes I know that's what she said -_____-).

I have asked some people elsewhere, but I would really like to know what your recommendations are. Anyone been looking around at this stuff lately?
 
jliedeka

jliedeka

Audioholic General
I ended up going with a 17" Alienware for gaming. I kind of would have liked 15" but didn't see anything I liked at the time. I think the area you want to look is the Sager or other brands that build on the Clevo or MSI platforms. I'm not sure what's available in that area. I decided the build quality of the Alienware (combined with specs) trumped other considerations including smaller and lighter.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
I'm definitely going with a 15". Less screen to display means easier on the GPU. Also, I can't fit even my 17" MBP anywhere. It's very troublesome to transport.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
It's the resolution and not the screen size that determines the load on the GPU (right?). So, you could go 17" if it wasn't for the portability issue.

I'm a big fan of my Macbook Air - I got the 11.6" screen, but the portability is outstanding, it's lightweight, and the screen is a pretty decent size. It's not for gaming, though, so I'm mentioning it because there are PC equivalents out there that might interest you...if you can find one with a dedicated graphics chip. Intel HD Graphics 4000 really isn't horrible, but Skyrim would bring it to its knees.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
It's the resolution and not the screen size that determines the load on the GPU (right?). So, you could go 17" if it wasn't for the portability issue.

I'm a big fan of my Macbook Air - I got the 11.6" screen, but the portability is outstanding, it's lightweight, and the screen is a pretty decent size. It's not for gaming, though, so I'm mentioning it because there are PC equivalents out there that might interest you...if you can find one with a dedicated graphics chip. Intel HD Graphics 4000 really isn't horrible, but Skyrim would bring it to its knees.
Oh totally, you are correct, sir. But in my experience, 1280x800 looks much sharper on a 15" screen than on a 17" screen. Basically, I'm saying that a bigger screen needs moar pixelzzzz too look as clean. HOWEVER, if I can be enticed by a beautiful deal into buying a 17" screen, then I will do so. The extra screen space is wonderful, it just takes more power to get the same pixel density. Certainly

I like the macbook air for productivity and stuff like that. However, I really plan on doing a lot of music work (including both notation, arrangement, and production... i.e. Finale, Sibelius, Reason, Ableton, ProTools) and also gaming on it.

I have heard good things about alienware, but I've also hear they are overpriced. And I'm also not one to have a really flashy laptop. I don't like public attention that much :D.

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys. I will have to look into Sagor.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
@Rickster - You are the freeginnn MAN. Looks like I'm saving up for a 15.6xm15 level 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assuming stuff don't change drastically in 3 months or something.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Looks like I'm saving up for a 15.6xm15 level 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You might want to rethink the GT 635M graphics chip (and maybe I'm missing an upgrade choice, but it looks like that's the only choice for that model). It's not going to get close to your desires for Skyrim (see here and scroll down).
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
Yea need better laptop. Guess I just got excited about the price. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks. hahaha

x15e for 1506? Are they asking a lot?

I'm gonna spend some time on that site, Rickster, thanks.
 
jp_over

jp_over

Full Audioholic
You could also try pugetsystems.com - they're a custom maker that I've been using for a few years now. Excellent, personal service and very reliable products.
 
Rickster71

Rickster71

Audioholic Spartan
Yea need better laptop. Guess I just got excited about the price. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks. hahaha

x15e for 1506? Are they asking a lot?

I'm gonna spend some time on that site, Rickster, thanks.
Good catch Adam.

Looks like you'd have to move up to the second one. Sorry for the mix up.
That has five options for graphic chips.
One thing about that site is that they run specials, and while you're saving up the money the prices will come down.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
Thanks you guys rock. It will probably be a couple days before I make a final decision. But this helps TONS.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
So from Digital Storm I narrowed my decision down to this:

The 15"x15e laptop.
I picked the
"Better" option (#2) and did a little custommization.

Here are the specs:



15.6 inch LED display

Intel Core i7 3740QM 2.7 GHz, 3.7 in Turbo.

Premium Thermal Compound (+38 bux) <-------- I run my laptops long and hard
8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz (2x4GB sticks) <-------- They said there is a free memory upgrade. I think before checkout it would be upgraded to 16.

750GB Hybriud Drive w 8GB SSD

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 4 GB with NVIDIA Optimus (+98 bux... default was the 670MX 3GB)


The Total cost at this point is $1903. 0.0

Lot of money. However, I am willing to pay for quality. Is there anything out there that beats this laptop at this price?
Also, this one CAN run skyrim almost maxed at 75 FPS, right?
 
G

Grador

Audioholic Field Marshall
Premium Thermal Compound (+38 bux) <-------- I run my laptops long and hard
Woooooooooooooooooow, what a massive ripoff. Might be worth it, but unless the standard compound is total junk I would say probably not.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
Woooooooooooooooooow, what a massive ripoff. Might be worth it, but unless the standard compound is total junk I would say probably not.
Really? :( Won't make much of a difference? I was expecting a $38 difference.
 
G

Grador

Audioholic Field Marshall
Given that a tube of top grade thermal compound doesn't cost that I'd say you can't expect a $38 difference. If I were to guess, their normal compound would be your standard good stuff and the upgrade would be to something hokey. If that's not the case then I wouldn't even give these people my money.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
What to you think about the total price given the rest of the hardware?
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
So I went on PugetSystems to give it a look. Looks like for what I'm doing, they sell pretty much the same lappy as Digiatl Storm.

Traverse Pro 15 inch - Intel Ivy Bridge processer <--- Notice it's basically the one I picked, only no upgrades. And it's already more epxensive.

I went ahead and made a post on cnet about the price of the digital storm one, but I'm thinking that's gonna be the best deal I can find.
 
jp_over

jp_over

Full Audioholic
If you're looking for the best price, Puget will likely not get you there. I use them because they have a stellar record on reliability and the systems they build are rigorously tested before shipping.

Update - I just checked resellerratings.com and both Digital Storm and Puget have excellent reviews (9.0 / 10 and 9.9 / 10 respectively for about the same number of reviews). Of course, I'm only familiar with Puget.

So I went on PugetSystems to give it a look. Looks like for what I'm doing, they sell pretty much the same lappy as Digiatl Storm.

Traverse Pro 15 inch - Intel Ivy Bridge processer <--- Notice it's basically the one I picked, only no upgrades. And it's already more epxensive.

I went ahead and made a post on cnet about the price of the digital storm one, but I'm thinking that's gonna be the best deal I can find.
 
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