Can you recommend a laptop? (based on my specifications)

[alcomplex]

1_What is your budget? AUD $2000-3000

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? medium size. Not tiny but able to fit in a backpack or normal carry bag

3_What screen resolution do you want? a good resolution that would be appropriate for a 16" screen

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Yes I am replacing my old gaming pc

5_How much battery life do you need? atleast one hour at full performance

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Yes that will be its main purpose. Modern Warefare 2 and future games

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.) Photo shop, website development, programming

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need? atleast 500 GB

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them. (ijk.com.au) up for recommendations

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3 to 5 years


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Not fussy just what the usual is

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. Dont like HP. Do like toshiba and asus. But once again I am open to recommendations.

13_What country do you live in? Sydney Australia


14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

- Warranty would be nice
- Powerful video card (nvidia preferred)
- atleast i7 720 but would like better e.g. 920 if possible in a notebook
- need something for gaming at home over the net that can also be used at uni and maybe work.
- strong case that won't be broken during commuting

Would appreciate any help,

Regards,

James

 

[Maziar]

Sager NP8760 would be a good option:
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8760-built-clevo-w870cu-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2660.html

 

[alcomplex]

Thankyou for your reply. I know my description was a bit dodgey but thats a very very close match to what I am looking for and I will consider it.

If it wasn't for the fact that it has a terrible battery life and is very noisy even when idle I would be sure of this model. But thankyou very very much this is a very nice laptop you have recommended.

 

[Maziar]

No problem,other options would be lower than 17" with a better battery life

 

[ibnsina]

What about Asus G60J

i7 Processor
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM
500GB Hard Drive (5400rpm/7200rpm depending on regions)
DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
16" HD (1366x768) LED backlight,Color-Shine (Glare-type)
8 in 1 card reader
Built-in Bluetooth™ V2.1+
Altec Lansing® speakers

2-year limited global hardware warranty.

Not bad for about 1450 $US.

http://www.asus.com.au/product.aspx?P_ID=zMOzoqpR3iLeCYd0

 

[Maziar]

It looks good too but it has low resolution screen,also the Sager model has GTX 280M (which is roughly 10-15% faster) but for its price its a decent choice

 

[ibnsina]

Can he get Sager in Australia?

 

[Maziar]

According to Clevo FAQ:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=264311
There are 3 sites:
http://www.pioneercomputers.com.au/
http://www.p4laptops.com.au/
http://www.affordablelaptops.com.au/

 

[ibnsina]

I couldnt find sager brand in any of those sites, I wonder if they use different brand name there.

.........................................................................................
Any way Maziar; off the topic, does your Thread notification box get updated? I dont get any Thread updates, only Message updates. I wonder if its got any thing to do with Java control panel.

 

[Maziar]

In P4laptops it calls them METABOX which is SAGER(=Clevo) but they seem expensive,check out www.xoticpc.com they ship internationally and ask about the shipping cost,it may be cheaper.

 

[alcomplex]

Thanks for your help guys. The Asus is also one that I have considered. I think I might have to sacrifice battery life. The sager is very appealing but Asus would be easier to get my hands on.

 

[ibnsina]

There’s another Asus model [G51J-A1] is got much better screen and bigger hard drive. I think is a very good deal for $1404 to $1500US.

Intel Core i7 720QM (1.6GHz)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M

Screen 15.6" (1920 x 1080 Resolutions)

640GB HDD7200rpm (2 x 320G)

4GB Memory DDR3

DVD

30 days Zero Bright Dot LCD pixel guarantee

Carry Bag/Optical Mouse

1 year ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty ( Drops, Fire, Spill, Surge Parts )

2 years Parts and Labor Warranty

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

 

[alcomplex]

I had a look. Seems like it has some heat issues though from reading some reviews. Quite a cheap price for a good model however. Thanks : )

 

[alcomplex]

Update: by the way, I am still researching what laptop to get and I have tonight to decide. Going to compare Sager side by side with Asus and Alienware models out. The problem with all the laptops is that in the US they are so cheap and even though the aussy dollar is 0.9 US the profit margins here are alot higher.

xoticpc does ship internationally but it would be very hard to return it for servicing or warranty purposes ect.

 

[alcomplex]

Update: to my horror I cannot buy the Sager laptop anyware in Australia it seems. ah heck lol

 

[alcomplex]

Update: METABOX W870CU or Clevo W870CU appears to be the Australian equivalent to the Sager NP8760

 

[Maziar]

No W860CU = Sager NP 8690

 

[alcomplex]

No W860CU = Sager NP 8690

Yep sorry just fixed that up. : /

In fact while we are on the topic just for other users

* Clevo M980NU = Sager NP9850
* Clevo D900F = Sager NP9280
* Clevo W870CU = Sager NP8760
* Clevo M775SU = Sager NP7752
* Clevo M860TU = Sager NP8662
* Clevo W860CU = Sager NP8690
* Clevo W765TUN = Sager NP7650
* Clevo M735T = Sager NP7350
* Clevo M722T = Sager NP7220

 

[ibnsina]

Most of these high-powered gaming notebooks will overheat in one way or another. You can get good cooling pad .

METABOX W860CU cost around $550AD more than similarly spec ASUS G51IJ-A1.

You need to add $195 for 2 years warranty. That makes it nearly $750 more than Asus. I don’t think is worth that much money.

http://www.p4laptops.com.au/gaming-laptops-laptops-for-games.htm

 

[alcomplex]

Most of these high-powered gaming notebooks will overheat in one way or another. You can get good cooling pad pad.

METABOX W860CU cost around $550AD more than similarly spec ASUS G51IJ-A1.

Metabox comes with no OS; you need to add $85 for win 7 pro and $195 for 2 years warranty. That makes it nearly $900 more than Asus. I don’t think is worth that much money.

http://www.p4laptops.com.au/gaming-laptops-laptops-for-games.htm

I've been checking out the ASUS G60J what do you think about it compared to both the ASUS G51IJ-A1 and M60J and METABOX W860CU and METABOX D900F

Admittedly the high end laptops are very expensive. I do think cooling options would be needed. I have also been checking out the HP Envy 15 but I'm sure its just a peice of junk. Don't exactly trust HP and the Alienware laptops don't even have i7 processors from what I could see.

 

[alcomplex]

It is 2 am in Australia at the moment. I am going to bed now. Tomorrow when I wake up I will continue my research but will order one of these laptops by the end of the day. I would appreciate very very much any last minute advice that you guys have for me in regards to the Asus Verse Metabox debate.

I think I will have to settle for the i7 720 due to the price issues unfortunately, but this will be a slight step up from my 3.2 ghz Pentium 4 PC. : ). I would prefer to get the GTX 280 video card as it is said to be 10% to 15% faster than the previous model video cards.

Special thanks to Maziar and ibnsina for your continued help and advice. I am curious ibnsina what you think about the Asus G60J as you think the previous Asus is a good buy.

 

[ibnsina]

ASUS G60J screen resolutions is only 1366x768 and HD is 5400rpm, but you get blue ray. I think ASUS G51IJ-A1 is much better.

It might be good idea to buy it from reputable US company that delivers to Australia, because Asus warranty is international.

ASUS G51IJ-A1 is selling in Australia for $2149.00 AUD. You can get from xoticpc.com for 1,535 AUD (1,405 USD). Even if you get charged 100$ for shipment/taxes. You still saving around $600 AUD.

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-gaming-laptops-ct-118_96_98.html

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=1405&From=USD&To=AUD&x=43&y=8


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METABOX W860CU costs $550 more than ASUS G51IJ-A1 for slightly faster gpu. As I said before, you need topay $195 for 2 years warranty. So thats $750 more for slighlty faster gpu. And you dont get 30 days dead pixel warranty, No gaming mouse and no bag too, the choice is yours.

Make sure you buy this laptop from reputable company, just in case you wanted to exchange it.

 

[Maziar]

Yes if the price difference is much,go for the ASUS G51J,its a very good choice too and you get extra mouse,bag and illuminated keyboard as well

 

[JackNaylorPE]

here's the same Clevo model from Australia:

http://www.p4laptops.com.au/order-w870.htm

Other potential source

http://www.affordablelaptops.com.au/

wondering if my builder ships to au

http://www.pro-star.com/index.cfm?mainpage=productdetail&model=W870CU

 

[alcomplex]

Thankyou for all your help everyone. I am currently trying to find a place in Australia that sells the ASUS G51J with a few additional specs like 6GB of ram instead of 4 and windows ultimate.

I will confirm once I have made a purchase and also will write a review once I have recieved and tested it for anyone else with the same issues in the future.