New gaming laptop advice

[electricRoo]

Hi, I've been looking for a gaming laptop and I have a pretty good idea of what I want, but I wanted to know if there are any good alternatives or something with equal the specs and cheaper. I'm looking at this ASUS:

http://www.amazon.ca/ASUS-G74SX-XC1-Republic-Gamers-17-3-Inch/dp/B005COY5KK/ref=lh_ni_t


1. Under 1500

2. Either 17" or 15". Considering 17" since if there's any need to code it's easier on the eyes to have a bigger screen.

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1080p

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? desktop replacement

5. How much battery life do you need? Bigger the better.

6. Gaming laptop, the ones I'm looking at have a GeForce 460M GTX as minimum

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Coding probably.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Bigger the better but not crucial.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. amazon.ca, tigerdirect.ca, newegg.ca

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3+ years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Blu Ray is nice but not an absolute necessity.

12. Brands. ASUS is what I'm looking at right now but if there's another good looking one I'm game. Acer is ok but dislike the build quality.

13. What country do you live in? Canada

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums !
Go with G74,it's one of the best(if not the best) notebooks you can find within your price range.
Don't expect a great battery life though.It should last for 2-4hrs

 

[greenrider02]

If you need a desktop replacement, why not just get a desktop? A gaming laptop is more or less an oxymoron...

 

[electricRoo]

@greenrider: Because I can't exactly put my desktop next to my bed, or take it to the kitchen or carry it with me to the airport or take it to the coffee shop. Thanks for the suggestion but that is not what I was asking.

@Maziar: Thanks! Another question though, there are tons of configurations.

12 GBs in system RAM
DVD
560M with 2 GBs in GDDR5 RAM
vs

8 GBs
Blu Ray drive.
560M with 3 GBs in GDDR5 RAM

I like the flexibility of taking a blu ray movie with me if I feel like being outside but it's not critical. I'm thinking the extra GB in video memory will be more important than the 4 GBs in extra system ram.

What do you think?

 

[Maziar]

Not really.
4GB is fine for today's games/apps,8GB is more than fine and 12GB is completely overkill.You won't notice any difference between 8GB and 12GB in daily tasks and games.
How much is the price difference between these 2 configs?

 

[electricRoo]

Not really.
4GB is fine for today's games/apps,8GB is more than fine and 12GB is completely overkill.You won't notice any difference between 8GB and 12GB in daily tasks and games.
How much is the price difference between these 2 configs?

They are both 1400 CAD so price is not an issue.

Last question, what do you think about the difference between


It's basically the same except

15"
GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GBs GDDR5
DVD
8 GBs in system ram
CDN$ 1,406.98

vs

17"
GeForce GTX 560M 3GBs GDDR5
Blu-ray
8 GBs in system ram
CDN$ 1,406.98

vs

15"
GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GBs GDDR5
Blu-ray
4 GBs in system ram
CDN$ 1,316.18

I'd be glad to have a bigger screen just because it's easier to do any task but I am afraid it might be too large to carry around.

I'm also worried if having the extra 1.5 GBs in video ram is going to be that much of a difference.

4GBs in system ram for today sounds good but I'm thinking if it'd be better to future proof my laptop with 8 GBs at least.

Here are the links to the amazon listings:

1. http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004V93OZE/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d9_g23_i4?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=1E41EE6ACHSG3HSAR3XV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383551&pf_rd_i=915398

2. http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005COY5KK/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d9_g23_i3?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=1E41EE6ACHSG3HSAR3XV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383551&pf_rd_i=915398

3. http://www.amazon.ca/ASUS-Republic-G53SW-Q5DB1-CBIL-15-6-Inch-Bilingual/dp/B004VC7V0A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sw_1

 

[Maziar]

G74 is a monster It's One of the heaviest 17" laptops,so if you're planing to move your laptop,forget G74

 

[electricRoo]

lol, I just saw it for myself today. The thing is enormous!! I think instead of spending 1400 I'll just spend 1000 on a good desktop and 400 in a nice sleek laptop.

Thanks for the help!