A gaming laptop that will also fufill my needs as a student

[bihgar]

1. What is your budget?
Approximately $1,500, but if it can be done with less that would be fine.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15 inches

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920 x 1080

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

5. How much battery life do you need?
An average battery life will suffice, 3 to 4 hours, but if less it's fine.

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)?
Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, CS go, and any other new games that are released on the market. I'd like to run most games on high or medium settings.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Auto CAD, and a few engineering applications.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Atleast 250 GB, but I was thinking around 500 GB.

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

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
At least 3 to 4 years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Both or just a DVD ROM/Writer.

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.
I am open to any brands.

13. What country do you live in?
United States

I'm primarily looking for a laptop that I will be able to use throughout college. Additionally I would like to enjoy the latest games that will be released without any problems. In other words, a "gaming" laptop that will fufill my needs as a college student.

 

[azathoth]

I believe that the Lenovo Y580 perfectly fits your needs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246630

It can play 95% of games on max graphics (Save for Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3)
It has a 1920x1080p screen along with 15.6".

The i7-3610QM is a very powerful processor (Ivy Bridge), probably faster then my desktops I7-930....

It has a 1TB HDD, but reports say it can be slow, I own a Y570 with the same HDD and it wasn't the fastest. Popped in a secondary SSD, used that as my boot drive and my laptop boots into desktop, from pretty the power button in SIX seconds.

*As a bonus, it also has a blu-ray reader/writer for when you feel like watching a movie in your spare time

*The price is also $1100, anything higher priced gets vastly diminishing returns, such as 5-10% faster video, but at the cost of $200-350 more.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The 670M is about 25% faster than the 660M
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/91510-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info.html

CLEVO is a large Taiwanese computer company specializing in laptops. While the Clevo brand name is perhaps not widely known, their products are re-branded and sold by known boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)… notably Sager, VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, etc. hey are also considered (by whoever knows about notebooks) to design and manufacturer the best of the best notebooks in terms of superior build quality and innovative designs.

Established in 1983, as an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer), they sell barebones ranging from laptop to portable computing solutions for both AMD and Intel processors. Clevo is one of the world's most preferred ODM partners and markets their products in more than 50 countries, and have established service centers in the USA, Germany, Britain, China, and Taiwan.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/592609-clevo-guide-v3-0-faq-reseller-info-read-before-posting.html

Clevo 170EM - includes CPU upgrade ($160), RAM Upgrade, Upgrade to hybrid SSD / HD .... about $1525

17.3" 1920 x 1080 Full HD (16:9) LED Backlit Glare Type Display
Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor, 2.6 GHz (Max Turbo Frequency 3.6GHz), 6MB Smart Cache
16GB, PC3-12800/1600Mhz DDR3 - 4 x 4GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M w/1.5GB GDDR5 with Optimus Technology
500GB/7200rpm Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drive w/4GB SSD Memory
8X Max. DVD±R/RW Writer/Reader / 4X Max
8 Cells Lithium-Ion Battery Pack 76.96WH
Intel Wireless Lan N2230 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0
Full Color Programmable Backlight Keyboard
Built-In 2.0M Pixels Digital Video Camera
Built-In Fingerprint Reader
Built-In Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Built-In 9-IN-1 Flash Memory Reader(MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS DUO/SD/Mini-SD/SDHC/SDXC)
1 IEEE-1394a Fire Wire
1 USB 2.0 Ports
3 USB 3.0 Ports
1 eSATA Port (USB 3.0 Combo)
1 HDMI 1.4a Output (with HDCP)
1 DVI-I Port
1 Display Port 1.1
1 Kensington Lock Port
Built-in Microphone, 2 Speakers and 1 Sub-Woofer
4 Audio Jacks for Headphone, Microphone-In, S/PDIF-Out, and Line-In
1 100/240V Autoswitch AC Power Adapter

151 EM ...about $1325 ..... $230 cheaper w/ Intel Core i5-3210M

15.6" 1920 x 1080 Full HD
Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor, 2.6 GHz (Max Turbo Frequency 3.6GHz), 6MB Smart Cache
16GB, PC3-12800/1600Mhz DDR3 - 4 x 4GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M w/1.5GB GDDR5 with Optimus Technology
Everything else as above

Buy one in US from xoticpc.com

 

[azathoth]

This is what I mean by diminishing returns though, it's faster by about 15-20% but it also raises the price up quite significantly.

xoticpc ships to the 'lower 48 states' for free with the coupon they provide, but if you don't live in the lower states then that's another price increase.

The Y580 from Newegg comes with Free Shipping statewide.

Basically comes down to saving $230, or getting that extra bit of gaming performance for some games.

 

[edit1754]

Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) - $999 + tax
- Sign up and sign in here: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/na/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/Lenovo:EnterStdAffinity?affinity=barnesnoblegold (Barnes and Noble Gold discount page)
- http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/barnesnoblegold/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/config.workflow:ConfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000001C9:00003940: (1TB 5400RPM model) - $999
- This model come with the 1920x1080 display. There are other models that come instead with a 1366x768 display, but those models are not recommended unless you need the larger text. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have this resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast.
- There are two other models that come with the 1920x1080 display, but this model is the cheapest and is a much better value.
- Click the green "Activate eCoupon" button in the cart.

Sager NP9130 (i5-3210M, NVIDIA GTX 670M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $1095 no tax
- http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9130-clevo-p151em1-p-4340.html?wconfigure=yes
- http://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=524
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.
- Downgrade the memory to 8GB 1333MHz, unless you have a particular need for 1600MHz memory. (Only available on XoticPC configuration page).

MSI GE60 0ND-006US (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $1099 no tax
- http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-GE60-0NC-006US-15-6-Inch/dp/B007YDHLYE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341841468&sr=8-2&keywords=ge60
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152339

MSI GE60 0ND-042US (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GTX 660M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $1199 no tax
- http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Series-GE60-0ND-042US-15-6-Inch/dp/B0082JFCZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341841468&sr=8-1&keywords=ge60
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152349

Sager NP6165 (i5-3210M, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) - $920 no tax
- http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6165-clevo-w150er-p-4344.html?wconfigure=yes
- http://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idProduct=557
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.

HP DV6t (i3-3110M, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte IPS display) - $724 + tax ($769 + tax w/ i5-3210M)
- http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7367534
- Use coupon code: NBY8552
- Don't: Downgrade to the 1366x768 display, unless you need the large text. You generally shouldn't buy the HP DV6 in any configuration that includes the 1366x768 display. 15.6" 1366x768 displays make things onscreen large, and tend to be low-tier LCD panels with very poor image quality due to low contrast.
- Don't: Downgrade the GPU to the GT 630M unless you only plan on doing light / moderate gaming. The GT 650M is considerably faster.
- Don't: Downgrade the GPU to integrated graphics unless you only plan on doing very light / no gaming. Integrated graphics will probably provide disappointing game performance in the majority of modern titles.
- Consider: Backlit keyboard, Larger/faster HDD.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sager NP9150 (i7-3610QM, NVIDIA GTX 675M, 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display) - $1405 no tax
- http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9150-clevo-p150em-p-4341.html?wconfigure=yes
- http://www.malibal.com/notebooks/lotus-p150em-se/builds/
- Select Windows 7 under Operating System if you cannot acquire your own copy for cheaper.
- Downgrade the memory to 8GB 1333MHz, unless you have a particular need for 1600MHz memory. (Only available on XoticPC configuration page).
- Select the GTX 675M GPU upgrade. The GPU upgrades are what puts this laptop in a class higher than the NP9130.
- The Radeon 7970M is a great performer for the price, but many have reported driver issues.
- The NP9150 has a multi-color backlit keyboard. The NP9130 does not have a backlit keyboard.
- Recommended: Matte display.

 

[WR2]

HP DV6t (i3-3110M, NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte IPS display) - $724 + tax ($769 + tax w/ i5-3210M)

Laptop Reviews is saying the HP DV6t does not have an IPS panel.

In the video screen demo, just above the conclusion at the bottom of the article, at about 20 seconds in the reviewer says it not an IPS panel.

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Full HD 1920 x 1080 screen demo
http://www.laptopreviews.com/hp-pavilion-dv6t-7000-vs-dv7t-7000-video-comparison-2012-07

 

[edit1754]

I don't think LaptopReviews is right about that. It has the viewing angles of an IPS display, and its hardware ID of LGD073F is only 1 digit off from the HP Envy 15's (glossy) IPS display's hardware ID of LGD073E.

 

[bihgar]

Should I opt for the GTX 675 or just stay with the GTX 670? Will the difference be neglible or being able to run a game or program?
The GTX 670 would enable me to afford a custom finish or skin.

Thank you guys for all of your help and assistance. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[bihgar]

Best answer selected by bihgar.