was thinking about buying a new laptop for xmas. i will be using it daily at work, but i will also be gaming on it a bit (diablo 3).

what do you think of the following:

ASUS G53SW-XA1
Gaming Notebook (Black)
Intel Core i7-2630QM (2.0GHz, Quad-Core)
15.6" Full HD (1920x1080)
LED-backlit
8GB RAM
500GB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5
DVD-writer
802.11b/g/n
Gigabit LAN
Bluetooth v3.0
HDMI
2.0M Webcam
EAX HD 5.0
THX TruStudio
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
$999 CAD

was also considering this one:

ASUS G53 Series G53SX-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6"8GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M

I just bought a new sager 17 inch gaming laptop off of xoticpc (reseller with great feedback). Did a lot of research on notebookreview.com forums, they have lots of helpful people there that can answer questions.

thanks Nchabazam.

I got the g73sw same specs. It's really well built except apparently for the fail thermal paste on both the GPU and CPU. The GPU hits 93C and I assume throttles down dropping fps below acceptable. It's apparently a common problem on asuses Gx series. Not a big deal if you're ready to send it for a repaste after a ~hundred hours of usage (it takes like 30 minute for an experienced tech to repaste). Even considering a mandatory repaste I'd get another asus right now if I was on a buy.

If you can spare for the one with a 560gtx definitively get the latter, way more powerfull and possibly the paste issue was fixed by asus on these 560gtx'es by now - you can ask on http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/

I was given this as a loaner from Fry's when my other laptop was in the shop for repairs. I logged about 200-300 hours of SC2 in Extreme mode. I never saw an issue, it was rarely turned off. I only had it for like 2 months, but it handled whatever I threw at it.

http://us.toshiba.com/computers/lapt...770/X775-Q7380

I know, lol toshiba. This wasn't the exact model, but the specs are pretty close. I know it was a Qosmio and X7xx series.


Processor*
Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor
Operating System*
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), SP1
Graphics Engine*
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M w/NVIDIA® Optimus™ Technology
Graphics Memory*
1.5GB GDDR5 discrete graphics memory

Memory and Storage

Memory*
6GB DDR3 1333MHz memory
Hard Drive*
640GB HDD (7200rpm)
Optical Drive*
DVD-SuperMulti drive (+/-R double layer)

Audio and Video

Display Size
17.3" widescreen
Display Type*
HD+ TruBrite® LED Backlit display
Display Resolution
16:9 aspect ratio, 1600x900, Supports 720p content
Audio
Microphone input port with Sleep and Music, harman/kardon® stereo speakers, Headphone jack (stereo), Built-in microphone, Waves MaxxAudio® 3

Why lol toshiba?

Pricey and they do have a few fail issues, at least my satellite does. Overheats a lot. Faulty power connector. I mean, I feel these were addressed in the Qosmio series, but never know.

OP, I just bought the Asus G53SW, the SW is better than the SX. The SX comes with a gimped 128 bus GTX560m graphics card compared to the SW 192 bus card..

you can read all about it on the link maybeyesmaybeno provided..


edit: here's a link where they talk about the gimped gpu

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus...ming-asus.html

I'll recommend xoticpc too. I bought a Sager off them a little over 4 years ago. It was a good computer, but finally kicked the bucket due to video card problems (not Sagers or xoticpc's fault) about a year and a half ago.

thanks for all the comments everyone!

i will for sure look into all your suggestions and i'll definitely use notebookreview.com forums as it seems to be the place to go for this info.

cheers.

That's crazy, I was looking to buy this exact model off of Amazon right after Christmas:

ASUS Republic of Gamers G53SX-DH71 Full HD 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

and now I find out it's gimped. Well, I thought it was too good of a deal to be true. SIGH...

I know I'm a little late but +1 for XoticPC and Sager.

I did a ton of research after some help getting started from 2+2's Le Gonso in the "Computer Technical Help" forum. These 2 names just kept coming up over and over.

If you want a 15" I don't think there is a better deal out there then the Sager NP8130 (what I got). You could also upgrade to the 8150 which is advertised as the fastest 15" on the planet, but can get quite expensive depending on what you add.

lol gaming laptop.

lol laptop

lolptop

ah c'mon! i have a gaming laptop....it's not ideal obvs but it works. i've been playing the witcher 2 on there and it runs it

Got a Y470 Lenovo from work this christmas and so far have been very satisfied. It's listed on the Lenovo site at $780 right now, might want to check it out. Specs are comparible or better to what you listed, and adding a SSD drive is easy.

Games seem to run well also.

I've thought about getting a new laptop (current one is 4-5 years old, doesn't run games for ****) but every time I hop on a laptop manufacturer's website I get insanely tilted by the lack of customization options and how difficult it is to find what I want. They all list their laptops in 5 different categories like "this is a multimedia computer" "this is a business computer" "this is a gaming computer" with 20 different models in each category when all I want to do is say "hey, I want a computer with this and this and this in it" and have them send it to me, which apparently is only possible at dell.com even though I never want to buy another Dell again. **** YOU LAPTOPS

(anyone got a solution for my troubles? )

To elaborate, here's what I would like from a laptop:

- min 15" screen, preferably 17"; min 1600x1200 resolution, preferably 1920x1200 or 1920x1080
- 8GB RAM
- good video card & Intel processor (not sure what those might be these days)
- the smallest possible amount of random **** that manufacturers insist on putting in computers. I don't want a free 3 year subscription for McAfee, I don't want the MS Office starter kit, I don't want a webcam, etc etc etc

Where should I go?

I have an HP dv6t series that I am pretty satisfied with (as long as I turn off dynamic switching) but you might be looking for something from a company like xoticpc or sager(some other ones too which I can't remember) which sell custom gaming laptops.

Only issue you may run into is they may be heavier than a similar laptop from dell/hp/etc. but they might not have as many problems otherwise.

Thanks for the xoticpc recommendation, that looks like a pretty good site. I was able to put this together (based on an Asus model, I guess) for a shade under $1400:

- 17" screen, 1920x1080
- 2.2GHz i7
- nVidia 540M graphics w/ 1GB DDR3
- 12GB RAM (this is cheaper than 8, wtf? their 8gb option is two 2GB sticks combined with one 4GB stick, which is more expensive than three 4GB sticks?)
- 80GB SSD primary drive w/ 720GB regular secondary drive
- blu-ray player

Is that a good deal wrt what $1400 would buy me at any other manufacturer? I don't know much about graphics cards these days - what quality am I playing new games at on this machine w/ the 540M instead of shelling out for a 560M? What about 3-4 year old games?


(and really, wtf with the ram?

the 10gb doesn't even add up to 10!)

540m should probably be fine for older games but brand new stuff it's probably going to be slow at 1900x1080 so if that's important I'd get 560m.

Also the ram thing is weird and I have no clue because it's the same manufacturer and same line too.

$1400 seems like kind of a lot even w/ a SSD though I'm not an expert on prices.

As far as the SSD, I would def get one even though it doesn't really affect gaming performance outside of things like load times for levels being like 2 seconds. It is pretty sick though in Skyrim when the level just shows up immediately. But the SSD just makes using your computer so much more satisfying in general imo. Just be careful of certain brands like OCZ which are notoriously low quality.

540M GT in a $1400 pc laptop is a horrible buy. A $1400 laptop should get you at least a 560M GT.

If you're set on xoticpc, check out the Force 1761 chassis. It's an MSI build and comes with a powerful 570M GT and a starting price of $980. The only downside about the F1761 is that it has no backlit keyboard by default, unless you buy it from another online reseller who can make a special modification to it and add it for like $100.

Alternatively, go with either MSI GT780/GT683 or Asus ROG 73SW/74SX. You will get good value and nice deals if you shop around. For instance, Newegg has recently been selling Asus ROG at nice discounts. Asus 74SX for just $1149--Bluray/17 inch FHD/560MGT starting from Thanksgiving and then off/on before running out of stock again and just recently a 73SW w/ similar specs but with a 460M GT for only $1049.

FYI- here's a comparison of laptop videocards' specs, benchmarks, how they run new games, old games and in what settings, etc.:http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html

When choosing gaming laptops, imo you should take into account appropriate, efficient cooling systems in the laptops. The vanilla manufacturers (e.g. HP, Acer, Dell [excluding Alienware], Sony) when it comes to laptop cooling don't hold a candle to the Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) and MSI gaming lines.

Not set on xoticpc, just liked their customization options. Looked on Newegg briefly but every single model has something about its specs that irk me, and of course you can't customize those.

Customizing the Force 1761 on that site w/ similar specs as the $1400 one I posted above (but w/ 570M instead of 540M obv) works out to $1670. :/ Switching to a Sager NP8170 so I can up the graphics to a Radeon 6990M comes out to $1760 (they have a deal on that right now I guess, it's a few hundred $$ cheaper than the 580M). I guess it just depends on the other specs I want? Like, you said I should be able to get a 560M for $1400, but that likely comes with a smaller screen, or DVD instead of bluray, and no SSD...

Thanks for that video card link. So 580M > 485M > 570M > 470M > 480M > 560M? That is quite a confusing way to name your models, nVidia!

Yeah, the 80 GB SSD is going to run up costs significantly, and then if you upgrade to a more powerful ATI 6990 or Nvidia 580M GT, the final price ticks higher quickly.

Have you tried customizing the Asus G73SW on sale at xotic? It's my understanding that the difference between the 460M GT and the 560M GT is very marginal (assuming they're both 192 bit) as they both perform essentially the same in actual gaming conditions. And both these cards blow away the 540M.

I did suggest the MSI Force though because the 570M GT is significantly more powerful than the 560/460M.

+1 on confusing naming schemes for video cards by both Ati and nvidia.