PCA Forums

Hi all,

I'm looking for a new top end laptop. It doesn't necessarily have to be for gaming, but I assume that top end gaming devices are also top end work devices.

I do a lot of photoshop and some 3-D, so I assume that I will need the same specs as a gaming laptop - is that correct?

It has to be basically it desktop replacement, so performance over anything else and as big a screen as possible. I have a 17 inch now and I wouldn't want to go below that.

I want at least two video outs to connect 2 monitors, 16 GB of RAM, top end graphics card plus good processor power. The full Monty.

So where do I shop around? I simply go and get myself a top-class alienware or are these simply overpriced and I can get similar performance from more mainstream brands?

The price is not so much the issue, but no need to throw money out of the window either. So if I can get similar performance from different brands with great price difference then I'd be happy to go for the "best bang for the buck" rather than the big brand-name.

At the moment I don't even know which brands to look at so thanks for any tips!

Cheers

Chris

Asus G75VW-TS72 seems to be a nice high end laptop with good reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... qhlwuzta_b

Not a big fan of low-end HP laptops, but the 17" Envy is supposed to be a very nice hi-end lappy:
http://www.amazon.com/HP-DV7-7212nr-Win ... aptop+16Gb

Thanks Penguin!

Looks like the Asus has a much better GFX card. For both cards I read:

"The improved feature set now includes support for up to 4 active displays"

How does this work? Are there actually 4 video outs? I doubt that - how do I hook up 4 displays? (I don't actually need 4, but I do need 2)

Thanks again

Chris

It has a VGA, HDMI and Display Port. Display Port can be daisy chained.

REVIEW: http://www.cnet.com/laptops/asus-g75vw- ... 48863.html

Ah! OK, that makes sense

I'm surprised that even high end machines don't have 1TB discs yet - I guess that'll mean a lot of USB discs.

*edit* I'm amazed that even the most expensive Alenware machines only have 500GB discs. What's up with that? That's just enough for windows plus a couple of games (seeing all the map packs, custom GFX these days etc which are all huge) ... I would have tought that these days high end meant 2TB. How do people manage their disk space?

How much do you suggest I leave for the windows partition? (without installed applications).

I'm running out of disk space just thinking about buying one of those ... lol

Cheers

Chris

Also take a look at Sager, they make some awesome notebooks!

Thanks guys

I spent all night reading reviews and at the moment it looks like I'll be settling for an ASUS G75VX-T4020H or G75VX-T4014H (probably not necessary).

It does not have the pure gaming performance of comparable Alienware, Sager or Clevo, but it doesn't have the ridiculous pricetag either

And since I game less and less and work more and more I don't mind if I don't have the 2xFSAA@1920 in Far Cry 3 ...

Otherwise it seems to be the only package which has everything I need without going into the $2000 range.

Thanks again

Chris

Chris

It depends on your model of choice. For example, the laptop I have which was considered a pretty high-end model at the time, has support for two hard drives.

Here is an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834216023

A pretty high-end laptop with 2TB of hard drive space, Blu-ray burner, etc.

Though to be honest, it is most beneficial in a system like these, to have one SSD drive and one large storage drive. If you seriously need more than that, there are always external options. I doubt most people need more than a TB, and external solutions as I said, are always available.

The advantage of getting these types of laptops these days is that you use the integrated Intel graphics for general use and switch to the dedicated card when needed. Also to note, the one I linked has support for Blu-ray 3D.

ZYFER wrote:It depends on your model of choice. For example, the laptop I have which was considered a pretty high-end model at the time, has support for two hard drives.

Here is an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834216023

A pretty high-end laptop with 2TB of hard drive space, Blu-ray burner, etc.

Though to be honest, it is most beneficial in a system like these, to have one SSD drive and one large storage drive. If you seriously need more than that, there are always external options. I doubt most people need more than a TB, and external solutions as I said, are always available.

The advantage of getting these types of laptops these days is that you use the integrated Intel graphics for general use and switch to the dedicated card when needed. Also to note, the one I linked has support for Blu-ray 3D.

interesting...i've never seen a free airline ticket included w/ a laptop deal.

http://www.toshibaflightoffer.com/Terms

Yhat looks like an impressive laptop! I hadn't seen this one in my googling - do you have a good review of this? Would you recommend it over the ASUS?

It seems to have more HDD, more RAM and a BlurRay burner - but seems to lack the display port ... which I could probably live without if the machine is indeed as impressive as specs suggest!

Cheers

Chris

Okay, here'0s my final list, one of these 3 it will be unless you guys have another magic suggestion

http://www.asus.com/ROG/G75VX/
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops ... 875-Q7390/
http://www.msi.com/product/nb/GT70-0NC.html

Which is your fav? I still favour the ASUS but would add more disc space and RAM.

One last question, too: The ASUS has 2 HDD slots and is "RAID ready". Does that mean I could also use the second slot simply for another HDD for extra Storage or does this need to be RAID?

Cheers

Chris

Yeah, just like desktops the 2nd drive can either be part of a Raid array or just a spare.

Since you're willing to spend money I'd consider the Asus and replace the boot drive with an SSD. Then stick a 1Tb data drive in the second bay.

That's what I just ordered!

Thanks for the valuable input everyone, much appreciated, as usual!

Cheers

Chris

that Asus is a sweeet little lappie!

Yeehaaaw, arrived yesterday:

SSD + HDD total: 1.5TB
12 GB RAM
3GB GFX

.... and I haven't even had the time to unbox.

That's how life changes! A few years back I would have taken week holidays and locked myself in with my new toy ... These days I don't even have time to open the box. lol

Weeeeeeeeekend here I cooooooooooooooome!!

Chris