Need help with a laptop purchase

Hi all,

I am currently in market for a gaming laptop who, after some degree of research, recently came to conclusion that the the latest hardware refresh of Toshiba's Qosmio brand was the right fit for me. I was feeling excited about my laptop selection and patiently waiting for this laptop's release in the U.S. market until I read some articles that noted that the Nvidia 670M GPU is just a rebranded generation old graphics card and is not even close to being top of the line. Since there are quite a few tech geeks on this board I am posting here to get some feedback on price vs. performance with respect to this laptop. My budget limit is $1500. Is this the best I can expect out of a laptop at this price range? Since laptops with 3rd generation i7 are just starting to release there aren't any helpful resources yet available about what laptops are a good purchase at specific price points.

My Asus G73JH has been great. Go with Asus.

@Akeldama: My Dell XPS L502X has been great. Go with Dell.

@K9: If you want a Qosmio, Toshiba currently has some on sale: http://dealzon.com/computers/laptops?f=manufacturer_toshiba

Some HP ones looks quite good too. Better design as well. No glasses free 3D though: http://dealzon.com/computers/laptops?f=manufacturer_hp

@K9 said:

Nvidia 670M GPU is just a rebranded generation old graphics card

My budget limit is $1500.

Whether or not it is a rebranded older card, it is still about as good as it gets as far a mobile GPUs are concerned and certainly the best you will get for under $1500.

I would second the suggestion to look into ASUS, Toshiba isn't bad but ASUS will give you more options and have models with better video cards if you decide you want more.

Dell and HP are garbage, don't buy that stuff unless you are getting substantial discounts on high end models.

Edit: that link you posted; the top 10 on that list were all SLI/Crossfire setups, there are only three mobile GPUs out right now better than what you are looking at: 680m, 675M, and the 7970m; the 670 is a very good laptop GPU(and they are all crap compared to desktop GPUs).

@Kidavenger: The 670M is definitely not the best as far as mobile GPUs go, it is last generation tech. The 6970M performs at the same level as the 670M, and they are both good cards and will play most modern games at 1080p with smooth frames with high details and few modifications here or there on certain settings if necessary. The 6990M is on par with the 675M/580M, which are about 15% faster than the 670M, another good choice in the mobile GPU market. The 7970M is just being released however, and you'd be foolish to not get it at its price. It offers 30%-50% better performance than the 6990M/675M/580M at stock clocks and is a beast of a card. You can get 15 inch builds with the 7970M for around $1500 and an OS, or for $1500 on a 17 inch model without an OS.

You won't find better value in a gaming laptop than you will with a Sager/Clevo machine. You can customize the buid to your needs, balancing components to keep things in your budget range.They are built extremely well, offer good warranties, and use brand-name components. Definitely get yourself the 7970M GPU as it is as powerful as a desktop GTX 570, except it is in a friggin' laptop, and that is insanity. Nothing on the market comes close to what that GPU currently offers, the 7970M.

Check out XoticPC and customize yourself a rig. You should easily be able to build something pretty powerful in your budget that will perform a lot better than anything prebuilt by Dell, Asus, HP, Toshiba, or any other manufacturer for that matter. XoticPC is a very reputable Sager/Clevo reseller that has been in business for a long time, I bought my current laptop from them and it was a seamless and easy experience.

Does it have to be a laptop? I only ask because the bang-per-buck ratio goes up if you don't require mobility.

@Ravenlight said:

Does it have to be a laptop? I only ask because the bang-per-buck ratio goes up if you don't require mobility.

Unfortunately it has to be a laptop as not only do I need mobility but I also don't have room for a desktop.

@Wallzii: I have never heard of Xotic pc before. How is the laptop build quality? Any issues with laptop keyboard?

@Kidavenger: The second card in the list he posted was the 7970M, not in CrossFire configuration. The 680M hasn't even been announced yet and everything regarding it is purely speculation. The 675M/580M, 6990M, and 7970M are better than the 670M. All of these cards are well suited to play modern games, especially if you throw in a mild overclock. I'll agree that no mobile GPU is as good as what is offered in the desktop arena, but the gap has started to close a lot quicker these days with smaller fabrication processes expending a lot less heat. They can cram a lot of power into 100w TDP these days, just look at what the 7970M is doing right now.

The 675M/580M offers slightly less than GTX 560 Ti performance. The 6990M offers slightly less than HD 6870 performance. The 7970M offers performance between the HD 7850 and HD 7870, or about the same as the GTX 570. That is an impressive feat. A stable overclock on any of these cards quickly closes the gap between their desktop foundation cards.

Of course desktop GPUs are better, but modern mobile cards are nothng to sneeze at anymore and are very capable in modern games. I wouldn't suggest anything other than the 7970M from a value perspective, it just doesn't make sense to get anything else when the price on this thing for the performance levels is so good. You are ensuring you will be able to play modern games for a while with high settings, high frame rates, at 1080p. As soon as I get back to North America, I am upgrading my 6970M (which has been a great card and handled everything I have thrown at it, minor adjustments here and there) to the 7970M.

@K9: I got my Sager NP8170 from XoticPC. The customer services is very good and personable, and they were constantly updating me about the status of my product. So, from my personal experience, A+.

If you get a gaming laptop, go with Asus or Sager. I got a 17" model because I'm a tall dude, and from my point of view, a 17" is relative to me what a 15" is to another person. That said, a 15" laptop is nearly always just as good as a 17". I prefer Sager over the Asus, but honestly both are very good brands. Stay the hell away from HP and Dell. It probably doesn't need mentioning, but stay away from Alienware as well. Not only do they look like tricked out Honda Civics, you pay a premium just for the name. And now that they're owned by Dell, you also get all the benefits of Dell's customer service. Ugh.

@Wallzii said:

@Kidavenger: The second card in the list he posted was the 7970M, not in CrossFire configuration. The 680M hasn't even been announced yet and everything regarding it is purely speculation. The 675M/580M, 6990M, and 7970M are better than the 670M. All of these cards are well suited to play modern games, especially if you throw in a mild overclock. I'll agree that no mobile GPU is as good as what is offered in the desktop arena, but the gap has started to close a lot quicker these days with smaller fabrication processes expending a lot less heat. They can cram a lot of power into 100w TDP these days, just look at what the 7970M is doing right now.

The 675M/580M offers slightly less than GTX 560 Ti performance. The 6990M offers slightly less than HD 6870 performance. The 7970M offers performance between the HD 7850 and HD 7870, or about the same as the GTX 570. That is an impressive feat. A stable overclock on any of these cards quickly closes the gap between their desktop foundation cards.

Of course desktop GPUs are better, but modern mobile cards are nothng to sneeze at anymore and are very capable in modern games. I wouldn't suggest anything other than the 7970M from a value perspective, it just doesn't make sense to get anything else when the price on this thing for the performance levels is so good. You are ensuring you will be able to play modern games for a while with high settings, high frame rates, at 1080p. As soon as I get back to North America, I am upgrading my 6970M (which has been a great card and handled everything I have thrown at it, minor adjustments here and there) to the 7970M.

yepp...

@K9 said:

@Ravenlight said:

Does it have to be a laptop? I only ask because the bang-per-buck ratio goes up if you don't require mobility.

Unfortunately it has to be a laptop as not only do I need mobility but I also don't have room for a desktop.

@Wallzii: I have never heard of Xotic pc before. How is the laptop build quality? Any issues with laptop keyboard?

I purchased the 8170 model from Sager, which was just replaced by the 9170 model offered now. The build quality is very solid on the laptop, composed of brushed aluminium. The hinge is very sturdy and hasn't shown any signs of lossening, nothing creaks or squeeks, it is a really solid piece of hardware. Also of note is the cooling system in these laptops is amazing, they push a lot of air when they need to, keeping your components cool.

I really like the keyboard and had no trouble with it at all, it is chiclet-style with great feedback, although keyboards are really subjective to the user. The newer 9170 line has backlit keyboards, which I wish my 8170 had.

A lot of people haven't heard of Sager/Clevo laptops before, but they have been around for over 25 years building great products. They build to order and ship to resellers like XoticPC who deal with consumers. I'll never buy a laptop from another manufacturerer after getting my Sager.

@Wallzii: The cooling system on mine is easily the best cooling system I've ever had on a laptop. Quite, powerful, and well-designed.

@Paul_Is_Drunk: @Wallzii: Thanks for the feedback guys/gals. Based on your input I think I will go with Sager then.

Definitely a good choice, you won't be disappointed. Also be sure to email your Sager reseller with any questions you have regarding your build, I've found the support at XoticPC to be very helpful with any inquiries.

@ItBeStefYo said:

@Akeldama: My Dell XPS L502X has been great. Go with Dell.

Ew dell.

I bought an ASUS G74 some time back and I'm a happy camper with it. Avoid Dell and HP though, they have quite possibly the worst customer support I've ever seen. Dell in particular.

@Akeldama said:

My Asus G73JH has been great. Go with Asus.

I can vouch on this one. The G75 should be out any time, I recommend it.

@Akeldama: haha, why does everyone hate Dell??? It's been very good and when my charger broke they sent a new one free quickly

@ItBeStefYo said:

@Akeldama: haha, why does everyone hate Dell??? It's been very good and when my charger broke they sent a new one free quickly

Meh. Dell has fucked me pretty hard in the past. I suppose it comes down to personal experience with the brand. Also, there are far superior manufacturers out there.