Looking to upgrade from a throttling dell

[gstboy]

My first laptop buying experience didn't go too well, thought I was paying top dollar for a gaming multimedia laptop but ended up getting something that is plauged by bad fan location and throttling cpu/gpu.

My ultimate would be a battery that can last 3 hours, 1920x1080, ati hd5870, usb3.0, hdmi,

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$2300

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen3) What country are you buying this in?
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Not brand loyal, don't like dell, hp

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
HD Movies, office, games, rendering photos/videos

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?

Would like portability when I travel on a plane once or twice a year. Mostly on a desk.

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
COD:MW2 etc.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

2-3+

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No

10) What OS do you prefer? (more details below)
Win7 64Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? (more details below)
Widescreen
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1080; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non glossy screen?

no preference

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

yes

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

4-5 years

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 80GB, 160GB, 250GB, 320GB, 500GB, 1TB, or 1.5TB?

500gb

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, CD/DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

cd/dvd burner

17) What speed CPU/Processor would you like? Dual core or Quad Core CPU?
I7-720q

[Maverick494]

My first laptop buying experience didn't go too well, thought I was paying top dollar for a gaming multimedia laptop but ended up getting something that is plauged by bad fan location and throttling cpu/gpu.

My ultimate would be a battery that can last 3 hours, 1920x1080, ati hd5870, usb3.0, hdmi,

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$2300

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What country are you buying this in?
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Not brand loyal, don't like dell, hp

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
HD Movies, office, games, rendering photos/videos

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?

Would like portability when I travel on a plane once or twice a year. Mostly on a desk.

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
COD:MW2 etc.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

2-3+

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No

10) What OS do you prefer? (more details below)
Win7 64
Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? (more details below)
Widescreen
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1080; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non glossy screen?

no preference

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

yes

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

4-5 years

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 80GB, 160GB, 250GB, 320GB, 500GB, 1TB, or 1.5TB?

500gb

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, CD/DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

cd/dvd burner

17) What speed CPU/Processor would you like? Dual core or Quad Core CPU?
I7-720q


with your budget a Sager 8690 w/ 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, 1920x1080 screen and Win 7 Ultimate. That's my suggestion. I just got mine with 4GB of RAM and 320GB HDD and it is really a screaming good machine for a 15". plus I know if I want to I can get a BR drive later and have full 1080P on this screen.

[gstboy]

Thanks, sounds like a good deal, i'm trying to envision the weight and portablility of that model, battery life ok? I was also eyeing the msi gt660 but that doesn't look like it will be out for a while.

[Maverick494]

Thanks, sounds like a good deal, i'm trying to envision the weight and portablility of that model, battery life ok? I was also eyeing the msi gt660 but that doesn't look like it will be out for a while.

The weight is a ton lighter than I imagined it would be as a desktop replacement. It weighs far less than my Gateway P-7805U did. So portability is good. Battery life is one thing I probably won't ever be able to give you a great answer on because I very rarely use it on battery since it is my desktop replacement. If I had to guess it is probably about 2 hours depending on what you are doing. You can probably watch one full movie and then be about 20% life left is my guess, assuming you aren't watching LOTR or something.

The other pretty nice thing about this laptop is that the finger print reader is really a nice feature. It is more secure than just a password login in some respects and that makes it nice should the unfortunate happen and it is stolen. I did a much more in depth answer on somethings over here (http://www.xoticpcforums.com/showthread.php?t=5085&page=7). Keep in mind I am mostly just a gamer with only a few side hobbies, but this machine seems ready to do it all.

Also for having a full size keyboard it really is rather compact. My Gateway would not fit in a standard 15" notebook carrying case or backpack even though it had a 15" screen and this one does.

[powerpack]

Gst with your needs and budget you are getting good advice. Your 3 hour batt ain't going to happen. I think NP8690 can't be beat.

[kingtz]

For $2300 in the 15-16" range, this is the sort of beast you could get:
:notworthy

Sager NP8690 (Built on Clevo W860CU) Custom Gaming Laptop (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2659%7B76%7D2672%7B94 %7D1074%7B92%7D2669%7B187%7D2742%7B88%7D1852%7B194 %7D2594%7B186%7D1532%7B93%7D2588%7B112%7D656%7B98% 7D2512%7B96%7D1053%7B168%7D1453%7B116%7D696%7B117% 7D705%7B120%7D703%7B110%7D2770%7B169%7D1449%7B119% 7D1898%7B100%7D734%7B164%7D1441%7B107%7D689%7B106% 7D2665%7B121%7D694%7B108%7D710%7B109%7D711%7B170%7 D1591%7B173%7D1175%7B167%7D1452%7B103%7D686%7B113% 7D1413%7B111%7D1414%7B69%7D714%7B196%7D2719)
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™ i7-820QM, 1.73-3.06GHz, (45nm, 8MB L3 cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No External Graphics Card
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 6,144MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~ 6X Blue-Ray Burner/Reader / 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- 11.1V Smart Li-Polymer battery pack 3800mAh, 42.18Wh
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
- No Xotic PC Gear $2,264.00 http://www.xoticpc.com/images/pixel_trans.gif Sub-Total: $2,264.00


The upgrades I made to the stock version are in bold.

[Maverick494]

Battery life: I went from 100% to 11% life remaining in about 1 hour and 24 minutes. Only use was web surfing. Keep in mind I use the bluetooth and the Wifi to connect mouse and internet respectively. Screen was dimmed most of the way down and was still easily readable. You can probably squeeze out a little over two hours if you properly break in the battery.

[gstboy]

The 8690 sounds like a winner. Forgot to ask if it has a backlit keyboard, it's not a necessity but would be a nice touch. 1-2 hour battery life sounds reasonable, could always buy a new batt for trips. Don't need the bluray will have to think about getting the 820 upgrade. Is it much of a difference from the 720 for the price increase?

[Maverick494]

820QM is, from what i have seen, 20% faster. no backlit keyboard.

[McDaddy]

The 8690 is great got mine last week and I am very satisafied with it. Battery life I'm getting an 1 hour to close to 1 1/2 hours before recharge but that's not a big of a deal to me.

[McDaddy]

With your spending money that you got I would upgrade to the 820 for 155 as opposed to other models asking for much more then that

[McDaddy]

Sorry I ment to say 190 for 820