Work / Gaming laptop for under 1,200

[rainfinale]

==========

General Questions

1) What is your budget? $1,200 (I'll be using some gift cards here and won't be able to get the cash discount so keep that in mind)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) What country are you buying this in? U.S.

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? N/A

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook? Gaming, programming, some light photoshop / premiere image/video editing

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? Leaving it on my desk most of the time. Thinking a notebook cooler would be advised?

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? EVE, World of Tanks, some steam games. No high end graphics games like Crysis etc.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need? 2 minimum but most of the time will be plugged in.

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

10) What OS do you prefer? (more details below) -Windows 7 (Don't have an extra copy unfortunately)Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? (more details below) It doesn't really matter to me
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non glossy screen?
matte but since they don't seem to make them glossy will have to do.
Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Not really except that I will be spending $84 for a custom skin I photoshop'd.

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? Within the next few weeks and would like it to last at least 2 years.

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 80GB, 160GB, 250GB, 320GB, 500GB, 1TB, or 1.5TB? Stock seems to be 320GB which is fine. I can buy external drives later.

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

17) What speed CPU/Processor would you like? Dual core or Quad Core CPU? Whichever won't give me problems with the moderate gaming I listed above.

==========

Here's what I'm considering:

Sager NP2180 (Built on Compal NBLB2) Custom Laptop (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2776%7B161%7D2855%7B7 6%7D2672%7B94%7D1074%7B92%7D2749%7B187%7D1757%7B88 %7D2043%7B186%7D1532%7B93%7D2266%7B112%7D655%7B98% 7D1295%7B96%7D2640%7B168%7D1453%7B194%7D2594%7B116 %7D696%7B117%7D890%7B120%7D703%7B110%7D2769%7B169% 7D1449%7B119%7D1898%7B100%7D734%7B164%7D1441%7B107 %7D1539%7B106%7D1691%7B121%7D694%7B108%7D710%7B109 %7D711%7B170%7D1591%7B173%7D1175%7B167%7D2508%7B10 3%7D2707%7B113%7D1413%7B111%7D1414%7B69%7D1513%7B1 96%7D2719)
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™ i5-520M, 2.4-2.93GHz, (3MB L3 cache)
- Stock Thermal Compound-
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5650 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR3
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB) -
- Custom Fitted Laptop Back LCD Skin (A Surface) [Choose from our designs or your own Graphic or Logo (Details of design made after order)]
* Will add 5-13 business days on order
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) - Default
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Advanced-N 6200 - 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
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- Full Size Black Aluminum Notebook Cooler - Dual Fans - USB Powered (For up to 17" Laptops)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor 1 Year Parts, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Tech Support
- No Xotic PC Gear


Regular Price: $1172.00

Or..

FORCE NBLB2 (Built on Compal NBLB2) (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2813%7B161%7D2855%7B7 6%7D2672%7B94%7D1074%7B92%7D2297%7B187%7D2744%7B88 %7D2043%7B186%7D1532%7B93%7D2817%7B112%7D655%7B98% 7D2789%7B96%7D2461%7B115%7D681%7B199%7D751%7B168%7 D1453%7B194%7D2594%7B116%7D696%7B117%7D890%7B120%7 D702%7B110%7D2771%7B169%7D1449%7B119%7D1898%7B100% 7D734%7B164%7D1441%7B107%7D1539%7B106%7D1691%7B121 %7D694%7B108%7D710%7B109%7D711%7B170%7D1591%7B173% 7D1175%7B167%7D2508%7B103%7D2684%7B113%7D1413%7B11 1%7D1414%7B69%7D2536%7B196%7D2719)
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -Intel® Core™ i5-430M, 2.26-2.53GHz, (3MB L3 cache) -
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5650 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR3
- No Video Adapter
- - 4,096MB (2 SODIMMS) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
- Custom Fitted Laptop Back LCD Skin (A Surface) [Choose from our designs or your own Graphic or Logo (Details of design made after order)]
* Will add 5-13 business days on order
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software (If choosing a 2nd HDD in the Optical Drive Bay no Optical Disk Drive will be included)
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s)
- No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay (When adding Hard Drive, Optical Drive Is Removed)
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- None Standard--
- -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
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- Full Size Black Aluminum Notebook Cooler - Dual Fans - USB Powered (For up to 17" Laptops)
- Windows 7 Home Premium - 64-Bit
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 1 Year Complete Care Warranty - 1 Year Parts with 2nd Day Shipping, 24/7 Telephone Tech Support & Lifetime Labor Warranty
- No Xotic PC Gear

Regular Price: $1152.00


I was advised by a friend to get a notebook cooler if I was going to be gaming for several hours at a time which is why I included that in the build. Is that a good idea?


I appreciate your advice. Let me know if I'm missing any information.

Thanks!

[powerpack]

First point of note. They are exactly the same notebook, Compal. Getting the 1333MHz RAM on the Sager costs $0.

I think your friend makes a valid point with the cooler suggestion.

OK where are we? Sager has better CPU as configured? Force has better wi-fi? Cpu hard to say if it will matter. Real world those two are close short of a stopwatch. On wi-fi I feel the same unless you know and demand the little extra and do large file transfers very often I find those to be of no real world difference.

On warranty? That is tuff the Force offers more up front the Sager more back end. I favor the Force on this but if others disagreed I would not argue the point. I give Force the win on this.

Splitting hairs I would say. If the CPU on the Force works for you I would get that. Upgrade to the same as the Sager is $95 so the Force is equal to or greater than the Sager other than warranty. And as said warranty for me goes to Force.

I could of missed a few things, post back.

[mrmatt]

If only doing moderate gaming I can't see you needing a cooling pad. I think that both of those computers are good choices for you. The build quality should be pretty comparable, but the Force is from Xotic and the other is Sager. I would look at the Force more for that reason alone since they are based on the same barebones.

[powerpack]

If only doing moderate gaming I can't see you needing a cooling pad. I think that both of those computers are good choices for you. The build quality should be pretty comparable, but the Force is from Xotic and the other is Sager. I would look at the Force more for that reason alone since they are based on the same barebones.It is the same notebook made at the same place by the same people?:-/ I think that is above comparable, it is the same on build. I like the Force overall but not build.:confused:

Anyway just my thoughts.:)

[rainfinale]

First point of note. They are exactly the same notebook, Compal. Getting the 1333MHz RAM on the Sager costs $0.

I think your friend makes a valid point with the cooler suggestion.

OK where are we? Sager has better CPU as configured? Force has better wi-fi? Cpu hard to say if it will matter. Real world those two are close short of a stopwatch. On wi-fi I feel the same unless you know and demand the little extra and do large file transfers very often I find those to be of no real world difference.

On warranty? That is tuff the Force offers more up front the Sager more back end. I favor the Force on this but if others disagreed I would not argue the point. I give Force the win on this.

Splitting hairs I would say. If the CPU on the Force works for you I would get that. Upgrade to the same as the Sager is $95 so the Force is equal to or greater than the Sager other than warranty. And as said warranty for me goes to Force.

I could of missed a few things, post back.

Thanks for the quick and informative reply. I should have noticed that they were built on the same laptop but missed that. Also missed the free 1333 MHz ram upgrade.

If there's no noticeable difference between the i5 430M and i5 520M then I'm fine with the cheaper option on the FORCE. mrmatt said I may not need a cooler. As a note, I define my moderate gaming to be 3-5 hours / day on moderate system spec'd games (again, no high end FPS games).

If no one else feels the cooler is needed for heating issues with his build then what I may do is buy it without the cooler and then purchase it later if needed.

That brings the price on the FORCE down to $1083.00 regular price.

Any other thoughts? I could be willing to increase my budget cap to $1,300 but only if the performance difference is very noticeable.

[powerpack]

I hate to say but I will. There is no reason to buy a cooler from Xotic. It can be purchased later for the same price.

I like the force because you will be talking to Xotic. The three J's or H'.

Cpu's have gotton so hot at what point does it not matter for you? I do not know, I have i7 720?

I like the force, call Justin (anyone of them) and ask their thoughts I can think they can help and you can trust them if you ask me.

[mangbhoy]

Force The Win? :D

[mrmatt]

It is the same notebook made at the same place by the same people?:-/ I think that is above comparable, it is the same on build. I like the Force overall but not build.:confused:

Anyway just my thoughts.:)
I said should because they do touch someone else's hands after they are made by Compal :yes:

[rainfinale]

I hate to say but I will. There is no reason to buy a cooler from Xotic. It can be purchased later for the same price.

I like the force because you will be talking to Xotic. The three J's or H'.

Cpu's have gotton so hot at what point does it not matter for you? I do not know, I have i7 720?

I like the force, call Justin (anyone of them) and ask their thoughts I can think they can help and you can trust them if you ask me.

I meant that if the difference in performance (speed, overheating) isn't noticeable then I don't think I need to spend extra for a processor that's faster but not so much that I won't notice.

Thanks for the advice. :)

[powerpack]

I had bad choice of words. "Hot" I meant performance not heat. And yea a bad choice of words. Most will not notice the performance difference. 140MHz more is not perceivable on a CPU over 2GHz. On the two you are looking at less than 7%.

[rainfinale]

It turns out I was able to obtain a Windows 7 copy from a friend lowering my build by $115. With this in mind, I started exploring new options.

Well, my current 3 year-old desktop is built with a core 2 duo, GeForce 8800 GT, and 2 GB of ram and I was hoping to get similar or better performance from this laptop. I did some brief research on benchmarks between the 8800 GT and the HD 5650 and saw that the HD 5650 falls behind quite a bit while the 5850 outperforms the 8800 GT.

I'm now considering the following build that only slightly goes over budget:
$1223 Regular

FORCE 1656-ID5 (Built on the MSI-1656-ID5) (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2822%7B161%7D2855%7B7 6%7D647%7B94%7D1074%7B92%7D2297%7B187%7D2744%7B88% 7D1671%7B186%7D1532%7B93%7D2817%7B112%7D655%7B98%7 D2789%7B96%7D2461%7B115%7D681%7B199%7D751%7B168%7D 1453%7B194%7D2594%7B116%7D696%7B117%7D707%7B120%7D 703%7B110%7D2771%7B169%7D1449%7B119%7D1898%7B100%7 D734%7B164%7D1441%7B107%7D1539%7B106%7D1691%7B195% 7D698%7B121%7D694%7B108%7D710%7B109%7D711%7B170%7D 1492%7B173%7D1175%7B167%7D1452%7B103%7D686%7B113%7 D1413%7B111%7D1414%7B69%7D2536%7B196%7D2719)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- -Intel® Core™ i5-430M, 2.26-2.53GHz, (3MB L3 cache) -
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5850 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- - 4,096MB (2 SODIMMS) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
- Custom Fitted Laptop Back LCD Skin (A Surface) [Choose from our designs or your own Graphic or Logo (Details of design made after order)]
* Will add 5-13 business days on order
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software (If choosing a 2nd HDD in the Optical Drive Bay no Optical Disk Drive will be included)
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s)
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- 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
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- 1 Year Complete Care Warranty - 1 Year Parts with 2nd Day Shipping, 24/7 Telephone Tech Support & Lifetime Labor Warranty

What are your thoughts on this rig? With the much improved GPU I'm wondering if I'll need a notebook cooler but I can get that later / cheaper if I have overheating issues.

[Maverick494]

It turns out I was able to obtain a Windows 7 copy from a friend lowering my build by $115. With this in mind, I started exploring new options.

Well, my current 3 year-old desktop is built with a core 2 duo, GeForce 8800 GT, and 2 GB of ram and I was hoping to get similar or better performance from this laptop. I did some brief research on benchmarks between the 8800 GT and the HD 5650 and saw that the HD 5650 falls behind quite a bit while the 5850 outperforms the 8800 GT.

I'm now considering the following build that only slightly goes over budget:
$1223 Regular

FORCE 1656-ID5 (Built on the MSI-1656-ID5) (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2822%7B161%7D2855%7B7 6%7D647%7B94%7D1074%7B92%7D2297%7B187%7D2744%7B88% 7D1671%7B186%7D1532%7B93%7D2817%7B112%7D655%7B98%7 D2789%7B96%7D2461%7B115%7D681%7B199%7D751%7B168%7D 1453%7B194%7D2594%7B116%7D696%7B117%7D707%7B120%7D 703%7B110%7D2771%7B169%7D1449%7B119%7D1898%7B100%7 D734%7B164%7D1441%7B107%7D1539%7B106%7D1691%7B195% 7D698%7B121%7D694%7B108%7D710%7B109%7D711%7B170%7D 1492%7B173%7D1175%7B167%7D1452%7B103%7D686%7B113%7 D1413%7B111%7D1414%7B69%7D2536%7B196%7D2719)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- -Intel® Core™ i5-430M, 2.26-2.53GHz, (3MB L3 cache) -
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5850 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- - 4,096MB (2 SODIMMS) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
- Custom Fitted Laptop Back LCD Skin (A Surface) [Choose from our designs or your own Graphic or Logo (Details of design made after order)]
* Will add 5-13 business days on order
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software (If choosing a 2nd HDD in the Optical Drive Bay no Optical Disk Drive will be included)
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s)
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- 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
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- 1 Year Complete Care Warranty - 1 Year Parts with 2nd Day Shipping, 24/7 Telephone Tech Support & Lifetime Labor Warranty

What are your thoughts on this rig? With the much improved GPU I'm wondering if I'll need a notebook cooler but I can get that later / cheaper if I have overheating issues.

Decent Rig. You should not need a notebook cooler, but it never hurts to have extra cooling if you can afford it.