New Laptop? (hard drive, screen, motherboard, graphics)

[Konraden]

Originally Posted by Kees

Thank for the replies everyone.

As far as graphics cards go.. Higher is better? 675 better than 670? MX better than M?

Generally, yes.
Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - Notebookcheck.net Tech

[grannynancy]

There are all kinds of performance charts and reviews on the web. There are also motherboards that can hold two graphics processors instead of just one. There is also a lot of variation in performance of SSDs (and reviews on those as well)

I did a whole lot of googling and reading to settle in on something.

[Kees]

Thanks... I will look at the links and am going to do some custom builds as well.

Will post for feedback.

[Joke Insurance]

I'll probably be looking for a laptop soon as well. Sorry if this sounds wrong but I'll probably have to piggyback some of the information on here for myself. Regardless though; I hope the OP finds what he was looking for on here. A lot of resourceful information is on here.

[Kees]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I'd go with a Sager for that budget, or the Asus gaming line.

Here are 3 systems from Sager... the NP9370 has gotten away from the fingerprinter reader in the middle of the touchpad as well as a built-in microphone in the same location that have given the 9150 and 9170 series some complaints. I've bolded some differences between the 3 systems.

NP9370

Display 17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card Dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 670M GPU with 1.5GB GDDR5 Video Memory in SLI Mode
CPU Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.40GHz)
Thermal Compound Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 8 64-Bit Edition
Memory 12GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 3 X 4GB
RAID Storage Options Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA2 Hard Drive
mSATA SSD Drive — For Intel Smart Response Technology Crucial 256GB M4 Series mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive (Primary Drive C)
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card Internal 802.11 B+G+N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
Integrated Security Device Fingerprint Reader
Warranty Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty

Sub Total: $2,079.00
Promotion Discount: -$100.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
Total: $1,979.00


NP9150-SPECIAL

Display 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M GPU with 4GB GDDR5 Video Memory - Year End Holiday Special Promotion!
CPU Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.40GHz)
Thermal Compound IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU - Year End Holiday Special Promotion!
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 8 64-Bit Edition
Memory 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 8GB - Year End Holiday Special Promotion!
Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA2 Hard Drive - Year End Holiday Special Promotion!
mSATA SSD Drive — For Intel Smart Response Technology Crucial 256GB M4 Series mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive (Primary Drive C) [$230.00]
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software - Year End Holiday Special Promotion!
Wireless Network Card Killerâ„¢ Wireless-N 1202 802.11 A/B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Module - Year End Holiday Special Promotion!
Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
Integrated Security Device Fingerprint Reader
Warranty Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty

Sub Total: $2,029.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
Total: $2,029.00


NP9170

Display 17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card Nvidia GeForce GTX 670MX GPU with 3GB GDDR5 Video Memory
CPU Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.40GHz)
Thermal Compound Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 8 64-Bit Edition
Memory 12GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 3 X 4GB
RAID Storage Options Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA2 Hard Drive
mSATA SSD Drive — For Intel Smart Response Technology Crucial 256GB M4 Series mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive (Primary Drive C)
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software [$90.00]
Wireless Network Card Internal 802.11 B+G+N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
Integrated Security Device Fingerprint Reader
Warranty Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty

Sub Total: $1,864.00
Promotion Discount: -$100.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
Total: $1,764.00

Thoughts?

[Kees]

Originally Posted by grannynancy

I wound up spending closer to $2000 to get a decent 17" laptop with an i7 processor, NVIDIA Graphics card, 240GB SSD primary drive and 2nd HDD drive, and I did not even get an internal DVD drive and blu ray is expensive. My own experiences with internal drives are they just don't seem to last very well so I got an external drive and drive bay carrier for a third HD.

Mine was an Origin which should be here in a few days. They are primarily known for gaming computers but speed and graphics are important to gamers and that is why I wound up looking at laptops built for gaming..I got mine for working with mapping software.

You you have a lot of customization options including blu-ray. I found the price of what I built to be competitive with mainstream computers and it is built in the US and they have a good reputation for customer service and lifetime tech support.

Yes I looked up Origin and they were founded by the former execs from Alienware.

Their laptops are a little pricier than Sager... which isn't suprising because Alienware is also overpriced. Still, here's what I came up with.


EON17-S $2,223

Configuration

1920 x 1080 17.3" FHD LED Backlit Glossy Display
Customizable Backlit Keyboard Software with Three Lighting Zones and Seven Color options
Single 3GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX
Intel Core i7 3740QM Quad-Core 2.70GHz (3.70GHz TurboBoost), 6MB Cache
8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz (2 X 4GB)
Genuine MS Windows 8 Professional 64-Bit Edition
6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD+/-R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive
256GB Crucial M4 - Solid State mSATA OS Drive
750GB SATA 3.0Gb/s, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
Integrated High-Definition Audio with THX TruStudio Pro and up to 7.1 Channel support
Wi-Fi Link 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module with Bluetooth - Up to 300 Mbps
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports
Media Card Reader
Integrated Biometric Fingerprint Reader
Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera
1 Year Part Replacement and 45 Day Free Shipping Warranty with Lifetime Labor/24-7 Support
ORIGIN Recovery Media
45 Day No Dead Pixel Guarantee Free
ORIGIN PC T-Shirt XLarge
Google Chrome

Right at $2,300 with a shipping charge. The 3740 CPU was a free upgrade from the 2.4Ghz 3630.

[Kees]

Sager NP9370 (Clevo P370EM) GTX680M SLI Benchmarking & Review - YouTube

I'm REALLY interested in this Sager NP9370.... I'll just drop down a notch on the graphics card(s.)

Speaking of that... what would be a better choice? A single GTX 680M w/ 4GB or dual GTX 670MX w/ 3GB (6GB total?) in SLI?

[grannynancy]

This is what I wound up with for $1892 plus shipping. I think that took it to $1944 -I imagine there may be sale opportunities after Christmas before beginning of next year. This was Thanksgiving discount...so I wound up not actually paying a higher price the Origin but win I did a search "customer service" then the name of the various companies that sealed the deal.

IF that is important to you it may be worth more. IF NOT - I think they are all pretty much built on the same platform and I doubt, other than specific components there is much difference.

I don't know about the dual graphics cards.......I would assume that you have better chance for upgrading down the road, with a motherboard with two slots than one?

ORIGIN Custom Configuration
1 ORIGIN PC NOTEBOOK EON17-S
1 Laptop Neurons Laser Etching
1 1920 x 1080 17.3" FHDLED Matte Backlit Matte Display
1 Customizable Backlit Keyboard
Customizable Backlit Keyboard Software with Three
Lighting Zones and Seven Color Options
1 3GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 670MX
1 Video card Overclock Service
1 Intel Core i7 3740QM Quad-Core
2 8GB CorsairVeng DDR3 1600 2x4
1 Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition
1 Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy with Bezel
1 FREE 240GB Corsair Neutron
1 750GB SATA 3.0Gb/s, 7200RPM 16MB Cache HDD
1 LT Audio EON 15 17S
Integrated High-Definition Audio with THX TruStudi
o Pro and up to 7.1 Channel support
1 MOBL-EONINTWIFIBT
Wi-Fi Link 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module with
Bluetooth - Up to 300 Mbps
1 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports
1 Media Card Reader
1 FINGER READER EON
Integrated Biometric Fingerprint Reader
1 LTWEBCAM-EON
Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera
1 1 Year Part Rep and 45 Day Shipping and Lifet Sup
1 Lifetime Phone and Labor Warranty
1 ORIGIN Recovery USB Drive
1 45 Day No Dead Pixel Guarantee Free

[Kees]

Originally Posted by grannynancy

This is what I wound up with for $1892 plus shipping. I think that took it to $1944 -I imagine there may be sale opportunities after Christmas before beginning of next year. This was Thanksgiving discount...so I wound up not actually paying a higher price the Origin but win I did a search "customer service" then the name of the various companies that sealed the deal.

You got a good deal... the exact same system specs you listed now show up at $2182 before shipping... LOL

No thanks... I can get one WITH a blue ray drive and the 680M GPU for that price and avoid $75 in shipping charges... not to mention the Sager laptop with similar specs is $200 less and also includes a blue ray drive.

I'm most likely going to go with either Sager or Origin... just undecided on which. Whichever I choose it will definitely NOT be from my local Best Buy... all you'll find there are generic $350 laptops or $1500 laptops with integrated graphics crap.

Maybe I need to wait on Origin to show their sale prices.... doesn't appear to be any right now.

[grannynancy]

Makes sense.