I recently came into some extra money and I now have about 2 grand (exactly $2,300 so that's my maximum) to burn on the best gaming laptop I could possibly afford for that price. I already have a high end desktop, but now I need a gaming laptop for work and travel. If this new job pans out I could be traveling up to a couple of months out of the year and I'll need something to game on the go and work with which is also gaming, so kinda same purpose all around. So with 2 grand give or take I have to get something gaming focused, the benchmark is something capable of playing Crysis decently, which I will link a couple of possibilities that are in the price range that can run Crysis fairly well. Also it needs to be something that comes with a Win7 upgrade coupon, and has a Blu-ray drive so that I can watch my movies on the go or just hook my laptop up to a friends TV and use it as a portable player. Now my boss is currently working on talking to some contacts to get me a good deal on a higher end laptop, you know get me a 3-5 grand one for my 2 grand and offer some kind of advertising on the show in return, but if that doesn't pan out I want to have my backup already ready to order.

Here are a couple of builds I already have set up, tell me what you think, which you'd go with, or suggest something else. I want to get the BEST I possibly can for the amount of money I can spend, so let me have it!


ASUS G71GX-A1 - PRE ORDER
- FREE !! US UPS GROUND SHIPPING, Instant $30 OFF + ASUS $100 Mail In Rebate
(Use Coupon code FREESHIP in Checkout for Free Shipping)
- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Day Pixel Guarantee
- -Intel® Q9000 45nm "Montevina" Coreâ„¢2 Quad 2.0GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB - Default
- nVidia GeForce GTX 260M 1,024MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10
- No External Graphics Card
- No Video Adapter
- - 6,144MB (6GB) DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Memory (3x2GB)
- Standard Finish
- - 2X Blu-Ray Reader / 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default Hard Drive
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default Hard Drive
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless A/B/G/N
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- Asus G Series Gaming Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- -Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit + Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Coupon w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's - Standard
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/7 Support, 1 Year Accidental Coverage & 2-Way Pre-Paid Overnight Shipping for Repairs (N.A. Accidental Requires Registration w/ ASUS)

Total: $2,036.00 with free shipping and before 100 dollar MIR


Sager NP5797 Custom Sager Notebook (Built on Clevo M570ETU)
- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® Q9000 45nm "Montevina" Coreâ„¢2 Quad 2.0GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- nVidia GeForce GTX 280M 1,024MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- No External Graphics Card
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- None Standard--
- NP579x Orange Frame Trim Color
- ~ 2X Blue-Ray Read/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
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- ~Windows Vista Business 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) + Windows 7 Professional 64 Upgrade Coupon w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 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)

Total: $2,327 with free shipping

The second one has a GeForce GTX 280M instead of a 260, it has 2 gigs less of RAM, but it is higher clocked higher quality DDR3 RAM instead of DDR2 (does that even out?), little less HDD space, and while it has a warranty, it doesn't have 1 year of accidental damage protection like the Asus. Also arguably better construction and upgradeability? It's 300 bucks more for this one, is it worth the 300 bucks more, what do you guys think overall of this build on its own as well as compared to the Asus one? Also Intel® Robson Turbo Memory? Is it something I need or should tack on if I get a Sager, or is it just snake oil?

Those are a couple of builds I have going right now, what do you guys think of them, do you guys have anything that might possibly be better for that price in mind?

And aren't Sagers known for being really upgradable? As in I could easily swap out the GPU, CPU, or RAM down the road and not even void the warranty?

And why don't you spend your next couple of paychecks on reading classes. Oh and maybe a nursemaid to make sure you don't shit all over yourself every time you try to think.

You not hungry for stupid job, you hungry for HOT POCKEEEEEEETS

Lolz, The hot pockets comment reminds me of this food-loving comedian doing his thing on hot pockets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9c9lAfXQHs

i love it when e talks about cake and bacon

I have a Sager.

Yup.

OH! Right. I don't know about upgradeability, but they're supposed to have the best warranties out there. I agree.

I would like to know how it has one of the best warranties, it's a big sticking point for me, See the Asus has accidental damage coverage whereas it does not look like the Sager does. Please explain these wonderful warranties to me.