Thread: So I'm going to buy a new laptop

I have read good things about digitalstorm, especially their customer service.
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm x15 Laptop (Model: 9130)
Display: 15.6 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Glossy Surface) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 3610QM (2.3 GHz Turbo Mode to 3.3Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Premium IC Diamond CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise) <b></b>
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1333MHz <b></b>
Primary Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Optical Drive: DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive (Writes and Reads DVDs, CDs)
Wireless Card: 802.11 B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M 1.5GB with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty


I read good things about this one too:
Sager NP9150
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Screen (SKU - S1R316)
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – S2R174)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable] (SKU – S3R517)
- 16GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R368)
- 750gb 7200rpm (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R306)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- Bluetooth Included (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth (SKU - S8R110)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit Keyboard
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (64&32-Bit CD Included) + MS Office Starter 2010 -[ Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 (Directly through Microsoft) ]
- Sager 2 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support (SKU - S9R20

Both are around $1,400

Go apple all the way. You get what you pay for. B. Gates can go fist himself

Personally, I'm waiting for this bad boy to come out. The new Asus Zenbook UX31A.
http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superi...K_Prime_UX31A/

Will just get an external drive for my occasional blu-ray playing or cd/dvd-burning needs.

It's interesting that this thread is still going.
They're all made in the same damn factories in Shengen, China. Buy one, and be done with it.
For photo/video editing, get one with a big screen and independent graphics card/memory.
Get a big hard drive.
Get a lot of ram.
Try not to overpay (impossible if you get a mac)
Windows 8 looks interesting. Some stuff coming out that is both tablet, and laptop with detachable keyboard.
Have fun, and watch for spills.

Ended up choosing a MSI GE70
17.3 inch matte HD screen 1920 x 1080
CPU: Ivy Bridge i7-3610QM 2.3G overclocked to 3.3 with MSI software
GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 660M 2GB GDDR5
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Solid State Drive: 256GB mSATA III
Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM
DVDRW/CDRW Drive
2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports
5.95 pounds
Warranty: 1 year accident forgiveness, 2 years parts and labor

Well engingeered for heat movement and user accessiblity to parts

DPC latency looks very low for the MSI, which is great for audio and video production

Bigger negatives are style (I'll get a wrap if it bugs me), Poor touch pad int4erface, Battery life (smaller battery for lighter weight), unlit keyboard

$1500 for the setup, plus a free xbox360 4G which I plan to sell for $140-anyone want? Net $1,360

The laptop and the free xbox are at Newegg(you need to put it in the cart to see the free xbox). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152348
Use this coupon code which for $10 off orders over $100. FB1MTHANKS4. $1,240 shipped.


Order the 256GB mSATA III here:http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/myd...-msata-6g-ssd/ .
This coupon code that gives $20 off: SLICK20BP3 $260 shipped.

Not an ultrabook that is for sure, but a very brawny machine at the best price/performance point I found for what I wanted.

Originally Posted by cat in january

$1500 for the setup, plus a free xbox360 4G which I plan to sell for $140-anyone want? Net $1,360

Hey CIJ, I believe I do. Shoot me a PM if you buy your setup and decide you want to sell it.

Originally Posted by cat in january

Ended up choosing a MSI GE70
17.3 inch matte HD screen 1920 x 1080
CPU: Ivy Bridge i7-3610QM 2.3G overclocked to 3.3 with MSI software
GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 660M 2GB GDDR5
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Solid State Drive: 256GB mSATA III
Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM
DVDRW/CDRW Drive
2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports
5.95 pounds
Warranty: 1 year accident forgiveness, 2 years parts and labor

Well engingeered for heat movement and user accessiblity to parts

DPC latency looks very low for the MSI, which is great for audio and video production

Bigger negatives are style (I'll get a wrap if it bugs me), Poor touch pad int4erface, Battery life (smaller battery for lighter weight), unlit keyboard

$1500 for the setup, plus a free xbox360 4G which I plan to sell for $140-anyone want? Net $1,360

The laptop and the free xbox are at Newegg(you need to put it in the cart to see the free xbox). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152348
Use this coupon code which for $10 off orders over $100. FB1MTHANKS4. $1,240 shipped.


Order the 256GB mSATA III here:http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/myd...-msata-6g-ssd/ .
This coupon code that gives $20 off: SLICK20BP3 $260 shipped.

Not an ultrabook that is for sure, but a very brawny machine at the best price/performance point I found for what I wanted.

Good call! That thing looks like a beast! Although not as well known as some of the other makes, MSI is a VERY good brand. They specialize in quality motherboards that many other brands end up using anyway. I've personally had great experiences with them, and have had some friends who were very happy with their MSI laptops. Not as flashy, but solid build quality from what I've seen.

I have the Acer Aspire TimelineX and I recommend it 10000%. This is the most satisfied I've ever been with a computer. You can find it for around $600 for the 14" and is super light and thin. The best part is the 8+ hour battery life. I can watch almost 3 full movies on one charge. They also have a 15", I believe. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...7BBTkwCjCECjCE is one I've found but I'm sure you can find cheaper if you try.

Seriously, the best laptop I've bought so far.

Yeah, good luck with your overclocked beast. I mean, hey, it's only running at 150%; in a laptop, no less. You might wanna turn that off.

I feel good about it, but will monitor temperatures.

Yeah, not sure if you really need to overclock. I know the MSI mobo is more than willing to let you do it, but the i7 ivybridge CPU running at stock speeds should be pretty dang good as it is. Read a review on your laptop saying it runs warm as it is, so don't think I'd be OC'ing it. It's a good way to shorten the life of your cpu, too. Not to mention baking the rest of your components. Not a big deal in a big desktop with all the extra air space, and where you can play with water-cooling and such, but can be problematic in a laptop.

Not to mention it comes with that "Turbo-Boost" feature where it revs up and down. Is it like that, or is it just set at running a GHz over at all times?
Turn off the O/C. It's last longer, run better, run cooler, and the battery will last longer too.
OCing a laptop is just asking for trouble. They don't have anywhere near the cooling of a desktop.
I have a previous-gen i5 dual core that is a little OC'd to run the DDR-1600 memory. Asus has a feature in their mobo's that will just adjust the cpu/fsb/whatever clocking to work with whatever ram you have, assuming it's already compatible. So at 3.2GHz the ram only runs at 1333, or whatever, but it's in full DDR 1600 at only 3.85, and it's in a tower case with good cooling.
Laptop hardware is smaller, runs hotter, and its subject to more abuse than desktop hardware.

You guys are absolutely correct about heat in a laptop leading to premature hardware failure. I do like that I can overclock if I need to. This is so much more powerful than my current MacBook, that it will take me a while to feel out its limits.

I have a medical hurdle to cross on Tuesday. Assuming all goes well (if it does not then the computer will need to be returned to open up funds), I will edit this post with my impressions of the laptop.

Check out post 412 for the GPU overclocked: http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/...ounge-42.html#

Youtube video of the system and a benchmark test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcXIJCB8rUw

GPU != CPU

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

GPU != CPU

yea but you can overclock either