AltreU Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I'm willing to shell out up to 1300 dollars (USD) on a gaming laptop and have a specific one in mind. My brother purchased an Alienware last year and I'm well aware that he could have gotten much better for a lower price (his was over 1700...). I'm looking for quality, not a namebrand. The recent MSI steelseries seems to have a laptop within my spending range and it's definitely looks better (as far as specs go) than my brothers. I'd like a second opinion on what to get. My brother suggested I get an Alienware...Here'e the one I'm looking at-MSI GE60 0NC-042US 15.6" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook I'm sticking with the 15.6" size, at least 8 gigs of ram, and a processor and graphics card at least from 2011. I would rather have it play Skyrim on high to ultra settings. I'm looking for a decent external fan for whatever I purchase because I never trust internal fans. I'm not asking for anyone to find one for me, I'm just asking for a little input that will help me make the best decision in my purchase. I'm currently looking up differences between competing graphics cards and processors. Besides the hardware itself, I'd also like a 1 year warranty. A lot of the sites I've visited have some sort of warranty offered. I've had this little netbook for well over 4 years and it's still completely functional with minor aesthetic damage, but I'm sure that a gaming laptop will take more abuse from heat than my netbook. Other than that, personal favs are welcome along with general advice. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwnedbyscope Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 i really like my ASUS g73sw, i spent 1200 got 8 gig ram intel i7 2.9, and nvidia 460m 1.5 dedicated, i can run everything on ultra settings and with a hacked together stand the temps underload stay lower than 70c. which is really good for a laptop imo. however this is a 17.3 screen and even bigger case (have yet to find a laptop bag that it fits in) which if your looking at gaming laptops then you should know they can be a bit big (look at your brothers) you might want to also checkout falcon northwest they are like alienware but better http://www.falcon-nw.com/laptops finally the best advice i can give is if you see one that catches your eye and is just really appealing to you, get that, it may see like a small thing but the aesthetic appeal that it has to you can really have an effect just how much you like it or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltreU Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 I had a bit of fun configuring a machine on the Falcon site. I think they're a bit out of the ballpark on pricing for me, but I do love the level of customization they put into it. I'm currently checking out your machine. I like the cooling system and overall shape of it. What is the major difference between the GTX 400, 500, and 600 series? It looked as though the 580 was better than a lot of the 600. Maybe I was looking at it from the wrong perspective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoofhearted4 Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 i have an Asus, its a couple years old now, but still can play most games on some configuration of settings. i would highly recommend Asus laptops, and would recommend you look into them and their laptops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltreU Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 (edited) I hear a lot of good things about Asus. I wouldn't mind one, but I haven't seen any really impressive models (mostly because I haven't looked for one...). I'll keep the question that I asked before up- What is the major difference between the GTX 400, 500, and 600 series? It looked as though the 580 was better than a lot of the 600. Maybe I was looking at it from the wrong perspective? Edited May 18, 2012 by AltreU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubjectProphet Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I have an Intel notebook Inspiron with me right now, and it runs Skyrim on Ultra with 55-60 FPS. No overclocks/upgrades. I have the top Alienware laptop at home back in the US, but while it's overpriced, it's pretty great. I'd only recommend an Alienware if you've got quite a bit of cash on you. Your question has an answer that ranges. What game do you plan on playing? (type, like FPS, RPG, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltreU Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 I plan mostly on playing rpgs like Skyrim and various games with mod potential. I modded Oblivion more than I played when I had a desktop in high school, but most of the mods were geared towards making the game run at an acceptable frame rate. This is something that I don't even want to consider (I probably will anyways...) when playing on whatever I purchase. The laptop I'm looking at now (again- MSI GE60 0NC-042US 15.6" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook) has an Ivy Bridge i7 processor and a GTX 660M gpu. Overclocking is not something I want to do, taking life longevity of the machine into account. I really just want to know if they're overkill (which I wouldn't mind exactly) or if they'll even be able to adequately handle top rpgs of today. This model does fall well within my 1300 dollar budget, which is a major plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwnedbyscope Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 the differences bettween the 400 500 and 600 series cards is kinda minute basically they are just update chips of the preceding cards made to run smoother/cooler, the only benefit i see is if you are going the the same card of the next series, ie 460-560-660 or 430-530-630, there isnt much benefit going sometihng like 480-550-620. other than that the only difference is the price the 600s are new and shiny so therefor they cost a lot more, there is nothing wrong the the 400 series, the 500 is probably the best right now, and the 600 is a bittoo soon to tell if its good or not, i give something new at least 2months before i look into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltreU Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 From a lot of reviews I've read, I'd be most satisfied with the 580 at least. The laptop I'm looking at has the 660 I'll probably just have to learn the ins and outs of buying old versus new now that I have the money. Is there anything unique about the Ivy Bridge processor that it has? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoofhearted4 Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 ive bridge can run small bits of graphics, while your GPU handles the big stuff. idk how much this helps, havent seen benchmarks, but it sounds like it could help at least a little bit. if you find a laptop with a Sandy Bridge CPU and one with an IB CPU for the same price. there is no reason no to go with the IB CPU. its the same thing, but on a smaller die. which could help your laptop stay a few degrees C cooler possibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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