Almost time for a new laptop

[Alkire193]

Looking into getting a new laptop. HP Envy looked interesting but who has the best ones at right now?

Has to be a laptop

Has to be PC

[Peelz]

My mom scored a Toshiba at best buy for 400 bucks -huge screen...nice PC. We have dells, but meh....they work, but not the greatest 

[Krandall]

Are you looking for something good, and that will last years, or just seomthing decent and will work?

spending limit?

[russ-russ]

We need some more requirements.  Big HD screen?  Small and efficient for extended battery life?  Lots of hard drive space for porn photo storage?

[Alkire193]

Im looking for something that isnt much larger than my HP dv7t which has a 17" monitor. By larger, I mean thicker. I have seen the old XPS laptops that are 2 inches thick when they are closed. No bueno

I went onto IBuyPower.com and found their best 17" laptop that was rated as "mid level" for playing Battlefield 3. I want something that really hauls ass. Top of the line. As soon as I installed BF3 on my current laptop, I could tell it had become obsolete.

Lets say the budget is under 3500.

At least one drive should be SATA. The other can be a high speed TB (7200 RPM) If both could be high speed SATA id be in love. I like to access my porn , pictures at high speed

3.2 GHZ +

graphics can be dual card or 1.5TB +

audio (dont care)

battery doesnt really matter

[russ-russ]

OK.  Better.  But now totally out of my league.  krandi or MD or one of the other computer experts will have to help out here.

[Alkire193]

I just priced a EuroCom Panther 3.0 mobile server. When I was done clicking it came out to 8132 (US) Dollars. 

[Peelz]

If I spend 3500, Id better get 5 laptops

Good luck Alkee

[Mad Dog]

Your budget is a bit shy for Falcon NW, but you can get a DRX with what you want for just under 3900.

Alienware's 17" will do the trick, you can max one just about all the way and stay under your budget.  The 18" version is too pricey.

Asus and MSI make some very good gaming laptops for about a grand less than your budget.  Then there's the boutiques, like this one: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1DTY2P which will get you good firepower for a decent price.

[Krandall]

+1 Md..

Alkire, you should check out Falcon Northwest laptops. As far as I'm concerned. It doesn't get any better than their setups.. With ATI's new cards that they just announced, you should be able to score a solid deal on a 6970 or 6990 card.

[Alkire193]

I priced out a Falcon NW and it came to 6K. Im trying to tone it down a bit on the hard drive and over sized video card but I dont want to become outdated again for awhile. I think 3500 is reasonable but I can't get much for that. How can I HS Randy if my comp cant play the game?

[Krandall]

If you're looking at big hard drives, that's part of your big expense now. With the fllooding in Taiwan, it's REALLY effecting all prices on HD's. In the last year, they've more than doubled in price.

Not sure what you added to make it 6k. BUT.. If you go 2 HD's right now.. Wait for prices to drop.. and do a single graphics card right now. (easy enough to add a 2nd one a year or so in).  You'll be set. Otherwise.. build a desktop for gaming and have a good laptop for general stuff.

[Alkire193]

So Falcon NW laptops are upgradable? If I can add to it ill just get a good one for now and add to it over time

[Mad Dog]

The DRX uses desktop processors, the 990x isn't going to yield that much higher frame rates than the 960 and it's something like 700 dollars cheaper.  I'd steer clear of the giant SSD's as well.  A single 128 or 256gb ssd paired with a 750gb or 1tb internal mechanical hdd should do the trick.

Dual 580/6990 graphics cards and a top of the line mobile processor will be tough to do on your budget.  If the DRX from Falcon ends up too expensive for your budget, I'd go with the 18" alienware which you can spec up for around 3900, plus the cost of a mechanical hdd for you to add later.  

[Krandall]

We're right on track w/ what we spec'd out MD. I went a Single 256 SSD and a 1TB Mech It'd take time to fillt hat up.. And then it gives time for the HD market to settle down to where they are affordable again. I don't know where the 580 sits.. But the 6990 isn't worth it right now. The 7970 coming out w/ a base price of $549 or 499 (Cant remember which).. That'd be the best route to go. They come out next week the 9th I believe.

It's too bad Alienware was bought out back in the day, I have a friend who uses them, and they've done well for him. With Falcon. I know the attention to detail is key to them.