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MoReInPuT
join:2009-03-17
NY

MoReInPuT

Member

Help Looking For Top Of The Line Laptop

I recently purchased an Alien Ware 17x R4 laptop and it turned out to be a giant pile of ruble... Kinda like my Bose system. (we all make mistakes)

So now I'm looking for some advice on a laptop brand. My old one was one of the Dell XPS models and I loved it so perhaps going with that and customizing it to the max.

Price is not a problem I just need lots of speed. DDR3, SSD, i7, and a fantastic lcd (17").

Any ideas on a brand/model?
davidhoffman
Premium Member
join:2009-11-19
Warner Robins, GA

1 recommendation

davidhoffman

Premium Member

Dell Precision M6600 Mobile Workstation »www.dell.com/us/business ··· m6600/fs

pnjunction
Teksavvy Extreme
Premium Member
join:2008-01-24
Toronto, ON

1 recommendation

pnjunction to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
Asus G75? They have new Ivy Bridge processors. Buy one with an HDD and upgrade it with an SSD of your choice.
decx
Premium Member
join:2002-06-07
Vancouver, BC

1 recommendation

decx to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
HP Elitebook 8770w
»www.hp.com/united-states ··· res.html

It's a direct competitor to the Dell Precision. Lenovo on the other hand does not make a 17 inch version of the Thinkpad W series.

pnjunction
Teksavvy Extreme
Premium Member
join:2008-01-24
Toronto, ON

1 recommendation

pnjunction

Premium Member

Does he really want/need quadro/workstation graphics instead of geforce/gaming graphics though?

I'm not sure how they perform but I'm sure you'll pay much more for them. I know the business units are built much better but if he is gaming he is probably better to find a good gaming laptop.
davidhoffman
Premium Member
join:2009-11-19
Warner Robins, GA

1 recommendation

davidhoffman

Premium Member

The OP said price was not an issue. I have heard a lot of people complain about poorly made and designed gaming laptops. The manufacturers think making things look "cool" is good enough and that reliability is to be a secondary consideration. The mobile workstation designers and engineers consider reliability to be a top level priority. I am sure that games can be played on the top laptop workstations with the Quadro graphics, just somewhat less well than with the Ge Force graphics. I would have recommended a Falcon Northwest laptop, but the wide variable quality of warranty support made me avoid doing that.

koitsu
MVM
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA
Humax BGW320-500

1 recommendation

koitsu to decx

MVM

to decx
I would not recommend the HP Elitebook. I didn't provide a list of my bitchings at the time, but I've bitched before about the 8460W (different model than the 8770W however). decx See Profile also was curious what my complaints were.

The key problems I remember having -- and this is going entirely off the top of my head, I haven't had to deal with that thing since I left that job -- were:

1. Left Ctrl and Fn keys were reversed compared to the norm, with no way to swap their functionality. Lenovo offers this in their BIOS, comparatively. It looks like with the other models they've addressed this, and I cannot even find a single picture of the 8460W keyboard (I just keep finding newer/different models where the keyboard is correct).

2. The "nubbin mouse" had pretty awful tracking, but worse, it would result in the mouse moving on its own for 3-4 seconds after I'd touched it (like the rubber was getting stuck in some way). It would also result in mouse movement when the G, H, or B keys were used. It also looks like HP may have fixed this on newer models.

3. Touchpad placement was horrible. I would regularly bump it with my thumbs or the insides of the palms of my hands, resulting in mouse movement.

4. No BIOS option to adjust processor P-states, such as disabling C3/C6 state support (not the same as EIST!). For me this is a must: I'm one of those people with sensitive hearing who can hear high frequency noises. For example even in my desktop PC (which has noise dampening material in it), I can hear my i7-2600K switching between C3/C6 state if it's enabled. You can imagine the amplitude of the noise when using a laptop.

I was able to get around this limitation by using a piece of third-party software called ThrottleStop, but it required me to manually launch it every time I started the machine (I could exit the program once it had adjusted P-state support).

5. Overall sub-par battery life. I imagine this is because the system had a mobile nVidia GPU in it as well as a Core i7 mobile CPU (I forget what model). Sadly I couldn't get it with a Core i5 + on-die GPU.

6. Directly related to #5: the laptop would get extremely hot to the touch (after about 45 minutes of non-3D use I couldn't have it on my lap any more -- and that was with Aero disabled, BTW). At about the 5 minute mark the system fan would kick on, which was noisy as well. And yes, naturally I cleaned the thing out with air properly/correctly as often as I could.

7. Power supply was a behemoth. Apparently a lot of Lenovo laptops had one which was even bigger (!!!), but still. It was big enough that it didn't fit decently in my laptop bag (intended for 17" screens).

I really hope HP has addressed these issues with their later Elitebooks, because for me, the 8460W had to be the worst laptop I'd used in a long while. I will state up front however that I am fairly biased against laptops in general, especially given the amount of heat today's processors (that includes GPUs) put out. Yet laptops keep getting thinner, less room for cooling, yadda yadda. They just are not the same as desktops: period.

liht
Acryllicht
join:2000-07-11
Tucson, AZ
Asus RT-AC68
ARRIS CM8200

1 recommendation

liht to MoReInPuT

Member

to MoReInPuT
Malibal Satori P170EM

»www.malibal.com/boutique ··· duct=523

Haven't used that one in particular, but their P150EM SE version is faaaaaantastic.

John97
Over The Hills And Far Away
Premium Member
join:2000-11-14
Spring Hill, FL

1 recommendation

John97 to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
I love my HP Envy 3D.

I've got what amounts to last-year's model. But, it's an i7 (2nd gen), 17.3 1080p display, Blu-Ray, etc.

They have various options for hard drives (including SSD).
bills
Premium Member
join:2000-08-19
China

1 recommendation

bills

Premium Member

said by John97:

I love my HP Envy 3D.

I've got what amounts to last-year's model. But, it's an i7 (2nd gen), 17.3 1080p display, Blu-Ray, etc.

They have various options for hard drives (including SSD).

I,ve got the same one with a ssd. It does score a 7.1 in windows experience, whatever that's worth. It also can get pretty hot. I like it but the ssd was dead out of the box when delivered and the bluray player died and had to be replaced (warranty).

Rifleman
Premium Member
join:2004-02-09
p1a

1 recommendation

Rifleman to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
MSI GT780DX

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· 6ESoGvqg

Octavean
MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY

1 recommendation

Octavean to MoReInPuT

MVM

to MoReInPuT
HP ENVY 17-3090nr 3D Edition Notebook PC:

»www.shopping.hp.com/en_U ··· ebook-PC

After savings:$1,579.99
quote:
Specs

Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Processor: Intel Core i7-2670QM
Processor speed: 2.2 GHz
Processor technology: Turbo Boost Technology
Graphics: Radeon HD 7690M XT Switchable Graphics (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory: 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Maximum memory: Upgradeable to 8 GB DDR3
Memory Slots: 2 DIMM
Hard drive: 80 GB mSATA SSD
Secondary hard drive: 750 GB SATA (7200 rpm)
Optical drive: Slot-Loading Blu-ray Player; SuperMulti DVD Burner
Network interface: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wireless: Intel 802.11a/b/g/n (2x2); Bluetooth; WiDi
Power supply: 120W AC Power Adapter
Battery: 6-cell (86WHr) Lithium-Ion
Ports: 3 SuperSpeed USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 2 DisplayPorts; 1 HDMI; 1 RJ45; 2 headphone-out; 1 Microphone-in
Expansion Slots: 2-in-1 digital media card reader

External Specs

Display: 17.3" Radiance full HD 3D Infinity LED-backlit (1920 x 1080)
Display resolution: 1920 x 1080
Keyboard: HP Radiance backlit
Dimensions:16.37 x 10.66 x 1.28 in
Weight: 7.37 lbs

Entertainment specs:

Webcam: HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated microphone
Audio: Beats Audio; 6 Speakers; 1 Subwoofer; HP Wireless Audio

What's included:

Warranty
1-year limited hardware warranty with toll-free support
What's in the box
3D glasses



John97
Over The Hills And Far Away
Premium Member
join:2000-11-14
Spring Hill, FL

1 recommendation

John97

Premium Member

Very similar to what I have. I have the 2090NR, previous generation.

It's been trouble free. But, I dropped it and put a dent in the edge of the top half of the clamshell. I got the accidental-damage extended warranty so I'll be sending it in.

It's important to note, you can upgrade these to 16GB of RAM. I have done so. For some reason, HP did not update their specs when 8GB DIMMS became available.

creed3020
Premium Member
join:2006-04-26
Kitchener, ON

1 recommendation

creed3020 to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
I would personally recommend any HP Elitebook from the P or W series. If you want top-of-the-line then go with the mobile workstation aka the W series.

I see some bad press from koitsu about the 8460w but everything he pointed out was subjective and had nothing to do with the performance, upgradability, and dependability of the system. I used to work IT in a large multinational company who deployed exclusively HP and I can say that overall their systems (Laptops, Desktops, Servers) stand the test of time. I deployed numerous laptops from the recent Sandybridge era (8460p, 8560p, 8460w, 8560w, Folio) and was very happy with how well these machines performed.

My personal recommendation would be to wait for the new 8x70 class machines, specifically the 8770w as decx recommended. These systems now officially support mSATA which means you put in a high performance mSATA SSD, two high performance HDDs (you still keep the ODD because there are two HDD bays on the 17" model), purchase some 16GB 1600Mhz RAM kits to bring you up to 32GB of RAM from a third party because HP charges stupid upgrades prices like every other OEM :rolleyes:, choose a nice non-OEM IvyBridge processor (they have all features unlocked at the CPU level (the OEM CPUs do not have vPro e.g. i7-2630QM, i7-3610QM). Up yourself to the DreamColour (IPS 1920x1080, full sRGB-AdobeRGB) screen and there is no looking back. That system will be ripping for years.

Laptop: »h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ ··· ml?dnr=1
Dock: »h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ ··· 437.html
mSATA SSD: »www.newegg.ca/Product/Pr ··· 20226321
HDD: »www.newegg.ca/Product/Pr ··· 22148837
RAM: »www.newegg.ca/Product/Pr ··· 20226323

To top it off buy yourself an Advanced Docking Station this way you can dock the laptop and then purchase a hard drive bay to replace the spot where an ODD could go and put a 2.5 1TB HDD in there for backups. Setup Windows backup to put backups on that drive and voila!

Personally what do I run? I have an old trusty HP 8510p because it cost me next to nothing used and the 16:10 form factor screens.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO
·Google Fiber

1 edit

1 recommendation

me1212 to MoReInPuT

Member

to MoReInPuT
Eh if price is not a matter then try »www.sagernotebook.com/in ··· e=NP9170

A 17 inch sager. Its good, my brother has the 11 inch model he loves it. for under $4000 you get:

17 inch 1080p screen
680m
i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition ( 8MB L3 Cache, 2.90GHz ), a freaking hexacore i7
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
Genuine MS Windows® 7 Ultimate 32/64-Bit Edition
32GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 8GB
750GB 7200rpm SATA Hybrid Hard Drive with 8GB SSD , two of them even
Intel 80GB 310 Series mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive (Primary Drive C:)
6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software OR 750GB (7200rpm) HDD + Caddy Case [-$25.00] **(thats 2.3 hdd with all of them added together)
Internal 802.11 B+G+N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Fingerprint Reader

Expensive and overkill yes, but you said price is not a problem so I figured "why not go all out?".

MoReInPuT
join:2009-03-17
NY

MoReInPuT

Member

I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to help me by posting. I really can't thank you enough. Going to be researching all of the above and placing my order shortly.

Thank you again =) Cheers!

kingdome74
Let's Go Orange
Premium Member
join:2002-03-27
Syracuse, NY

1 recommendation

kingdome74 to Rifleman

Premium Member

to Rifleman
said by Rifleman:

MSI GT780DX

(youtube clip)

I'll second the MSI line of computers. I love the one I bought a few years ago. I can still run any game on it and it's video is outstanding. Don't overlook the MSI's.

roc5955
Premium Member
join:2005-11-26
Rosendale, NY

roc5955 to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
BEST laptop for graphics, or most any other application with DDR3, SSD, i7 and a 17" LCD screen would be..... wait for it....

Apple MacBook Pro 17" (though you would have to go to some place like MacMall to get it). then take it to Other World Computing, and they will set you up with a nice SSD.

If money is not an object, this would be the best choice. You can even load Windows on it if you like!

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I call BS. No way a GeForce GT 650M outperforms a Radeon 7970M or a GTX 680M.

The MBP is overpriced and it will struggle to adequately drive the Retina display in games since it is super-ultra-high-def. Not to mention the HDD and ram are non-user-serviceable.

roc5955
Premium Member
join:2005-11-26
Rosendale, NY

roc5955

Premium Member

The older 17" does not have a retina display, and there was no mention or user serviceability in the OP.
Oh, and they don't make a 17" retina display. That's why you would have to get it from MacMall. They also use standard RAM and HDD. It's not a GeForce 650M, it's an ATI 6770M. Granted graphics may not be up snuff, but it'll get by.
So it's no BS, just look at the last gen models on MacMall.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Ah, it wasn't clear you were referring to the last gen model. A 6770M is hardly a gaming GPU. It scores in line with a Radeon 4850 or GeForce GTS 450.

The GeForce 680M is going to be leaps and bounds more powerful. Benchmarks for it aren't out yet, but the less powerful 675M is as powerful as a desktop GTX 460.

After all, if you're going to spend $2500 on a laptop, you may as well go configure an Origin EON17-S and for the same amount get an Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5-3360M, 16GB ram, 90GB SSD + 750GB HDD, GTX 680M w/4GB VRAM, and 17.3" 1920x1080 LED display. That trounces the MBP's stats at the same price-point.
decx
Premium Member
join:2002-06-07
Vancouver, BC

1 edit

decx to MoReInPuT

Premium Member

to MoReInPuT
Frankly if I was getting an MBP I would only get it directly from Apple. There's just much less of a hassle if anything is wrong with the delivered notebook. If you search around there are people who have experienced issues when dealing with MacMall regarding damaged or DOA purchases. That's said, since the 17 inch is discontinued it isn't an option. Just one reason why I wouldn't recommend the 17 inch MBP at this point.

Also as mentioned above, MBP (any model) aren't really ideal gaming notebooks. Their GPUs are not the best but ok for gaming, however MBP have limited heat dissipation issues. Plus having to restart in Boot Camp for gaming sessions is annoying. Disclaimer: I am a Mac user with multiple MBPs. With price not being an option, one of the two end corporate workstations with a Quadro GPU (like the Elitebook) would be a better and more durable option for the OP.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Also the 680M looks to be on average 50% more powerful than the 580M:

»www.anandtech.com/show/5 ··· s-mobile

That puts it on par with the desktop Radeon HD 6970.
Krisnatharok

Krisnatharok to decx

Premium Member

to decx
said by decx:

With price not being an option, one of the two end corporate workstations with a Quadro GPU (like the Elitebook) would be a better and more durable option for the OP.

I would stick to Fermi or Kepler consumer GPUs and avoid the Quadros. While they may be beastly, they are geared towards professional applications and will likely put out subpar numbers in terms of gaming.

With price not an option I would do one of the build-to-order gaming laptops like Origin, Falcon Northwest, or AVA and buy the max warranty available on it--dead pixel guarantee, expedited RMA, the works.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix to koitsu

Premium Member

to koitsu
said by koitsu:

I would not recommend the HP Elitebook. I didn't provide a list of my bitchings at the time, but I've bitched before about the 8460W (different model than the 8770W however). decx See Profile also was curious what my complaints were.

We have an HP elitebook 8470W and we haven't had such complaints

1. I guess they didn't notice or care

2. they don't use the nubbin

3. after installing the touchpad drivers you can turn it off with a double tap

4. ok didn't check, but did set power managment to 100% cpu power when on AC

5. ok I don't think they use it on battery much

6. well they'd have the CPU load kicked to max so any laptop capable would get hot

7. ya its huge and they'd actually started using the 230w instead of the 200w that came with it because the 200w was getting hot.

I figure next year they might want to upgrade as it'll be 2yo by then so I guess I'll see

but if you want I can boot up a 8560p to check the bios?

MoReInPuT
join:2009-03-17
NY

MoReInPuT

Member

I was looking at the Malibal Satori. Do these have 120hz 3d Leds? I see you can purchase the glasses and it can be customized to have 17.3" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B173HW01 V.4 90% NTSC Glossy Display