Help me choose please!

Hi, I am an old man and not up on all these gaming machines anymore. Anyway my son has been after to get him a gaming laptop for Christmas so he can "Keep up with the big boys"... Imagine that huh. He wants an Alienware m17x, but I been looking and really think I can get him more for my money with Asus. This is were you come in, there is so many models and different setups I am lost. Funny for you not me ha.

So advise me on a 15-17in Asus that is setup for gaming that will blow his mind and make him forget about a Alienware. He wants to play his games on high settings and not lag ex. Rift, Skyrim, Crysis ect... Considering it will cost me $2400 for the Alienware what should I be looking for in a Asus laptop?

Thanks.

Edit: Also a good place to purchase from would help also.. I am in the U.S.

 

Well the G74SX full version (ie NOT the BBK7's) will allow him to play Rift skyrim crysis etc at high settings, it is not the most powerful GPU on the market by a long shot but it comes with style and a wayyy better price tag that the alienware.

If you where going to go for the Alienware you would ideally be looking at the M17x R3 with the 6990M graphics card if he wanted the top of the range 17 inch model but you will easily cough up a pretty penny.

The G74 is the newest Asus model if he wants the latest you could look at the G73 but you are taking a step back and you must understand that Asus machines although they handle very well are not top top of the range but expect to fork out an awful amount of money for a top top gaming laptop because you would be spending around $3k for a crossfire/sli alienware setup.

I am not great with the latest US prices but for instance:

This model will allow him to play all his games at high 1080p for $1399.99.

You could then get him a top of the range SSD for $4-500 to use as the primary HDD and he would be totally sorted for under $2k.

I would personally go with this.

Or you could do something like this:

This would get him the same but with 2 7200RPM hard disc drives not as fast but double the space for $1700 this also comes with a slightly faster CPU.

Again shop around for these models you might get a better price they are an example on Amazon and some models come with a bag and mouse etc.

In order or performance in my eyes you also have these available to you:

M14x - 555m GT - Mid Range
M17x R3 - 6970/6990M - Top end
M18x - 6970/6990M - Top end
G53/73 SW - 460M GTX - Mid Range
G74 SX - 560M GTX - Mid to High-ish
MSI 660 - 560M GTX - Mid to High-ish

Stay away from BBK7 and the BST models they suffer by a GPU lacking performance.

The G53 or 15 inch models are open to you but again thats a step back to an older GPU and the later version comes with a GPU lacking power. Laptops are quite hard for gaming because they double the price of a desktop and lower the overall performance in exchange for style and portability. The one thing Asus does have is style, so does Alienware mind with a bunch of flashing lights but they are a lot bulkier and cost a lot more.

I stand by the G74 its a good model for the price in the US. In the UK its not worth it.

 

Dear Mister, a kind word of advice: forget Asus and Alienware, go for clevo instead.

Your in us therefore you can configure a system within your budget online and have the best bang for your buck, well under 2000$.

Check XoticPc , sager notebooks or Malibal.

My laptop as an example is a clevo p150hm which in his current configuration smacks alot of other laptops being only 1400$.
And by it I mean that there's alot of horsepower under the hood.
Get in touch with them, talk with a rep, get your quotation and be happy.
You can even contact them directly here on the forum.

Hope it helps

Btw p150hm systems are 15", p170hm are 17" and so on.
If you need help I can gladly help in private

 

well i am not an American citisen but i think the best way to buy would be either xotic or powernotebooks (see the banners at the top)
i bought mine at powernotebooks and i am satisfied with it
i have a G73 series laptop but you can buy him a G74 series becouse i don't believe they are still selling them and are a bit old now (1 year)
make your mind firstly on how much are you willing to pay and then you will find the perfect laptop there for 1600 usd i believe

 

Power for price sure Clevo etc will always win but you are going to be giving your son an ugly brick as a present as long as he doesn't care what it looks like sure thing.

Personally I pick my laptops how I pick my birds. Problematic, not too pricy but nice and curvy and look so good I cant wait to get home to see em!

 

god point Dallers
firstly i thought the G73jh looked like a brick but when i saw Clevo i changed my mind
i adore it

 

He may not be to happy with a brick ... I got around $2000 to work with and that will still save me $400 bucks of the alienware..

 

The p150hm is sexy IMHO, now that I have it the pictures don't do justice to the system.
It's well designed, good form factor, attractive shape, not bulky.
Rest assured that the g series looks sexy.
But he's asking for a portable machine with a good amount of power, I doubt his son will bother about aesthetics.
Its up to him, but since he explained what he wants to do with it, and i guess his son doesnt want any compromise, going for an Asus it's a silly move.
IMHO naturally.

 

Without complicating matters I think that G74SX is your best bet if your son is not impressed with it I will eat my own hat. Chuck in a second present as an SSD and he will over the moon and you will still be sitting below $2000 giving him everything he wants saving yourself a pretty penny.

Asus may not be the cream of the crop performance wise but they meet everything in terms of looks, size, weight, features, and still give enough power to meet the price.

+ an SSD. In the words of Gordon Ramsey - DONE.

Before listening to Kingpinzero saying Asus is a silly move he had an Asus not so long ago and stood by it on the forum so I would say that is a very bias view.

IMO because you yourself said you are not an expert the Asus is an easy choice to get your son what he wants, if you are minted the Alienware is going to win this battle because it just stands above all others laughing but with a shiny price tag. MSI, Clevo etc are great deals but ignore the fancy looks.

 

Hey Dallers, I'm just giving him an option, and besides I'm here on daily basis as before.
As I always did, I'm trying to help people's out.
I loved my g53 in evey bits, I'm not really bad mouthing it in anyway.
But I have to resort to logic. First thing was Alienware here, and then Asus.
I'm just saying that if he needs horsepower for a budget below 2000$ there are other worthy options to consider.

That bold text wasn't nice at all, and totally off place IMHO. It's a matter of opinions, I respect yours, try to do the same.

 

I dont respect your opinion never have never will because it is based on the item you have at any one time and not on what would be the best choice for the person at the other end of the advice. When you had an Asus you sung Asus now you have a Clevo you sing Clevo. I hate Alienware but still if the OP had the money I would say Alienware.

@Redman I wish you luck with your choice but for less than $2000 you are able to get your son what he wants and an SSD on top will certainly make his day.

 

Thanks for the advice.. I am going to go over the options above with him and see what he thinks. I am leaning to the G74sx-a1 myself so far.. I like the G74sx-dh71 also for the bit faster CPU. That may wind up being the delima here, faster CPU or maybe get SSD.

 

He wont notice the difference from the faster CPU at all honestly the difference 1/100 of a second, the SSD however is a very obvious performance gain from his games and programs loading 5-10 seconds faster to the laptop turning on from anywhere from 10-30 seconds quicker, along with instant response times to requests.

I can guarantee the SSD is the single best upgrade he could get for that model and with the cheaper model with one HDD it sets him up perfectly to add an SSD to it.

You hit the nail on the head though by letting him choose

 

Agreed. If you are just looking for a gaming machine for your son, he will love the G74 over any Clevo. I think for him, having the coolest looking laptop, unless it's an AW, is going to make him crazy. He will be so psyched to see it in person.

And really, Clevo fan noise is just plain unacceptable when you can buy a Asus or a AW now.

I don't think your son knows much about Asus. But I'm pretty sure when he opens up his present on Christmas, and see the angular, stealthy, black G74SX, he'll be just as excited as if it was an AW. My opinion of course.

I think he will also appreciate the quiet fans. Nothing from AW or Clevo can replace the quiet fans that the Asus g74 offers.

For your son, tell him the 560M can be overclocked very well and you can help him with that. Other G74 users have shown with Asus, overclocking the 560 won't increase the heat or fan noise, and it will still be quieter than anything Clevo or AW has to offer. Performance wise it will still be among the fastest gaming notebooks. Only a very expensive Clevo or AW will be faster.

 

Choose Sager.
Sager NP8170 - Gaming Laptops
It's not flashy like the Alienwares and not as styled as the Asus (which is subjective, of course), but it's a powerhouse and perfect for gaming. Definitely the best bang for your buck.

Of course, everything depends on how much you can spend.

If you want something mind-blowing, here's the set-up:
Sager NP8170
w/ matte 3D screen and 3D glasses
w/ Nvidia GTX 580M - fastest graphics card on the market
w/ 750GB HDD
+ a SSD for very fast OS and application loading (installs easily): Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Total: $2050

If you want to skip the 3D:
Sager NP8170
w/ either:
.......a) 95% color gamut glossy screen - nice and vivid color reproduction
.......b) 120hz matte screen, standard color gamut - choose this one of you don't like glossy screens
w/ ATI HD 6990M graphics card - performance on par with the 580M, but no 3D
w/ 750GB HDD and same aforementioned SDD
Total: $1715
(or $1665 w/ matte screen)

OS not included. That's an extra $80 for Win7 Premium, $140 for Professional or $190 for Ultimate if you need it.

 

Note that both of these options are about twice as powerful as the G74SX, and a SSD is included in the price.

 

No youre getting it wrong. I still praise Asus everywhere, because in 15" and for the price it gave me a considerable perfomance and joy, althought there are things i dont like about their way to do gaming laptops, sometimes they're misleading. Or talk about the crippled gpu's in best buy versions. I then realized since i had a good offer for my g53 by a friend next door,that for the same price i paid, since graphics and power are my main concern, i would be able to get a better gaming laptop. My asus came for 1340. My clevo came for 1400. This in a 2 months time span.
What im pointing out since the OP said that his son want a powerful machine, possibly under 2000$ - with alienwares in mind - that the Clevo option shouldnt be avoided.
We dont know him, but based on what the op said, hes probably sensitive to high perfomance and eyecandy. I think my advice to check both is not bad. Also Clevo prices are really affordable in 15" form and size, even keeping the same specs as an asus you can have better perfomance which leads to the post Sarge made, with those 2 configurations.
Also, but this is my opinion, respect is something that is vital for being a good person, or human at least. Ive learned and have been teached to give respect to everyone, even to enemies.
Also Voltaire once said "I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it". And thats what i always do.

The second configuration is awesome Sarge. Even with no 3d, which can be sorted by a 3d tv and the hdmi out, its really worth the price.
The performance the 6990 outputs is awesome, althought im not an AMD guy, ive seen it on work and is really outstanding.
Ive opted for the 485m since its a lower clocked 580m, and running it at stock 580m which is comparable to a 6990m really is amazing.

 

If your son wants a gaming laptop irrespective of how it looks or how loud the fans are, I'd say go for sager/Clevo. Performance will be awesome compared to a similar priced asus but it won't be as quiet. In fact, i think i read in some thread where someone posted a link saying the sager Sounds like a refrigerator compared to the asus. Dunno how true that is though.
If your looking only at asus, get a G74.
I have an Asus and two Toshiba laptops along with a Qosmio which my dad has and i totally love my asus.

 

Honestly youre right. Clevos are a bit noisy compared to Asus.
But my g53 had hit max fan speed in some instances, and its not that silent.
Its more silent than my current clevo, thats super-true. But as a refrigerator..lol thats extreme.
As an example latest bios of the p150hm adjusted the fan tables, and now its really quiet. Basically when im doing stuff like browsing or watching a movie its on the some noise level of the g53.

This is speaking of 15" naturally. All is know is that the G73/74 have a better cooling system which is more wide, and dissipates heat better than the 53. So i guess that in a real world comparison, they are super super silent compared to a clevo.

 

Kingpinzero. Did you sell your Asus? I wish i could find a comparo between an Asus g53 and Clevo p150/1 vs a 15" MSI all with similar/specs just to see how different they look.

 

I've sold it to my friend next door, basically since he's always in my house the g53sw is always here
Well if I can help just ask.

 

I think MSI GT's are also a nice Choice that will include the new GPUs and the abilty to upgrade GPUs later with minimum problems and that all at with the backlit KB similar to AW one and reasonable price.

 

Well we had a talk and he likes the Asus g74sx A1. We also looked at the clevo also and he likes it. He says gamers cannot see his laptop so he prefers performance over looks.

We were looking at this setup for the sager/clevo:

17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)

IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU

nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11

8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)

500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)

Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software

Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included)

and too upgrade to a SSD later and possibly ram also..
That gets the price to $1478 after rebates which is very acceptable for me. We are still on the fence though and looking at the MSI options..

 

Well I was right then, your son prefer performance than look.
Anyway that configuration looks totally ok and IMHO you will not be disappointed.
With sager you can upgrade your components in the future talking directly with them, they are very professional.
A clevo puts the ease I upgradability as a top priority, which is not bad at all.
Up to you anyway, hope you choose wisely

 

You should definitely opt for the 6990m. It's twice as powerful as the 560m. You can substitute the 2760qm CPU for a 2670qm, that'll cover the cost for it. The performance difference between those is marginal, that money is much better spent on a better GPU.

 

LOL

How do you work that one out???

In comparison the OP is getting exactly the same spec with the Clevo as the G74 same GPU,HDD,RAM aside from paying $76 more for a slightly faster CPU which will make no difference at all and as an added extra something that is far louder and totally butt ugly to boot.

ASUS G74SX-TH71 - £1399.99
Sager/Clevo setup above- $1478.00

?

Your advice is about as helpful as a 1 legged kangaroo doing star jumps.

This forum has gone complete bonkers without Chastity here the sooner she comes back the better. :laugh:

 

I have to agree with Dallers on this one
Although if you go for the Sager and choose the 6990m and 2670qm, you'll have a twice as powerful machine than the Asus for ~$1460.

 

redman4264... Ditch the gtx560. Get the amd 6990.

 

Yea I am going to go with the 6990 with the 2670qm. Much better card that way. I am not ordering yet as I am still researching and gathering opinions.

 

ok Dallers and Kingpinzero please stop fighting in everythread...... in the beginning it was fun to see you both fighting but not anymore it is getting annoying now.

i know you are both have a great experiance in laptops and i do respect that.
i also respect that you both helped me lots of times before.

but i am leaving the forum becuse i bought the desktop computer.

so i want you both to be friends and combain your experiances to make this forum as great as possible.

you both have to respect each others opinions. and WITH RESPECT i do admit that dallers always the one who starts the fight.... so ...


i know now you both will come and say''what fight we are not fighting'' but you know it and i know it that you both argue way too much

so anyways just wanted to say this long time ago and now i finally did it

dont hate me for what i said i am just saying what i am feeling XD

 

Yes, Clevo/Sager's prices are the best! I recommend you to go with Sager n8130 or n8150.

 

@eXpert: I don't hate Dallers nor I like fighting with him because in first place I'm not starting a fight by any means. As I stated I respect his opinions but as I saw he doesn't do the same. I'm ok with it thought.
Have fun with your desktop, let me know how it goes

@Dallers: price difference is really small, with a 100$ more he can get the power his son requested, like sarge pointed out (and flyingfalcon with the hd6990m advice).Then it's up to him really. It may be louder and not that sexy, but you have total control on future upgrades and supposedly a better stability all around. You didn't had any problems with your jh which is amazing specially considering the XM you put in it, but also don't forget the largest amount of users with problems on SW/SX versions like the never ending throttling problem. Clevo have his issues as well, granted.
With a 6990m for about 100$ more there's no really a point for a comparison, all IMHO naturally.
Also Chastity wouldnt act without brain if she reads this thread. For what i know her, she's always kind, and respects every opinion if stated with common sense and respect between users, at least im sure i didnt broke any rules, quite the opposite, i still respect every opinion.
The OP asked for advices, and i guess he asked for point of views. Everyone can share his experience and opinion, thats all.

 

Would everyone please cut the drama.
There's nothing wrong if someone challenges your opinion with valid arguments. That's what a constructive discussion is. Just don't forget that you're not always right. And there's no point in pointing out something that's already been pointed out three times.
And CHECK YOUR FACTS. The sw/sx throttling issue has long been resolved.

 

Enough said, it's ok for me.

 

In the UK we call it common sense not fighting. No drama's.

But Kingpinzero you are here to prove others wrong and just like I said support only the model you have at any one time you only have to read your posts to see this.

Maybe I am just getting old, there are not many that share the same view as me and those that do either dont speak up anymore or dont bother coming on here anymore this doesn't bother me I will say what I think is right which is never listened to because a performance junky shows up to focus solely on one aspect of a gaming laptop so I waste my time & I will lurk from now instead.

@OP in regards to your situation my advice remains the same G74SX for $1399.99 & a good SSD, you could even throw in an ION version of the Eee Pc in the US & get it all for under $2k for your son & then he has the best of both worlds.

He is young so he will want a new model in a years time anyway and by then the ATI 7 and Nvidia 6 series will be owning the scene.

 

Im sorry, extremely sorry if it looked like it. Ive been reading my posts, and based on my point of view, they are correct if taken as my and only opinion on the matter. I wasnt going, and never would have, to bash other peoples idea, or to prove they are wrong. All i did was just advicing other possibilities. Also it was not meant to be a fight like you already said. I repeat, im fine with all others opinion because theres not even a point of arguing on other's ideas on the matter. Im more focused on Clevo since i got one, but i still have my g53sw lying around. I think that its good to see other alternatives, thats all mate. Then everyone can share what is better or not based on their own experiences, as an advice.
Really now, anyway, doesnt matter. If ive been wrong or ive been in fault then i take full responsability of it.