Asus AS Mobil Z84Jp

I want a computer that will give me some serious ram (for my movie editing), good screen and sound (I travel a lot, I need something for watching movies), and gaming (I love a good grunt hunt anytime). I'll be honest - I want something with a least a little more style than my Inspiron B120. My budget is also very limited ($1700 or so)

I'm looking at buying the Asus AS Mobil Z84Jp from Xotic pc. They have offered me a huge discount. I want to make sure though that this is the best laptop for my needs (and the best deal).

Here's the specs - I've done some upgrading for this laptop on the Xotic site. Everything else stays the same.
Intel 2 dual core 2.0
2GB Ram
Wireless (oddly enough you have to upgrade for this)
Vista basic

I read the review for it, and while the guy who wrote the review said he didn't consider it a gaming machine, it meet my needs better than any other computer I've seen so far. It got huge marks for graphics (considering this is a $1700 dollar cp with the discounts I get from xotic) and it has awesome sound (4 speakers and a subwolfer). I also really like the all black look and the sleek piano finish.

As for the "problems", I read some complaints that the finish smears easily - have these people ever touched alienware comps? Those have the same finish and smear like crazy. This isn't a problem with the computer in my opinion, but an issue with style that I am willing to deal with for looks. Most of the other issues were minor (tv tuner, which I wouldn't need, and no number pad, which i don't even use on my desktop keyboard). The last issue was the graphics. Sure it's not an Alienware Arorea, but this thing with run anything I can throw at it, even if it's running it on low graphics. For video editing and watching movies this is perfect, and those are my top priories anyway.

Xotic is giving me a discount that will get me this pc for $1740 or so. This computer has decent graphics, awesome a top rated screen, tons of ram, one of the best sound systems of any laptop on the market, and a slick design all for a very low price. If anyone can suggest anything that can meet my needs for a lower price, I would be impressed. Any help is welcome.

 

You might not want a 17" if you travel a lot. 14" or 15.4" might be better for you.

 

I build mine for 1600$ exactly (no windows software), you can lower the specs for cheaper price. PM me if you want more information. Xoticpc offers 3 year warranty, which i saw at the bottom of the page . Totally a deal for me... however, the limited budget might not want to include that extra warranty for extra bucks.

GO7600 does fine in games without problem. You can increase the clock speed to get better performance. Or just leave at default it still doing fine.

Are you going to edit HD video in this laptop? I'd prefer you to get an 7200rpm drive for better speed. I tried some episode of MariposaHD in WMV format in Adobe After Effects, it's kinda lagging when I preview in there. Edit is fine but preview is kinda lag. I think it's maybe because of WMV won't compatible well with After Effects. Actually, I don't know much about the video editting, you might know more about them .

I like the sleek factor that you mentioned , it's much better than E1705.

 

As for the 17" screen, I know it will be big, but that's not an issue for me. It only weighs 8 or so pounds, so its not too bad. Thanks for pointing that out. I should say I need it to be luggable, if anything.

It's good to know it will play the games fine. I'm not doing any of the HD stuff, just little videos for fun. As for "previewing" movies on editing software, its pretty much always unstable unless you invest a LOT of money into a VERY powerful computer, which I don't have the money for. If you could get Adobe Effects to actually run, then I'd say that's more than enough power. Thanks for the insight. Definitely things to think about.