G50VT-X2 or N50Vn-B1B

I'm deciding between the G50VT-X2 and N50Vn-B1B.

The G50VT costs $150 more and has a 9800GS, 7,200 rpm HDD and 1680 x 1050 as opposed to the N50Vn which has the 9650GT, 5,400 rpm HDD and 1440 x 900. Apart from that both have the same specs.

I do think that the better graphics, HDD and resolution justify the extra premium on the G50VT but my main concern is about the battery life, weight and heat generated.

I mainly need the laptop to output 1080p content over HDMI to a LCD and for occasional gaming. I don't mind turning down the effects a bit but it should be able to support GTA4 and Diablo 3 when it releases.
Is the 9650GT up for it or do I need the 9800GS for my purpose?

 

Go for the G50Vt-X2. Battery life isn't that great, but for its size the laptop is actually quite light and runs darn cool. Plus you can't go wrong with higer resolution and the powerful graphics. Specially when it comes to resource hungry games like GTAIV.

 

Always go for the better GPU, in some notebooks you can't upgrade them

 

judging from your gaming needs, go for the g50, just beware that it's much bigger than average 15'' laptops.

 

its not much bigger...it is slightly bigger... dont believe me, go to best buy and see the x1 for your self...its the same size just a different color

 

maybe i'm wrong, i never seen a g50 in person. but the screen bezel is really big from pics.

 

Although a 15.4"/15.6", the G50 is the size of a 17" notebook. Its almost the size of my old Dell Inspiron 9300 just a tad less in height.

 

I would say the G50 is almost the size and weight of current 17" notebooks.

 

Considering the size of the G50 is almost that of a 17" as you say, I would get it only if the N50 is not able to handle GTA4 at all. But if it can run it (even at low resolutions) then I'd rather get the N50 and spend the extra money on a gaming mouse and a notebook chill mat.
Just to have a idea of relative performance, what would be the desktop equivalent of the 9800GS and 9650GT?

 

The G50Vt is big. Not all that heavy, imo, it feels lighter than my Inspiron 5150 and my dad's eMachines M6805. As for battery life, you can get just under 3 hours if you do only typing in power saving mode and turn the screen down to minimum. If you use wifi and have the screen at a more comfortable brightness, I'm guessing maybe 2.5 hours.

As for the desktop equivalents, on paper I'd say that 9800M GS is close to the 9600GT and the 9650M GT is close to 9500GT. I plan to compare the performance on my G50Vt and my 8800GT desktop (pretty much the same as 9800GT) with Crysis, World in Conflict, COD4, and Source.