Laptop Destroyed in Earthquake x2

Hello, my name John. I live in Iwate, Japan, and my computer was destroyed in the last big earthquake on Thursday. I use my computer every day, for work, communication, and of course, perhaps most importantly, for entertainment.

I haven't shopped around for a laptop in some time, and given that I don't really keep up with the latest tech news, looking at new computer specs has been a bit mind-boggling.

I did have a Dell XPS (1540, or something like that. The mid-sized model.). But it had so many issues that, even though I loved it, I think I want to move away from Dell. Plus their customer service is largely non-existent.

So I read a few good reviews about Asus and was interested in getting a laptop from them, but I don't have a clue.

I'm sure their are, and have been, a million threads asking for advice on what to buy, and here is another one. I would appreciate any advice you could offer me.

Here are my parameters:
Spending limit: $2,000~ (hopefully less)
OS: Windows 7 (but maybe that's standard)
Usage: I want a machine that can game. That's probably what I'll spend most of my time doing with it outdid of work.
Internet: Strong Wi-fi. I travel a lot.

And an international warranty, or one that doesn't stop at a given border, would be so nice...

Anyway, I apologize for the length of this post. But I do appreciate you reading through and any words of wisdom you can pass my way. Thank you.

Oh, and though I'm living in Japan I'm looking to buy American. Thanks!

 

presumably that was a 15" and you want to stick to that size. you have the g53jw which will be replaced shortly by g53sw. also the g73sw which is out now in many varieties. Sorry about your loss. i am also a stock investor and day trader. i am not too happy about my losses. the recent upgrade by japan government stating that the nuclear disaster has now surpassed chernobil proportions is kind of scary more so i am sure if you live in japan

 

BlueMonkE,

I'm sorry about your loss and the hardships your country is going through. I Agree with Geared2play.com with his choices, both the G53SW and G73SW are great choices at 15" and 17" respectively.

They are large laptops, the 73 won't fit well in many 17" cases, if at all. I have a G73JW and it's been great, though the JH (oldest model of this series) had a more powerful GPU, the Radeon 5870 instead of the GTX 460M. If you buy it from Custom Laptops by PowerNotebooks.com™ - Custom Built Gaming Laptop Computers, BTOtech.com built to order Notebooks Asus Customized or Gaming Laptops - XOTIC PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks, they offer upgrades for CPU, RAM, lighting, HDD and SSD as well as WiFi cards.

I bought from Powernotebooks, the notebook has a standard 1 year accidental damage protection and 2 year global warranty. Both are upgradable and if you register within 30 days (I think 30, but could be 60), you get an extra year of ADP.

Unless you have a large case available or it's cheap to buy, I'd recommend going for the A1 model, since it includes a backpack and a gaming laser mouse. 2 friends and I have all 3 models combined, the G73 JH, JW and SW. All are great notebooks and none have given us issues so far.

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you for your informative replies. Some people have recommended that I look at the Alienware m17x, but I find the price skyrockets as options are added. Do the Asus machines compare well in a price v. power match-up?

Thank you again!

 

BluemonkE, I do not think you can go wrong with any of the aforementioned suggestions, I would also at least look at Sager NP8170 (Clevo P170HM) 17.3" FHD/Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge/NV GTX460M/GTX485M4GB DDR3/320G/DVD: GenTech PC Store

I have heard nothing but good things about Ken Lee, who runs this business, and from what I have read the Sager is easier to upgrade compared to ASUS (As far as the video card).
I also like the fact you can order sans OS.

 

The alienware laptops are more expensive, asus is better in performance per dollar when you configure equivalent systems. You should look at forums and see how many people have problems and have solved them for each brand. I think you can't go wrong with either, though the Alienware systems offer different GPUs. If I hadn't bought my G73JW a month ago, I'd be considering and M17x with a 6970M Radeon GPU. You can always buy a second hard drive later to keep inital costs down.

Good luck, let us know what you choose!

 

hey i am new to this forum, what i want in a laptop is about 15 inches and best quality stuff, new i7. etc. I have had the ASUS G53SW in mind as one of the top, as well as some sager but my question is I was wondering if these dealers you linked were legitamate because the specs i am looking at for the price is AMAZING. Its just really hard to convince myself that i would get something back after giving them $1000+

 

Dude if these were not legit the post would have been taken down minutes after it was posted. They are all totally good, I would also add
15.6"/16" Asus Notebooks: GenTech PC Store
This is the best moderated forum I have ever used, and I have tried many!
He is in Calif- ask for Ken Lee -

 

Indeed, but they're all legit and my experience with Powernotebooks was excellent. Josea has added another seller with great reputation. The G53SW would be a great option, the 460M is a good gpu, great for gaming at 1366x768, but at 1920x1080 Crysis 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 are too much for it and it'll give you about 20 fps at max details.

 

I am just concerned. its a lot of money i am going to be blowing and i don't want anything to go wrong. what is the warranty like? would i have to ship my whole laptop back?

 

If you are in the USA they still offer 1 year accidental damage and Global warranty is 2 years from ASUS (upgradable)

Also from gentech's site:
For Notebooks with stock configuration:
15 Days no questions asked full refund from the day the product was shipped.
THe good thing about ordering from any of the aforementioned etailers is you can ask them to unbox and test the machine B4 it is shipped to you. the G73 was my first expensive online purchase and I was sweating it out when I had to send the money up front (wire transfer) and wait over 1 week for it to arrive.

Would you have to ship it back,? depends on what goes bad, my battery failed and they cross shipped a new one to me.

 

what about clevo or sager? have any knowledge on their warranty system?