HP DV6QE or M14x? FINAL DECISION!

I originally had my heart set out on the m14x and I want it so bad but it is indeed pricey, my configuration came out to 1,318$ total with all discounts and everything + xbox 360. Here are the specs i chose:

- Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.9GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
- Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
- 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
- 1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
- 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
- 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
- Intel® Advanced-N WiFi Link 6205 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology
- 8x SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
- Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio

Now id be pretty happy with that and its a bit pricey but doable, so i looked into the HP dv6tQE because of the price comparison and this is what i came up with:

- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
- 2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 = Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
- 2GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
- FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 640GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- 30% OFF! 9-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (over-sized) - Up to 9.75 hours of battery life +++
- 15.6" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP
- Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support

*** With all the discounts i was able to get about 450$ off and the total for these specs comes out to 999$. Next year i will be a freshman in college and majoring in computer science i need a laptop that will last me the 4 years and be good enough to still compete even then. I need the one that I will get the most out of. I play wow, and few other games like BFBC 2 and stuff, il be getting BF3. And i cannot decide between these two laptops. Please help!***

I do game alot on my off time and i have problems with a laptop overheating. I heard the hp dv6t gets considerably hot where u rest ur wrist, and as for the AW m14x i haven't really heard any heat problems yet. Also how to these stack up speed wise? Cuz the hp is considerably cheaper than the m14x and if its faster and more of a powerhouse then its a clear cut deal.

 

You'll need more than 4GB RAM if you want the computer to last that long. Also, the 6770m is a much better graphics card than the 555M. It won't matter much for WoW, but will definitely help in newer games like BC2 and BF3.

The dv6 is a thin laptop, so it will run a bit hot. I have a dv7tqe, not the dv6, so I can't really help you there. Although I do know that the dv7 seems to run cooler than some of the numbers I've seen for the M17x.

 

Much better? From my research, the 555m and 6770m are about equal.

 

If you have a favorite game that you play for the most part, pick the card that that game was build around. I'm having some issues with RIFT but a lot of people with desktops are having FPS issues with that game (most with Raedon cards). The funny thing is I want smoothness when it comes with MMO's but FPS I don't really have much of an issue. I know it's quite the opposite of what it should be but with the "twitch factor" of first person shooters, it was easy to compensate, for me at least. I played quake4 multi for about a year on a crappy comp and even with 11fps dips it didn't make much of a difference for me.

I'm also STILL thinking about returning my dv6qe for a Malibal/Sager 8130 for close to $300 more, but no blueray drive and CRAPPY battery life. Desktop performance will be better, but I can't imagine dealing with taking it to work everyday. There are always tradeoffs unfortunately.