I can't decide...

A lot of people I know that buy an upgradeable laptop buy a new one 3 years later. It tends to be a vanity thing.

 

indeed that rig looks very similar to my config, I will change my CPU after i receive mine,

I havent decided if the quad is worth it or not for me yet, im detabating about a x9100

however if you are a gamer and wont be doing much else on it, forget the future upgradeability just get the m980NU and smash all the games you play

if you are playing older lower requirement games you prob wont NEED to upgrade for 3/4 years from the stock setup

Pete

 

The cost was $3800.

 

I dont know if I have said what games I play on this thread... but I play games like WoW, Warcraft III, Diablo II and soon III, Star Wars Galaxies, KOTOR I and II and the new Star Wars Old Republic Game and possibly Dragon Age Orgins when it comes out.

 

I mean graphic wise except for Dragon Age Orgins and Oblivion those other games arent really that GPU demading.. I think...

 

umm.. dude you are spending way too much money to get a laptop just to play those games. None of those games are guad supported so a quad would not help you at all in those games. And an sli 280 is way overkill. not to mention most dont even support sli. Might i suggest posting in the "What notebook should i buy" section because you must be out of your mind to by that laptop only for those games. There are more cost effective laptops that can still run those games on the highest setting.

 

My core 2 duo desktop with a 2.1ghz cpu and a crappy graphics card can play those on medium quality no problem. Reminds me of my friend that got this pimped out graphics card only to end up playing rappelz

 

Hahaha... your wasting soo much money. None of those games are very intensive in any respect.
You should be looking in the 1500 dollar price range.
Save yourself a lotta cash.

 

The only games I can think about that may be demending are Dragon Age Orgins, and possibly the new Aliens Vs Predator Game.

 

Trust me Jack o Blades will want to play more games in the future and seeing as he is looking at a gaming dekstop (which would be more than overkill for you) I think an M980NU or M17x would be perfect

for you as long as you don't mind the size or weight... although you get adjusted to it really fast, now that I have my 17" I can imagine not having one... and the new star wars online game by Bioware?

can't remember, anyway it is a beatiful DX 10 game and he'll want a powerful system, even though either of these will be overkill if you wanted you could play any other games on the side as well.... The

most common complaint I see from people who buy a laptop that's just enough to play a certain game, is they end up regretting it in the future because if they spent a little more they would have had an

amazing and much more futureproof machine... anyway Jack I know this is a really tough decision, I was trying to decide between the D900F, I started the owners lounge the M980NU, the M5797, the

M17x... and then a whole array of desktops... I made my decision and I couldn't be happier!

 

there are so many options that will be better for you, like the m860etu, or any of the new BB laptops or even the m570etu (but that is still a little too much for those games)

 

Sorry I think this may be important to him, and he'll miss it now that we are on a new page

 

a 260m gtx is more than capable of playing almost any past game on full settings and future games on great settings. Sli 280's is overkill and so is a quad and i7 for the gameset that you have described.

 

You can't play highest settings at 1900x1200 though

 

That's the most vague post I've seen all day.

 

vague or not, all the laptops in the thread; the sli 280 one and the i7 one are total overkill for this person.

 

Yeah, I just read through the thread right now. Jack_of_Blades is better off just getting a desktop and a mid range laptop. He won't be able to upgrade the CPU if he goes with the D900F as the successor to the Bloomfield i7 will use a different socket.

 

One question; do you hop over to your friends' houses to LAN often? Coz if you're not doing it very often you should just get a desktop instead. In any case, getting anything for pure vanity is downright stupid and you're just going to end up kicking badly yourself afterwards [no matter how upgradeable the thing is].

Butterbiscuits, you give people a lot of bad advice [for example that M860ETU BIOS allowed for overclocking which is just false]. Advice posted with a M17x doesn't make it good advice.

 

unless portable gaming is important to him, if not than a gaming desktop is always more cost effective. Either way there is no need to have either of the two laptops that were in the OP. not to mention that i7 is way too much power for these games.

 

I do go to LAN parties prolly about 0-5 times in a month. And these are the games I play but I mean if some really cool game came out I would pick it up. I want an excellent gaming laptop because I have no idea what kinds of games I will be playing in a few months, I could be playing games that are more GPU demending.

 

LOL Tabnir where do you come off judging me first off, and second of all can you prove I ever said that?... thirdly I don't really know how that qualifies me as giving bad advice all the time

 

Exactly my point! we are living in a more and more mobile society (LAN PARTAY!) and normally I do recommend the overkill system for a gamer as it will allow them to keep playing games into the future if that is bad advice then sue me

 

yeah but recommending a m17x or anything like that for the games he plays is not overkill, its just...dumb. im not calling you dumb or anything but you know.

 

I think the M9850 is a very good looking machine. The weight and the size are still waaaaay mobile compared to my standards. Also it is very well in my price range. (I have $4200 to spend, I will spend $3800 which still leaves room for a couple goodies and games ) But most importantly I will be able to play all of my games that I "want" and more So I think I am happy with it. Other people reccomended the Asus G71 which compared to my set up was only $200 less and the M9850 blows it out of the water performance wise.

 

the g71 is only 1500$ where did u get 200$ less

 

Even one 280 card is good to last you for games well into the next generation of platforms, so I guess I'm just puzzled why you want to blow that all that cash so badly [and then complain about the cheaper one being attractive as well]. Buy your gf some roses, enjoy a nice vacation, I don't know, but isn't it silly to spend that $1800 above what you really need just for that bench number, and only that?

Here since you're so indecisive, get the D900F because fewer laptops can run a desktop grade CPU than SLI. There, you got your bragging rights.

 

The Starting price for the G71 is $2029.00 I don't know where you are getting $1500 from. If you don't believe here check it out yourself.

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g71gxa1-order-p-2591.html

And with my customized version of the G71 it was only $200 less then my customized version of the M9850.

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366615&type=product&id=1218092150740

 

Yeah I saw that ad too this weekend but I think Jack is customizing it full bore which is overkill also. No need for a i7 975 right now other than "bragging rights". A i7 920 will blow and process anything now in a fair amount of time and I don't believe based on his original and several posts that is doing CAD work or stuff like that which takes a lot of CPU power. Jack stated he plays games mostly (all older / semi-current games) so one 280m will work. SLI? Is it overkill probably but he would be set with either D900F or 9850 for the next few years IMO and IF he needs more horsepower upgrade the CPU then, SSD drive, or extra memory. Of course with the 9850 not much left to upgrade CPU wise except to the QX9300.

As I stated before do your research, ask questions, and make an informed decision. Also Remember in 3 months something newer and better will probably be out so don't regret your purchase as you would have it for 3 months before the next beast is out.

 

none of his games support quad, let alone an i7 so the d900f would be useless to him. So a single 280m would be ok but still overkill for the list of games that he is playing.

 

Then what should I get that isn't overkill but will still add to me gaming?

 

If I had to money I would get a laptop and a Desktop

 

Take a look at the marketplace here, there are plenty of good deals on used gaming laptops that roll thru. Or just get an i7 920 D900f, it will last you years. The downside is its weight and size, and it won't win any beauty contests, but it will last, and last, and last. Sager is the best in the business when it comes to reliability.

Don't let people talk you out of what you want. Anyone has the right to enjoy their regrets. The extra money blown on an i7 extreme for example would be a regret. Or the money blown on a $2500 ~stock D900f would be a regret if you suddenly find yourself strapped for cash. But that's personal problems. Fact remains, it's a fine laptop with guaranteed upgradeability that will impress friends, and will outlast any other laptop out there.

I kind of want one now, LOL

 

do u mean a gaming desktop and a basic laptop?

 

Both gaming... the new Aliens Vs Predator game and Dragon Age Orgins both look to be high GPU demanding games... I want a laptop that can play all current and future games for about 2-3 years. Can the M8950 provide that?

 

The NP9850 (or M980nu) will provide for that with sli 280M, no problem at all. I don't think AVP will be any more taxing than Crysis... But I would personally choose a single GT300 over sli 280M when that rolls out (DX11! 40nm!). Upgrading to 2 GT300 with the NP9850 would be extremely costly, and more than likely unecessary. Crysis is 2 years old now and it's the only reason people actually need desktop GTX 280 power. So I still recommend the D900F...

 

i7 is pretty useless for him

 

Jack_of_Blades. For the record, what current games do you play or plan to purchase once you get either laptop? What other heavy duty stuff do you plan to do on your laptop?

 

He has already told us all these things... heavy gaming, for the most part... but the games he listed weren't all that heavy... except the new online KOTOR which will probably be intensive... My opinion is it always better to go overboard, then not far enough... you'll never be in want... plus like he said he is going to spend his budget one way or another, he's like me in that regard so why not spend it on a computer that is going to last him A LONG time

 

because most people cant blow 4000$ on a laptop in this economy. if the new kotor game is the most intensive game that he is interested in, than any of the laptops with a 280m will be fine (more than fine considering its an mmo, not an fps) i7's are useless to almost anyone ,unless you are doing heavy multitasking like video editing and such. a simple c2d and 280m will be fine.

 

Yeah, I just found them on the sixth page.

A single GTX 280M plows through all of those games maxed up the ying yang. The new Star Wars MMO shouldn't be a problem either. Bioware is known for releasing games that are very modest on hardware requirements. In this case, he only has two choices to make: a single GTX 280M solution, or in SLi. I'd say Jack_of_Blades would be better off with a M570TU with the QX9300 and GTX 280M.

However, if we are talking about future games such as the third installment of Crysis or GTA V, then it would be a different story. But so far, what I am reading from Jack_of_Blades is that the hardware requirements in his gaming bracket isn't very demanding and doesn't warrant the need for SLi.

 

he really doesnt need a qx9300, a p9700 will be fine. or even p8800

 

Haha, yeah. I just thought of that too. Agreed on the P9700.

 

Yeah, too bad there aren't more games with quad support... or to tell you the truth simply more hardware utilizing besides the GPU... but at this point there isn't so I would say just go with a dual, and then by after market later on when you need it... although I won't deny that having a Quad core is amazing, it's one of those things you have to experience to really know what I mean

 

i think its a good thing that quads are not supported yet, it is good we are pushing the limits of C2D's. As soon as quads become standard in games i fear that we will begin to see more poorly optimized games in the thought that the designers will be thinking "ahh who cares everyones using a quad anyway"

 

Optimization is a big issue so even the 3rd Crysis can be expected to follow in Warhead's footsteps, which means that a 280M should be able to handle it.

 

let's hope, especially since the last 2 games weren't known for the greatest programming

 

I agree. I really liked Crysis Warhead over the original. Aside from Nomad being a Mary Jane, Crysis had a basket of problems for me both performance wise and gameplay wise.

 

I'm actually playing warhead right now and it's quite an imprvement over the original... but it still isn't quite there... and if you have seen some of the videos of the upcoming 3rd installment then you should know how crucial it is for them to do the coding well... or else nobody but the highest of high desktops will be able to play it

 

Yes, that appears to be the historical trend for sequals that are coded off the same engine. For example, with GTAIII, GTAVC, and GTASA, each sequal became a lot more accepted by the gaming community as well as the modding community. We will definately see this again in GTAIV and it's following sequals, and in the third release of Crysis.

It is very important for both Rockstar and Crytek to iron out all the reported bugs, both minor and major, and address it in their next installments of the franchise while introducing new features and tweaks that would further enhance and optimize the game engine.