Need Help Deciding

Hey all, 1st time poster here. I currently have a 2007 Macbook Pro and need to get a new laptop for school/gaming.

I'll be taking Computer Programmer (Seneca College), so I need a laptop with thorough computing power (for compiling and rendering as I will be doing some 3D modeling).

I play League of Legends, SWTOR and Rift (I'd also like something future proof for at least 2-3 years).

I keep seeing people posting about swapping out the video card on the Sagers (you can do this??)

Now I've narrowed it down to 2 laptops (i'm unsure of Malibal as I can't find anything on them).

I'll just list the specs for the 3 systems I've built
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NP9170
Display 17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 7970M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory [$200.00]
CPU Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.40GHz) [$160.00]
Thermal Compound Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Professional 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded ) [$60.00]
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
RAID Storage Options Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive [$20.00]
2nd Hard Disk Drive 60GB Intel 520 Series SATA3 Solid State Secondary Disk Drive [$140.00]
mSATA SSD Drive — For Intel Smart Response Technology None
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module [$60.00]
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NP9170 Build #2
Display 17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 7970M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory [$200.00]
CPU Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz)
Thermal Compound Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Professional 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded ) [$60.00]
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
RAID Storage Options Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive [$20.00]
2nd Hard Disk Drive 60GB Intel 520 Series SATA3 Solid State Secondary Disk Drive [$140.00]
mSATA SSD Drive — For Intel Smart Response Technology None
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software [$135.00]
Wireless Network Card Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module [$60.00]
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NP9150
Display 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Matte Finished Surface (1920 x 1080) [$30.00]
Video & Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 7970M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory [$200.00]
CPU Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz)
Thermal Compound Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Professional 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded ) [$60.00]
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive [$20.00]
mSATA SSD Drive — For Intel Smart Response Technology None
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module [$60.00]
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Now I'm not a big fan of glossy screens but I can adjust. Should I get 12gb+ of ram or is 8gb enough for now?

I'm so lost I haven't built a PC in a such a long time and I have no clue as to how mobile parts are.

My budget is around $2200, and yes it will be a desktop replacement as my wife will be using the desktop from now on.

Thanks any help would be appreciated.

 

All of it looks fine, but I think people said there were issues with the of the Bigfoot card drivers and that the Intel ones were better, but I'm not 100% sure. As for the ram 8gigs is enough

Sent from my DROID RAZR

 

Hmm I'll have to look into the Bigfoot card issue. Thanks.

Waiting for more opinions.

 

What is your preference?

• A bigger screen thus increasing the weight?
• A smaller screen thus eliminating the possibly of an extra HDD/SSD slot, inb4 getting a better Gamut screen (which you have not opted for).

Other wise, I would wait a while to get the upcoming Ivy Bridge, which is right around the corner if you do not want that, i7-2670QM is more than sufficient enough. The slightly stronger i7-2760QM (with some additions) is not worth the money unless your INSANELY depended on the CPU. I highly doubt it will

btw: Might want to make your Primary Hard Disk Drive a SSD (or mSATA). No need to set it as a 2nd Hard Disk Drive.

 

Looking good! Get the Bigfoot card, people say its good.
Advice - get a 120GB Intel ssd, slightly faster transfer speeds.
You will love this machine, its a killer!

 

I have a 15" MBP right now, I'm fine with getting a 17" (can never have enough HDD space). Opps didn't see I didn't put the SSD as primary LOL.

So the difference between the two CPU is to small for the price? (I'm cool with getting the 2670).

I have no idea what mSATA is. I though SATA was a connection...

 

I took the 60gb because I'll only have the OS and maybe 3 other apps on that drive. I don't want to have anything on it.

Is there a speed difference between the 2?

 

Question what is the benefit of having a Hybrid drive? (750gb + 8gb ssd)?

Should I go with a 120SSD + 80gb mSATA?

Or this config of
60gb SSD + 750gb Hybrid?

 

Yes, there is both a capacity-per-dollar and a performance increase from 60GB to 120GB for the Intel 520 SSD
Product Review: Intel 520 SSDs (Cherryville) - Puget Custom Computers
It may also last longer since TRIM will have more cells to move around the info.

 

120GB SSD + 80GB mSATA doesn't make any sense because of the config price and the fact that mSATA is 3Gbps and not 6Gbps.

If you have the money go with 120GB SSD + 750GB Hybrid. With a limited budget go 60GB SSD + 750GB Hybrid.

 

I have not a clue when it comes to SSD. Like I said I haven't built a PC since C2D released.

For $70 more I can do 120 SSD & 750+8gb.
Should i opt for 8/12/16gb of ram?

 

If I were you I would opt for 8GB of RAM and you can always future proof it later on (takes literally 5 minutes to open up and change the RAM sticks).

I would personally choose the mSATA and use it for the OS and maybe something else. That literally gives you enough speed, a main SSD gives you magnificent speed (which is nice, but isn't that useful for all, the write is way to powerful for my taste). Better off going with a mSATA with decent/good speed, then one or two storage HDD's to top it off

 

I'd opt for a 120GB Intel SSD + 750GB HDD. This is secure, super-fast, future-proof.
Why secure? Because you have more than enough SSD space for TRIM and for backup even. Might as well format it in 2 partitions if you want.
Why future proof? Because its capacity is above what you need initially.
Why super-fast? Because 120GB SSD has better transfer speeds than the 60GB.

Go with it!