trying to decide on a laptop... any suggestions?

Well, I'm going to college in the fall, and a laptop is required. I already have a beastly desktop, 3 gigs of ram 8800gts e6400 c2d oc'ed @ 3.00 ghz ... you get idea.

I need a laptop that has a decent video card and can possibly play cod4, and sc2/diablo 3 when they come out . But it also needs to be able to run for more than 2 hours...

anything up to $1500 really

I was looking at the sager NP2096 and NP2098, how does a 9600gt compare to a hd 4650?

 

The 9600GT is a decent card. Right in the lines of the 4650. I believe the 4650 is slightly more powerful, but ATI's poor driver support and being an nvidia fan, I'd prefer the 9600GT. Overclocks very well and will play the games you described on high. A 2.5GHz cpu fits well in the system.

 

If you are willing to spend up to $1,500 I'd recommend the Sager 8662 for its combination of portability and power. It is the best 15 inch model you could get.

 

Ordered my 8662 from Xotic and with the same 1,500$ budget:

- Display: 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super
- Arctic Silver: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Dead Pixel Policy: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Processor: ~Intel® P8700 45nm "Montevina" C
- Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 260M 1,024MB
- External Graphics Card: No External Graphics Card
- External Monitor Video Adapter: No Video Adapter
- Ram: ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Chan
- Intel® Robson Turbo Memory: None Standard--
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Optical Drive: ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +
- Primary Hard Drive: ~ 250GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 3
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 530
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audi
- Case: Basic Black Business Case - Incl
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapter: No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Fingerprint Reader: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Mouse / Keyboard Accessories: No External Keyboard or Mouse
- Notebook Cooler: No Notebook Cooler
- Operating System: None Standard - Drivers & Utilit
- Microsoft Office Software (Media: No Office Software
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): No Software Bundle

Exactly 1,499 [with shipping] for me @_@

 

I can highly recommend a dell xps m1530. Pretty sure the 8600gt should be able to run diablo 3. Battery lasts for 7 hours with the big battery, that also tilts the laptop for better airflow and comfort when typing.

I owned it before my current gaming laptop. battery 1.5 hours on this so don't go for that if you need the battery.

 

Yeah but the battery only lasts for 1.5 hours.

 

not true, when gaming the battery last around that time but people who undervolted and do some tweaking have gotten it up to 2.5 hours (non-gaming)

 

Good point.

Anyways between the 2096 and 98 I hear the 98 edges out the 96 in performance.