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New Gaming Laptop
I am looking to get a new gaming laptop with my Christmas bonus. My aim is to keep it around $1500 (to keep the budget ninja-wife off meh back) and use this as a desktop replacement.
My current desktop is running the core I7 920 Bloomfield on an Asus P6t Deluxe
6gb Corsair Dominator DDR3
300gb Velociraptor WD 10k RPM, Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit (that takes forever to start up for some reason)
Two X AMD Radeon Sapphire Vapor X 5870 1GB in Crossfire
850w Corsair power
I would like something that will perform better than this ^^^ I plan on using a docking station and plugging my 24" monitor into it as well as Logitech G15 keyboard.
I am most likely going to be purchasing in late November when I get my bonus, unless there is some reason I should try and squeeze this in now? New Windows, laptop processor models, etc???
I appreciate any advice, as I know how to build basic computer stuff, but do not really have the working knowledge behind most of the components and definitely not laptops. I dont really have much time in my job to do a ton of research or watch the latest trends with these kind of things (as you can tell from my outdated stuff ^^^) ;p
I wanted a gaming laptop that I could take with me on trips, but it will be used at my house 95% of the time and my desktop will be used for my 8 year old playing Pixie Hollow so I can keep playing my games 
Comments
I suggest you to buy a desktop computer instead of laptop if you aim to play games on it. It would be wiser since i7 laptops are more expensive or lets say not i7 but new trend laptops.
Here are some suggestions for me as desktop (you can search for similar also)
www.ebay.com/itm/COOLER-MASTER-Intel-Core-i7-Processor-i7-2600K-3-4GHz-8MB-QUAD-CORE-Computer-Sys-/261067263686?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item3cc8d24ec6
OR
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Performance-Computer-Day-Trader-16gb-DDR3-Intel-core-i7-3730K-4-monitor-out-/300577342699?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item45fbce44eb
And if you insist to buy a laptop than here it is;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad-W520-15-6-500-GB-Intel-Core-i7-2-4-GHz-4-GB-Notebook-/251141737098?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item3a7936ca8a
Other than getting an SSD, you're not going to get a laptop faster than your desktop. Is a Core i7-3610QM faster than a Core i7-920? Maybe a little, if you leave the desktop processor at stock speeds. If you overclock the desktop, you'd have to get a $1000+ Core i7-3920XM to keep up with it in a laptop.
For a video card, a top of the line Radeon HD 7970M or GeForce GTX 680M is maybe a little faster than a desktop Radeon HD 5870. As in, maybe 20% faster. But faster than two 5870s in CrossFire? Not unless CrossFire is broken for that game.
Replacing your current desktop with a laptop is a bad idea. You could get a gaming laptop to supplement the desktop, and use the desktop while you're at home, and the laptop away from home. But that only makes sense if you want to play games while away from home. If you're a business traveler who spends a couple of months per year in a hotel, then a gaming laptop makes lots of sense. If all you're going to do with the laptop away from home is e-mail, web browsing, and other such light duty tasks, then it makes more sense to get a cheaper, lighter, lower power laptop.
And besides, a high end gaming laptop (Core i7-3610QM plus Radeon HD 7970M and a good SSD) does fit your stated budget. Maybe you can get one for around $1600 or $1700 if you don't go for a bunch of extras. But not $1500.
That's not a gaming laptop. Quadro is for professional graphics. That won't perform well in games.
Well, what do you suggest for gaming laptop price around 1500$ ?
That is a nice laptop and I believe I can play lots of MMO with this laptop..
For starters, it would help if the original poster were to reply to my post above. I don't think a $1500 gaming laptop makes sense for him.
The laptop you linked (and are selling?) has a video card that, for gaming purposes, is only roughly on par with Radeon HD 7660G integrated graphics that you could get in a laptop for half the price. Besides, your link doesn't work.
Well
Yeap links doesnt work cause that is my first time posting a link on this forum. Sorry about that. I tried to edit my post but system says it is counted as spam, anyway..
Those which I suggested arent my selling at all. None of them are mine. But I agree with you. 1500$ is quite small budget for a gaming laptop.
I dont want to argue with anyone just my personal opinion is that. My current laptop is much worst that that laptop and I still can play almost every MMO games but not full detail thou.
Sorry, went to the gym and lunch.
What you say is making sense.
DO I need a new desktop or is there something out there that I could update on mine that would help it work better (I saw about the SSD and will look into that). I feel that in many games im pushing my CPU and video cards to the max. It gets fairly warm also.
In your opinion, which I respect from reading your posts, is it wise for me to purchase a new desktop with all the latest or just keep this as is and find a cheapo so my daughter can play her games on it?
The i7 920 and the 5870's (especially in CFX) are still very capable. Yes, new technology runs a bit cooler, but as far as performance, you aren't really going to see a whole lot. Especially if you OC a bit.
I have the same 920 with a single 6970, and I'm looking at making the CPU and GPU last at least another generation (so probably year+). Anything that is lagging out on this hardware now is more because of software non-optimization rather than lagging hardware, and would probably still be somewhat laggy even on the fastest hardware available.
The SSD will make a world of difference, and it will make pretty well any computer feel like an entirely different machine. They are really orders of magnitude better. A lot of people dimiss them because they don't directly impact FPS, but they do impact everything else - from boot times to load times to even just the time it takes menus (especially right click and the Start menu) to respond - there is a lot more to computer speed than just FPS, and an SSD is probably the biggest improvement in overall computer speeds and usability easily in the last 10-20 years.
Avoid gaming latops as heat can be an issue with both the GPU and CPU. I bought this about 2 (?) years ago because I travel alot. You will be dissappointed if you expect desktop performance in a laptop.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5035&review=gateway+p7805u+fx
Your old desktop will certainly put out a lot of heat. But I'd think it would be able to run just about anything pretty well. Is there some particular game that isn't running well?
And is there some reason why you particularly need a laptop?
From my experience, gaming on the road just doesn't feel the same. Hotel room chairs are rarely comfortable enough for me, and the laptop keyboard is flat and awkward for game play. You can get around that by bringing your own keyboard and mouse, though.
If you really want to game on the road, consider what games you will be playing and aim for a laptop which is capable of decent framerates. If you play FPS games a lot, forget about playing those on the road. Most of them are fairly demanding on a system and anything short of a $1500 laptop won't produce a quality framerate. In addition, hotel pings can be atrocious, making competitive FPS games pointless to play. MMOs are a lot more forgiving if you can accept playing on lower detail settings.
I paid $650 for my laptop and upgraded it to a SSD and 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB. It plays GW2 on low detail settings at a playable FPS in all situations I have seen, inclduing a dragon encounter with 25+ people in the water. I have not seen the game at detail settings above the minimum and I don't want to for fear of being spoiled by the shiny graphics. I will wait until I get home in a few months to see GW2 in all of its glory.
Heat is becoming less of an issue than it used to be. Processors and GPUs are becoming more efficient as the process shrinks. My laptop is using an AMD A8 processor with the GPU on the same chip. The total TDP is 35 watts, which is easy to keep cool by propping up the back an inch.
If you can't be satisified with having just barely adequate performance, spend twice as much as I did on a laptop built by a place like xoticpc.com. You can configure it to include all of the performance features you want, including a SSD.
Have you considered building a Small Form Factor (SFF) system which is easily capable of being packed up to take on the go? Yes unlike a laptop it will be bigger and will require everything a desktop does but you don't have to give up price/performance like you would with a laptop. If you have access to a modern TV at any location you would be staying while away from home you basically have your make shift monitor which means you only need to worry about a mouse/keyboard and to be perfectly honest in my experience I always used those with my old gaming laptop anyway. There are a LOT of SFF enthusiasts at the following link which might help you decide if that type of system might be best.
http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=102
This next link might be a bit extreme but it goes to show you what CAN be done in a SFF build.
http://www.techreaction.net/forums/cases-modding/6740-gaming-tight-spaces-max11lv3.html
Take a step back in time and relive the original Lineage II experience as it was in the beginning. Create a classic hero from the original 5 races and 31 class options and jump into the nostalgic hardcore level grind where the rewards can outweigh the risks. It's your chance to experience the game the way it was when "hardcore" meant something!
As far as a laptop, I was thinking more along the lines of something I could use anywhere in the house or trips (which don't happen enough to justify the cost), so I will just stick to the desktop.
I will definitely be looking at an SSD after windows 8 comes out. Anything in particular I should make sure to get.
Last question is, for most games, I don't think they are optimized for crossfire. Would it be better to grab one of the new higher end video cards and if so, which one could my system handle?
I seriously think part of my heat problems are caused because my second card just about butts up to my power supply on the bottom of my cooler master cosmos case. Maybe one card would help, since my GPU's produce the most heat. My 920 is always good with my zalman cooler.
Thank you all for your help, it's appreciated!
I used to own that beast of a case, I'm surprised you are having issues with your PSU nearly running into your second GPU though (that is one of the largest cases on the market). With that said if you can afford it 1 high end video card is almost always preferable over SLI/Xfire due to the potential for programs not utilizing the extra card(s). If money is not an issue I would go for the nVidia GTX680 because of the reasons listed in the following link:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6025/radeon-hd-7970-ghz-edition-review-catching-up-to-gtx-680/19
The AMD 7970 GHz edition is better bang for you buck but it loses out in most other areas that tend to matter to most people. It's hotter, louder and uses more power to boot which depending on how long you own it could end up costing you more money in the long run.
A Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition or GeForce GTX 680 will get you about double the performance of a Radeon HD 5870. The 7970 GHz Edition is both faster and cheaper than a GTX 680, so I'd advise against the latter. The GTX 680 does have a power consumption advantage at load, but not at idle, and if the computer is idle for long enough to turn off the monitor, then a 7970 GHz Edition can basically shut down to only use a few watts, while a GTX 680 can't do that.
For most people, the electricity bill is driven mainly by idle power consumption, because the computer is usually idle or essentially so. If you turn on your computer, play games, and then turn it off, then you'd be an exception. Whether a 7970 GHz Edition or GTX 680 would get you a lower electricity bill depends on how you use it, but it wouldn't be a big difference.
Still, the lower power consumption of a GTX 680 at load has a few advantages. One is that you don't need as strong of a power supply. Another is that you don't need as much case airflow. But even the 7970 GHz Edition will have a big advantage over two 5870s in CrossFire, so if your power supply and case can handle your current rig, it can handle either of the newer cards in a single card configuration easily.
Another advantage is the reduced power consumption under heavy (i.e., gaming) loads, which means less heat kicked out of the case. This matters a lot more to some people than others, and unless your current rig is driving you nuts by heating up your room too much, this may not matter much to you. It's not a huge gap between the two cards, anyway, and again, both would be much better than your current rig.
Finally, it's easier to put an effective, quiet cooler on a card that doesn't dissipate that much heat. But even a 7970 GHz Edition stays under 300 W, and can be readily handled. AMD board partners are using the chips for their top of the line, flagship cards, so they're mostly putting very nice coolers on the cards that can readily handle the heat output.
Do any of those advantages of the reduced power consumption of the GTX 680 justify paying substantially more for less performance? I'd say no, which is why I generally advise against getting a GTX 680. For Nvidia fans, I tend to recommend the GTX 670 instead, as it's priced in line with its performance as compared to AMD cards.
Thank you guys so much!
I think its best, in my situation, to get a nice SSD and the AMD card (being that I am already running the Catalyst). I think I will buy a GPU cooler along with it to ensure it is the coolest.
Appreciate the advice!
If you get a Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, you're buying a board partner's top of the line video card, at least if you exclude the dual GPU cards. This is their flagship, so they'll put the best cooler on it that they've got. Furthermore, they design the cooler knowing exactly where everything is placed on the PCB--or perhaps rather, place things on the PCB knowing exactly what cooler they're going to use. But either way, the PCB and cooler are optimized for each other. Unless you buy a waterblock, any aftermarket cooler for the card you get is probably going to be worse than the stock cooler that comes with it.
Here's what New Egg has in stock:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600286767%20600356257&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%207970%20GHz%20Edition
I wouldn't trust VisionTek to come up with a real premium card, simply because they haven't done it in the past. But the Gigabyte, Sapphire, and XFX cards very much have premium coolers on them already. The HIS card is designed for people who want to run six monitors off of a single card, which is what the price premium is for, so it has their best cooler, too, but it's presumably not for you.
You can't go wrong with an ASUS gaming laptop like the G75. But whatever you do do not buy an Alienware. They were good before Dell bought them out but now they are cheap. I use ASUS to do all my gaming.
http://usa.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming_Powerhouse/G75VW/
Keep Gaming My Brethren.
Gotcha, I think the Gigabyte should be best for me, as I am running Sapphire now and ready for a change. Heard good things about Gigabyte also. I will scratch the aftermarket cooler also, thanks!