Laptops Laptops

[Gagh]

I was going to go for a Macbook Pro, but I really can't justify the extravagant cost - £2.5k for something that I can get funcionality-wise for around half the price.

I'm not fussed about gaming on the machine, but all the gaming machines are built for speed, and that does matter. If it's packing top-notch gaming capabilities, all the better.

I've got down to two choices, what do we think?

MSI GT680
MSI GT680 Sandy Bridge Gaming Laptop Review - HotHardware

Model GT680R-008US
CPU 2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor
OS Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Chipset Intel PM67
Memory 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3
LCD Size 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M Graphic Card, 1.5GB GDDR5
Storage 1TB (500GBx2) 7,200 rpm
Optical Drive Super-Multi DVD
Audio Dynaudio Premium Speakers, THX TruStudio Pro
Webcam 720p HD Webcam
Card Reader 7-in-1 card reader
LAN 10/100/1000
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/ n
Ports 1 x D-Sub (VGA), 1x HDMI, 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1xeSATA,
AC Adapter 150W
Battery 9 Cells
Dimension 14.97 x 10.24 x 1.77 inches (LxWxH)
Weight 7.7 pounds
Price $1,649.99 (or about £1300-1500 here)

So a garish 'gamers' case is the downside. The guts are pretty top-drawer


-------------------------------


The second choice is a bit leftfield - a 3D Laptop; The Asus G73JW-3DE

ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt -- Engadget

(Second row - stats)

Downside here - the 3D screen loses resolution & creates more scrolling on webpages.

 

[Seph]

seems 2be a good bit of kit.

 

[SaintLucifer]

I was going to go for a Macbook Pro, but I really can't justify the extravagant cost - £2.5k for something that I can get funcionality-wise for around half the price.

I'm not fussed about gaming on the machine, but all the gaming machines are built for speed, and that does matter. If it's packing top-notch gaming capabilities, all the better.

I've got down to two choices, what do we think?

MSI GT680
MSI GT680 Sandy Bridge Gaming Laptop Review - HotHardware

Model GT680R-008US
CPU 2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor
OS Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Chipset Intel PM67
Memory 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3
LCD Size 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M Graphic Card, 1.5GB GDDR5
Storage 1TB (500GBx2) 7,200 rpm
Optical Drive Super-Multi DVD
Audio Dynaudio Premium Speakers, THX TruStudio Pro
Webcam 720p HD Webcam
Card Reader 7-in-1 card reader
LAN 10/100/1000
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/ n
Ports 1 x D-Sub (VGA), 1x HDMI, 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1xeSATA,
AC Adapter 150W
Battery 9 Cells
Dimension 14.97 x 10.24 x 1.77 inches (LxWxH)
Weight 7.7 pounds
Price $1,649.99 (or about £1300-1500 here)

So a garish 'gamers' case is the downside. The guts are pretty top-drawer


-------------------------------


The second choice is a bit leftfield - a 3D Laptop; The Asus G73JW-3DE

ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt -- Engadget

(Second row - stats)

Downside here - the 3D screen loses resolution & creates more scrolling on webpages.

Stay away from MSI, they are garbage, just like the Macs.

 

[Homo Erectus]

boy I can see gagh listening to you for advice.

 

[Gagh]

Actually, from what I've read on a lot of forums, he's spot on. Whilst the MSI has specs to die for, the case is apparantly flimsy & cheap. The tracker unresponsive & the keyboard bounces & unresponsive.

I've found four gamer's forums where people have ordered one and returned it the next day. What a huge pity that they've backed that power & quality inside up with such a cheap bit of tat. I'm looking at more ASUS machines now.

 

[jack]

3d is cool actually, except the glasses are hard to deal with and the shutter stuff is a bit tricky. When it works though, it's sensational. I watched Avatar in HD3D and that was spectacular.

Those stats look impressive...whats 2.5k lbs translate to in USD?

 

[Donovan]

Those stats look impressive...whats 2.5k lbs translate to in USD?

Approximately one kidney.

Srsly though, I don't have the need for gaming but I just bought an Asus through Amazon and was pleased so far. Solid construction, extra ports, no obvious defects in workmanship, not weighted down with extra junk programming, and the battery life is comparable to more expensive setups. Price was pretty damn reasonable too.