Laptop Purchase

[andrewjohn81]

I ended up recently purchasing a Dell XPS 16. it was the only thing I could find that had full HD resolution screen and wasn't HUGE. The bigger they are, the more power they consume. I got mine for under 2k also. It doesn't have SLI, or the worlds most amazing graphics card, however it is still decent. But otherwise it has pretty much anything else we might need. No bluRay burner either, but if you really need to burn a BDR then you probably will use your desktop anyway. I wanted an nVidia graphics card, other than that it's perfect. 17+ inch monitors are just Way too big to be called a laptop. At least, if you want to look like a business professional, and not like an IT geek. My friends know I'm an IT-like geek, but I don't want people to know that from looking. You'll never find a blue tooth hanging out of my ear while not IN a vehicle, and never see a phone clipped on my belt. it's just plain not cool.

[YoyoBoy]

Personally, I think a big screen says "graphics professional" more than it says "IT geek".

[andrewjohn81]

True, when you are working. Not so true when you are carrying around an over sized bag. Even here where I work, all 80+ designers have ~15" screens, partly for that reason. And more for battery life.

[mike_kennedy]

Think the reviews I read said the cooling was exellent so the New Egg reviews are based on people not having dealt with the heat these big game rigs put out....
anything with that much horse power cramed into that small a space will run hot

http://www.notebookreview.com/defaul...asus+g73+g73jh

[beestee]

The notebook that I would like to get:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...&cmsId=zseries

But I will probably end up going with an Asus next.

[andrewjohn81]

that looks really nice. I like the design, and I like that it's small.

The problem for me would be that I like the portability and the ability to show actual images to clients, but they need to be at full resolution. That's why I had to jump to 15 inch so I could get full HD. For the size though, that is amazing resolution on that Sony. It's definitely pretty too. Display port is nice to have also, but not really needed.

I also can't live without multitouch. Do you know who makes the touchpad? If it's synaptics you're probably good. I updated the drivers on mine, Not through dell, and it works like a champ now. Dell gives a better way to middle click, but everything else about the synaptics drivers are better. Even more options than Apple's implementation. Apple probably didn't want their users to be overwhelmed. there are a Lot of settings to customize.

[philip kelly]

I just got a screaming laptop from this place: www.cyberpowerpc.com. The deals they have are pretty insane.

Mothers Day special............most mothers would love you to buy them a desktop that looks like it was put together by Tron.

[YoyoBoy]

I guess some people's moms work for G4TV?

Yeah, you can't get a desktop from CyberPower that doesn't have at least some silly glitzy lighting on it. But the configuration that I got for my laptop was over $1,000 less than I would have paid for a Boxx with the exact same specs (same chassis, video card...).

[andrewjohn81]

We need a new name for those things. We've got netbook and laptop. What's the name for the thing so big, thick, and heavy, that you almost don't want to call it a laptop. And desktop replacement is just too long, and doesn't even describe that it's suppose to be a laptop. Also, I assume it really depends on what you get from cyberpowerpc. I built essentially my current laptop and it came out 600 dollars over what i paid at Dell. But that's low end for cyberpower, and the components might be better.

Still, it's always best to shop the same kind of unit at a few places to make sure you're getting what you want. And Always call. I got 400 bucks knocked off just because I told them I had a budget. (although that conversation took an hour)

[YoyoBoy]

Some places call them "Mobile Workstations". I got a mobile workstation because I needed both a new workstation and a new laptop but didn't have enough money for both. And I don't do THAT much travelling. The last computer I bought was 5 years ago and was wearing on my self esteem in a big way. This thing is like 9x faster than that one and for the same price.

One thing that's nice about pricing out a laptop is that there aren't nearly as many options to drive you crazy.

[sea2stars]

Those CyberPower laptops, are they Sagers?

Geez. Who needs a vasectomy when you can get a laptop-thing with quad-cores, SLI and RAID. Just spark up a round of Crysis, block the fans and rest it on your lap.

I agree they need another name. Lapoff? Lapt-off?

[glorybound]

I got the G73J and it is a very handsome machine. I am installing MAX 2011 with V-Ray SP5; I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for al lthe help picking this one out.

[pskdude]

Good Luck, may the force be with it !