New mid-high end laptop for shipboard activities.

[Zeal]

Hello, I'm needing a new laptop very soon and am asking around on different sites. To save time I hope it's ok if I use a format from a different site.

Anyway-

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
1500-2700euro, less enthusiastic towards the edges of those extremes.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook?
Ireland/UK

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:
b. Dislike:

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
Ye

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook? Gaming, seismic processing.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both? Both

Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games? Yes varied and many.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
---

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Probably ok

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Win7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information.

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?]
Nice to know which, doesn't hugely matter, would appreciate others opinions though!

Build Quality and Design

15) When are you buying this laptop?
ASAP, needed within 4-5 weeks.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
2yr.s

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
Over 250GB, must at least be able to install an SSD later.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD Burner, Blu-ray Reader or Blu-Ray Burner? DVD burner.

People have been suggesting the Clevo based Vortex and XMG systems so far, thought I'd come and ask here as well as XBLabs has always been a helpful and friendly place!

Thanks much!

[veli05]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246493 Feel free to flame me for recommending something with intel/nvidia components in it

I know you are in the UK and supposedly you do not have Newegg in the UK (Can you confirm this Dire? Sauron?). This is what I would get with your budget and component parameters. You can get the best of mobile component selectiong for your budget as long as you stay away from the branded gmaing brands like alienware, and now razors new gaming laptop(they are all towards the high or out of your price range anyways).

I would look into Lenovo, Asus, and Samsung for a gaming laptop. They make well priced quality devices and will have what you want and most likely more for components.

I do want to mention if you want to go the ssd route. ALL laptops have one hdd bay. So either get a 250gb + ssd or you will need to get a external drive to meet your 250Gb space requirement.

[Stupify]

I would suggest that you drop the optical drive requirement and follow through with 2 harddrive system - 1 ssd and 1 hdd. if you must use optical drive, you can always get an external one for $50 or so if not less. While you are on the ship, i might suggest opting for non-glossy screen as using in the sunlight will just mean that you will have to turn on the brightness to max and hope you can still see properly with all that glare. Screen resolution - no more than 1080p as you want to use this on a desk use as well - potentially with external keyboard and mouse ==> further from screen - squinting is no fun when you seriously want to work.

don't get Acer or some cheap laptop. Lenovo's casing is one of the best though they may not offer best bang for your buck when it comes to gaming/desktop replacement use (they just charge an arm and a leg to get a powerful graphics card compared to others, and that's if they have such options). The names you mentioned are not bad either.

I doubt many have played with the highend laptops and so i would suggest you scour the internet reviews better for the base model and then amp it up to what your heart desires and the suggestions you like.

[Zeal]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246493 Feel free to flame me for recommending something with intel/nvidia components in it

I know you are in the UK and supposedly you do not have Newegg in the UK (Can you confirm this Dire? Sauron?). This is what I would get with your budget and component parameters. You can get the best of mobile component selectiong for your budget as long as you stay away from the branded gmaing brands like alienware, and now razors new gaming laptop(they are all towards the high or out of your price range anyways).

I would look into Lenovo, Asus, and Samsung for a gaming laptop. They make well priced quality devices and will have what you want and most likely more for components.

I do want to mention if you want to go the ssd route. ALL laptops have one hdd bay. So either get a 250gb + ssd or you will need to get a external drive to meet your 250Gb space requirement.

They don't have Newegg in the UK. We don't have it in Ireland either. Which is entirely separate from the UK after a particularly nasty argument. In any case Newegg is not an option.

Anyway, I'd heard that alienware were becoming more competitively priced, and I'd actually prefer Intel/Nvidia components, I know how to work with them.

I had considered an Asus, this one http://ie.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming_Powerhouse/G75VW, and buying an SSD afterwards, but the Clevo based systems were cheaper and hap the option of a HDD, SDD and optical drive.

I'll have to check out Lenovos casing! But a gaming replacement is sort of what I'm looking for.

Thanks all so far!

[Hammer_Time]

That is a great laptop for the price, but if you can spend up to $2599 USD ( $2068 Euros ) which is in your listed budget range , then I would get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834152355

MSI GT Series GT70 0NE-276US Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 17.3" 16GB Memory DDR3 1600 750GB HDD + 256GB SSD HDD Blu-Ray Burner NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M

MSI
Series
GT Series
Model
GT70 0NE-276US
Part#
9S7-176212-276

General
Color
Black
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
CPU Type
Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3GHz
Screen
17.3"
Memory Size
16GB DDR3
Hard Disk
750GB HDD+128GB SSD+128GB SSD ( RAID 0 )
Optical Drive
Blu-Ray Burner
Graphics Card
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 680M
Video Memory
4G GDDR5
Communication
Killer Gaming Network
Dimensions
16.85" x 11.34" x 2.17"
Weight
8.6 lbs
Other Features
Intel Wireless Display

CPU
CPU Type
Intel Core i7
CPU Speed
3610QM(2.30GHz)
CPU Support
6MB L3 Cache
Max Turbo Frequency 3.3 GHz

Chipset
Chipset
Intel HM77

Display
Screen Size
17.3"
Wide Screen Support
Yes
Resolution
1920 x 1080
LCD Features
Non Reflection

Operating Systems
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

Graphics
GPU/VPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M
Video Memory
Dedicated 4GB
Graphic Type
Dedicated Card

Hard Drive
HDD
750GB HDD + 256GB SSD
HDD Spec
128GB SSD + 128GB SSD RAID + 750GB (7200RPM)

Memory
Memory
16GB
Memory Speed
DDR3 1600
Memory Spec
4GB x 4

Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type
Blu-Ray Burner

Communications
LAN
Killer Gaming Network
WLAN
Jackson Peak1x2 (802.11 b/g/n)
Bluetooth
Yes

Ports
USB
2 x USB 2.0
3 x USB 3.0
Video Port
1 x VGA
HDMI
1 x HDMI
Other port
E-SATA only
Audio Ports
Headset AMP + Gold Flash jacks

Audio
Speaker
Dynaudio Tech
Speakers x 2 + Subwoofer x1

Input Device
Touchpad
Single touch Touchpad
Keyboard
Steel Series Gaming Backlit 103 keys

Supplemental Drive
Card Reader
SD/SDHC/SDXC/XD/MSPRO/MS/MMC (support SD 3.0)
Webcam
720P HD Webcam

Power
AC Adapter
180-watt AC adapter
Battery
9-cell lithium ion

Physical Specifications
Dimensions
16.85" x 11.34" x 2.17"
Weight
8.6 lbs.

$2,599.99

Might cost a bit more in the UK, not sure, check dabs...

8.6 pounds... lol!!! But "real" men prefer heavy gaming laptops right? It's e-peen, the heavier the laptop the "better/stronger" it must be!! In terms of performance this is very true, but not if you have to lug the bloody thing around with you all day long... but if you won't be moving it around much, and you want the best in mobile gaming, this is pretty much the upper limit right now!! Awesome features in that beast if you can handle the weight and the price... happy shopping!!

Even better though is the new Alienware M18x with 18.4" screen and dual GTX 680M gpu's!! Again heavy and expensive, but awesome:

http://www.dell.com/ca/p/alienware-m18x-r2/pd

If you are carrying this on a ship though, then it cannot be too heavy or expensive, recommend any nice midrange Asus or MSI gaming laptop with SSD boot drive and SATA HDD for data storage.

[veli05]

I like that asus notebook idea especially with the dual 2.5 hdd bay setup. I believe one of my buds in college had this version of laptop and it worked very well with everything he threw at it. If you want something branded for gaming specifically, go with Asus because it will be your best bang for the buck.

Anyway, I'd heard that alienware were becoming more competitively priced, and I'd actually prefer Intel/Nvidia components, I know how to work with them.

I hope so Fact of the matter is the base mx17 model is 1,499 USD when you add 500 gigs more of hard drive (in raid 0 I might add ... thats a new one ), 2gigs more of the same speed ram, a better res screen, they tack on and extra 500 Bucks for 2k total price. Not a terrible deal, at second glance but still grossly overpriced for me.

Being someone who gamed on an hp entertainment pc with decent specs for 2 years, blew out one heatsink fan, and built my own desktop gaming rig(s) as a replacement. Laptops are dead to me in any sort or serious capacity for gaming. Take that as you will cheers!!!

[Celt]

We don't have it in Ireland either. Which is entirely separate from the UK after a particularly nasty argument.

Don't worry, he asked Dire (Sweden) and Sauron (Holland)

[Fuzz]

I found that amusing myself. But then I realized all you Euros are pretty much the same thing anyway, so I wasn't going to argue semantics.

[Hammer_Time]

I agree guys, grossly overpriced, just thought I would point out the high end gaming laptops, not very good bang for the buck or even suitable here really.... but a midpriced Asus gaming laptop with SSD is a good starting point for sure...

pick a midrange gaming laptop for shipboard duty, either Asus or MSi , all good!

[DIREWOLF75]

I found that amusing myself. But then I realized all you Euros are pretty much the same thing anyway, so I wasn't going to argue semantics.

Urk... That´s like saying Canadians, Hawaians and Mexicans are all the same. Or possibly worse.

[Sauron_Daz]

Only the money is the same... I am travelling through Holland, Belgium, France and Spain ATM and the different people are NOT the same!!

[veli05]

We don't have it in Ireland either. Which is entirely separate from the UK after a particularly nasty argument.

Don't worry, he asked Dire (Sweden) and Sauron (Holland)

Both countries are not on the euro /facepalm This yank has made a rookie mistake, my ignorance is showing

Edit: I was half right Holland does use the Euro, or so says the internet Sweden is on the krona? kroner? again my apologies Dire

[DIREWOLF75]

Edit: I was half right Holland does use the Euro, or so says the internet Sweden is on the krona? kroner? again my apologies Dire

Single "krona" plural "kronor". There´s also the Norwegian and Icelandic "Krona" while Denmark dropped their for the euro. Out of the Nordic countries only Finland did not use "kronor" as currency, instead they used "mark" before going euro.

[Hammer_Time]

I guess a Panasonic Toughbook would be good for shipboard duties, but they have fairly small screens in general ( 12" etc. ).

[Sauron_Daz]

That is small for a laptop..

[Hammer_Time]

I found this "marine laptop" that is resistant to corrosion etc, but it is outdated and overpriced:

http://www.navstore.com/detail.aspx?ID=1669

Apply that to a new laptop with a reasonable price and they will have something to sell to the "marine" crowd for sure!!

[Sauron_Daz]

Won't a rugged laptop do? like a toughbook or so?

[Hammer_Time]

Yep, but they typically don't come with large screens ( bigger than 15" max ) and typically use older technology ( last generation ) so while they are "rugged" you do have some sacrifices to achieve that...and they are not cheap!!

[Hammer_Time]

People have been suggesting the Clevo based Vortex and XMG systems so far, thought I'd come and ask here as well as XBLabs has always been a helpful and friendly place!

Thanks much!

The Clevo laptops look great but they are sold in the UK, not over here in Canada so I have no experience with them:

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-co ... aptops/40/

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/vortexIII-17/

The 17.3" Vortex III

Specification Snapshot:
3rd Gen Intel® Core™ CPUs
670M | 675M | HD7970M
Full HD 1920 x 1080 Res
NVIDIA® Optimus™
Backlit Keyboard
SuperSpeed USB 3.0
Premium Onkyo Speakers
Fingerprint Scanner
HDMI Output Connection
DVI Output Connection
2.0MP Webcam
BluRay Capable
Wireless Fitted as Standard
Bluetooth Option Available
Firewire Fitted as Standard
e-SATA Input Connection

I did a custom system based on your needs and came up with this:

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT

Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)

Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days

Price for this Laptop:

£1215.00 ex VAT.
£1443 inc VAT and Delivery.

That is within your budget and includes fast SSD flash drive for OS/apps and a 500 GB WD Black 7200rpm SATA hdd for data storage...quad core, decent GTX 670M gpu as well...

Upgrading to GTX 680M gpu:

£1466.67 ex VAT.
£1745 inc VAT and Delivery.

$302 GBP just for the gpu upgrade?? Worth it, probably not...

Upgrading gpu to HD7970M :

£1323.33 ex VAT.
£1573 inc VAT and Delivery.

Only $130 GBP to upgrade from GTX670M to HD 7970M...

However the HD 7970M is only slightly faster overall than the GTX 670M !! :

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeF ... 197.0.html

http://www.kitguru.net/laptops/zardon/a ... d7970m/13/

June 15th, 2012 at 10:04 am - AuthorZardon
The fourth revision of the Alienware M17X has been a very enjoyable machine to review, incorporating the latest high end components from both Intel and AMD.
The new Ivy Bridge Core i7 3610QM processor is a very capable design from Intel, and quite often not that far behind the previous mobile i7 2960XM flagship. It is perfectly suited for high resolution gaming, and can double up as a great option for 3D rendering, or video editing, on the move.
If this isn’t enough processing power then Alienware can offer two upgrade options at extra cost, the Ivy Bridge i7 3720 and i7 3820. These add £200 and £430 to the overall cost, respectively.
This leads us nicely into discussing the AMD HD7970M. This discrete mobile graphics card is a gamers wet dream, delivering some incredible frame rates previously associated with Crossfire or SLI configurations. It only costs £160 more than the default GTX660M option and is certainly worth the investment.
The HD7970M was able to drive many of the latest Direct X 11 games we tested at native 1920×1080 resolution, offering good future proofing for the foreseeable future.
The Alienware M17X is an attractively designed laptop computer, following the same ethic as previous revisions. Dell have incorporated a quality panel into the M17X, delivering a high level of contrast and colour saturation. The viewing angles are quite good too, and the glossy finish make it an ideal option for high definition media and high resolution gaming.
Panel consistency is well above average, with only minimal backlight variance at the corners.
Like the M18x, the M17x utilises a class leading Klipsch onboard sound system which really is surprisingly good. We certainly wouldn’t say it will replace dedicated speakers at home, but for ‘on the move’ duties it is one of the best we have heard. There is even a little bass response, which is very unusual for a laptop.
The lighting system will appeal to gamers who love to attract attention. Various sections of the M17x can be tweaked and adjusted to suit, and the backlight keyboard options are fantastic. Both practical and visually appealing.
The chassis design is inspired, particularly as the back panel can be removed within the space of a couple of seconds. Swapping out the memory for instance is a painless procedure, and one that we wish other manufacturers would adopt.
As always, there are a few negatives which we need to mention.
The M17X can suck through a full battery charge in around an hour when gaming, although in less intensive environments we did manage to squeeze around 3 hours before a charge would be needed. For a desktop replacement this is pretty much par for the course.
With all the high end components, Alienware have had to incorporate a sophisticated cooling system within the M17X. The HD7970M is a powerful discrete video card and under gaming load, the dedicated fan has to react aggressively to maintain the thermal curve. The downside is that the M17X can create a high level of noise when pushed hard, but we would imagine that gamers will be either wearing a headset, or blasting the audio through a set of dedicated speakers. That said, outside gaming the M17x is generally reasonably quiet, even when watching a bluray movie.
If you are a gamer wanting a new high end desktop replacement with few compromises, then the Alienware M17X R4 is one of the best designed machines on the market. Just be sure to tick the AMD HD7970M box on the configurator.

If you can afford HD 7970M gpu, then go for it! If you want to save $130 GBP then the cheaper GTX 670M is just slightly behind in overall performance... the GTX 680M is the "king" right now, but they are charging way too much for too little performance gains over these 2 gpu's mentioned above.

I looked at the XMG site but they seem more expensive...you will pay more to get the same performance as Clevo Vortex III shown above...I think Clevo offers "better bang for your buck" here, and within budget...

[Sauron_Daz]

Yep, but they typically don't come with large screens ( bigger than 15" max ) and typically use older technology ( last generation ) so while they are "rugged" you do have some sacrifices to achieve that...and they are not cheap!!

No, that's right: they are not cheap, I would even call them expensive.