Thinking about buying a laptop!

[DeltrusDisc]

Interested in opinions, perhaps suggestions for different sellers/brands I might not know about/or immediately think of.

I was originally eyeing Sager Notebooks, but it seems Sager has a pretty 50/50 chance for issues and reliable customer support, and if I'm going to be investing a heavy duty amount into this thing, well then, I want a number preferably closer to 100%, not in the dead center.

With that said, I knew I'd heard about the mechanical keyboard (YAY!) using laptop from MSI... the GT80 Titan SLI, with the cheapest option now being $2,500.

Any thoughts on that? Any suggestions for others? I've got a fair amount saved, while I don't like the idea of spending it all on a laptop, I DO want a very good laptop that will be as close to my desktop in certain aspects as possible, see below.

IPS-like screen. 1080p or higher resolution. Mechanical keyboard. Well-cooled and built.

Main reason I am looking into getting a laptop is for mobility. My computer is pretty stationery in my basement and no matter the season of the year, my basement is pretty damned chilly, like perhaps even below 60 Fahrenheit. x_x Sometimes I'd just like to be upstairs with the family and the dogs, where it is warm and where during the spring/summer/fall, we can open the windows and get a nice warm breeze of fresh air coming in, not the cool stale air that is my basement's. Also, what an idea, to take the laptop OUTSIDE, to the backyard or to businesses! I could become one of those nerds.

Thoughts? Concerns? Reactions? Questions? Ideas? :P

Thanks for reading! ^_^

[Deleted]

What kind of games do you want to play on your laptop then?

Because I think you can probably get away with a 1500 dollar laptop, which most likely will have an ips screen, i7 4710 and either a 960m or 970m. Then I would just look at MSI, Lenovo or Asus.

[DeltrusDisc]

Mechanical keys have become pretty important to me and I absolutely hate the keys on most laptops. =/

However the games I usually end up playing can range between any of the following, I know, not strong enough to really need an SLI laptop, frankly I wish MSI had a GT80 Titan that wasn't SLI.

Binding of Isaac Rebirth, Minecraft, recently resubbed to WoW, that won't last lol, Diablo 3, Skyrim... I'll probably only play Elite: Dangerous on the PC, though.

[Denpepe]

I got an MSI GT 72 which I'm quite happy with, it's got an illuminated (important for me) steelseries keyboard, it was expensive enough 2k euro's -ish (did come with a backpack, steelseries mouse and headset) but in wow sometimes feels faster then my desktop and so far it plays pretty much anything I throw at it.

On the other hand I did choose to buy my laptop from a reliable store I been using for a long time now and as such limited my options to what they were selling but the ability to go there and get help if needed was important to me when spending such a high amount on something.

anyways, just my 2 cents

[DeltrusDisc]

I got an MSI GT 72 which I'm quite happy with, it's got an illuminated (important for me) steelseries keyboard, it was expensive enough 2k euro's -ish (did come with a backpack, steelseries mouse and headset) but in wow sometimes feels faster then my desktop and so far it plays pretty much anything I throw at it.

On the other hand I did choose to buy my laptop from a reliable store I been using for a long time now and as such limited my options to what they were selling but the ability to go there and get help if needed was important to me when spending such a high amount on something.

anyways, just my 2 cents

Fair point, I have a local store which has the $2,800 GT80 SLI Titan in stock atm, but I am sure they'd easily get the slightly cheaper, and more expensive options, as well... Being Micro Center and all. :P

How does that non-mechanical keyboard feel on yours?

[Denpepe]

Fair point, I have a local store which has the $2,800 GT80 SLI Titan in stock atm, but I am sure they'd easily get the slightly cheaper, and more expensive options, as well... Being Micro Center and all. :P

How does that non-mechanical keyboard feel on yours?

Feels good for a non mechanical one, not as spongy as my current desktop one, and all keys are seperate keys, not one long line of keys you can hardly feel if you moved a key or not 'which I did not like on my old asus laptop), can't compare to a mechanical one though, been looking at those but I'm a bit lost in all the different keys and models.

[DeltrusDisc]

My best suggestion with mechanical keys is to start out by finding a way to feel different switches, some computer shops (like Micro Center) have fake keyboards on display with several different keys available and marked according to their switch colors.

I'd advise you start off with blue and red, those seem to be the most popular among gamers, followed closely by browns and blacks. Good luck on that! ^_^

Frankly though, I don't know about the Dominator, non-mechanical is heinous imo. lol and I'd hate to lug around an extra keyboard. Such a shame no one makes cheaper laptops with mechanicals... but everyone wants shit to be less, to be smaller, thinner, ffs, smaller isn't always better!

That's what she said.

[Alantor]

Just googled it, the GT80 weighs the same as a watermelon... You are going to get ripped carrying that around ^^

[Shruikah]

I have had the ASUS ROG G751JT for a while now and am pretty happy with it. The cost was about $2,350 Australian dollars (probably a lot cheaper almost anywhere else in the world).

I play Diablo 3 mostly these days, and it handles 1080p at high detail without any issue and the colour on the 17 inch IPS screen is very good with good viewing angle, however I have not tried it outdoors.

After using blue mechanical switches on my desktop for a number of years the laptop keys take a bit of getting used to - it is pretty much just a standard illuminated laptop keyboard but it is comfortable to use for playing hours at a time.

The cooling is also good - while playing Diablo 3 on high detail at 1080p the 970M reached a peak of about 70 degrees Celsius and the cpu about 60 degrees Celsius according to gpu-z and coretemp.

The battery is ok but nothing too special - the battery lasts maybe 3 to 4 hours playing games on "high performance" mode, however most of the time i have it plugged in. It is a bit on the heavy side 3.8kg (8.4 pounds) - so may be a bit heavy if you travel with it every day. The screen is moved forward slightly on the chassis which leaves a large bulge at the back where the cooling is - however this makes it seem a bit less bulky while you are using it.

Specs:
Intel® HM87 Express Chipset
Intel® Core i7 4710HQ Processor
16GB DDR3L MHz SDRAM, up to 32 G
17.3" 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) anti-glare
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX970M with 3GB GDDR5
1TB HDD 7200 RPM With 256 G SSD
Weight - 3.8 kg

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrab...pecifications/

[DeltrusDisc]

Just googled it, the GT80 weighs the same as a watermelon... You are going to get ripped carrying that around ^^

Good, I could use an additional workout, I've been slacking the last 8 years...

@Shruikah, thanks for your input! For $1,500 that doesn't sound too bad, but the laptop keys might be the deal breaker, I know it sounds stingy, but I just can't stand the old keys anymore. >_<

How's the anti-glare coating on that panel?

[Freddiee]

If you insist on the mechanical keys the MSI you already mentioned are your only options. /endthread

[DeltrusDisc]

If you insist on the mechanical keys the MSI you already mentioned are your only options. /endthread

Was hoping someone maybe knew about a brand/line of laptops I was not aware of. =/

I don't like the idea of packing up a mechanical keyboard, but I suppose if I can get a super tiny enough one, I'd consider it.