High End Lap-top

[Wolfie]

I'm in the market to buy a high end laptop, specifically for gaming.

So i'm gunna need a mid-high end CPU, lots of RAM and a dedicated GFX card.

I've seen the Alienware line of products, which seems to cover my needs, but they are US based and it would involve shipping, customs, tax etc and be a nightmare for support etc.

So i'm looking for a more mainstream make (Dell, HP, Sony etc) - i dont mind the cost and realise its not going to be cheap and would cost me a lot more than an equivalent base-unit, but im prepared for that. Its going to need to be supported in Thailand (warranty etc)

Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, warnings etc?

[Sakeopete]

I'm on my second Dell XPS and am happy with them. I still have my first one sitting in Bangkok doing nothing. Only bought a new one because I want the highest specs. Stay away from Alienware they have overheating problems (now Dell owned) I recommend the Dell XPS because there are many parts available on E-bay should you need to make repairs. I have never had problems with either of my machines Gen II XPS and my new XPS M1710. I recommend staying away from the duel graphic card machines for now as there isn't enough games to utilize it yet, also I believe Vista doesn't support SLI.

[Wolfie]

I'm on my second Dell XPS and am happy with them. I still have my first one sitting in Bangkok doing nothing. Only bought a new one because I want the highest specs. Stay away from Alienware they have overheating problems (now Dell owned) I recommend the Dell XPS because there are many parts available on E-bay should you need to make repairs. I have never had problems with either of my machines Gen II XPS and my new XPS M1710. I recommend staying away from the duel graphic card machines for now as there isn't enough games to utilize it yet, also I believe Vista doesn't support SLI.

Ooh nice find, thanks for that one... next question is where do i find one of these babies for sale in bangkok? The price tag doesn't look too scary either (if we stick with the standard case etc) It certainly looks like a great option!

[Sakeopete]

I commute to work in the UK every 3 weeks so I bought it there they come with international warranty and Thailand does have a Dell service center. However Thailand doesn't sell the XPS as far as I know so you would have to wait a few days for spares but like I said in my previous post I have not had problems with either of my machines. The nice thing about the Dells is that they are so popular you can even buy after market 130w power adapters for them in Thailand.

[DP25]

Get a custom built laptop from a shop here in Thailand. Gaming laptops from the big name brands are ridiculously overpriced.

[dave_boo]

You could find a mate bring one from your home country.

[britmaveric]

Asus might be the way to go.....

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5&l2=61

[dekka007]

Macbook Pro with Intel Penryn processor

2.5ghz

Nvidia 8600GT 512mb Video

250GB HD

Still the best looking gaming laptop around not forgetting its one of the few brands offering LED screen. 84FPS in Crysis in a great looking package along with MAC OS X...

Of course you would be running Vista or Windows XP on it (Bootcamp) for the gaming.

[Wolfie]

Macbook Pro with Intel Penryn processor

2.5ghz

Nvidia 8600GT 512mb Video

250GB HD

Still the best looking gaming laptop around not forgetting its one of the few brands offering LED screen. 84FPS in Crysis in a great looking package along with MAC OS X...

Of course you would be running Vista or Windows XP on it (Bootcamp) for the gaming.

Thanks for the suggestion, but as i understand it the drivers are not that well supported for gaming, so whilst the laptop itself may be good, its not really suitable as a gaming platform.

[Captain Chaos]

Think some of the higher spec Acers may also fit your needs - mine's about 18 months old now so a bit out of date but I can still play anything up to WoWC on it ... I originally bought it from IT City in Central Rama III, not that I've had any problems with it.

The guys in there rebuilt my nephew's desktop as a dedicated games playing machine for a few thousand baht - I'm sure they could do you a laptop too, as DP25 suggested...

Now THIS is the kind of shopping that blokes enjoy!!!

CC

[Wolfie]

Now THIS is the kind of shopping that blokes enjoy!!!

I priced up the Alienware laptop i wanted, by the time i was close to the spec i wanted it was coming out at over $6000usd, i've looked at a few others (Rock, Asus, Dell, HP even) - all of which come in cheaper than the Alienware (damned sexy machine tho!) - but the problem is getting one in Thailand, im not prepared to import it, as i will pay-thru-the-nose on import duty (regardless of what others may say, my experience is 40% import duty on 'luxury' items) - and when we are talking $2-3,000usd - i simply cannot afford to add 40% on to it.

Getting someone to bring it over is an option, but purchasing it online, with a Thai credit card and then having it delivered to an address in the UK/US raises soo many red flags, the retailer's loose interest very quickly. So that leaves me the option of buying it in Thailand, which pushes me towards the international brands (Dell, HP, Asus) - however these manufacturers dont seem to stock these high-end laptops in LOS - boohoo!

[Sakeopete]

Think some of the higher spec Acers may also fit your needs - mine's about 18 months old now so a bit out of date but I can still play anything up to WoWC on it ... I originally bought it from IT City in Central Rama III, not that I've had any problems with it.

The guys in there rebuilt my nephew's desktop as a dedicated games playing machine for a few thousand baht - I'm sure they could do you a laptop too, as DP25 suggested...

Now THIS is the kind of shopping that blokes enjoy!!!

CC

Building a custom laptop is easy, getting it to perform well and not overheat is the difficulty. Alienware, Rock Direct, Dell have all struggled to keep their machines cool enough running high end graphics cards. Alienware is still having problems thats why they are not that popular among serious gamers. Look how many fans and water cooled heatsinks are required on desk top gaming systems now imagine keeping a laptop cool enough without it sounding like a Hoover.

[LKIBA]

I'm in the market to buy a high end laptop, specifically for gaming.

So i'm gunna need a mid-high end CPU, lots of RAM and a dedicated GFX card.

I've seen the Alienware line of products, which seems to cover my needs, but they are US based and it would involve shipping, customs, tax etc and be a nightmare for support etc.

So i'm looking for a more mainstream make (Dell, HP, Sony etc) - i dont mind the cost and realise its not going to be cheap and would cost me a lot more than an equivalent base-unit, but im prepared for that. Its going to need to be supported in Thailand (warranty etc)

Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, warnings etc?

if your talkin about playing live cards on the internet what is more important is your connection and server

[Wolfie]

if your talkin about playing live cards on the internet what is more important is your connection and server

Err.. no, i'm looking a step or two higher than online poker

http://www.ageofconan.com

Edited April 29, 2008 by Wolfie

[dekka007]

Thanks for the suggestion, but as i understand it the drivers are not that well supported for gaming, so whilst the laptop itself may be good, its not really suitable as a gaming platform

Drivers are perfect for gaming you can use any Nvidia drivers right up to the latest 1.71's. But if 84fps Crysis is not enough I guess you could say drivers aint that well supported (Btw there are about 3 laptops other than the macbook pro that will hit that amount in Crysis) default Bootcamp drivers - Latest get about 5fps more

For an example Macbook Pro 2.6ghz is hitting 5000 3dMarks06 on default settings in the benchmark.

Playing LOTRO, WOW, COD4, CRYSIS all at perfect speeds on macbook pro. AgeOfConan is supposed to be even less demanding than Crysis from what I read on the forums.

It is also the lightest 15.4" laptop with those specs.

Edited April 29, 2008 by dekka007

[Sakeopete]

Macbook Pro with Intel Penryn processor

2.5ghz

Nvidia 8600GT 512mb Video

250GB HD

Still the best looking gaming laptop around not forgetting its one of the few brands offering LED screen. 84FPS in Crysis in a great looking package along with MAC OS X...

Of course you would be running Vista or Windows XP on it (Bootcamp) for the gaming.

I was looking at the specs of the Macbook Pro, it says the graphics card has 512mb cache. Most other gaming laptops have dedicated memory for the graphics card. I'm curious if the Macbook is using shared memory like older laptops did? I'm not a computer expert so not sure why it calls it cache rather than dedicated memory.

[gnisten]

Info about notebooks available in Thailand:

http://www.notebookspec.com

http://www.notebook.co.th

[dekka007]

512mb

It is dedicated on the 2.5ghz and 2.6ghz Nivida cards. and 256mb Dedicated on the 2.4ghz. Cache is a misprint as there is no such thing as CACHE for Nvidia 8600GT cards. The cards have GDDR3 ram built in. Nvidia dont make 8xxx series cards with shared memory.

The macbook (Non PRO) has shared memory on it's intel graphics card which is useless for gaming...

The apple website does NOT say it is cache so perhaps it was Thai screw up as usual on specs

Apple Macbook Pro Specs

Edited April 30, 2008 by dekka007

[mac.wheeler]

I have an Asus GTS, it's not bad at all, 256MB Nvidia 8600GT, 2GB Ram (needs another 1GB at least I feel) and a 2.63Mhz core 2 duo. Haven't found a game it can't run yet on medium-high graphics settings.