Gaming Notebook For ~$3,000

[writeoff]

Hi All,

I'm finally about to buy a new laptop and have been considering the ASUS G1. Its not a 17" as I originally wanted but I couldn't find one with T7200, 2Gb RAM, 120+Gb 5400 HDD, >2USB ports, decent resolution (WSXGA+) and a decent videocard (512MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7700) for ~$3,000.

I have read the following reviews:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3403

http://reviews.cnet.com/ASUS_G1_Core_2_Duo...7-32152982.html

http://www.xoticpc.com/article_info.php/articles_id/25

http://www.ciblant.com/product_reviews.php?productId=758

http://www.notebooklounge.com/asus/g1/

This link compares mobile video cards although I struggle to understand it all other than the longer the graph the better.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphi...List.844.0.html

It can be bought in Australia from these resellers:

http://www.affordablelaptops.com.au/asus/g...CFRsrYQodDzIdrw $3090 inc delivery & insurance. 1GB Flashdrive $40, USB TV tuner $90. Total $3220

http://www.p4laptops.com.au/order-asusg1.htm $3249 inc del, ins, 1GB Fdr & TV tuner

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ASUS-G1-15-4-Core-2...oQQcmdZViewItem $3099 + $45 del & $45 ins = $3189

http://www.itbox.com.au/specials/details.j...ame=specialWeb1 $3201 + $18 del = $3219 (same place but $30 more and insurance is only for $1000... WTF?)

Any opinions? Anything else I should be looking at? Do you know of anywhere else that sells it for less?

I don't really need the 1Gb Fdr but do want the TV tuner. I included them for price comparions.

Cheers

David

PS - I'll probably buy a 20-24" LCD monitor at a later date. Was considering the Dell 2407WFP or Samsung 215TW.

[LBR33]

Is there a reason you want a laptop over a desktop if you want a laptop for work etc..... get a cheap one and then spend the 2k on a desktop machine as it ill be far superior then the laptop

[writeoff]

Is there a reason you want a laptop over a desktop if you want a laptop for work etc..... get a cheap one and then spend the 2k on a desktop machine as it ill be far superior then the laptop

I want to use a DJ program on it - Final Scratch 2 - and take this to mates houses and (hopefully) clubs in the future. Plus I use the laptop in various rooms around my house (including watching footy when I'm soaking in the bathtub). I also travel a fair bit (both interstate and overseas) and go to mates houses and connect to their Xboxes to swap downloaded files - sometimes 20Gb worth. I will be buying an external hard drive later.

Having said all this I did rethink the option of a desktop but will probably stick with the laptop. My mate called me today to say he can source the ASUS G1 for ~$2,600 from one of his suppliers but not until sometime in March.

The specs are:

ASUS G1

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz 4MB cache, 667MHz FSB

Nvidia® GeforceGo 7700 graphics processor with 512MB dedicated graphics memory

160GB SATA HD (5400 rpm), 2GB (2 x 1GB) 667 SDRAM, Built-in 1.3MP Web Camera

15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) Color Shine, 2 year international warranty

4 x USB 2.0, FireWire, Wireless, DVI Port, XP Media Centre (Free upgrade to Vista)

Fast Ethernet, battery life approximately 3.5 hours, Bluetooth, DL DVD+/-R/W drive

4-in-1 Reader, Depth/Height/Width = 284/37.4/324 mm, Weight 3.1 kg

Edited February 12, 2007 by writeoff

[Beer Baron]

I've had a few, and big heavy laptops shit me to tears. to be honest if you want a laptop you want portability. I've just bought (well november last year) a sony vaio TX series laptop. carbon fibre body (just 1kg weight inc battery!) white LED screen (looks amazing), 1gb ram, 80gb hd, a/b/g wireless, bluetooth, finger print scanner (very handy) vista capable etc etc oh, and it has 9.5 hour battery life. that to me is what you want from a laptop as lugging around a big, 3kg laptop and it's accesories get's old in a hurry. I bought this one in tokyo the day after it was released, but they now have the equivelant model here. it's around $3600 but you could find a deal i think that would put it in your price range. Since we got it I've taken it all around japan for a month in november, and another few weeks in tokyo just last month and it's been great. used it also a lot at home on the couch etc. trust me, don't buy a massive laptop, they are a massive compromise. buy a nice ultra portable laptop, and a good desktop for more powerfull needs.

[writeoff]

Listening to both of your advice then I'd need to build a system. I've done some intial research and come up with the following components:

Case: Thermaltake Armor VA8000 $214

PSU: Antec 550W True Power Trio $153

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4GHz) 775 pin $439

Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P-S3 $158

RAM: 2 x 1GB A-DATA 800MHz DDR2 $265

HDD: Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA II $145

GPU: MSI 8800GTS 640MB $599

Optical Drive: Pioneer 212D $60

Monitor: Samsung 204B 20" LCD $489

Soundcard: Sound Blaster X-FI Extreme Gamer $202

Speakers: Logitech Z-5400 THX 5.1 $320

Keyboard: Logitech G15 $95

Mouse: Logitech G7 $104

System Total $3243

*All prices from http://www.staticice.com.au/

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[LBR33]

Listening to both of your advice then I'd need to build a system. I've done some intial research and come up with the following components:

Case: Thermaltake Armor VA8000 $214

PSU: Antec 550W True Power Trio $153

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4GHz) 775 pin $439

Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P-S3 $158

RAM: 2 x 1GB A-DATA 800MHz DDR2 $265

HDD: Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA II $145

GPU: MSI 8800GTS 640MB $599

Optical Drive: Pioneer 212D $60

Monitor: Samsung 204B 20" LCD $489

Soundcard: Sound Blaster X-FI Extreme Gamer $202

Speakers: Logitech Z-5400 THX 5.1 $320

Keyboard: Logitech G15 $95

Mouse: Logitech G7 $104

System Total $3243

*All prices from http://www.staticice.com.au/

Thoughts? Suggestions?

The setup looks good i personally would choose a AMD processor

[skyzerr33]

asus g2 gets u the 17" and slightly better graphics

or any of these alienware items

area-51 m5550

area-51 m5750

aurora m9700