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Gaming Laptops (Your Experience & Recommendations)


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Basically, i'm looking for a laptop that can easily run Football Manager 2012 with as many leagues and players loaded as I want, but also for other games. I'm looking to see what Laptops you guys use (Not Computers) and your experience with them and also some recommendations. I've personally been looking at the Alienware laptops, a customised G11X and a normal G18x. The difference between the 2 is the G11X will cost around £1,200 and the G18X will cost around £1,800.

My budget all depends on finance options.

My Current Laptop & Problems

Acer Aspire 7738G

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (2.2GHzm 800MHz FSB)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M Up to 2815 MB TurboCache

17.3" HD+ LED LCD Screen

4GB DDR3 Memory

1TB Hard Drive

Problems: Despite it having the ability to run many top games and easily running FM with a decent amount of leagues and players loaded, it tends to overheat which is apparently very common with Acer Laptops :(

Already have a laptop cooler - waste of money.

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Alienwares are overpriced.

Your budget should be enough for a high-end desktop replacement laptop.

I use the Asus G73jh, they have newer models, but offer better value-for-money that Alienwares (and pretty much everything else out there), especially if you buy from the USA.

Have a look here: http://www.gentechpc.com/ and convert into £s

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Alienwares are overpriced.

Your budget should be enough for a high-end desktop replacement laptop.

I use the Asus G73jh, they have newer models, but offer better value-for-money that Alienwares (and pretty much everything else out there), especially if you buy from the USA.

Have a look here: http://www.gentechpc.com/ and convert into £s

Do these tend to overheat?

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Get yourself a laptop cooler from Amazon. They're great.

Be careful when buying the new batch of processors from Intel, the i7-3xxx are overheating, apparently intel are using a low-grade thermal paste. A company in japan/china has used a better thermal paste and they aren't overheating - something like 18-24% cooler now.

Perhaps wait a bit to buy a new computer until Intel has addressed the issue with the new processors overheating.

I'd say a laptop cooler and you'll be sorted for now.

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Get yourself a laptop cooler from Amazon. They're great.

Be careful when buying the new batch of processors from Intel, the i7-3xxx are overheating, apparently intel are using a low-grade thermal paste. A company in japan/china has used a better thermal paste and they aren't overheating - something like 18-24% cooler now.

Perhaps wait a bit to buy a new computer until Intel has addressed the issue with the new processors overheating.

I'd say a laptop cooler and you'll be sorted for now.

I already have a laptop cooler with 2 fans and unfortunately this only makes the laptop last about 10 minutes longer before it overheats.

I have to say, it was a waste of £58...

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Hi Tactic Master you could do worse than look at the PC Specialist.co.uk website if you are looking for a high end laptop. Higher specced than Alienware and cheaper, faster delivery and excellent customer support before and after purchasing.

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Hi Tactic Master you could do worse than look at the PC Specialist.co.uk website if you are looking for a high end laptop. Higher specced than Alienware and cheaper, faster delivery and excellent customer support before and after purchasing.

Thanks Mart, i'll take a look :)

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Don't go for Alienware (except perhaps if it's the m14x - not sure why you would want one, though - portability + gaming laptop? :D). Rip-off. Much like the entire Alienware series...

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Overpriced, loud, heavy, ugly ("gaming" designs). That about sums up my thoughts on "gaming laptops." Honestly, if you're going to game in any serious way, get a normal computer. If you want portability, get a laptop. There is no good sweet spot in the middle. Not as long as we're talking more demanding games than FM (read: most of them).

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I would say look at pcspecialist as well. Very good company to use. Also, Alienware are excellent. Yes, like everyone else has said, they are expensive. But, there is a reason for that. I had an Alienware desktop that I paid over 2k for. Didn't have anything, not a single issue with it for nearly 7 years. As said though they are really expensive and you can get a better deal at pcspecialist.

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@ Scab: I have to get a laptop due to the fact I have nowhere In my living room to put a computer. If it wasn't for my massive corner sofa and my 42" TV then I would have...

@Davehanson: Thats the reason I was looking at Alienware. My previous purchase before this Acer laptop was a Sony Vaio and maybe I paid over the odds a bit for it than I could have elsewhere, but I never had any real issues with it. I then bought this Acer and from nearly day 1 i've had problems, I wish i'd picked the other laptop I was looking at which was only slightly cheaper and not as good. I'll pay that extra money if it means i'm going to get reliability.

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I have had a Sony Vaio, Toshiba and a Dell XPS M1730 laptop's that I used for purely gaming for FM. I did use the XPS to run Total War as well, and as long as I turned the graphics down it ran it fine. I personally wouldn't have a toshiba again as I, like you, had crap with it all the way through.

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@ Scab: I have to get a laptop due to the fact I have nowhere In my living room to put a computer. If it wasn't for my massive corner sofa and my 42" TV then I would have...

@Davehanson: Thats the reason I was looking at Alienware. My previous purchase before this Acer laptop was a Sony Vaio and maybe I paid over the odds a bit for it than I could have elsewhere, but I never had any real issues with it. I then bought this Acer and from nearly day 1 i've had problems, I wish i'd picked the other laptop I was looking at which was only slightly cheaper and not as good. I'll pay that extra money if it means i'm going to get reliability.

It's still not really worth it. The Dell M17x adds around 50% to the price of the PC Specialist 17" laptop (17.3" Vortex III). If reliability/security is an issue, get the maximum warranty and dead pixel guarantee, and insure the PC Specialist one - it will still be cheaper!
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It's still not really worth it. The Dell M17x adds around 50% to the price of the PC Specialist 17" laptop (17.3" Vortex III). If reliability/security is an issue, get the maximum warranty and dead pixel guarantee, and insure the PC Specialist one - it will still be cheaper!

I've just looked at the Finance Options on this site and they are extortionate to say the least... If I had the £1,500 I want for this laptop on PC Specialist then yeah it's a cheap site, but when it comes to Finance, asking for £700 more is stupid...

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Do these tend to overheat?

Not the G73 series, and they come with the i7 processors (no over-heating as far as I am aware).

It runs Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Civ V, Witcher 2 and of course FM all on high detail.

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Are you in the UK?

PCSpecialist

PwnPCs

Wired2Fire

NovaTech

CyberpowerSystem

Most of these sell custom buildt laptops on platforms (barebones) from Clevo. Alienware performance but not Alienware prices.

I have a Clevo build myself, the D900F, now discontinued - Intel Core i7 920 desktop processor, X58 desktop motherboard and chipset, 1920x1200 screen resolution, Intel SSD, Nvidia GTX 280M graphic card. It's now nearly 3 years old, but still play any games with ease. yes, it's a laptop with some desktop hardware in it. Extreme performance, lousy battery time, heavy weight and bulky - but I love it.

These shops that I have linked to will have the newest version of my laptop (Clevo P270), + several more "normal" Clevo gaming laptop builds, the P150 and the P170, as well as more allrounder models, the W150 and the W170. These are Clevo's own model names - but the brand and model names will be different for every vendor - see below for explanation.

Other than these, I will recommend you look at the new Asus G55/G75, with the new Ivy bridge processors and Kepler (GTX 660M) graphic card. These Asus'es are particularly known for being quiet (for a gaming laptop), and they also are very good at getting rid of all the heat that's generated with such powerful hardware.

The Clevo builds offer graphic cards that are twice the power of the Asus'es (AMD HD 7970M, and soon the new Nvidia GTX 680M). They are also very good at getting rid of the heat, but tend to be louder when under heavy load.

If you're interrested in learning more about Clevo laptops, go to this forum. A good listing of European based Clevo re-sellers, you have here.

Clevo's are often referred to as Sager's in the US - it's the brand name of the biggest US Clevo re-seller (as they call Clevo vendors).

Clevo is a Taiwanese laptop designer and manufacturer, but you hardly ever see a Clevo sold under it's own name. Most of the re-sellers put their own brands and model names on them.

Clevo was the manufacturer that made the earlier Alienware laptops (The Area 51 line, for those that remember)

And no, I'm not a Clevo representative - just a happy customer :)

Edit: Also MSI and Toshiba make a few laptops that are good for gaming, but I don't rate these as highly as the Asus'es, Clevo's or Alienware's.

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come on guys ... laptops are not built for gaming .and never will be ....because of many factors ..

1 cooler fans .. your never have a good enough fan in a laptop to cool a processor

2 the processor speed in a laptop will allways be much lower than a pc ...

3 the power supply on a laptop are by far lower than a pc .. 240 max .. a gaming pc are from 750 to 1000 .

4 graphips card again far lower because of cooling fans

iv allways sed i would never buy a laptop ...they are way way over priced for what is in them ...

make room and get a pc ....you can even go for a mini pc tower case

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Your opinion, and you're entitled to it - but not necessarily true.

Your point 1 is ridiculous. My laptop's fans cools both the processor and the graphic card more than sufficient. I can even overclock both.

Your point 2: Yes, laptop processors are not as powerful as their desktop brothers or sisters. This is because they need to draw less power and emit less heat. Nothing to do with fans.

3: The power supplies need only to be sufficient for their use. The power consumption in laptop hardware is much lower than desktop hardware, so you don't need as big a power supply. Your point is indeed pointless.

4: Graphic cards for laptops are indeed less powerful than it's desktop brothers. Again, they consume far less power than desktop cards, don't emit nearly as much heat, and as a result need lesser cooling systems. Your claim about cooling fans being the reason they are less powerful, is not correct. They are less powerful because they need to draw less power, and make less heat, and take up lesser space.

And lastly - people choose laptops because they want laptops. Desktops are not as handy if you want to move your pc anywhere - didn't you know this? And yes, you pay more for a laptop than you do a desktop with similar performance. Much more. That is the price of mobility.

I want a pc I can play any game on, but I also want to be able to easily move my PC to other locations when needed. Desktops are therefore out of the question, and I'm prepared to pay for the mobility. And I think you'll find that this is excatly the case for other potential laptop buyers as well. Not for you? That's ok - but no need to troll. Laptops is a trade-off between price and convenience. But as long as you can find laptops that takes care of your every need - what is your agenda excactly?

"I think desktops are best, therefore it's best for you too!" ? To quote you, "come on" ...

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I'll just chime in to echo the Clevo/Sager sentiment. Just received my brand new Sager P9130 (Clevo P151EM1 base) from a US reseller on Monday - Ivy Bridge, 670M GPU, 16GB ram, on a 15.6" model all for a reasonable price of $1300. I did replace the stock thermal paste since it was an option. So far, so good. No fuss getting it started, and it runs like a dream. FM life is so much better compared to the old Core 2 Duo and on-board chip that I've been on for the last few months =) I obviously can't say too much about longevity at this point, but I chose to go with the Clevo system on recommendation of a lot of people online. This system is definitely overkill for FM, but will run all games that are out comfortably. For some benchmarks for similar systems (or for any system with any graphics card you'd be looking at), check out http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-670M.72197.0.html. There are no shiny LEDs or other glitzy decorations, but the system feels sturdy and well-built.

If that is not an option, ASUS makes very solid and dependable machines. The G Series has fantastic cooling, probably the best on the market. As a result the laptop is a bit bulky and supposedly doesn't quite fit in a normal carrying case for their screen size. ASUS would have been my second choice after the Clevo.

Also a small shoutout to the Dell XPS line, simply because I had an XPS15 for 5 years without a hitch. I replaced the power supply and the battery, but otherwise it was flawless until a fan died and the GPU chip followed suit. I've heard bad things about their customer support, however. I just never had a need for them so I can't confirm on deny that.

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Your opinion, and you're entitled to it - but not necessarily true.

Your point 1 is ridiculous. My laptop's fans cools both the processor and the graphic card more than sufficient. I can even overclock both.

Your point 2: Yes, laptop processors are not as powerful as their desktop brothers or sisters. This is because they need to draw less power and emit less heat. Nothing to do with fans.

3: The power supplies need only to be sufficient for their use. The power consumption in laptop hardware is much lower than desktop hardware, so you don't need as big a power supply. Your point is indeed pointless.

4: Graphic cards for laptops are indeed less powerful than it's desktop brothers. Again, they consume far less power than desktop cards, don't emit nearly as much heat, and as a result need lesser cooling systems. Your claim about cooling fans being the reason they are less powerful, is not correct. They are less powerful because they need to draw less power, and make less heat, and take up lesser space.

And lastly - people choose laptops because they want laptops. Desktops are not as handy if you want to move your pc anywhere - didn't you know this? And yes, you pay more for a laptop than you do a desktop with similar performance. Much more. That is the price of mobility.

I want a pc I can play any game on, but I also want to be able to easily move my PC to other locations when needed. Desktops are therefore out of the question, and I'm prepared to pay for the mobility. And I think you'll find that this is excatly the case for other potential laptop buyers as well. Not for you? That's ok - but no need to troll. Laptops is a trade-off between price and convenience. But as long as you can find laptops that takes care of your every need - what is your agenda excactly?

"I think desktops are best, therefore it's best for you too!" ? To quote you, "come on" ...

Key points are ......

are laptops good for gamimg .. NO

Laptops always need to under clock the CPU so that it doesn't get to hot, because laptops dont cool as easily as a desktop computer.

Even if a desk top and a laptop have the same processor, the desk top one will run faster and have less chance of overheating. The desktop one will also most likely be clocked faster.

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Laptops are good for gaming. Stop this nonsense. I can play nearly every game at max settings on mine, without it overheating.

Laptops don't need to downclock, or downthrottle because of over-heating. Good designed gaming laptops don't have this problem.

I repeat: Mobile processors and graphic cards are less powerful than desktop ones, by necessity. This is not a problem, as long as they perform good enough. Get it?

I have a desktop Core i7 processor in my laptop. It runs exactly as fast as the same processor in a desktop.

Q.P.R - you clearly is on some kind of "crusade" against gaming laptops. Carry on if you want, but you make no sense. As I said, don't presume that what you think is best, is best for everyone. Very immature of you.

I don't intend to comment any further - but please carry on if you want - only, don't destroy this thread with your personal agenda, please.

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let me reply by saying this of course is my

opinion

which by all accounts i am allowed to have ..

and again in my opinion to spend around £1,800. on a laptop is not for me ...

when look at what you can buy for that £1528.80 in VAT

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Zeus_Thunder_3000/

Case: NZXT Switch 810 Hybird Full Tower Gaming Case w/ Dual 140MM Pivot Fan Slots and Front USB 3.0

Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default Case Fan

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3820 Quad Core 3.60 GHz 10MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 ***Overclockable XXX***

Overclocking Service: XXX Overclocking (CPU Extreme overclock: guaranteed min. 20%, max. 30%.)

Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC / Xtremegear Liquid Cooling system w/ 120mm Radiator (Asetek CPU Water Cooling ***Overclockable XXX***)

Motherboard: Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 Chipset, 3-Way SLI / Crossfire supported, 4 Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 4 RAM slots, Dolby Home Theater 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen3 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI ***Overclockable XXX***

Memory: 16GB(4x4GB) PC10666 DDR3/1333mhz Quad Channel Memory (Kingston Value Brand)

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

Video Card 3: None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics

Power Supply Upgrade: 850 Watts Power Supplies (Cyberpower 850watt High Performance Gaming Power Supply)

Hard Drive: 128 GB Kingston V200 2.5 inch SATA III Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Single Hard Drive)

Data Hard Drive: 2TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive (Single Hard Drive)

Optical Drive: Liteon IHES112-115 12X Blu-Ray Player (please select the Blue Ray software in the Software section)

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Network: ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT -- As standard on all PCs

USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition

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I have a desktop Core i7 processor in my laptop. It runs exactly as fast as the same processor in a desktop.

Does anyone actually do this? It would generate a ridiculous amount of heat to stick a desktop processor in a laptop. The TDP of a desktop processor is around 80-100% higher than a laptop's.

It's just worse value for money in terms of performance (the additional price being the "price" of portability).

Gaming laptops are viable - it is just that high-end gaming laptops don't make sense when you can get a desktop PC that performs miles better for the same price, and a high-end gaming laptop would likely be heavy and would become very hot, which would arguably defeat the "price" you pay for additional portability.

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@ Q.P.R

This is about laptops and for a good reason. I don't have any space to put a computer and I also can't move the computer up 2 flights of steps or to Newcastle when I go there. I used to have a computer and your 100% correct in saying they are better, but since I bought my new sofa, I had to move my 42" tv across the room and put the sofa where the tv was because its a corner sofa. There is nowhere else to put the sofa and considering I have other furniture, there is simply nowhere for a pc.

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@ QPR Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, I have already acknowledged that. But you carry on with this "what is good for me is good for you" nonsense. Your example of a desktop build above, is fine - except one thing: I wouldn't want to carry it with me. That's why I, and others, prefers laptops, no matter what you say :) We can't build a laptop that is as powerful as a really high spec'ed desktop, that is true - but that is fine. We are prepared to pay for mobility instead. I cant understand what is so hard to get about that? You are already quite off-topic in this thread; leave it alone now, please. We don't agree, and that is that. Ok? :)

@x42 etc: The same applies to you, really. You don't feel gaming laptops are worth the cost. Fine. But I do, and I am prepared to pay the extra cost. And i'm not alone, as you clearly must have noticed. Now - in a thread that is clearly about gaming laptops - you have vented your opinions, now leave it alone, please. And yes, I have a laptop with a desktop processor in it. Because my needs are beyond gaming: I need big processing power in different locations. Mobile processing power. That is my need. Not yours. That is fine for me - why isn't that fine for you? Again: Desktops are not a viable option for people who need mobility.

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Buying anything that is specifically marked as a "gaming laptop" adds about £400 onto the price regardless. Avoid. Do not buy alienware, they are massively overpriced.

PC Specialist is the best way to go, mess around with all of the options until you find value for money.

Do not buy anything that is marked as a gaming laptop.

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@ QPR Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, I have already acknowledged that. But you carry on with this "what is good for me is good for you" nonsense. Your example of a desktop build above, is fine - except one thing: I wouldn't want to carry it with me. That's why I, and others, prefers laptops, no matter what you say :) We can't build a laptop that is as powerful as a really high spec'ed desktop, that is true - but that is fine. We are prepared to pay for mobility instead. I cant understand what is so hard to get about that? You are already quite off-topic in this thread; leave it alone now, please. We don't agree, and that is that. Ok? :)

@x42 etc: The same applies to you, really. You don't feel gaming laptops are worth the cost. Fine. But I do, and I am prepared to pay the extra cost. And i'm not alone, as you clearly must have noticed. Now - in a thread that is clearly about gaming laptops - you have vented your opinions, now leave it alone, please. And yes, I have a laptop with a desktop processor in it. Because my needs are beyond gaming: I need big processing power in different locations. Mobile processing power. That is my need. Not yours. That is fine for me - why isn't that fine for you? Again: Desktops are not a viable option for people who need mobility.

Best post yet in terms of the arguments.

(On topic) The problem with these sites is their ability to give good value, but when it comes to Finance buying a laptop, the prices are rediculous. A laptop worth 1,500 and they want 2,200 spread over monthly repayments. A laptop from Alienware worth 1,500 and they want just 1,650 spread over monthly repayments. Maybe they are overpriced at first, but in terms of finance they are excellent prices.

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Buying anything that is specifically marked as a "gaming laptop" adds about £400 onto the price regardless. Avoid. Do not buy alienware, they are massively overpriced.

PC Specialist is the best way to go, mess around with all of the options until you find value for money.

Do not buy anything that is marked as a gaming laptop.

PC Specialist as i've already said is over priced. I can only get on finance so they aren't the place to go.

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Tactic Master - you could look into the other European sites I provided a link to. Most are within the EU, so if you're a brit it should be quite easy to get a laptop from one of them as well, even if you need financing. Or find a site with good financing options that sells one of the Asus'es - they are really good machines.

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I'll just chime in to echo the Clevo/Sager sentiment. Just received my brand new Sager P9130 (Clevo P151EM1 base) from a US reseller on Monday - Ivy Bridge, 670M GPU, 16GB ram, on a 15.6" model all for a reasonable price of $1300. I did replace the stock thermal paste since it was an option. So far, so good. No fuss getting it started, and it runs like a dream. FM life is so much better compared to the old Core 2 Duo and on-board chip that I've been on for the last few months =) I obviously can't say too much about longevity at this point, but I chose to go with the Clevo system on recommendation of a lot of people online. This system is definitely overkill for FM, but will run all games that are out comfortably. For some benchmarks for similar systems (or for any system with any graphics card you'd be looking at), check out http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-670M.72197.0.html. There are no shiny LEDs or other glitzy decorations, but the system feels sturdy and well-built.

If that is not an option, ASUS makes very solid and dependable machines. The G Series has fantastic cooling, probably the best on the market. As a result the laptop is a bit bulky and supposedly doesn't quite fit in a normal carrying case for their screen size. ASUS would have been my second choice after the Clevo.

Also a small shoutout to the Dell XPS line, simply because I had an XPS15 for 5 years without a hitch. I replaced the power supply and the battery, but otherwise it was flawless until a fan died and the GPU chip followed suit. I've heard bad things about their customer support, however. I just never had a need for them so I can't confirm on deny that.

Thanks for this comment, I've heard good things about Clevo.

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Are you in the UK?

PCSpecialist

PwnPCs

Wired2Fire

NovaTech

CyberpowerSystem

Most of these sell custom buildt laptops on platforms (barebones) from Clevo. Alienware performance but not Alienware prices.

I have a Clevo build myself, the D900F, now discontinued - Intel Core i7 920 desktop processor, X58 desktop motherboard and chipset, 1920x1200 screen resolution, Intel SSD, Nvidia GTX 280M graphic card. It's now nearly 3 years old, but still play any games with ease. yes, it's a laptop with some desktop hardware in it. Extreme performance, lousy battery time, heavy weight and bulky - but I love it.

These shops that I have linked to will have the newest version of my laptop (Clevo P270), + several more "normal" Clevo gaming laptop builds, the P150 and the P170, as well as more allrounder models, the W150 and the W170. These are Clevo's own model names - but the brand and model names will be different for every vendor - see below for explanation.

Other than these, I will recommend you look at the new Asus G55/G75, with the new Ivy bridge processors and Kepler (GTX 660M) graphic card. These Asus'es are particularly known for being quiet (for a gaming laptop), and they also are very good at getting rid of all the heat that's generated with such powerful hardware.

The Clevo builds offer graphic cards that are twice the power of the Asus'es (AMD HD 7970M, and soon the new Nvidia GTX 680M). They are also very good at getting rid of the heat, but tend to be louder when under heavy load.

If you're interrested in learning more about Clevo laptops, go to this forum. A good listing of European based Clevo re-sellers, you have here.

Clevo's are often referred to as Sager's in the US - it's the brand name of the biggest US Clevo re-seller (as they call Clevo vendors).

Clevo is a Taiwanese laptop designer and manufacturer, but you hardly ever see a Clevo sold under it's own name. Most of the re-sellers put their own brands and model names on them.

Clevo was the manufacturer that made the earlier Alienware laptops (The Area 51 line, for those that remember)

And no, I'm not a Clevo representative - just a happy customer :)

Edit: Also MSI and Toshiba make a few laptops that are good for gaming, but I don't rate these as highly as the Asus'es, Clevo's or Alienware's.

Looked through your websites mentioned and Alienware. Here's what I found out.

Laptops worth approx. 1,300

PCSpecialist.co.uk - Full Payment 2,100

Cyberpowersystem - Full Payment 1,650

Others don't have finance options so they are no good...

Alienware.co.uk - Full Payment 1,500

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Are they equipped with exactly the same hardware though? (Spec'd). I have never seen a Clevo build with similar hardware as an Alienware come out more expensive. Quite the contrary, and usually by a large margin. If you want to compare prices, you have to compare exactly the same hardware and screen sizes. That is the price of the laptops themselves though; how much you have to pay for financing, between these shops and Dell (Alienware), I have no idea.

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I have a Alienware M11XR2 i7/8gb Ram/1 gb Graphics card , they are overpriced true (look very pretty though) I can run pretty much any league setup i want. But they still get really hot my gpu sometime's hit's like 80 degrees so you kind of have to edge the left handside of the laptop up (put it on a book or something) & the fan kicks in & goes mental sometimes. I think these problems are solved in the R3. But if you want a Alienware & the finance is good id reccemond one, cost me a lot of money but im yet to have any problem with it (i dont think steam counts). Nice & quick and looks like Megan Fox.

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I used to be a desktop user until early 2000s when I started using gaming laptop for "portability" reason. A couple of things I learned

- There's no such thing as a "gaming" laptop if you're a gamer :p, the best gaming laptop can barely scratch what a proper gaming desktop can do. Heat will be the biggest reason... even if a gaming laptop is equipped with the best graphic card that graphic card will NEVER reach it's maximum potential since that kind of card generate a huge amount of heat and at least for now there's no cooler for laptop that can compensate that... the graphic card will throttle down because of the heating problem using only a fraction of what it could do in desktop.

- portability in gaming laptop is a silly idea since they're usually bulky and heavy and on batteries alone will last 1-2 hours typically when you're playing game... unless you want to bring your adapter around xD... which make it even heavier and messy and... ugh forget it :p

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Oh please, do we have to start stating what is an opinion and what isn't now? Every post on the bloody forum is an opinion.

Like I said, you'll be in the minority.

~£1000 or more for a laptop that will nearly always have over heating issues, struggle running games on max settings a year or less down the line with no upgrade options? 2-3 hour battery life for a mobile device that will also be very clunky? Pointless.

Laptops are not cutting edge gaming machines, they never have been nor will they ever be. "Gaming laptops" are all marketing.

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@ Scab: I have to get a laptop due to the fact I have nowhere In my living room to put a computer. If it wasn't for my massive corner sofa and my 42" TV then I would have...

I was thinking of upgrading soon to something that'll run the latest games but like you I really don't have room for a desktop PC at the moment. What about mini PC's or all-in-ones as a compromise between laptop and desktop? Have you thought about those?

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Oh please, do we have to start stating what is an opinion and what isn't now? Every post on the bloody forum is an opinion.

Like I said, you'll be in the minority.

~£1000 or more for a laptop that will nearly always have over heating issues, struggle running games on max settings a year or less down the line with no upgrade options? 2-3 hour battery life for a mobile device that will also be very clunky? Pointless.

Laptops are not cutting edge gaming machines, they never have been nor will they ever be. "Gaming laptops" are all marketing.

So you feel a desktop is good value for money for someone who wants the convenience of a laptop then?

- Good gaming laptops won't always struggle with overheating, That statement is false. Neither do they struggle with running games om high resolutions and/or high graphic settings. That statement is also false. I know of about 3 or 4 games that I can't max on mine - then it's just a matter of lowering the graphic settings a little. I have no problem with that. The points you made about upgradeability and battery life is for the most part true.

- Laptops are not cutting edge gaming machines. Who's argued that? Do a machine that can play games need to be cutting edge? Or for that matter - do you need to be a hardcore gamer in order to enjoy games?

You presume a lot on the behalf of others, my friend. :)

Again, this is poluting the thread with opinions that really isn't necessary to put forward in a thread like this - and the OP does not want it, so can we get back on track again, please?

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So you feel a desktop is good value for money for someone who wants the convenience of a laptop then?

Obviously not, that would be daft. But if you want the convenience of a laptop, a gaming laptop is almost as stupid.

Battery life is amazingly poor, they weigh twice as much as a regular laptop and they get so hot you can't put them anywhere other than a desk or portable surface.

Ultrabooks? More sensible if you absolutely must have portability.

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