Help me find an ideal laptop

I'm just about to leave home to go to university, and I have been offered a birthday gift of a laptop. I've had a look at a variety online, however I'm quite new to the process so I don't know if I'm looking in the right places/for the right things. Considering I will no longer have a Playstation, or access to my home's desktop, so I'm looking for something with considerable grunt. Basically, I'd like something that:

- Will be able to play Skyrim and BF3 without struggling

- Will have a reasonable lifespan for future PC gaming

- Will also function well as a laptop, for work, DVDs, etc

- Will not have any glaring flaws (poor battery life, bad design, constant crashes)

My price cap is probably around $1200US/£740/$1120AUS (not including mouse, etc), and I'm in New Zealand, so no obscure region exclusive indie products if possible. Thanks everyone in advance for your suggestions, sorry if I've asked for something which isn't possible at that price range :D

If it doesn't have to be a laptop then $1200 would make a killer desktop...

If it has to be a laptop, I would reccomend either this guy(HP sucks, besides that a good laptop) or this one. The Toshiba is far better, but hard to find and is running out of stock.

No laptop under $2000 will run BF3 on max smoothly, just so you know. A $1200 desktop though... Easily maxed Crysis, Metro and BF.

Thanks, since running it smoothly is out of the question, will the recommended ones run it? I don't mind lower settings etc. Is is the same story for Skyrim?

The one I posted? Maybe high in less demanding games, maybe mid-high, and some really demanding games probably medium.

The one I posted? Maybe high in less demanding games, maybe mid-high, and some really demanding games probably medium.

Zevante101

Why would you get that? In the sager for around same price you gave a 560m which is much faster, a better screen, a faster hard drive, it looks better, and guaranteed to be better built.JigglyWiggly_

You are telling me that, without any bias, the laptop you own is better? The one I was talking about was the Toshiba, which has a 1600 x 900 screen(not as demanding in games as 1080p, also hard to tell the difference with AA on 2x.), a 560m, 6GB RAM, a 640GB 7200RPM HDD and an i5. You are partial to your computer as I am to mine, I just personally prefer the one I posted. Better stuff for a better price.

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]

Why would you get that? In the sager for around same price you gave a 560m which is much faster, a better screen, a faster hard drive, it looks better, and guaranteed to be better built.Zevante101

You are telling me that, without any bias, the laptop you own is better? The one I was talking about was the Toshiba, which has a 1600 x 900 screen(not as demanding in games as 1080p, also hard to tell the difference with AA on 2x.), a 560m, 6GB RAM, a 640GB 7200RPM HDD and an i5. You are partial to your computer as I am to mine, I just personally prefer the one I posted. Better stuff for a better price.

Alienware M11x. It won't be as fast as a glorified desktop+UPS like the Sager or Qosmio and its ugly as sin, but you're getting some genuine portability in return. If you really need to be doing some hardcore, settings-turned-up-to-high gaming, you're better off with a ~$800 mini-ITX rig and a netbook.

Hey, so I've checked NZ prices and they're far higher than US prices, I haven't yet consulted with my parents as to whether they're ok with ordering online, but hopefully it'll be fine (considering the saved money). Are there any forseeable issues with ordering overseas besides the power plug (would any companies be able to ship with an AUS/NZ plug)? Also, if I were to get the Sager, are Xotic PC and Malibal reliable providers?

At the moment the three most likely would be the Qosmio, the Sager or the Alienware (the 14x is in my price range, is it worth the upgrade?). Are there any downsides to those three that I should be taking into account? Which of the three will have more longevity in terms of future games?

Thanks for all of your input so far

Hey, so I've checked NZ prices and they're far higher than US prices, I haven't yet consulted with my parents as to whether they're ok with ordering online, but hopefully it'll be fine (considering the saved money). Are there any forseeable issues with ordering overseas besides the power plug (would any companies be able to ship with an AUS/NZ plug)? Also, if I were to get the Sager, are Xotic PC and Malibal reliable providers?

At the moment the three most likely would be the Qosmio, the Sager or the Alienware (the 14x is in my price range, is it worth the upgrade?). Are there any downsides to those three that I should be taking into account? Which of the three will have more longevity in terms of future games?

Thanks for all of your input so far

Power-Pants

I've emailed Xotic, it says the battery life is 2-3 for the Sager. How've you found the battery? Would you say that's enough of a battery life (I'm not sure how often I'll be running on battery, if anyone is a university student your input is appreciated)?

get an i7 quad core, as fast as u can afford, 2.2ghz will probably fit the price. for graphics card u need no less then a GT555m or a 6770. anything bigger then this is perfect. if ur allowed to chip in cash to get higher specs then go for it, with laptops no being upgradable. Down here in australia there is an white ASUS with an i5 dual core and blu ray, with gt555 that would fit ur price. also HP have the DV6 series with the beats audio stamp, i7 with the 6770.

I've emailed Xotic, it says the battery life is 2-3 for the Sager. How've you found the battery? Would you say that's enough of a battery life (I'm not sure how often I'll be running on battery, if anyone is a university student your input is appreciated)?

Power-Pants

get an i7 quad core, as fast as u can afford, 2.2ghz will probably fit the price. for graphics card u need no less then a GT555m or a 6770. anything bigger then this is perfect. if ur allowed to chip in cash to get higher specs then go for it, with laptops no being upgradable. Down here in australia there is an white ASUS with an i5 dual core and blu ray, with gt555 that would fit ur price. also HP have the DV6 series with the beats audio stamp, i7 with the 6770.

kungfool69

I'm not great with specs, but the fact that the Asus you mentioned is in Australia is reassuring - my parents (like most from generation X) are not comfortable with ordering expensive stuff from far away. I'll try reason with them, but they are paying so I can't guarantee anything. Also, if I went with Alienware I would have to go with Ebay or an independent seller, as the Dell store will just reroute to its overpriced NZ equivalent. Could you post a link to the Asus? Does it have the grunt to play (moderately) more recent games? What is the process to upgrade it, and how much extra might it cost?

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

get an i7 quad core, as fast as u can afford, 2.2ghz will probably fit the price. for graphics card u need no less then a GT555m or a 6770. anything bigger then this is perfect. if ur allowed to chip in cash to get higher specs then go for it, with laptops no being upgradable. Down here in australia there is an white ASUS with an i5 dual core and blu ray, with gt555 that would fit ur price. also HP have the DV6 series with the beats audio stamp, i7 with the 6770.

Power-Pants

I'm not great with specs, but the fact that the Asus you mentioned is in Australia is reassuring - my parents (like most from generation X) are not comfortable with ordering expensive stuff from far away. I'll try reason with them, but they are paying so I can't guarantee anything. Also, if I went with Alienware I would have to go with Ebay or an independent seller, as the Dell store will just reroute to its overpriced NZ equivalent. Could you post a link to the Asus? Does it have the grunt to play (moderately) more recent games? What is the process to upgrade it, and how much extra might it cost?

if ur in unzud, then go and see if ur local JB hifi has started stocking the alienware yet. u might see the asus there to. the alienware 14" we stock at my store here in aus is better for the same price then the online mode;. $1997AU in store u get 2.4ghz i7, 8 gb ram, 750gb HDD and GT555m. online u get a 2.2ghz with only 6 gb for the same price!!!!!!!! if u have a jb hifi near by, just tell em u have friends in australian JB hifi and would like a VIP deal (and say PLEASE). at the moment asus have bonus's for the sales person if they sell above minimum cost. i score $20+GP%, but GP% aint that much so its better to give u minimum sell discount to get the sale.

I'm just about to leave home to go to university, and I have been offered a birthday gift of a laptop. I've had a look at a variety online, however I'm quite new to the process so I don't know if I'm looking in the right places/for the right things. Considering I will no longer have a Playstation, or access to my home's desktop, so I'm looking for something with considerable grunt. Basically, I'd like something that:

- Will be able to play Skyrim and BF3 without struggling

- Will have a reasonable lifespan for future PC gaming

- Will also function well as a laptop, for work, DVDs, etc

- Will not have any glaring flaws (poor battery life, bad design, constant crashes)

My price cap is probably around $1200US/£740/$1120AUS (not including mouse, etc), and I'm in New Zealand, so no obscure region exclusive indie products if possible. Thanks everyone in advance for your suggestions, sorry if I've asked for something which isn't possible at that price range :D

Thanks ron and Jiggly, I'm almost on the home stretch and P4laptops looks good, Australia is a lot closer than America. The two laptops linked will be able to play BF3 and Skyrim moderately, correct? What would you imagine the W150HR's battery life to be like? Is there anything I should know about the two? On a more general note, are there any recommendations about a case for the laptop, or any other accessories? Is it worth including Office in the purchase? Kungfool: I'll ask at my JB-HiFi, however I don't think that just telling them I have a discount would suffice, would there be any way for you to email them (it's the Wellington CBD store)? However, does the Alienware compare with the two linked laptops, in terms of price vs performance?Power-Pants

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4649/mythlogic-pollux-1400-clevos-w150hr-tested/5

in the charts you can see the p151hm1 and the W150HR

I've asked P4Laptops and apparently the Metabox warranty is exclusive to Australia, which means I'll have to pay quite a lot just to ship it over to get any issues fixed. However, the website seems good for prices, etc, are there any laptops from any other brands which fit my criteria/are in my price range? I will ask which brands have an international warranty

Having browsed Bestbuy, it looks like it has the best options - it is a big brand (so parents will trust), it has good prices and its laptops will mostly have international warranties. I'm considering one of the higher end ones, like the MSI GT789-221US, perhaps something with only 8gb RAM, are there any which I should be looking at instead (don't bother if it's out of stock/over $1500US)?