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Thread: Recommendation for a new notebook

  1. #1
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    Recommendation for a new notebook

    The lovely wife's notebook is not up to snuff for WoW. She'd like a new notebook to replace the old one. I am am no longer up to date on what technologies are out there and would like board recommendations on what to look for.

    Usage is such that it need not be one of the super slim model.

    Suggestions?

    -Clay
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  2. #2
    Who is Nuts and Abbadon? [AK]StitchJones's Avatar
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    If your going to be gaming with this laptop, you want to invest in an Alienware laptop. They make a fantastic product. And since you are not really worried about size, you get get a very beefy unit for a good chunk of change that will last for a while. The MJ-12m 7700 is the top shelf model that they offer.
    You could go with the normal base model, but you will want to bump the ram up another 512mb.

    Alienware


  3. #3
    Warrior Katanas Blade's Avatar
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    Check

    I spent a while looking around for a high quality gaming laptop, while at the same time refusing to spend the extra two K that alienware and dell charges.

    I came up with Sager.

    And I purchased through PCTorque as they had some additional configuration offers (like, going without the OS, getting additional peripherals, etc.) Both Sager and PCTorque offer free lifetime tech support in addition to the warranty period of your choice/purchase.

    And the tech support through Sager is performed by the people who configure and build the laptops themselves, not some barely understandable person from India.
    Last edited by Katanas Blade; 09-05-2005 at 12:18 PM.
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  4. #4
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    I can confirm what Katanas said. I purchased a Sager notebook through PC Torque and received excellent service. I did purchase the extended warranty, which did help in the resale value when I sold it. It was a P4 3.0 Gig (Full P4, not a mobile) with 1 gig of RAM and an ATI 9000 mobile. At the time, it played most games without any problems.. although it was for my wife, so it didn't see a whole lot beyond the Sims.
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  5. #5
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    Thank you gents. If you go here...

    http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/web_specials.html

    I'm seriously thinking about the third one, which at the time of this posting, is the NP4750. It has an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 card (128 MB). Any loud warning alarms klanking on that choice?
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  6. #6
    Lurking Moar Slaughter's Avatar
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    Stay away from Alienware unless you're getting 3 year extended warranty.
    lol, <3

    Retired EQ, WoW Player.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by [AK]Clay
    Thank you gents. If you go here...

    http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/web_specials.html

    I'm seriously thinking about the third one, which at the time of this posting, is the NP4750. It has an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 card (128 MB). Any loud warning alarms klanking on that choice?
    Just be aware that these are desktop replacements. They are big, heavy, and hot. But they rock.
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    Doesn't Sager actually make Dell's laptops?
    [AK]Abaddon


  9. #9
    Token Commie [AK]Sonic Boom's Avatar
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    Not only that, but I'm virtually certain that Sager manufactured Alienware's laptops as recently as three years ago.

    I wouldn't stake my life on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Alienware's stuff is still made by Sager.

    When I looked into it a couple years ago, the only difference between what Sager offered directly and what you could get from Alienware was the neat-o pearlescent paint schemes.
    Hasta,
    Boom

  10. #10
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    That's what I thought. Glad someone else remembered it too.
    [AK]Abaddon


  11. #11
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    Yes... Sager makes/made many models of Dell and Alienware.
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  12. #12
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    Thank you gentlemen for your advice. I went with a Sager, P4 3.0 GHz, Widescreen monitor, 1GB of ram and ATI Radion X800, w/ 256MB of Ram. This thing is nothing short of amazing. It completly blows away my desktop in capabilities. We maxed out the WoW resolution to 1900X1000 (I think it was that - the highest) with everything turned on. Smooth and silk in WoW. I ended up droping down to 1200X, just because everything was so small, it was tough to see.

    The screen resolution is also 1900X1000. It looks really sharp, and now my desktop monitor on that PC looks pretty humble. But again, things are so small to see, I may need to adjust this somehow!

    And yes, this notebook is Big, Heavy, and very very hot. I've never seen a notebook with 4 casefans built into it before. This thing runs WARM - which should be rather handy in the wintertime.

    Biggest dissappointment - this is the wife's computer - not mine! Ack!!
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  13. #13
    Lurking Moar Slaughter's Avatar
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    Its ok Clay, ask for one from Nuts for christmas.
    lol, <3

    Retired EQ, WoW Player.

  14. #14
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    Oh crap.

    The notebook was 100% reliable.

    however, last night, after playing for several hours without a hitch - something goes very wrong. Not sure what changed, but now the notebook locks-up in WoW very badly. Even in the sign-in screen, you can tell something's not right. There's random noise/flicker in the sign-in screen, and it's much worse in-game. In-game play-time is 20 seconds or less before serious system lock-up.

    Why would something like this just, -BING-, happen? Nothing was installed or changed.

    Virus?

    Component burnout?

    Other suggestions?

    And yes, it's an ATI video card in the notebook.

    -Clay
    [insert signature text here]

  15. #15
    Lurking Moar Slaughter's Avatar
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    Try defragging. If that doesn't help you may try calling Tech Support.
    lol, <3

    Retired EQ, WoW Player.

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