[Kirby2]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new laptop(more of a DTR) for university and to replace my old desktop. I have about 3500 - 3700$ CDN to spend and I'm having trouble picking something out. Basically these are the main things want in my lappy,

17 inch glossy screen
256 meg vid card (Preferably a 6800 go/ultra)
"Fast" CPU Either a P4, AMD 64 or P-M >1.8 GHz(I would really like an AMD cpu but so far all the laptops I have found that use AMDs dont have the other options I want)

Allright those are the main things I want. Also weight, and battery life are not of the hugest concern to me as this is meant to be more of a DTR.

So far I have looked at Sager laptops, and the Alienware area-51 7700. But I dont know what I should get .

Some questions I want to ask aswell,

Are there any laptops coming out that will use the AMD-Fx or X2 processors (I read that rockdirect is coming out with a laptop that uses those, but I don't really want to buy a laptop from the U-K).

What socket do the AMD 64 (3000+ -- 3700+) processors in laptops use? (Is it 939 or 754?)

Allright that's all Thank you in advance.

*Note* Please do not suggest the Dell XPS2, I will not buy a Dell.

[yoda133113]

I hate dell as much as anyone, but you should really think about the xps2 i've heard too many really good things. The alienware should be awesome, but isn't that more than your price range. You might consider VooDoo, or Falcon-Northwest, but they are probably just as high. I don't know for sure, but I don't think you will find an FX or an X2 at all. I would actually recommend the P-M if possible it'll be a LOT cooler (and therefore quieter), plus games better than the P-4, and as good as the FX.
Good luck

[thegave]

i personally hate alienware i think their systems are overpriced and overhyped. there are a lot of alienware tech-support horror stories on the net but i think that's fairly common place when it comes to these high performance boutique notebook resellers. i would probably go with the dell xps2 because you get a good deal and the reassurance of a major brand.

if you're looking to save a few, sager is probably your best bet. it would be hard to find a better deal than sager's machines except companies like ibuypower or cyberpowerinc their machines are pretty hit and miss and you'll be on your own if something goes sideways.

[Kirby2]

Voodoo is nice but they cost so much and they don't seem to even be as good as the other high-end brands.

[Kirby2]

Ok I have narrowed my choices down to these 3. They all have allmost exactly the same config's so I'll just post one list and then make notes of what is different on each one.

Choice #1)

Aviator EX7: State of the Art 17" Desktop Replacement Notebook
Aviator EX7 in Reflexxion Series Piercing Blue Pearl
Airbrush Custom Graphics (High Detail)
3.20GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 640 (with EM64T)
Intel® 915P+ICH6 LGA-775 Mobile Motherboard (EX7)
1024MB PC4200 DDR2-533 SODIMM
Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 ULTRA PCI-Express 256MB
Built-in ATA Hardware RAID Controller
60GB 7200rpm Ultra ATA Hard Drive w/ 8MB Cache
8X DVD / 24X-10X-24 CD-R/W Combo Drive w/ Recording Software
7 in 1 Flash Media Card Reader Bay
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView™ Wide-Screen Display w/ Super Clear Glossy Surface
Built-in 4-Speaker 3D Sound System w/ 8.1 Channel S/PDIF Output
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Internal 802.11b+g 54Mbps Wireless Mini PCI Network Adapter
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD & Manual SP2 Pre-Installed & Configured
1 Year Platinum Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free Tech Support
$3,263.00 (*Note this could be brought down by about 460$ if I didnt go for the special paint and graphics. But I'm a sucker for being flashy and showing off .)

Choice 2)

Sager 9880 - $2975.00 (Same configuration minus the paint jobs, making this the most expensive notebook)

Choice 3)

Alienware area-51 7700 - $2756.00
The cheapest of the 3 BUT it doesn't come with the Em64T CPU, the screen is 1920 x 1050 instead of 1920 x 1200 but it comes with a built in camera. Also it comes with 4 speakers + subwoofer instead of 4 speakers. And I have heard alot of negative opions about alienware so I'm a little bit put off from buying an Alienware comp.

I did look at Dell and I am impressed by the XPS G2, but I can't figure out why they charge so much for ram.

So I can't decide . Help is appriciated thank you~!

[thegave]

lol i'm still gonna say stay away from the alienware. i personally would go with the hypersonic because thats what i'm using now and i've been very happy with it all along, bought oct i didn't start using it till dec last year its great and i find that I don't have many or any of the problems that other people with the sager-branded version of my laptop have.
uhm. i think those are probably all the same laptop as well.

[Kirby2]

Ok I decided to go with the hypersonic. Now I have a question about the Airbrushed Custom Graphics; can I pick whatever I want to be airbrushed on or do they only offer some "custom" graphics and I have to choose one of thiers? I'm guessing that I could just find some design and have it put on because that sounds more "custom" then having to choose from a specific list (like Voodoo's tattoos). And how big is the custom graphic, where is it located on the laptop (I'm guessing it would be on the back of the LCD) and is the 17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView™ Wide-Screen Display w/ Super Clear Glossy Surface
better than the 1920 x 1050 screen? (I know that's probably just a matter of personal taste, but whats the difference between them? Does the wide screen display mean that it's like a movie with the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen?)

[avengerm1]

I would follow the general consensus . . . Dell for sure and being in agreeance price may play a part regarding memory overall it come down to the bottom line. Tried and true. best of luck either way you go and God's speed!

avengerm1

[DarkShadow19]

I dunno which of the three... but I would stay away from Pentium 4's in notebooks, they become very hot...

I personally have a Dell XPS 2, so I would recommend it... but it's your choice.

[thegave]

Kirby you can submit any custom design/graph/tatoo you want on your laptop, afaik it does not have to be a tattoo or vinyl in the sense that it is only one colour. if you have a coloured design you want on your laptop you can email it to them in a jpg or bmp as long as its not too complicated.
or like show them something that has the design/pattern you want. again a picture thru email or whatever.

depending on how big you want the graphic to be, you can specify where you want it to be i.e. reverse side of lcd, on the lcd frame, on the wrist rest or for whatever absurd reason on the bottom.

i would go with the 1920x1200 ... thats what i'm running on my 15.4

1920x1050 sounds weird on a 17" i think you'd have trouble getting the proper resolution in some games and of course the super bright glossy coat will help you greatly when you're outside

[Kirby2]

Ok thanks for the help~! Ya the XPS is really nice but, I really dont like the case on it . I really wish these "elite" sellers would make a laptop like the XPS. A P-M with a really nice GPU like the 6800 ultra and all that other good stuff. It seems that for all these companies if you want a gaming DTR your basically stuck with the P4. Oh well basically I really wanted a CPU with 64 bit capabilities and Enhanced virus protection ( or XD in intels case). One more question, why is the Reflexxion Peircing blue pearl only 199$ and all the other colours are around 400$? And is it worth it to get the Reflexxion paint job (I have heard alot of people speak very well of it and it looks really nice on their site). Ok now I just have to figure out what I want painted on my laptop.

[thegave]

if you go to www.notebookforums.com and you go to the Sager photogallery section you'll see quite a few pictures of hypersonic branded sager laptops most of them with reflexxion paint. i think its really nice yeah i didn't get it cuz it took the price way over budget.

there are two reasons i can think of the price difference: 1)hypersonic was and may still be having a rebate or sale or discount or promo or whatever so they're making paint cheaper but they only reduced the price of blue OR 2)blue is just cheaper anyway maybe because the paint is cheap or its a popular colour etc etc