26 replies to this topic

[skytiger]

Can anyone recommend a reliable laptop with twin hard drives and a DX11 gpu ?

I bought an ASUS G75 (perfect spec for me) but it arrived in a terrible state - had to send it back.

I want Apple quality but with good spec.

(I will rely on this machine to earn a living)

[zer0wolf]

http://sagernotebook.com/

They're very reasonably priced and very high quality. My wife recently got this model and LOVES it -

http://sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP6165

[tstrimple]

http://sagernotebook.com/

They're very reasonably priced and very high quality. My wife recently got this model and LOVES it -

http://sagernotebook...del_name=NP6165

What he said. Excellent quality, very powerful, especially for the price.

[mdwh]

I've just ordered from http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk who sell Clevo laptops - I can't give any opinion on the reliability or state it arrives in until it comes, but you could still browse the forums they have there and see what they are saying (though I think it's hard to judge companies such as ASUS versus Apple on single anecdotes - e.g., on the flip side I know plenty of people with the lower spec Asus notebooks that work fine for them, and I've seen Apple notebooks crash. YMMV).

Edited by mdwh, 13 June 2012 - 08:13 AM.

[Dwarf King]

Try an Alien Ware they have some nice specs too.

[tstrimple]

Try an Alien Ware they have some nice specs too.

[way2lazy2care]

Try an Alien Ware they have some nice specs too.

They have nice specs, they are just really expensive

[BeanDog]

I have a Sager notebook. It's fast, reliable, easily serviceable, etc. But it's very bulky.

[Bregma]

I want Apple quality but with good spec.

(I will rely on this machine to earn a living)

I work for a company where pretty much all emplyees rely on their laptops to earn a living, and we all travel quite a bit. Most are software developers and require high-spec machines. When I attend a corporate function, I look around, and what I see a lot of is Lenovos and Apples. Thos brands are chosen because they're powerful and robust, come with extended manufacturer's warrantees, and are basically the best vaue for the money spent.

I do see some other brands, especially Dells and Acers, but not a lot. I suspect they just don't put up with the physical rigours of constant use.

[way2lazy2care]

I work for a company where pretty much all emplyees rely on their laptops to earn a living, and we all travel quite a bit. Most are software developers and require high-spec machines. When I attend a corporate function, I look around, and what I see a lot of is Lenovos and Apples. Thos brands are chosen because they're powerful and robust, come with extended manufacturer's warrantees, and are basically the best vaue for the money spent.

I have a lenovo and it's pretty solid. The one thing I'd mention is that they are very much designed for professionals and don't necessarily have the style that some other computers have, but the trade off is that while they might not look the flashiest they're incredibly practical. Mine, for example, has a removable DvD drive that can be replaced with an extra battery in under 10 seconds for an extra 4-8 hours of battery life.

I will say that Sony Vaio laptops seem really nice on paper. My mom has one of those, and I couldn't really find fault with it when I was helping her pick it out/playing with it, but I don't have any extended experience with it.

[Dwarf King]

Try an Alien Ware they have some nice specs too.

They have nice specs, they are just really expensive

Hey what do you complain about? In US they are halve price compared to Scandinavia

[zer0wolf]

Well, cause with a company like sager notebook you'll pay considerably less (like, easily a third less) than for an Alienware will no bloat software.

[Sirisian]

In case it isn't obvious Sager just sells Clevo. Sager is just one of many retailers so you can find a local shop that sells identical computers. I bought my clevo 17" from malibal.com for instance. Most Clevo retailers have awesome prices and customizations. Like xoticpc is another. There are so many. Basically the retailers manage warranties and such. Some even allow free upgrades (new screens etc) if you pay the difference during the warranty period.

Wait a few days and buy the Radeon HD 7970M. It's a bit ridiculous.

Edited by Sirisian, 13 June 2012 - 07:43 PM.

[mdwh]

I work for a company where pretty much all emplyees rely on their laptops to earn a living, and we all travel quite a bit. Most are software developers and require high-spec machines. When I attend a corporate function, I look around, and what I see a lot of is Lenovos and Apples. Thos brands are chosen because they're powerful and robust, come with extended manufacturer's warrantees, and are basically the best vaue for the money spent.

I do see some other brands, especially Dells and Acers, but not a lot. I suspect they just don't put up with the physical rigours of constant use.

As I say, anecdotes don't tell a lot. I've seen no trouble with Dells either, and I see Apple PCs less often in business (the latter are more noticable, because of the big light up logos everywhere!). If one wants to know the popularity of PC brand names in business, this is probably better done by looking up the actual stats. Many PC brands fit the bill of being powerful (it's all the same technology underneath), extended warranties, being robust, and being good value, just as well as those two. But then any of this is probably irrelevant to the OP, who also wants high spec

Edited by mdwh, 14 June 2012 - 07:52 AM.

[shurcool]

Why not the new MacBook Pro? Good specs and Apple quality.

[way2lazy2care]

Vizio just announced two laptops for ~$800 that look great on paper. They look solid, but no idea how they actually perform.

[skytiger]

I bought an Alienware M17x with GTX660M

google for discount coupons - they really work and you can combine them
I managed 17% off but I have seen 25% off

For my 3D / gamedev work this machine is a dream come true - even after 30 minutes rendering with 8 cores at 100% it is quiet and cool

It can drive 4x 1080p displays and has 2 hard drives

(Case and keyboard could be better and glossy screen is annoying)

[tstrimple]

I bought an Alienware M17x with GTX660M

google for discount coupons - they really work and you can combine them
I managed 17% off but I have seen 25% off

For my 3D / gamedev work this machine is a dream come true - even after 30 minutes rendering with 8 cores at 100% it is quiet and cool

It can drive 4x 1080p displays and has 2 hard drives

(Case and keyboard could be better and glossy screen is annoying)

That's not a laptop, it's a mobile desktop

[SymLinked]

I've had a few different brands so far, one Lenovo, one Acer Ferrari and a ASUS G74SX.

The Lenovo never had any issues, but wasn't as high-spec as the Ferrari I had. The Ferrari did make me never look at Acer again though, those computers were total trash. They always overheated and had very short battery life.

When I bought this G74SX I was afraid I'd go into the same trap as with the Ferrari, but after 6 months I'm still very satisfied. It's so fast I rarely even boot up my workstation anymore. There are some minor issues with BIOS updates and the speakers, and the keyboard takes a good while to get used to typing on. But it never gets warm, which is a huge plus for me.

[Ravyne]

For professional use, I recommend Lenovo.

I just purchased a W530 configured with (15.6") 1080p screen, 2.6ghz (3.6Ghz turbo) quad-core i7, and nVidia Quadro K2000m. I added a 256GB SSD and maxed out the RAM at 32GB. I also ordered the extra sheet battery and their best docking station, and all told, including the aftermarket RAM and SSD, paid around $1700 on sale (also got an employer discount, but that only accounted for just over $100). I could have bumped the processor another couple speed grades (for exorbitant prices) but other than that, you just can't get a more powerful laptop in a sub-17" chassis.

Depending how frequently you move between a fixed location (i.e. your desk) and needing to be mobile, having the ability to quickly snap into a dock is really nice. Sure, you can just plug in the 5 or so wires (keyboard, mouse, network, display, power) each time you need, but that's quickly annoying, especially if they fall behind your desk. All I have to do is snap my laptop into its dock and I've instantly got power, network, keyboard, mouse, 3 displays and some other USB devices. That just can't be beaten.

I've also owned a MacBook pro, and they're really nice too. Excellent build quality, and the best trackpad of any device hands-down (in fact, I prefer it over mouse most of the time, not so much with the Lenovo).