Any recommendations on which company to buy my custom gaming laptop from?

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Dew itt right

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I'm getting ready to by a P150HM-based gaming laptop from a custom builder and I've been looking mostly at AVADirect, Xotic PC, and Eurocom. Anybody have any thoughts on these or any other custom builders?
 
Gaming and laptop shouldn't be used in the same sentence IMHO. :p

There is soooo much more to be had with non-laptop hardware when it comes to gaming rig options... some of which are quite portable. Not saying there aren't laptops out there that are very capable, just that the small keyboard/screen and problem of heat dissipation makes a laptop a really poor tool/choice when it comes to gaming.
 
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XoticPC. I've had three laptops from them (including a p150hm) and have nothing but good things to say.

Eurocom is both overpriced and feedback I've seen is their service is sub-standard.

Not sure about AVADirect, but they're located in my hometown so they can't be all bad :)

Regarding the previous post, there are real advantages to gaming on a laptop not limited to portability. Less power usage, smaller self-contained footprint etc. But you likely already know this if you're considering a p150hm.
 
Thanks guys - Yeah I'm in Massillon, OH (near Canton) so AVA Direct isn't too far from me either!

I'm well aware of the advantages/disadvantages of gaming on a laptop vs desktop. The problem is that this laptop will be our main home PC and docked on an office shelf plugged into a 24" monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. We basically use it just like a desktop with the exception that we travel quite a bit and like to be able to take it with us.

I know what you're thinking - just build a gaming desktop and buy a cheap portable lappy for travel. I would do this except that my wife wants to have a single machine so when she's using the laptop on the road, all of the programs, favorites, settings, etc. are just like they are when she's at home.

My absolute ideal solution - an external graphics solution that really WORKS! I only game at home when docked so if they came out with a USB 3.0 or better ViDock that didn't bottleneck then I'd jump at the chance to pair that up with an Ultrabook and call it a day. The I could have gaming at home and and ultra-light laptop on the road all in the same machine.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Gaming and laptop shouldn't be used in the same sentence IMHO. :p

There is soooo much more to be had with non-laptop hardware when it comes to gaming rig options... some of which are quite portable. Not saying there aren't laptops out there that are very capable, just that the small keyboard/screen and problem of heat dissipation makes a laptop a really poor tool/choice when it comes to gaming.
Click to expand...

Not quite the answer he was digging for I think. :p

I recommend Xotic PC as I just purchased my same laptop from them not more than 3 weeks ago.

I can run BF3 on my P150HM/Sager NP8150 on high settings 1080p and get 50-60fps avg on 64player maps. These little laptops absolutely fly especially when you use premium GPU like 6990m. I am absolutely dumbfounded by the power Clevo was able to pack into a 15.6" notebook pc with a premium 580m/6990m installed. Make sure you get the right WiFI card installed. Intel 6300 has 3 ant for 3 channel wifi but no blue tooth, and the 6230 has 2 ant with built in blue tooth. I opted for the 6230 as it has bluetooth and has a built in keyboard function key to use it. If you get the 6300 ultimate N, and I think the Bigfoot or whatever it is called you will have a useless bluetooth light and combo key on the keyboard plus you will have to populate a USB port for a BT dongle and not to mention even if you had 3 channel wifi you will NEVER max out 300mbps. Just use the integrated GIG/e lan port for huge transfers as I do.

Get the extended warranty. And I strongly urge you to find a way to afford the AUO 95% NTSC Gamut 1080p A-Grade Display. It is absolutely stunning. The difference in Version 4 (matte) and Version 7 (glossy) is about it.

Lastly on this platform if you have the hard drive installed in the main bay as well as a secondary hard drive installed in the optical bay both ports will revert to SATA 2 speeds. If you poplulate the ODD bay with a ODD of your choice and a HDD in the primary the ODD will be 2 and the HDD will be 3. That really matters more if you are absolutely concerned with maximum SSD performance in the primary bay. These are things that are not shared on these websites where you purchase them. But who cares these little machines are sick.

I will post a cinebench score as well maybe a Vantage score later when I get a chance. You will be impressed with the power of a stock clock 2670QM quad core @ 45watt TDP.

Good luck.
 
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Wow - thanks for the awesome info tangoseal. If I get a gaming laptop I'll be getting the exact configuration you described here.

Seeing the MSI GUS II with Thunderbolt at CES 2012, I'm definitely thinking of waiting until Q2 or Q3 to grab an Ivy Bridge ultrabook with Thunderbolt support. WIth the MSI GUS II and Thunderbolt support widening this year, I'm really hoping for an external graphics solution with it's own power adapter that can house a GTX 560 Ti or better card. That way I can have my gaming at home and a super light laptop when I travel. We'll see how things shake out. If it turns out I don't have the patience to wait then I'll be the proud owner of a P150HM...
 
Malibal is another option with a fairly good reputation and their prices should be lower than Xotic's.

I went through this debate a month ago and eventually just got a new desktop rig, but I think eGPU might be a better longterm solution for you. Right now you're basically limited to an Expresscard slot but like you said, this is the year of Thunderbolt and I would be amazed if someone didn't come up with a solution for it. Then you might be able to get 8x or at the worst 4x speeds, which is still significantly better than the best mobile GPUs.
 
i've been looking into these re-sellers recently on nbr forums and resellerrattings etc and i think i'll be ordering from xoticpc.

the other companies seem really decent too and very active on the forums although i was concerned why malibal doesn't participate on resellerratings and powernotebooks was very appealing but didnt offer a few options i wanted.

other resellers who seem to have good reputations are mythlogic and lpc-digital
 
I also recomend gentechpc, ken is a real great guy to deal with, I just got NP8130 for my brother for christmas really amazing laptop for the money.

Ill be preordering 2 more laptops from gentech once ivy bridge and and new nvidia gpu shows
 
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