I knew I shouldn't have responded to the "What's your rig?" thread this morning (http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/whats_your_rig). Apparently it jinxed me and my trusty laptop is no longer trusty. GPU died on boot this morning, first giving artifacts, then making it completely unreadable, after that it gave no output whatsoever, it decided to work an hour ago, and now it just crapped out again. I think it's living on borrowed time, and besides, the screen itself has a bad section that I've lived with for a few months now.

So far, I've looked at Sager/Clevo, HP, MSI, Gateway, Toshiba, Lenovo, Sony, and Dell. Sager and Dell let me configure what I'd like to have, and Asus has a pre-config model that fits the bill:

Core i7, 2nd gen
17"+ @ 1920 x 1xxx
At least one USB 3.0 (for future stuff)
HDMI out
Discrete GPU. If I can swing a GeForce GTX, that will be ideal but it will likely be a lowly GT.
Extendable warranty (this is a work machine, primarily)

I'll be using it for:
- GOGs, of course
- and oh yeah, work. Word processing, e-mail, and web for the most part. No design work or video compiling. I'm over-spec'ing it for those tasks because I tend to make my PCs last, aiming for 4-6 years.

Any brands here in the US that I'm missing and should consider?

You can configure Lenovos as well. I did that for my new one, which should arrive latter this week or early next week.

I had a Sony and liked it, but it died due in large part to heat. I've seen that happen to HP laptops as well. Supposedly, Toshiba often times has issues with heat as well. Doesn't necessarily mean that you should avoid those laptops, but it is something you want to check for if at all possible and definitely get an extended warranty regardless of which you pick.

I've had relatively good luck with my Asus Netbook, just make sure you don't get one with any unfortunate design decions. My eee PC 900 suffers from a hardware defect which prevents it from powering down it's USB ports. Things like that will turn up pretty quickly so check up on it first. But, other than that, it's perfectly good hardware, just not for gaming.

I've always liked the Clevo's but mainly because they actually offer an optical audio out which most other companies have decided to drop. In fact I have the money set aside for when they refresh the x7200 with Sandybridge processors. :D

My Asus has been working like a charm, has played every GOG game I've tried on it so far (including The Witcher on highest settings).

It's the G73. Perfect for everything I use it for, which is pretty much everything you say you want to use it for.

Yeah, that G73 is on my shortlist. The only problem I see is that it's huge compared to the rest of the 17" field - a full inch larger in length and width, and also a bit taller. That means finding a different wheeled lappy bag. I may still jump on it since it'll get me a GTX GPU, it's available for immediate shipping, and the price is right in line with the Dell and Sager / Clevo with GT GPUs. Also, those other two won't ship for at least a week after ordering, and I do need it for work fairly quickly.

Edit: Hmm, looks like the local Best Buy has one in stock to check out. Guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow morning...

That is the rub. The thing's a beast.

Got an Asus g60vx. Has 2ghz core 2 duo with a geforce 260m. Battery life sucks though. Not really portable, more like a desktop replacement. Now I wish I had gotten something smaller.

I'm looking to get an HP dm1z. It has 6 hours of battery life and has an AMD Fusion processor so it can play most games (But not the most graphically intensive). It's small but has a 10" 1366x768 screen. (I'm getting it for the keyboard too because I like to write science fiction.) It should work with most GOG games. It's a cross between a netbook and an ultraportable. HD is upgradeable and it has Win 7 Home Premium.

The best small gaming laptop I've ever seen is the Alienware m11x. Costs $1000. If you have the money, that is the one to get. Those 17" laptops are not portable, at all.

You're not going to be playing recent games on it. And probably not ones from much past 2000 on it. The hardware is largely the same as the Lenovo x120e, that I'm getting, which also isn't likely to handle recent games very well.

I'd definitely make sure to get the Zacate E-350, which is clocked in at 1.6ghz with a dual core. There is a single core option, but I'd go dual core.

The problem though is that the graphics card would be an AMD Radeon HD 6310 which I doubt would be very good for gaming.

EDIT: OK, that's probably a bit of an exaggeration.

Oh, 17s are plenty portable for me. : D It either sits on my desk or goes in a wheeled bag. The big size and weight is okay since I don't use it like, say, a student or commuter might. Battery life isn't a concern, either, since it lives plugged-in almost all the time, either at home or at a hotel. Really, it's a semi-portable desktop replacement.

Another recommend me a laptop thread? Don't we have like 4 of these?

Not trying to be mean just pointing this out.

Everyone's requirements are different, and the laptop marketplace changes pretty fast.

Yes, but why not a general "I'm looking for x system" thread that anyone can use?

Because...

Everyone's requirements are different, and the laptop marketplace changes pretty fast.

<sigh>

They could post their requirements then, and ask for replies in PM or in-thread.

Back to the original topic. Here's what I'm looking at:

Dell XPS 17
Core i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-Bit
17.3" FHD (1080p)
6GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus
Upgraded battery - not that I need it but the CPU and GPU choices require it. No biggie.
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive. The chassis has room for a 2nd drive, so I'll pull the existing one from my laptop
3 Year Warranty, in-home service
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 and Bluetooth 3.0
Media card reader
Ports: 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4, audio jacks, Gigabit LAN, mini DisplayPort

This rings in, after $500 worth of online coupons, at a bit under $1,200.

A couple options I'm considering and could use some feedback:

8 GB RAM from the 6 GB I have on their now. $60 upgrade
4 GB RAM. $60 downgrade now and maybe upgrade to 8 GB later if desired.
Blu-ray reader / DVD writer, up from the DVD writer. $100 upgrade.

What do you folks think about those? I'm guessing that 6 GB RAM comes from one 4 GB and one 2 GB stick, which doesn't work as well as two identical sticks that one would get with 4 and 8 GB, right?

For what it's worth, the Sager 5175 can be configured near identically, at about the same price. An 8GB upgrade is $70 there, and Blu-Ray is an $80 upgrade, and making those two choices puts them within $30 of each other.

Which is EXACTLY what I did.

Please stop derailing this thread. Please. It will go away on its own after a couple days of inactivity and will no longer be around to offend anyone's sensibilities.