Laptop For College - Need Help

[GFXTwisty]

Hey guys! Currently I am looking for a laptop to take up to college in the fall. I am currently looking for something that will suite my needs, I would like to get something realitvily light and thin, yet still be able to play games. I'd say I would want around an i5 or if it fits an i7, and at least an 860m. I have been looking around its just hard to know what will work and what won't. Things I have been thinking about are like viewing angles, I know on my dad's laptop are just plain shit. I am mainly a desktop user and do not really know a whole lot on the portable side. I have also been thinking about like if the keyboard is actually useable if you know what I mean, not feeling like complete garbage. So my budget I would have to say somewhere in the ballpark of around $1299 usd or lower, but throw at me what you will.. Thanks a million guys!

[Jacky]

if it is for college i would recommend something light weight and thin. it is a pain carrying a heavy laptop around on campus

[clementk]

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-clevo-sager-notebooks-c-95_51_165_162.html

 

Go here and just take one of the base models that you like and the change the insides to what you need just remember that when you take smaller laptops they will not have the higher end GPU and CPU's sure you can find what you need there

[GFXTwisty]

if it is for college i would recommend something light weight and thin. it is a pain carrying a heavy laptop around on campus

I am a big man ;p

[GFXTwisty]

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-clevo-sager-notebooks-c-95_51_165_162.html

 

Go here and just take one of the base models that you like and the change the insides to what you need just remember that when you take smaller laptops they will not have the higher end GPU and CPU's sure you can find what you need there

Thanks man, I have been looking around on xotic for a while, is Sager a good brand? I was looking at some of the pics and they look like bricks.

[clementk]

I had to get a laptop to and i must say the clevo laptops are really amazing good cooling as you can see i got a massive overclock on my GPU of omost 50% and still runing stable and cool. keyboad is nice for typing and screen is really good one of the best TN i have seen and i am using IPS next to it.

[GFXTwisty]

I had to get a laptop to and i must say the clevo laptops are really amazing good cooling as you can see i got a massive overclock on my GPU of omost 50% and still runing stable and cool. keyboad is nice for typing and screen is really good one of the best TN i have seen and i am using IPS next to it.

Do you work for Clevo? haha just kidding, thanks for the suggestion, its just there is so many of them you know? it's kind hard to know what the best bang for the buck is.

[clementk]

Thanks man, I have been looking around on xotic for a while, is Sager a good brand? I was looking at some of the pics and they look like bricks.

on that site you can even get them skined as far as i know. i got mine when i was still in south Africa. but it has a ROCCAT skin and its really nice . and yes they do look more plain then normal laptops but thats also a good thing if you turn of the back light on make it white it looks professional.

[clementk]

first look at what screen size you want. 15 or 17

[GFXTwisty]

on that site you can even get them skined as far as i know. i got mine when i was still in south Africa. but it has a ROCCAT skin and its really nice . and yes they do look more plain then normal laptops but thats also a good thing if you turn of the back light on make it white it looks professional.

Yeah man, I was thinking the same thing. I would feel like a doof running around campus with a light show in my hands, yet I like the skins but since its coming out of my pocket I don't feel the need to throw something on

[clementk]

as far as i can tell i think when its a clevo Wxxxxx its a slim one and a clevo Pxxxx is a normal gaming one.

[GFXTwisty]

first look at what screen size you want. 15 or 17

Either or, I was thinking 17 but what ever works

[GFXTwisty]

as far as i can tell i think when its a clevo Wxxxxx its a slim one and a clevo Pxxxx is a normal gaming one.

ahh okay, thanks

[clementk]

good thing about that site is you dont need to get windows with it so can get it on the cheap. i got mine for $15 windows 8.1 pro

[clementk]

p150 = 15 inc(bit more compact less HDD space + MStat)

p170 = 17 inc(bit bigger can have 2 HDD's and MSata)

[clementk]

o and i would advise getting the IC diamond Thermal past if you don't want to replace it yourself i replaced my GPU thermal past and temp doped with like 15C+

[GFXTwisty]

o and i would advise getting the IC diamond Thermal past if you don't want to replace it yourself i replaced my GPU thermal past and temp doped with like 15C+

okay, thanks for this all btw, and so far I have been looking at these three, what do you think? http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8278-clevo-p170sma-eta-march-p-6984.html?wconfigure=yes       http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7378-clevo-w370ss-eta-march-p-6990.html?wconfigure=yes       http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7358-clevo-w350ss-p-6991.html?wconfigure=yes

[clementk]

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8278-clevo-p170sma-eta-march-p-6984.html?wconfigure=yes 

This if size is not a problem for you and its not that big just not a razer blade of apple air.

the other 2 are mostly the same specs.

 

so if you want something more like the razor blade more a thin laptop then go for the W but then it might get a bit hot not sure though. have not used one of the slim once. one good thing with the P range is both CPU and GPU have there own Fan 

[GFXTwisty]

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8278-clevo-p170sma-eta-march-p-6984.html?wconfigure=yes 

This if size is not a problem for you and its not that big just not a razer blade of apple air.

the other 2 are mostly the same specs.

 

so if you want something more like the razor blade more a thin laptop then go for the W but then it might get a bit hot not sure though. have not used one of the slim once. one good thing with the P range is both CPU and GPU have there own Fan 

Well I think I am going to sleep on this one, thanks a ton man. Really appreciate the help, helped me narrow it down to 2, haha we will see though!

[Scionyde]

In case you're still deciding, I recently got the Sager NP8278-S (Also from Xotic PC, they're a pretty good place to buy from). I'm pretty sure it has the same chassis as the regular NP8278 you're looking at, except mine came with a 870M by default. It's been pretty great so far, and the cooling has been pretty damn good. If you have room for it in your budget, I'd recommend configuring it with a small mSATA SSD or something for your boot drive.

 

However, one thing you should keep in mind is that this laptop does not come with an operating system by default. If/When you place the order with Xotic PC, they'll call you to confirm this before Sager starts putting your laptop together. Toward the bottom of that page, there's an option to add one. Or you could just install it yourself when you receive the laptop, if you can find a copy of Windows cheaper somewhere else. 

 

I know you said you prefer a 17 inch laptop, but keep in mind a 17 laptop is going to be pretty bulky, and weigh close to 9 pounds. There's a 15 inch model in the Sager NP8268 that is pretty similar to the NP8278, except that it has a more rubberized finish instead of the thin brushed aluminum on plastic. Also, the NP8268 only has room for one hard drive bay instead of two like on the NP8278 (not including mSATA).