Moderator angerthosenear Posted May 20, 2013 Moderator Share Posted May 20, 2013 As the title suggests:If money was no concern, what make/model laptop would you purchase and why?Unlocked BIOS?Great cooling?OC potential?Easily up-gradable?Port connectivity?Nice display?etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Brian Posted May 20, 2013 Founder Share Posted May 20, 2013 Alienware M18x with 780M SLI and haswell CPU. Clevo will have competitors with similar performance but AW is my preferred brand. As for why in detail:1. Bios allows OC2. Easier upgrade path for future GPU vs competitors like Clevo/MSI/Asus3. Next day at home warranty service.4. 18" display5. Metal build6. Nice design + alienfX lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khenglish Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I'd stick with this laptop. Clevos most certainly have their issues, which are annoying, but I am a nerd and I waste my time on this stuff as a hobby anyway. Unfortunately significant modding is required to make cooling competitive with top AW laptops, but it's doable. Only MSI makes a 15inch laptop that can also use the top end cards, but while it can be made acceptable, MSI laptops just seem to have a bit underpowered cooling. I need to take a laptop into school almost every day, and I am not aware of any 15 inch that has the power and modability of this laptop. 17inch just seems a bit too big to me, and I see no reason for the jump when the screen resolutions are the same anyway. Nvidia doesn't allow optimus on SLI laptops for some reason, so the battery life is horrid. My favorite is that clevo provides complete voltage regulation schematics. For a nerd like me that provides endless possibilities. I need to practice heat gun skills on this dead 580 I have As for what I would like to see, I would love a metal chassis. My last laptop had one and it just made the laptop so much more durable and just feel high quality. No one makes them though for high end non-business laptops. Some people might not call it a laptop, but a P570WM would certainly be interesting to mess around with. Update: found out that the m18x does in fact have a metal chassis. I'm jealous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator angerthosenear Posted May 21, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted May 21, 2013 Some people might not call it a laptop*pulls out Dell M2010* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khenglish Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 *pulls out Dell M2010*I don't think anyone besides dell calls that a laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator angerthosenear Posted May 21, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted May 21, 2013 I had one apart the other day. You can fit a micro ITX mobo in there. And with something like this:picoPSU-160-XT, 160watt (200watt peak) , 12V input DC-DC ATX Power SupplyOpenUPSYou can make the the desktop it always wanted to be. Just hookup some LiPo batteries (or use the giant one it already has).tbh, I'm actually trying to figure how to build something both with a desktop CPU and desktop GPU while still fitting the laptop category (not the Dell version of the laptop category). The only thing I cannot figure out is how to adequately power a desktop GPU off batteries. A good GPU I should say (laptop with a Titan let's go!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Well the new Clevo P370SM3 120Hz/3D seems tempting. As I mostly work on my systems the integrated Thunderbolt port comes in handy to capture multiple 3D streams loss-less etc...I would combine it with 2x K6000M and and a nice XM CPU and tweak the BIOS and cooling myself.But as Khenglish said I really enjoy maxing my P170HM3 and hacking the sh.. out of it, I think next year will bring us the real perf. boost for CPU and GPU.To sum it up I feel content and no urge to get a new system this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Brian Posted May 21, 2013 Founder Share Posted May 21, 2013 I'd stick with this laptop. Clevos most certainly have their issues, which are annoying, but I am a nerd and I waste my time on this stuff as a hobby anyway. Unfortunately significant modding is required to make cooling competitive with top AW laptops, but it's doable. Only MSI makes a 15inch laptop that can also use the top end cards, but while it can be made acceptable, MSI laptops just seem to have a bit underpowered cooling. I need to take a laptop into school almost every day, and I am not aware of any 15 inch that has the power and modability of this laptop. 17inch just seems a bit too big to me, and I see no reason for the jump when the screen resolutions are the same anyway. Nvidia doesn't allow optimus on SLI laptops for some reason, so the battery life is horrid. My favorite is that clevo provides complete voltage regulation schematics. For a nerd like me that provides endless possibilities. I need to practice heat gun skills on this dead 580 I have As for what I would like to see, I would love a metal chassis. My last laptop had one and it just made the laptop so much more durable and just feel high quality. No one makes them though for high end non-business laptops. Some people might not call it a laptop, but a P570WM would certainly be interesting to mess around with. Update: found out that the m18x does in fact have a metal chassis. I'm jealous About the part in bold: Alienware has manual switching in M18x so it gets about 4-5 hours of battery life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator angerthosenear Posted May 21, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted May 21, 2013 Well the new Clevo P370SM3 120Hz/3D seems tempting. As I mostly work on my systems the integrated Thunderbolt port comes in handy to capture multiple 3D streams loss-less etc...I would combine it with 2x K6000M and and a nice XM CPU and tweak the BIOS and cooling myself.But as Khenglish said I really enjoy maxing my P170HM3 and hacking the sh.. out of it, I think next year will bring us the real perf. boost for CPU and GPU.To sum it up I feel content and no urge to get a new system this year.How about for the less BIOS modding inclined (read: me). How good is the stock BIOS?Thunderbolt would be awesome to have, especially if I could get my hands on a TH05 adapter (Thunderbolt to PCIe adapter for eGPU). The physical side of modding is appealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khenglish Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 How about for the less BIOS modding inclined (read: me). How good is the stock BIOS?Thunderbolt would be awesome to have, especially if I could get my hands on a TH05 adapter (Thunderbolt to PCIe adapter for eGPU). The physical side of modding is appealing.Stock BIOS is bad. BIOS is most certainly a resounding win for the AW camp. Even when running a modded BIOS I still have bugs like my BIOS refuses to load ES microcode updates, and the GPU fan will sometimes stick on at low speed even when the 680m is off and below 30C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gschneider Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 M18x R2, mostly because its massive and 2x680m's! Plus for a gaming laptop I wanted something to replace my desktop this does it nicely 18" screen and also massive power with only one annoyance and the lack of optimus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PainIs4ThaWeak Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 One of the current Clevo 3xx series is what I'd probably end up with. (2x MXM 3b slots, accommodates 3 or 4 (can't remember) HDDs/SSDs, and it isn't too gaudy looking imho)Been using a Clevo W860CU for a few years now. I've realized they (Clevo's in general) are extremely upgrade friendly, albeit "chincy" in some areas. (I guess you could say I'm willing to make some sacrifices in the name of performance vs. cost) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitzuki Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 It would Have to be the New AW 18 SLi 780 4930 mx ectThis Is my first AW but I am blown away by the detail and how much info are on these things by the users Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tranxendz Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 ChromeBook Pixel: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromebook_pixel_wifi, Just for the novelty of it. There's a lot of cheap ChromeBooks floating around. I'm curious about what a high end ChromeBook can do. I wonder how many Google actually sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxoa Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Any laptop with a 780M, i7, 1080p IPS screen, full keyboard, and good cooling all packed into a 15" or 14" form factor and around 5.5 lbs or less.It's something that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stranger Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 any laptop with weight no more than 1,5 kg and with i7 and graphics not less than nvidia 650m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitzuki Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Ips would be important but 15 inch sli would be killer for 780s I would but a couple for portability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenpachi Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Alienware 18 Buy whatever you can affor right now and then ugprade (CPU, GPU, RAM, Hard Drive). All parts are fully upgradable and at least you get USB 3.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gte344y Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 My vote goes to Dell M2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widezu69 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Razer Blade 14 and a Alienware 14 plus some tools. Crack open both display assemblies, take the IPS display from the AW 14 and put it into the RzB 14, repaste, etc. My perfect road warrior made. Going the route of desktop replacement - I'm not the biggest fan of dual GPUs so actually it would be the M17x R3 with modded bios, 2920xm/2960xm, and Quadro K5100m (not 780m because of compatibility issues with audio) plus WiHD. 3D version because the display used in the non-lightboost 120Hz display has the best overall RGB coverage and the Sandy Bridge Mobo is the last of the Alienware laptops to have WiHD no matter what GPU you have. This would serve as my workstation and server. Finally, the gaming laptop...the one in my sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTWingNut Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I would design my own.Sent from my G2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin_Zombie Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I would design my own.Sent from my G2THIS. I would keep trying and wasting money till I come up with the perfect one. Heck, I would BUY one of the big companies to do the work for me:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneofthem Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 If you like notebook that behaves like a desktop, try Sager NP9570:custom gaming laptops - Welcome to Sager Notebooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
declan Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Razer Blade 14 and a Alienware 14 plus some tools. Crack open both display assemblies, take the IPS display from the AW 14 and put it into the RzB 14, repaste, etc. My perfect road warrior made.Going the route of desktop replacement - I'm not the biggest fan of dual GPUs so actually it would be the M17x R3 with modded bios, 2920xm/2960xm, and Quadro K5100m (not 780m because of compatibility issues with audio) plus WiHD. 3D version because the display used in the non-lightboost 120Hz display has the best overall RGB coverage and the Sandy Bridge Mobo is the last of the Alienware laptops to have WiHD no matter what GPU you have. This would serve as my workstation and server. Finally, the gaming laptop...the one in my sig For me it would have to be the Dell M6700 OR M6800 with k5000m+ card. And if money is not an issue you can just pay someone to carry it for you as it weights a ton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navlasop Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 In that case I'd not get a laptop but a desktop with quad sli watercooled everything, dual CPU's and and *foams at mouth and falls over*Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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