Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sarangme]

I'm approaching the end of making my decision about a new laptop. I just wanted to get some more feedback from people in the know before making my final decision.

My usage: Beyond normal usage, I like to game. I wouldn't call myself a "hardcore gamer" so much as a gamer trying to "stay in the game" as long as possible without upgrades other than RAM. As an example, I bought a PIII-733Mhz system in 2000 with a 64M GeForce card. It basically lasted until early 2003 when Call of Duty came out. The only thing I had to do until then was fully beef the RAM to 256.

During that time, I was basically satisfied with the medium-level graphics settings.

My Budget: $1500 ideally, willing to stretch to $2000 if it extends usage before the system becomes obsolete.

Here's what I'm looking at now:
(1st in the list)
http://www.discountlaptops.com/index.php?section=catagory&include_type=gaminglaptop

In particular, I want the NP5320-V version.

I recently spent hours roaming T-Mart pricing systems.

My findings:

-systems like the Dell Inspiron 9300 and the HP zd8000 are available in Korea

-after days of focused reading about 17" laps, I simply didn't like them. They are HUGE. Mind you, I'm not that concerned about taking my computer to the park to write poetry, but I will be moving a lot in the next 2 years (such that I don't want to buy a desktop and have to pick up a Monitor and Keyboard every time I pull up stakes), and battery life is bad.
I'll be gaming stationary, word-processing and surfing/downloading on the go. As of now, I'd prefer a 15".

-256 Meg Graphics cards (For Laptops) do not appear to exist here. It was hard to find 128's. I suppose that's due to demand. However, when pricing systems, this is a major consideration.

-I went in shopping Dell and HP (hard to find other than HP-Compaq's). I left thinking Averatec and ASUS. Nicest 17" was the Sony Vaio, but the guy said he couldn't provide a licensed English OS. The ASUS seemed the best, but at 1.59 Mill for a 1.7 CPU and 512 megs and a 64/128meg GP, the Sager import seems to be the best investment (for the discussion, let's say import costs are not relevant). Telling people I was looking for a gaming laptop, I was most frequently pointed toward the ASUS. Seemed nice, but not the GP I wanted. 2-year global warranty, though.

-Samsungs are expensive for what they have. Is that due to local brand loyalty? Samsungs are the most abundant.

-Toshiba Qosmios abound, used and new, but are out of my price range.

-No language skills involved. I had to depend on English-speaking customer service. Perhaps someone with Korean skills could have found better.

So, that's it. Didn't shop Yongsan.

I'm looking at importing the Sager. What do you think?

Lingering questions:

Do I really need a 256 GP?
Will it help extend my gaming life?
Or is it more for the hardcore "I want the best now" types?
In other words, which matters more? My AGP or my CPU?

Are there others who can beat this price shopping locally?
Internationally?


Any thoughts on getting the AMD systems?

Thanks to all for any input.

[elric]

You don't know anything about gaming or laptops. Just stick to non-laptops. For the price of 1 top-end gaming laptop you could buy 2 decent gaming PCs. Why would you want to carry around a 10 pound gaming laptop that is going to sound like a vaccuum cleaner.

[Wrench]

Its a good lappy and it will be upgradable I heard they have the 7800gtx available for it so it will spank most desktops but if your on a smaller budget I recommand the Dell 9300 inspiron with the 6800.

Otherwise stay with a dekstop. I bought my lappy for work and gaming it only has a 6600 in it but it plays most games quite well and overall its not big or heavy so I lug it to work every day.

[sarangme]

I was flying my colors in terms of knowledge.

Elric, I'm not really interested in your assessment of my knowledge.

What I know is that I will be moving a lot over the next 2 years without a definite source of monitors.

In other words, I know my situation better than you.

Thanks for your input, but it's not particularly helpful.

My question: should I buy this lap or another?

To indulge: what exactly do I "not know" about gaming laptops?

Your advice would be appreciated. Not condescension.

[jazblanc77]

[sarangme]

Thanks jaz,

Does that mean you'd endorse the P4 hyper threading models in terms of extending use?

It's kind of weight and heat vs. the opposite, right?

Would you buy something here or import?

[jazblanc77]

In terms of commercial laptops that you would be able to find in Korea, nothing will come even close to the Sager line. In fact, if you buy a DELL or HP/Compaq type laptop, do your research well because they often throw a lot of crappy parts into their pre-built systems to keep the cost down and make room for the cost of their logo.

It doesn't sound like you are going to be a true portable user (it's the same deal with me), so, I wouldn't really worry about the weight or size of one of these laptops. Heat will be an issue with any powerful laptop but, at least in the laptops above that implement the Intel 900 series. The heat will be reduced a bit since they are Centrino chipsets and are designed for the heat issues of laptops, unlike the many chipsets that are actually miniaturised P4 chipsets. Anyways, the Sager laptops have a well designed shell with lots of fans so, heat dissipation should go along pretty well, especially if you pick up a 30,000 won cooling pad to stick under the whole setup (not a bad idea regardless of how well it cools... anyone laptop owner in Korea will tell you about how the summers here wreak havoc on keeping a system running cool).

In the end, the major issue is going to be along the lines of how much money you have to spend. miniaturised laptop components are NOT cheap so expect to pay close to double what you would on an equivalent desktop system AND count on the components to sometimes be a generation behind desktop components.

The Sager line of laptops includes a lot of really good stuff. I was really pleased to see them coming out with Geforce 7800GTX sound cards in their systems as this is right on par with the desktop gaming systems right now.

Yes, I would endorse a CPU with Hyper-Threading. Dual-core isn't going to be affordable in a laptop for a while but, there isn't much need for it at this point anyways (if you are interested in upgrading to dual-core later on, the D900H body will eventually accept a dual AMD chip), since there isn't a lot of software out there that supports it anyways. Hyper-Threading will at least give you the edge for a couple of years, with an extra pipeline to cipher you information through, and I'm sure you will see a lot of games that will take advantage of this option in that time.

I will personally be taking the route of the NP9890-V as soon as I am able to save enough clams to do so. I don't care what the pro-gamer wannabes of this site think, that system is nothing to scoff at and would give most desktops a good run for their money. Like I said, the issue with laptops is cost. To deck out that system, I will need to shell out close to $4300, which I don't mind doing if I don't have to upgrade for a while (and I definitely won't need to!).

BTW, check out BuyDirectPC for some competitive prices on customised systems. I was able to shave off a couple hundred dollars (USD), on the system I want through that site and may actually order from them when I am ready.

If you are wondering about whether you can get a Sager system in Korea, I wouldn't count on it. I've scoured the Korean internet and couldn't find anything except for their Chinese mainpage and a couple of blogs where people were drooling over their dreams of getting one.

[JeJuJitsu]

[jazblanc77]