New laptop

[Cheesecan]

If it's long lifetime you are concerned about I highly recommend buying a Thinkpad. They are built to last long and have very cheap 3 and 5-year warranty deals as a result of that. Buy it from the US for best price.

If you want to play Spring get one that has a Nvidia dedicated graphics card. Unfortunately mine doesn't(last T4xx-series with ATI shit GPU, DOH) but it has ridiculous CPU & RAM performance that lets me be the first or second person to get ingame 9 times out 10. Not bad for a relatively affordable laptop from 2010.

I don't think Alienware has the same kind of build quality. Just looks like a big piece of plastic waiting to break into pieces. Built for and marketed toward kids with rich parents. While Thinkpads are mainly intended for professionals.

Barring that go for a custom-built desktop. All laptops are really consumables that are built to break so you will purchase a new one eventually whereas desktops can survive for ages if you get the right upgrades. Though since the last 10 years you practically have to buy a new motherboard every time you upgrade, because Intel and AMD want to sell their motherboard chipsets. Still you can usually keep RAM, maybe graphics card, harddrive, etc so you only have to shell out maybe $400 to $600 every 18 months to have a computer that will run all the latest games at nearly max settings.

[Warlord Zsinj]

Well, my logic behind alienware was that I could take advantage of the current raping of the US dollar that is currently going on by the aussie dollar. I literally save 25% by ordering via the US for the same machine. But that only works with a bigger brand like Dell because they have insurance systems that can honour the warranty in australia. I can also travel with it and still have my warranty honoured. The secondary logic was that a machine designed to attract gamers would have to have a succesful performance track record, because gamers will often push their systems and would fail as a brand if they are unable to maintain that perception of reliability and performance.

I'm not too worried about the bling. I assume I can turn it off if I wanted too. I'm more interested in getting value for money, reliability and performance. I intend on getting a 3 year warranty whatever I go for so that pretty much covers the reliability part.

I like that the alienware is a bit chunkier - my last laptop had a lot of overheating issues and I think laptops that are trying to be beasty and sleek and slim just don't go together well.

Before buying I'll most likely go into my local computer store and put the specs on the table and see what they can do. Cheesecan, I specified earlier that I can't go for a desktop because I plan to travel.

EDIT: That clevo one you linked earlier in the thread has been discounted, that's also pretty good for $1600... But if I travel with it I probably have to send it back to aus for repairs

[Cheesecan]

Thinkpad is a big brand, it's the only laptop certified for use on the International Space Station. I ordered mine from the US because it was substantially cheaper there and they have have international warranty service available pretty much anywhere you might travel.

[HeavyLancer]

AFAIK the international warranty conditions for Lenovo Thinkpads are basically "if we sell that model in that country, we can service it there too". They're still good machines despite the Lenovo takeover, but the graphics are a little lacking.

If you want international warranty, fast-ish graphics and a decent price, look at the Asus N53SN

• 15.6" 1920x1080 display
• 2GB Nividia GT555M GPU
• Core i7-2630QM
• 8GB RAM
• 640GB HDD
• 2 Years Onsite Pick Up & Return Warranty (and Asus has a two-year global warranty too IIRC)

All for AU$1698 on that site I linked too. You could probably buy it for a bit cheaper overseas as well.

[Warlord Zsinj]

I'll look into that one too.

Thanks for the assistance Lancer.

[Wombat]

Asus

got 3 Asus laptops and wouldnt suggest anything else. bought first one >10 years ago and had 0 problems with them (well, last one got newest wi-fi card without suitable drivers for ubuntu but that doesnt count )

[HeavyLancer]

I've had a differing experience with this Asus laptop that I'm typing from. It's an N53SV, which is identical to the N53SN that I linked to but with a smaller graphics card (1GB Nvidia GT540M) and a TV tuner. And it cost me about AU$150 less.
The first one I got from the store had a DOA microphone and webcam, so I got it returned for a new one. I haven't had many issues with it since. The speakers are surprisingly good if a little flat in the bass department, the screen is glossy as hell but quite usable (the screen's high DPI is awesome).
The battery life isn't anything to rave about; it lasts about 3 hours with lower than maximum screen brightness and the WiFi on when you're just doing web browsing.
The WiFi chip is a crappy Atheros one but it's serviceable.
The CPU and RAM is really good. The i7-2630QM is about as fast as the i7-920 desktop chip according to benchmarks that some people have run, which isn't bad at all for a mobile chip.
The graphics are decent; the Optimus driver implementation is a bit poor (you need to force programs to use the dedicated GPU sometimes) but the GT540M is quite good. You should be able to run just about anything short of Crysis on medium settings at full resolution.

Personally I'm going to take out the Blu-Ray drive that mine comes with, put a caddy in where it went and drop in an SSD. I'll probably install a matte screen protector and purchase a 9-cell aftermarket extended battery too at some stage.

[aegis]

I don't think Alienware has the same kind of build quality. Just looks like a big piece of plastic waiting to break into pieces.

as an owner of the last-gen alienware (the m15x), the metal enclosure is amazing. my only complaints were ever the touchpad, the battery, (and sometimes) size (it's still way more portable than a desktop). it's remarkably more durable than any plastic laptop I've ever owned--my first laptop fell to pieces, my alienware is still holding strong after a year and many upgrades.

the backlit keyboard isn't just a gimmick - it looks very nice and it's good to always be able to see some of the weirder keys in the dark. you can turn off and change the color of any LED zones you don't want. I personally turn off the ALIENWARE text below the screen, but the alien head is useful for knowing whether you're charging, the keyboard is useful for seeing the keys, and the touchpad light is a really slick indicator of whether you have the touchpad turned on or not.

the 555m would be overkill, but nvidia's optimus tech seamlessly (no flickering) switches it out for the integrated intel when you're not gaming. this means you can get 5+ hours of battery life, solving the only other major complaint with my m15x - I actually considered getting a m14x when they were announced.

these laptops are heavy, but very well-designed. I've stripped my m15x down to all of the individual pieces and rebuilt it multiple times, and even that was a good experience (and well-documented - alienware has full teardown manuals). almost all of the pieces - video card, hard drive, ram, wireless card, processor.... are directly accessible under one large sliding panel on the bottom. this is a dream compared to other laptops I've disassembled. the dual fans+heatsinks are also under this panel, so you can easily clean them when needed.

[Cheesecan]

AFAIK the international warranty conditions for Lenovo Thinkpads are basically "if we sell that model in that country, we can service it there too". They're still good machines despite the Lenovo takeover, but the graphics are a little lacking.

Mine is a custom model from the US not sold here but they serviced it still, even though they had to order parts in to fix it. If it breaks another time they will give me a new one, so I'm hoping it does.

Regardless of brand I think you should get a SSD drive, boosts performance a lot.

[HeavyLancer]

Mine is a custom model from the US not sold here but they serviced it still, even though they had to order parts in to fix it. If it breaks another time they will give me a new one, so I'm hoping it does.

Let me clarify. If you buy a customised Thinkpad T420s from the US Lenovo store and get it delivered to Australia, they will service it in Australia because they also sell the T420s there. It may not be the same spec model, but they will service it.
However, if you buy an X120e from the US and use it in Australia, they will not be able to service it in Australia because they do not sell it here.

[Cheesecan]

I'm not disagreeing with you Heavy I'm just saying even custom models will get serviced outside of the country they were purchased in. In your post it sounded like you meant they wouldn't. In here they were not selling mine when it broke down, so it took them several weeks extra to order parts from abroad to fix it.

Lenovo support is very professional and won't put you through lots of trouble like for instance LG, who will ask you to ship your laptop to some factory in Asia at your own expense. They also have issues with you removing the harddrive to protect your data etc. That was the last time I bought a laptop based on graphics card.

Asus is kind of in the same league so I would stay away from them too to be honest. I once bought an Eee for my mother and it broke down in less than a month. I also know many owners of HP and Dell laptops who've had their machines fail very early. I think overall laptops are a scam because they have such high failure rates.

[Pxtl]

Is there any reason why you need a laptop?

My personal philosophy is that, unless you're someone who moves often, it's good to have a powerful desktop for most of your real work and a cheap, light laptop for portability.

Exactly.

Buy a good desktop and it will last years, mine has lasted almost 10 with minor upgrades and even today It's doing fine with new games and tasks.

Investing 2000USD to laptop, that most probably will start collapse after a couple of years is imo just silly, unless you really need it to be portable and keep it always with you.

Yup. For $2000 I'd buy a decent quad-core computer with a mid-range nVidia video card and an EEE 121 Slate.

[Warlord Zsinj]

As mentioned a few times earlier in the thread, I plan to travel in the next 6 months so a desktop does not make sense for me.

Reliability is also a concern for me, which is why I want to get a 3 year warranty (If it lasts 3 years I think I've got what I paid for) that will be serviced internationally.

My last laptop was a Dell, and I did have a bit of trouble with it. The customer service when it broke down was pretty bad but in the end I got it fixed at no cost. Ultimately it did last about 3 years with heavy usage so I was happy with it.

My budget is about $1700.

[Cheesecan]

There's one brand that hasn't been mentioned yet..

think you know what i'm getting at here.

[HeavyLancer]

There's one brand that hasn't been mentioned yet...

There's expensive, and then there's Apple expensive. Not worth the money for the specs, but the build quality is good. Decent warranty costs extra.

Reliability is also a concern for me, which is why I want to get a 3 year warranty (If it lasts 3 years I think I've got what I paid for) that will be serviced internationally.

My last laptop was a Dell, and I did have a bit of trouble with it. The customer service when it broke down was pretty bad but in the end I got it fixed at no cost. Ultimately it did last about 3 years with heavy usage so I was happy with it.

My budget is about $1700.

Try a Business Dell? They have much better warranty support.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... sion-m4600

[Warlord Zsinj]

What are the most important things to look for here? It is hard for me to compare. How does something like that compare in specs to the alienware m14x? I've worked out the alienware one is probably to cost me $1900 after I pay import tax and everything, so if I can get a laptop that's $1700, located in Australia, provides me with a 3 year international warranty and had similar specs for sure I'd go for that.

I work as a contractor so I'd imagine I'd be eligible for the business package.

Thanks again for the assistance all.

[aegis]

problem with apple laptops is your current choice is either ATI or Intel graphics

[Warlord Zsinj]

yeah, not going for a mac.

[HeavyLancer]

Another option is the Dell XPS 15 - it's very similar in specs to the Asus N53SV/SN and has a Dell warranty. Dunno about the consumer Dell build quality though. A decently specced model will cost you around US$1200-$1300 from America before import duties etc.

[Warlord Zsinj]

Yeah, I had the xps m1330 as my last one

It lasted about 2.5-3 years, had a few problems but was generally ok. Was nice and portable but considering the amount of time I spent staring at it, I should've opted for a bigger screen, which I will this time around. I don't know if I loved it enough that I'd buy more or less the same brand again.