[Blade of grass]

Case = $50
HDD = $80
Mobo = $85
Phenom II X4 black edition = $120
XFX 7770 GHz edition $130
DVD = $18
PSU = $90
Muskin 8GB RAM
Windows 7 home edition
total is over by a bit = $718
But I strongly recommend that you either save up, or suck it up and shell out the cash for some of the the mider range stuff (mobo (it has UEFI BIOS which is nice, plus it supports any speed of RAM(upgrade proof)), PSU(higher wattage, but its modular and 80 plus silver, its upgrade proof and will last), HDDs, and if you can shell out an extra $50 on top, getting a better case would be nice for your self).
I'd see what other people recommend too (like Stix who will come in here and wow you with a better AMD setup).

[Stix]

This thread is hopping, I like it.

This post has been edited by Stix: 17 June 2012 - 06:36 PM

[Blade of grass]

Yeah, but no one has posted in this area for two days RWARR

[The Bacon Man]

I think you should add a Overclock/No Overclock option to the form you fill out. Could save some people a few bucks or you could adjust the parts accordingly.

[Stix]

Honestly, the way I see it, there's no real advantages to, other than dick waiving, over clocking.
So I don't see a need to put it in the form.

This post has been edited by Stix: 21 June 2012 - 07:40 PM

[Blade of grass]

Stix, on 21 June 2012 - 07:39 PM, said:

Honestly, the way I see it, there's no real advantages to, other than dick waiving, over clocking.
So I don't see a need to put it in the form.

Same.
And most people would rather have a product last 2 years, then have it be two times faster and last 9 months.

[`kook]

A friend wants to do a lot of video/picture/music editing and doesn't want to build.

I need help finding a prebuilt that would suit his needs. He doesn't game at all

This post has been edited by `kook: 23 June 2012 - 08:58 PM

[Stix]

What kinds of vides? (resolution, FPS, etc.)

[Plattypus]

AMD HD 7970M vs Nvidia GTX 680M?

Is the 680M worth the extra $295?

[`kook]

Stix, on 23 June 2012 - 09:24 PM, said:

What kinds of vides? (resolution, FPS, etc.)

I have no idea, I just know he is using a 24" tv as his monitor

[Blade of grass]

Plattypus, on 23 June 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

AMD HD 7970M vs Nvidia GTX 680M?

Is the 680M worth the extra $295?

What are you doing on it? If gaming I'd get a desktop over a laptop.

[Stix]

This is the best I can do as far as pre-builds go. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16883229333
The GPU it hasn't isn't all that great though. But, your friend should be able to upgrade later on if he wants to.

EDIT: I agree with Blade. "Gaming" Laptops are kind of a rip off. Just get a cheap laptop for school work and a desktop for gaming/editing on.

This post has been edited by Stix: 24 June 2012 - 09:15 AM

[Plattypus]

Blade of grass, on 24 June 2012 - 09:11 AM, said:

Plattypus, on 23 June 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

AMD HD 7970M vs Nvidia GTX 680M?

Is the 680M worth the extra $295?

What are you doing on it? If gaming I'd get a desktop over a laptop.

Stix, on 24 June 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:

This is the best I can do as far as pre-builds go. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16883229333
The GPU it hasn't isn't all that great though. But, your friend should be able to upgrade later on if he wants to.

EDIT: I agree with Blade. "Gaming" Laptops are kind of a rip off. Just get a cheap laptop for school work and a desktop for gaming/editing on.

The laptop is for college, and I will be using 3D software like AutoCAD and Solidworks, some Photoshop, light video editing, and of course, heavy gaming. The 7970M is almost as fast a desktop GTX 580 when overclocked, and the laptop I'm looking at is a bit less than $1,500. The difference between a $1500 dollar laptop and desktop isn't that wide anymore, especially since I already have an excellent power supply, HD, SSD, and drives in my current desktop that I can transfer over to my next desktop build, which I'm making either this fall or next spring.

I have to admit that going with a cheap laptop and upgrading my current tower is tempting though.

The laptop is the Clevo P150EM SE, but I'm buying it from a reseller boutique.

This post has been edited by Plattypus: 24 June 2012 - 05:27 PM

[Stix]

Honestly, you're not going to get the results you think with that laptop. As good as the GPU might be, it's still a mobile version, and not heatsinked correctly for you to even consider OC'ing it. Not to mention, the laptop will heat up like a motherfucker in July when you try to run SolidWorks.

[Plattypus]

Stix, on 24 June 2012 - 06:47 PM, said:

Honestly, you're not going to get the results you think with that laptop. As good as the GPU might be, it's still a mobile version, and not heatsinked correctly for you to even consider OC'ing it. Not to mention, the laptop will heat up like a motherfucker in July when you try to run SolidWorks.

It's made on a 28 nm process, and even overclocked never runs over 70C (80C with Furmark) on IC Diamond 7 paste, which is extremely respectable even by desktop standards, since they're rated for 100C. These laptops are made by hand and the heatsinks are pretty beefy, and the CPU and GPU are on each side of the laptop, each with it's own dedicated fan that blows out the back, like the ASUS G series.

Honestly, if I hadn't discovered these custom Clevo/Sager laptops and seen their performance and cooling capabilities, I would have never even considered a gaming laptop. But browsing gaming laptop forums like notebookreview for a few months changed my mind, there's a wealth of information and opinions. Of course, every person will have different needs and compromises, and these laptops simply outweigh their cons with their power and design for me. The only cons are weight, thickness, and battery life, which are irrelevant to me, I just need mobility and an outlet.

The idea may seem ridiculous, but in reality it is much more possible than you think.

[Stix]

lawl, That was my most 1337 post. Jus' Sayin'. Also, do you have a link to this laptop manufacturer? If they're as good as you say they are, I'm interested. (being that I'm in the market for a laptop right now)

[Plattypus]

Stix, on 24 June 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

lawl, That was my most 1337 post. Jus' Sayin'. Also, do you have a link to this laptop manufacturer? If they're as good as you say they are, I'm interested. (being that I'm in the market for a laptop right now)

You can't buy them directly from the manufacturer, and the number one builder in the world is called Sager, which makes most of the laptops that resellers sell and rename.

Clevo manufactures the barebones in Taiwan, a reseller/boutique like XoticPC orders the barebones from the middleman Sager, which puts the barebones together and ships them to the reseller for custom assembly that the buyer asked for.

You CAN buy them from Sager and they will also customize it for you, but their customer service is below average, compared to the excellent one provided by the re sellers around the country.

These are the biggest and most popular resellers in the US, and they all have excellent CS records. They also have the best prices, as some resellers like Origin and ibuypower severely overprice them and add tacky shells to try and differentiate their barebones.
xoticpc.com
malibal.com
lpcdigital.com
powernotebooks.com
pro-star.com
Mythlogic.com


The bolded ones are different, Malibal gets their barebones from Sager, but they are in the same state that they received them from Clevo, so they are considered a semi-builder. Mythlogic is an awesome bunch of guys who compete directly with Sager, but aren't anywhere near as big. They receive their barebones directly from the manufacturer Clevo as well, so they are considered a full builder. They do charge a considerable premium for this though, as they rigorously benchmark with furmark and other benchmark for temps, as well as checking the screen and state of the hardware before shipping it out. They also have a distinct upgrade plan and the warranty and repairs are handled directly from their warehouse, unlike the unbolded resellers; they ship your laptop to Sager for serious hardware repair under warranty. Note, resellers are still better than Sager direct because they handle any support over the phone, which is lifetime 24/7.

Being able to customize almost every part in your laptop is awesome, and these laptops are extremely easy to take apart and repair if your warranty runs out or if you want to make upgrades.

[Blade of grass]

Hmm, so why don't you save your self money a build your self a laptop?
And still, a gaming laptop won't be what you like, when you only get an half an hour of battery life, and the thing is running at 80c, you won't be too happy. Plus, a $1500 gaming rig would smoke a gaming laptop.

[Plattypus]

Blade of grass, on 24 June 2012 - 09:37 PM, said:

Hmm, so why don't you save your self money a build your self a laptop?
And still, a gaming laptop won't be what you like, when you only get an half an hour of battery life, and the thing is running at 80c, you won't be too happy. Plus, a $1500 gaming rig would smoke a gaming laptop.

I don't think building a laptop is possible, or feasible.

This laptop has AMD Enduro/Nvidia Optimus which turns the GPU off when not using it, allowing for 3-4 hours of web browsing or light usage, which is great for a laptop in this category. This only started shipping in this year's Clevo lineup refresh.

The laptop shouldn't exceed 65C at stock clocks, even under full load, which is well under Intel and AMD's recommended temperatures. Even the highest stable clock and voltage for the GPU wont push it past 70C when gaming. The fans in these are of very high quality. The build quality is also superb compared to other big name laptop brands.

I understand a $1500 tower would be better, but I would like it to be mobile, and the performance gap is really not that wide with this generation of mobile cards. And I could just buy a 670 and put it in my current rig later to make it competitive again.

[Stix]

I can't seem to find any with ATI graphics, the ones you linked all have NVidia. :/