Looking to Buy Laptop, Need Help

[Sae Luan]

Hey everyone.  I'm looking to buy a laptop as an addition to the desktop computer I already own.  I travel a lot, so I'd like to have something else I can work off of when I'm not able to get to my desktop computer.  My husband is in the US Army, so I am planning to purchase my laptop from the aafes website since I have a line of credit with them (1900 limit).  I need help figuring out what will run Second Life and how well.  I don't know anything about this, and that's why I'm coming to you guys.  Since I'm looking at the aafes website, you guys cannot view the website unless you are a military member or spouse as well, and since I can't copy paste each laptop they offer, I'm just going to list a few, and see what you guys think.

 

Here are ones I've looked at seriously, but unsure about how they will run SL or if they even will and which would be best-

 

 

ASUS 17.3" Intel Quad-core i7-2670QM 2.20GHz 1TB HD LED Notebook - Black

 

Product Model: N75SF-DH71

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System 64-bit

Processor & Chipset

• Processor Manufacturer: Intel
• Processor Type: Core i7
• Processor Model: i7-2670QM
• Processor Speed: 2.20GHz
• Processor Core: Quad-core Cache: 6MB 
• 64-bit Processing: Yes
• Hyper-Threading: Yes
• Chipset Manufacturer: Intel
• Chipset Model: HM65 Express

Memory

• Standard Memory: 8GB
• Maximum Memory: 8GB
• Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
• Memory Standard: DDR3-1333/PC3-10600
• Number of Total Memory Slots: 2
• Memory Card Reader: Yes
• Memory Card Supported:
  • Secure Digital (SD) Card
  • Memory Stick
  • Memory Stick PRO Duo
  • MultiMediaCard (MMC)

Storage

• Hard Drive Capacity: 1 TB
• Hard Drive Interface: Serial ATA
• Hard Drive RPM: 7200 
• Optical Drive Type: DVD-Writer
• Optical Media Supported: DVD-RAM/±R/±RW

Display & Graphics

• Screen Size: 17.3"
• Display Screen Type: Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Screen Mode: Full HD
• Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Backlight Technology: LED
• Graphics Controller Manufacturer: NVIDIA
• Graphics Controller Model: GeForce GT 555M
• Graphics Memory Capacity: 2 GB
• Graphics Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM

Dell 15" Intel Core i7-2640M 2.80GHz 1TB XPS 15z Notebook

Model: XPS15Z_14

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), SP1

• Intel Core i7-2640M processor 2.80 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.50 GHz
• 8GB, DDR3 memory
• 1TB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
• 8x Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive
• 15.6" FHD (1080P) WLED Display
• NVIDIA GeForce GT525M 1GB graphics with Optimus
• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and Bluetooth 3.0
• High Definition Audio 2.0 with SRS Premium Sound
• 1-year Limited Hardware Warranty Plus In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis

 

 

ASUS N55SL-DS71 15.6" LED Notebook - Black

 

MODEL: ASNN53SM-DS71

• Processor Manufacturer: Intel
• Processor Type: Core i7
• Processor Model: i7-2670QM
• Processor Speed: 2.20 GHz
• Processor Core: Quad-core (4 Core)
• Cache: 6 MB
• Direct Media Interface: 5 GT/s
• 64-bit Processing: Yes
• Hyper-Threading: Yes
• Chipset Manufacturer: Intel
• Chipset Model: HM65 Express
• Standard Memory: 8 GB
  • Maximum Memory: 8 GB
  • Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
  • Memory Standard: DDR3-1333/PC3-10600
  • Memory Card Reader: Yes
• Memory Card Supported
• Secure Digital (SD) Card
• MultiMediaCard (MMC)
• Memory Stick
• Memory Stick PRO Duo
• Storage
  • Hard Drive Capacity: 750 GB
  • Hard Drive Interface: Serial ATA
  • Hard Drive RPM: 5400
  • Optical Drive Type: Blue-ray Reader/DVD-Writer
  • Optical Media Supported: DVD-RAM/±R/±RW
• Display & Graphics
  • Screen Size: 15.6"
  • Display Screen Type: Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Screen Mode: Full HD
  • Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
  • Backlight Technology: LED
  • Graphics Controller: NVIDIA
  • Graphics Controller Model: GeForce GT 635M
  • Graphics Memory Capacity: 2 GB
  • Graphics Memory Technology: GDDR3 SDRAM

 

 Edited to add following option-

ASUS 17.3" Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.20GHz Quad-core 1.5TB HDD LED 3D Notebook

 

Product Model: G74SX-DH73-3D

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Specifications

Processor & Chipset

• Processor Manufacturer: Intel
• Processor Type: Core i7
• Processor Model: i7-2670QM
• Processor Speed: 2.20 GHz
• Processor Core: Quad-core (4 Core)
• Cache: 6 MB
• 64-bit Processing: Yes
• Hyper-Threading: Yes
• Chipset Manufacturer: Intel
• Chipset Model: HM65 Express

Memory

• Standard Memory: 12 GB
• Maximum Memory: 16 GB
• Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
• Memory Standard: DDR3-1333/PC3-10600
• Number of Total Memory Slots: 4
• Memory Card Reader: Yes
• Memory Card Supported:
  • Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC)
  • MultiMediaCard (MMC)
  • Memory Stick

Storage

• Hard Drive Capacity: 1.50 TB
• Hard Drive Interface: Serial ATA

Display & Graphics

• Screen Size: 17.3"
• Display Screen Type: Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Screen Mode: Full HD
• Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Backlight Technology: LED
• Graphics Controller Manufacturer: NVIDIA
• Graphics Controller Model: GeForce GTX 560M
• Graphics Memory Capacity: 3 GB
• Graphics Memory Technology: GDDR5
• Graphics Memory Accessibility: Dedicated
• 3D Type: 3D

[Ceka Cianci]

here is a really good look at two  nice ones..

MSI 780R & ASUS G74SX-A1

i'm looking at  the MSI one myself..

but these both should run SL very well =)

the review shows they are both very close with only a few things favoring one or the other..

[Sae Luan]

Thanks but I'm not sure if safes offers those I'll have to check. They don't carry tons. I wish I could list each one but it'd take forever.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Of the three you listed the first one (the Asus 17 inche one) would run SL best....that's strictly using the listed graphics spec's).  You should be able to run SL at mid to high preferenes settings.  Shadows and depth of field will slow you down significantly though.  And if you run SL with a wireless connection (as I assume you would when traveling) you will have issues with connections.........but with a solid wireless connection SL should run okay in most circumstances.

Laptops are not my cup of tea.......mostly because of the heat issues you will encounter that are not such a problem with desktops.  A cooling pad would, in my opinion, be a must have peripheral device.  And try to run using the AC adaptor as much as possible..........the heavy graphics will work your graphics card pretty hard which will drain your battery significantly faster (not to mention the adapt would help to keep the battery cooler and not add so much heat to the laptop).

[Sae Luan]

Ok cool... what about this laptop?  It looks like this is the same laptop that the first reply was talking about...so wondering how this compares to the ASUS you said was the best of the initial 3 I listed.

 

 

ASUS 17.3" Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.20GHz Quad-core 1.5TB HDD LED 3D Notebook

Product Model: G74SX-DH73-3D

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Specifications

Processor & Chipset

• Processor Manufacturer: Intel
• Processor Type: Core i7
• Processor Model: i7-2670QM
• Processor Speed: 2.20 GHz
• Processor Core: Quad-core (4 Core)
• Cache: 6 MB
• 64-bit Processing: Yes
• Hyper-Threading: Yes
• Chipset Manufacturer: Intel
• Chipset Model: HM65 Express

Memory

• Standard Memory: 12 GB
• Maximum Memory: 16 GB
• Memory Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
• Memory Standard: DDR3-1333/PC3-10600
• Number of Total Memory Slots: 4
• Memory Card Reader: Yes
• Memory Card Supported:
  • Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC)
  • MultiMediaCard (MMC)
  • Memory Stick

Storage

• Hard Drive Capacity: 1.50 TB
• Hard Drive Interface: Serial ATA

Display & Graphics

• Screen Size: 17.3"
• Display Screen Type: Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Screen Mode: Full HD
• Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Backlight Technology: LED
• Graphics Controller Manufacturer: NVIDIA
• Graphics Controller Model: GeForce GTX 560M
• Graphics Memory Capacity: 3 GB
• Graphics Memory Technology: GDDR5
• Graphics Memory Accessibility: Dedicated
• 3D Type: 3D

[VRprofessor]

My laptop is similar to the first one you listed:

8gb ram

i7-2670m

nvidia gt 550m 2gb (so a tad slower graphics card)

15.6" monitor

I run SL with mid level graphics.  I can run high, but the system gets really hot and I worry about burn out something. 

I am not running super fps speeds--in a busy sim I still get around 20-25fps most of the time so I'm pretty happy. 

The last one you added doesn't list a graphics card.  That will slow SL down.  I'm not sure what you do with 12gb of ram and a 1.5tb drive so I wouldn't spend the money.

[VRprofessor]

and a follow on to Peggy's comment...I rarely go into SL on my laptop without the AC plugged in.  SL on battery only drains the battery really, really, quickly.

[Sae Luan]

Oops, I accidentally cut the specs off.  The graphic specs are--

Display & Graphics

• Screen Size: 17.3"
• Display Screen Type: Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Screen Mode: Full HD
• Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Backlight Technology: LED
• Graphics Controller Manufacturer: NVIDIA
• Graphics Controller Model: GeForce GTX 560M
• Graphics Memory Capacity: 3 GB
• Graphics Memory Technology: GDDR5
• Graphics Memory Accessibility: Dedicated
• 3D Type: 3D

[PudgyPaddy]

Peggy, as always, an excellent technical post.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

The graphics are pretty close to the same with the major difference being the graphics memory......that would give quicker texture rezz times and a few more more frames per second.  The rezz times will be noticible, but the FPS will not likely be significant for the eye to see but definitely better graphics performance (that is due to the larger graphics memory on the card, the performance of the models GT 555 and GTX 560 are nearly identical).  The double system memory will also be a noticible increase in performance over all in SL (and all other programs too for that matter).  You should be able to run SL at high settings without problems and at ultra with some decrease in performance (though perfectly acceptable for most people).  Shadows and depth of field will slow you down noticibly, but if you like that look then you might want to live with it (I don't like the harsher look so I don't use shadows and depth of field gives a slightly blurry look to distance objects).

You have to decide for yourself if the 3D capable monitor is worth the extra bucks it surely costs (probably significant).  I think 3D is a fad and will fade away pretty quickly (it did years ago when a bunch of 3D movies hit the market......it's having the same problems getting consumers enthusiatic with the recent resurgance of 3D.  For the over all performance increase I'm not sure I would go with the 3D model.  The first Asus laptop is almost as powerfull as this laptop.....for what you will notice in SL paying more may not be worth the money since both computers will handle SL quite well (the 3D model a little better but not by a significant margin).

 

[Sae Luan]

Thank you so much for your replies.  This will help tremendously when choosing.  I wasn't even sure if these computers would be able to run SL or not, and the extra info on the differences in the computers is nice for me since I don't know much about computers.  The price difference was around 500 dollars I believe, so it really helps a lot to know the comparisons.  

 

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I tend to run a lot of things open while in SL, generally I have Photoshop CS5 and Maya running at the same time, which works fine on my desktop computer.  But other than running Photoshop, Second Life, Maya, and Zbrush, I don't use my computer for anything else other than surfing the internet.  My computers are primarily for work only (as I make a decent bit of money on customs in SL).  I have always owned only one computer, always aimed for SL and working in Zbrush/Maya/Photoshop, and I always have it customized to do so.  This is one time where I'm kind of lost since I've been made aware you can't customize a laptop like youw ould a desktop!

Anyway, thank you again. 

[Bree Giffen]

Those 17 inchers are heavy! The size is also hard to pack. They're used as desktop replacements mostly because you don't move them. Expect the computer to run hot when you run SL on any size laptop too. Search online for reviews of those models.