[HELP] Which Laptop?

[bigfunkymonkey]

Hi Folks

I have been thinking about this for a while and have finally decided to splash a bit of cash on a laptop that will do for some gaming. I have narrowed it down to two, but I am not sure which to go for.

First of all:
AskDirect: Toshiba Qosmio X300-11W

I have had some Toshibas before (I work for a Tosh dealer) and they have never quite lived up to my expectations, I have however had a good long chat with a guy in Tosh and the promises on this one is that it will be a monster.

Secondly:

Dells XPS (spec below) I have never owned a Dell anything, I have never really liked them as a company but I have heard mostly only good things about their XPS range.


BASEIntel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1- English
HARDWARE SUPPORT 4Yr XPS Premium Warranty Support - Priority Call In and Onsite Support
COLOUR CHOICESmoke Gray with White LED Backlights
LCD17.0" UltraSharp™ WUXGA (1920x1200) TFT with TrueLife™ with Integrated 2.0MP web cam
MEMORY4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
HARD DRIVE400GB Free Fall Sensor Raid 0 Stripe - 2 X 200GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARDDUAL SLI 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800GTX card
OPTICAL DRIVEFixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load drive, including SW
PRIMARY BATTERYPrimary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr

The Dell is going to work out about £200.00 more expensive, which is quite a bit but if it is going to out perform the tosh i will happily pay it.

The machine will be used for gaming almost exclusively and a little farting about with VMware, thats about the height of it.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[DaGaffer]

Do you really need a laptop? That Tosh is HUGE! (about 4.5KG), so its not exactly portable. Unless you absolutely need something you can shove into a (large) backpack, then wouldn't you be better off with something like a Shuttle? You could get one with a decent spec and monitor for a lot less money.

[bigfunkymonkey]

Originally Posted by DaGaffer

Do you really need a laptop? That Tosh is HUGE! (about 4.5KG), so its not exactly portable. Unless you absolutely need something you can shove into a (large) backpack, then wouldn't you be better off with something like a Shuttle? You could get one with a decent spec and monitor for a lot less money.

Thanks for the reply, nice avatar by the way! Cant wait for that film!

I have a gaming PC I use at home which is pretty good. I wanted a notebook for a few different reasons the main being that recently I have been traveling with work, this leaves me away from home for up to a week at a time. Sitting in the bar drinking and trying to make conversation with strangers has started to take its toll on me and to be honest a lot of the times I cant be bothered with the effort of it.

The idea of it being obsolete and un-upgradeable in a years / year and a bits time is something that worries me more than anything else

[nath]

Do you absolutely need a gaming laptop that can play Crysis et al? How about getting something that'll happily play a large back catalogue of games. That's what I got - ended up spending about £350. I play HL2, Knights of the Old Republic, SCUMMVM games etc. £2k is an awful lot to spend on a laptop.

[bigfunkymonkey]

Originally Posted by nath

Do you absolutely need a gaming laptop that can play Crysis et al? How about getting something that'll happily play a large back catalogue of games. That's what I got - ended up spending about £350. I play HL2, Knights of the Old Republic, SCUMMVM games etc. £2k is an awful lot to spend on a laptop.

Freddyshouse, the voice of reason

I will get the Tosh for around 1500 and yeah it is relatively a lot of money for a laptop but for once I have a bit of spare cash lying about so I thought I would spend it something I want rather than something I need.

Lets say you were being offered one for free, which one would you pick.

[Kryten]

I'd probably side with the XPS for that price range, although personally I'd have something niggling in my mind that it's just a cheaper Inspiron with a different badge and higher specs, but I'd imagine you'd rather it just work than rip it apart and save a couple of hundred
I say that as Dell's machines are fairly rock solid. Toshiba's aren't bad they're not exactly known for their high end kit - more of a mid range company. You might as well get something half sharp if you've got the money for something you *want*.

[rynnor]

Originally Posted by bigfunkymonkey

I will get the Tosh for around 1500 and yeah it is relatively a lot of money for a laptop but for once I have a bit of spare cash lying about so I thought I would spend it something I want rather than something I need.

Go for it - you'll save dosh you would have spent drinking and your liver will be happier

[Yaka]

dell do normaly knock of a bit ojn the price to match the compertition, specialy the peeps from the indian call centers. call em and go through the order process till they ask you for your CC number and tell em you changed your mind as the toshiba lappy is cheaper.

either way id go for the dell, i owned a qosmio tosh lappy with a dud dvd drive. thier support is crap, hp and dell are much better for support alone

[DaGaffer]

Originally Posted by bigfunkymonkey

Lets say you were being offered one for free, which one would you pick.

The Dell probably. Just for support reasons (I too have had a grim old time of it with Toshiba; not as bad as Sony, but well on the way). I have to say though, even for free I'd struggle with lugging one of these about; I have a fairly chunky work HP lappy (good spec, but big), and I look for excuses not to take that on business, to the extent I'm thinking about buying my own netbook (MSI Wind or similar). If I wanted to play games I'd just take along a PSP or DS.

[Helme]

Get a cheaper laptop imho and start playing Europe Universalis, Victoria, Crusader Kings and Hearts of Iron - they'll literary last you years(they have for me).

[bigfunkymonkey]

Thanks for the replies, mucho appreciation

Looks like the Dell it is, I will make the call tomorrow, see if i cant get some dosh knocked off. I will also be checking those out Helme

The weight doesnt really bother me, I have spent plenty of time with much heavier slung over my shoulders. But in 6 months, if it ends up on ebay or I put my back out, I will give ya that one

Cheers Folks.

[Yoni]

I got a dell xps 1530 (yes i am aware of the issues but extended warrenty will cover that) and it plays the games I need brilliantly when I am traveling about and even with the larger battery it isn't that heavy that an ickle one like me cant manage it! It came in at under a grand!

[razeredge]

I used to work for Dell, afaik they've moved their uk xps support back 2 Ireland (9-5 anyway)
Dont know to what degree though

[Cadelin]

I guess you have probably already ordered your laptop but on the off chance you haven't. What games do you actually want to play? There are alot of games that work on lower spec machines. Also have you checked that this machine is actually capable of playing high end games? There can be heat issues with laptops and if components are being throttled all the time to prevent over heating you won't be able to play certain games.

Originally Posted by bigfunkymonkey

The idea of it being obsolete and un-upgradeable in a years / year and a bits time is something that worries me more than anything else

This is something you should consider. There are lots of other mishaps that could happen to your laptop. I would personally go for a cheaper one now and another in 1.5 years. However if you are in the position of "get one laptop free now" then I would go for the Dell, simply because I have had two friends who got Dell Laptops recently (partly for gaming) and they have said how good they are.