Best thin/light/portable 14-16" laptop for gaming...

Time to look into replacing myM1710 XPS - it's been a good laptop, but showing it's age in many respects. Still handles most games well, but the sheer size is hurting my back as I am flying around the country more and more these days. I have been intrigued by the new trend of powerful, but small/light laptops starting to pop up. However, I feel the 11-12" in screens on laptops such as the HP mini 311 (Ion based) are just too small. I also don't like not having the DVD drive.

So my question is: What laptops are currently available (or will be soon) that combine dedicated video with portability? The Asus eec 1201 looks nice, but again not sure it's quite big enough. I would prefer a screen size in the 14-15" range, yet thin, light and with a video card that may compare to the aging nVidia 7950 gtx in my 1710 xps. I am waaay out of the loop on current specs on laptops/video cards, so I am looking for some help or at least to be pointed in the right direction.

Thanks!

Hey thanks for the reply! I should have posted more info. I am looking for a more portable laptop with a fairly high rez screen. It seems everything over 14" seems to get fairly bulky. I looked at the 16" Asus gaming rig at best buy, liked it, but it's not much smaller than my XPS 17" rig I'm typing on. Would love to go thinner/lighter, but keep the DVD drive. Resolution probably WXGA and above like you mentioned. The WUXGA 1900x1200 on my XPS is really almost too sharp for my tastes. I'm used to it, but the font is smallish. I'm thinking something in the 14 to 15" range tops for my next laptop. Like I mentioned before, I'm waaay out of the loop on current GPU's, etc, which is why I've posted this post.

Games I play are things like FEAR, bioshock, COD Modern Warefare, etc. I would like to start getting into a few of the more current titles, but as of now have not yet. I would like a laptop that can at least play the current titles. My XPS can play most, but of course Crysis can give it some problems (I have the demo). So basically I want something powerfull enough to play current games for the next couple of years as it seems a laptop is good for about 2 years then it's time to put them to pasture. Since I travel much more than I used to, I would like something much less bulky. Basically I'm asking for the best of both worlds - power yet portable.

As far as budget, depending on what options and GPU I could get, somewhere under $1200 would be nice. In looking at the Asus eec 1201 it would come in around $700 fully built. But again I believe that the 12" rig is just too small and it has no DVD drive.

I will check out some of the suggestions you posted. If my response can give you a better idea of other laptops you may suggest, I would love to hear back from you. Thanks again for your reply it was very helpful!

Yeah I'm leaning towards a 16" Asus after looking through all the available smaller laptops on the XoticPC site suggested by powerpack. Main problem I'm having is once again having to research hours and hours figuring out just which video card is more powerful.... like I said I've been out of the game over two years since I bought this XPS. It just seems anything 14" and under you are taking a big hit in the GPU department. Actually the overall best deal is the 16" Asus that is at best buy right now with the with the 260m card. Seems like that may be the best bang for the buck, yet still be a bit smaller than this 8.8lb XPS.

Thanks for that link - that machine seems to be the most powerful GPU in a 14" lcd I've seen. Again, figuring out just how the 4650 GPU stacks up with 7950 GTX in my XPS. I guess I'm trying to benchmark the power of my XPS gaming wise with one of these smaller, newer rigs. Anyone with a good link to a GPU benchmark site? The ones I've found on google seem lacking overall. For instance, I know my XPS has scored darn near 11K in 3dmark 05. Wonder how this 14" Asus with the 4650 would stack up?

Thanks for both of those links! After posting here last night, Google pointed me to the notebookcheck site, but the pages I was looking on were not as easy to find the card info as the links you posted. I was able to determine that the HD 4650 is approxmatily 20% faster in 3dmark 05 than the 7950gtx. When I got close 10 11K in 3dmark 05 with this XPS is was after OCing the card of course. Something I am not overly fond of. So basically the 14" Asus with the hd 4650 would be a faster gaming rig than this 2.5 yr old XPS with the 7950 GTX, which was at that time the king of the hill for notebook gaming cards. Exactly the info I was trying to discern.

It also looks like the 16" Asus at Best buy with the gtx 260m is about a third faster than my XPS/7950 GTX overall. For $999 that is a very tempting laptop, albeit not that much smaller/lighter than this XPS.

The i7 processor is something I would definitely like to be sure. ASUS N61JQ-A1 is a laptop that would likely be fine for my use, but is not available til possibly late january. Combines the i7 with the HD5730 weighing in at 6.49lbs. Not bad.

I would think that would be the case. The 1900/1200 res on the XPS is nice, but pushes the 7950 more of course. Lower res would be easier to handle. In almost all cases it's a bit too low for my gaming tastes, but overall it would suffice. Now I just wish there was a best buy in my town so I could look at those Asus rigs in person again - closest one is 2hrs away from me here.

The Envy looks really nice - would fit the bill just fine except for price (a bit higher than my budget) and no internal DVD drive. Seems like the reviews say it runs pretty hot, but most of these smaller, higher powered rigs likely will when pushed. Overall probably the bestt smaller form/light machine in terms of bang per oz. Thanks for the link!

After much research, I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the Asus G60VX-RBBX05 at Best Buy. It is currently $899.00 and I have been approved for the 18 month no interest payment option. This seems to be by far the best "bang for the buck" laptop out there right now with the GTX 260m. Biggest problem to me is this is not exactly a "thin or light" laptop at 7.2lbs. However, my M1710 weighs in at 8.8 lbs before the powerbrick. Probably around 12 lbs with the brick. So the Asus will likely be about 3 lbs lighter to carry around, although not much thinner.

I am also not sold on the 1366 x 768 LCD - will this be sharp enough for me after several years of my 17" 1900x1200 on my XPS and i9300 before that?? As I sit here an ponder this, I ask if I REALLY need to spend $900 - my XPS really has no "problems" but I am itchy for an upgrade after over 2 years. I would also like to switch to Win 7 over XP pro. After some research, it seems that I may be able to get anywhere from $650 to $800 for my XPS on ebay. So I would likely do that and make the switch. I still have my i9300 for my "backup" laptop if need be.

Any input on which decision I should make? For $899.00 the Asus G60VX-RBBX05 seems like a real bargain. I have the order all cue'd up on best buy.com trying to decide to pull the trigger or not.

Yeah, I am unhappy with the BB warranty - 1 year warranties are a ripoff. If there was a financing offer available for the Asus from Xotic PC I'd wait and go with the i7 asus. Right now the two things that appeal to me are the low cost of the BB Asus and the fact that I can get no interest, 18month financing. I can then move my XPS and put those funds towards other bills I would like to pay off.

I definitely agree - the N61JQ-A1 is much more to my liking, and only $150 more cost. No financing options for that laptop however is a big reason I am close to going with the BB Asus.

I held off on the Best Buy Asus for now. Will see what new rigs come out in the next few weeks or so. Like the new Asus out soon.