Help! Buying new high performance notebook

1) What is your budget? <2200

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
or
Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) Where will you buying this notebook? USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

not really. just looking around for the best bang for my buck

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed? no

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Maya, Adobe CS5, Zbrush, some gaming (WoW, DoW), and some basic music recording software

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

both

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

not too much games, maybe just WoW and DoW

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

don't care

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

don't really mind

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

windows 7 pro

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?

• 1680x1050, 1920x1200 or 1920x1080

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

don't really care


14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

no

15) When are you buying this laptop?

within the next week or two

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

hoping about 3 to 4 years


17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

minimum of 250GB (7200rpm)

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

minimum: cdrw/dvd-rom
ideal: blu-ray reader




this is what i am looking for in my new notebook. i have been looking into the ASUS G73JH-A1 and the Sager NP8760. both look really great, but am not too sure how the programs that i'm gonna be using would run in these notebooks. i know these are primarily gaming laptops.

i also want a high-end graphics card in my new laptop.

if you can help me choose between the 2 of them, or if you have any suggestions as to another notebook please let me know.

thanks.

Thanks guys. I have been looking into Alienware but it's just that ASUS and Sager are offering a bit more for less money. I've heard good things about the G73Jh, but does anyone know about the NP8760? it has the same graphics card as the ASUS.

So you think that either of these would work with the programs I want to run?

ok so i have ruled out the Asus since it is lacking a firewire port. I was going to go with the Sager, but now I am considering the Qosmio x500-Q895s. It's essentially the same hardware except for the 1TB HD in the Toshiba. The only thing that I am not a big fan of is the size of the Qosmio. It's REALLY big, i saw it over at brandsmart the other day and was pretty intimidated.

Another difference is the graphics card. ATI's 5870 vs NVidia's Geforce 360m. Which do you think would work better in my situation?