Sure, but that doesn't mean one should avoid it. Just don't rely on them to know everything about the products, and don't hold your breath that they'll have exactly what you want. Makes for a nice way to check out laptops and monitors, anyway.

Did you miss where I said: "a lesser but still sexy version"?

Of course it's not the same. But it can still be damn good. And you won't be paying $2000-$3000+ for it. I paid less than $1,000 for my G71 on sale at BB, and it still kicks ass today. Only problem is the monitor cables working themselves loose over time, but that's common to all G71 models if I'm not mistaken. Of course you should be an informed consumer and be aware of the differences between models, but that just goes without saying.

I'm not talking about the features, I'm talking about the price. Some ASUS laptops at Best Buy are the same price and model, but are using older hardware. The netbooks are the worst offenders in this and why I didn't buy one. I also don't think you get the ASUS warranty with the Best Buy versions.

The warranty can be a deal breaker for some. An old statement from ASUS read, "These retailers are currently among the companies that do NOT participate in the ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty: Best Buy, MicroCenter, and The Source by CircuitCity in Canada." (Scratch Circuit City; they mismanaged themselves into liquidation.)

The arrangement ASUS has with these dealers is that ASUS does not compete with the dealer's extended warranty and service plans. You get the dealer's plan or nothing; and if your level of contempt for Geek Squad is as high as mine, you will not deal with Best Buy.

Lol you guys hijacked my thread, but serious though a gaming laptop? Why pay double for a laptop when it's going to have be stationary anyway. What are you going to get like a half hour of battery life. Lol it kind of defeats the purpose.

Anyway, after some research and a call to customer service I decided to place an order with ironsidecomputers.com. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

Thanks again for the replies

Double? I paid somewhere between $1200-1400 to get this. The only difference is mine has a Radeon Mobility HD 5870 instead of the Nvidia card. It's extremely quiet, comes with a 3 year warranty with a 1 year accidental damage protection plan, and runs every game I've thrown at it with no problems. What if I want to go somewhere? I can take my gaming rig with me. This is a desktop replacement, not a standard laptop. Battery life doesn't matter because it's always going to be set up somewhere.

The only thing it lacks is a large screen. I'd say I got a pretty good deal on it, especially compared to Alienware rigs that would have charged me double.

I used to be a die hard laptop guy myself, until I realized that 99% of the time my laptop stays at my desk and I would be getting much better performance for the money from a desktop. The last laptop I owned was a Dell XPS m1730. It was a great machine, but I had to pay a pretty penny for it, and if you ever own a laptop you know that can get quickly outdated. Which is one reason I switched to a desktop.

I'll show you some other reasons why I switched to desktops.

You say you paid around 1200 - 1400 for I'm assuming similar spec to the link you posted with the exception of the 5870.

Looking over it, you'll notice that the processor is an under-powered 2GHz quad core processor, and the mobility radeon 5870 graphics card it uses does not perform anywhere near a desktop 5870, but it performs around the same level as a radeon 5750 - 5770 according to this site: http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5870.23073.0.html. You can easily find an equivalent desktop for around 700 - 800.

Yes you also have to pay for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse for desktops, but unlike a laptop you don't have to throw them away when the computer is broken or obsolete. I will admit if you go to lan parties frequently it is convenient, but I doubt there are many people who can justify that.

Lastly, the one big thing I hate about laptops is when they get outdated you can't upgrade them, you have to throw the entire thing away and get a new one. With a desktop if my graphics card gets dated and I can't run any of the newer games smoothly I can just upgrade it to a new one.

I'm not trying to say that laptops are crap and desktops are the greatest. Laptops are great for people who need a computer on the go, but I just think that fpr most people a gaming laptop makes no sense. I think you'll get much more bang for the buck from a desktop.

Keep in mind I am just stating my own opinion and experience. I am definitely not trying to say that I know everything about computers, and I'm sure there are some people who can justify getting a gaming laptop, and I in no way want to put you down for your purchase.