laptop config questions

Budget:
no more than $2900

Expectations:
I don't need to play all games on max settings but high would be nice. I'd also like this to be as future proof as possible.

Usage:
Everything

Special Needs:
None

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Specifications:
N/A

I am looking to invest in a new laptop and have a few questions before taking the plunge.

I only own one computer so my laptop has to be able to do whatever I need it to do. I am a gaming enthusiast so I like to to play my games on high settings. I also like to watch video streaming services like Netflix, web surf, and I do a lot of work on my laptop too (nothing intensive, a lot of word processing work). I don't have a ton of money but I would like to make an investment that will last a good while.

I was thinking of going for a behemoth build so that there would be room for expansion later. I was going to go for 1 880m 8GB card and maybe buy the second card somewhere do the line. The more I think about things though I am wondering if I could save some $ by going for a 15.6 " laptop instead. Does screen size make a lot of difference? I thought maybe instead of screen size I could invest in a second SSD. Any thoughts? I'm a noob so go easy :)

Jonrs,

You sound like you user your laptop very much like I do.  Mine is pretty much the central hub of my digital life.  I do everything on it, and my smartphone and tablet are more supplemental.

I wouldn't recommend buying the Behemoth unless you plan to buy both graphic cards at the same time.  Adding another 880M later might be more expensive depending on availability when you decide to upgrade as it might not be the current mobile part or even available.

A single 880M is pretty damn good right now and also pretty future proof unless you are a serious bleeding edge gamer.  I'm running an 880M on my Krypton, and with Skyrim modded with around 150 mods, half of them high-texture graphics mods, as well as an intensive ENB, I'm pretty damn happy with my game experience.

For what you describe, I suspect the Behemoth is possibly overkill for you.  If you go with a 17" laptop from DS, then go with a Krypton.  You can build it out really nicely for your budget.  Mine was just over $2600 and I'm really happy with it.  I bought it with an mSATA boot drive and a HDD data drive, and I still have room to add another SSD or HDD to a second empty bay.  Also, with 16GB or RAM, I can still expand that to 32GB, which should be plenty far into the future.

If you go 15.6", then go with a Lance.  There's not going to be much price difference between that and the Krypton, so it's up to you whether you want to run a slightly lighter and smaller laptop or not.  That will really be the only difference other than the temps of a 15.6" laptop may be slightly higher.  The resolution on both the Krypton and Lance are the same (1920x1080), so another potential issue is that everything on the Lance will be slightly smaller, so if you have any issues with vision, that will be a factor.

All the DS laptops have DisplayPort and HDMI (I think), so adding a larger monitor if you use it mostly in one place is also an option.

Hope this helps.

Go go Krypton!   

Great choice! Definitely good advice on the krypton its a powerful beast in its own right.