So I've been thinking about upgrading. I currently use this http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-G51J-A1-1...0747221&sr=8-1 , which I bought in November 2009 (for the same price they're asking for now, actually). Its completely compatible with Linux (at least, Slackware 13.1 and 13.37, haven't tried other distros).

So I thought I'd get some thoughts on upgrading from you guys. I'm sort of a computer geek, probably somewhere in the middle between elite hacker and power user. I do some gaming, mostly just console emulation but also other games, as long as I can make them work well in wine (usually they do). I've been extremely satisfied with everything about my current laptop, so I'm thinking I'll upgrade to this http://cgi.ebay.com/ASUS-G74SX-A1-G7...item4aac72969e , which is basically just a much better version of what I have now.

Do you think its too early to upgrade? Think the time is about right? Or have a better suggestion on a laptop?

Any input would be great!

If you are extremely satisfied with your current hardware, why do you want to upgrade at all?

I'd recommend an IBM T420 (integrated graphics) if you're running a distro with new enough drivers: linux 2.6.37, mesa 7.10 and xf86-video-intel 2.14, according to this post.

I personally would never buy any laptop but a Thinkpad. They give you easy access to all their service manuals, they continue selling spare parts long after the laptops themselves have been discontinued, they have fantastic designs (heat and noise are kept at acceptable levels, for example), they're durable, and they have service centers everywhere. And they have integrated pointing devices that are very, very good.

Personally, I only upgrade when my current system no longer meets my requirements. So in your shoes, I wouldn't upgrade, since you sound perfectly content with what you have.

For my home system, I find that the thing that really drives my requirements is gaming, since that's the most intensive thing I do. Gaming software tends to push the envelope on CPU, I/O, video, RAM, etc. Whenever I find a bottleneck, I tend to look first at whether it can be met with a component upgrade before deciding on a full-system upgrade.

My current desktop is now scheduled for a replacement (as soon as I get the money, but that's been tight, so it's put on hold for now), but I've had it for about 8 years now, and I've kept it humming along all that time with just a couple video board upgrades and an additional harddrive, at a considerable savings over the standard 3-4 year system replacement rate.

Now I'm at a point where I need to upgrade video again to play the newest games, the manufacturers are all getting off AGP and onto PCIe, and I don't have a PCIe slot. Plus, over the last few years the gaming programmers finally figured out multi-threading, so multi-core home platforms finally make sense, and mine's just a single core. So, it's time for it to go.

because the new one I'm looking at is twice as good, and I'm going to be spending a year in Kuwait soon, where I won't have much opportunity to upgrade. Besides, I have a weakness for computer power, even if I'll never use it to its full potential.

My full potential usage is gaming, i voted for 3+ years but I upgrade my graphics card every 1,5 - 2 years.