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[Gaming Laptops] What's Out There? What would you buy?
kingmetal
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
It seems like most of the current threads are sort of general laptop threads, or "should I buy a desktop or a laptop for gaming" threads - but I wanted to kick up some discussion about the current range of gaming laptop options out there, because there are a lot now.
What's a really good value right now? What's new and interesting in gaming laptops? What would you buy for yourself? What would you buy for yourself if you really didn't need to worry about budget?
Let's keep the "just buy a desktop" comments, I think we can all agree that desktops are a much better value.
I have very limited space (lots of roommates), and tend to game in short bursts (I do not have a ton of free time), but when I do I like to have a high-quality experience. When I moved last year, I gave my gaming rig to my little brother, who is honestly making much better use of it than I ever did - but I'm starting a new job, got a nice tax return and am generally contemplating my options. Because I have limited space, I do not have a desk - plus I don't really want to have a gaming rig set up all the time.
A 15" laptop seems like a decent mix between portability and usability, so my initial research is leading me towards the following:
Gigabyte P35X V3
Clevo P650SE (AKA Sager NP8651 / Eurocom M5 Pro / many other things)
2015 Razer Blade
The Gigabyte seems pretty drool worthy, and Xotic PC seems to magically have a low-end model (which still comes with the GTX 980M) for $1800. I can't see spending much more than that, personally, but part of this thread is to just discuss these things generally.
I'd be really curious what folks think the screaming deals are. Seems like last-years gaming laptops are going for a song now, and the idea of spending $600 / $700 and getting something halfway decent appeals to me as someone who really doesn't game as much as they used to, but still like to stay current.
Seems like an exciting time for this stuff, talk amongst yourselves.
What's a really good value right now? What's new and interesting in gaming laptops? What would you buy for yourself? What would you buy for yourself if you really didn't need to worry about budget?
Let's keep the "just buy a desktop" comments, I think we can all agree that desktops are a much better value.
I have very limited space (lots of roommates), and tend to game in short bursts (I do not have a ton of free time), but when I do I like to have a high-quality experience. When I moved last year, I gave my gaming rig to my little brother, who is honestly making much better use of it than I ever did - but I'm starting a new job, got a nice tax return and am generally contemplating my options. Because I have limited space, I do not have a desk - plus I don't really want to have a gaming rig set up all the time.
A 15" laptop seems like a decent mix between portability and usability, so my initial research is leading me towards the following:
Gigabyte P35X V3
Clevo P650SE (AKA Sager NP8651 / Eurocom M5 Pro / many other things)
2015 Razer Blade
The Gigabyte seems pretty drool worthy, and Xotic PC seems to magically have a low-end model (which still comes with the GTX 980M) for $1800. I can't see spending much more than that, personally, but part of this thread is to just discuss these things generally.
I'd be really curious what folks think the screaming deals are. Seems like last-years gaming laptops are going for a song now, and the idea of spending $600 / $700 and getting something halfway decent appeals to me as someone who really doesn't game as much as they used to, but still like to stay current.
Seems like an exciting time for this stuff, talk amongst yourselves.
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I dunno about Gigabyte rigs so no comment there but Alienwares are overpriced poop from a butt (lol, Dells) and the Razer blade being a two grand laptop that doesn't have a 980m in it is a fucking crime against humanity. You really should spend the money on getting as strong of a GPU in a gaming laptop as you can because that will extend the active lifespan of the laptop and end up saving you money in the long run as your laptop won't need replacing as soon.
And yeah, good call on XoticPC. I always highly recommend them for gaming laptops. Their customer service is really great, the prices are solid, and you can get pretty nuts with the options if you want to go that direction. But yeah, I highly recommend the Sager. I kick the ever loving shit out of mine via all the traveling, shitty weather, and iffy power quality and it takes the abuse like a champion. When I went laptop shopping I ended up just going straight to Xotic's Sager page, scrolling to the bottom, and buying the beefiest 17" laptop they had.
If you've got the extra money to spend, then skip the 8651 and get the 8652. It's basically the exact same model just with a 980m in it. If you aren't heavily gaming, then spending less on a prior model is definitely good stuff. I just can't really recommend anything there though cause I've always been really bad at shopping for not maxed out PC stuff.
Laptop gaming tip: If you can't find a sturdy laptop cooler to put under it, get a cheap cutting board. Then you can set the laptop basically anywhere and always have decent airflow underneath and also not worry about the heat it'll put out. Huzzah for not cooking your legs!
I spent months researching a gaming laptop, and gave up. They're either overpriced (like the Razor Blade), or lower quality with a high price (Clevo/Sager, Alienware, the Gigabyte P35X). There are some decent gaming laptops for around $1000 (Lenovo, Acer), but after careful review it seems like they are poor build quality.
Instead I went with a Lenovo Thinkpad from their outlet, since I factored actually needed to get work done over the need to play games. The Gigabyte P35/P34 is what I would have bought, but I heard their keyboards suck.
In my mind, it seemed more cost effective to buy a very good notebook for $800, and then a steambox for $800 and stream the steambox to the notebook or a TV. You're looking at $1800 Gigabyte, my solution is $200 less but when I'm not gaming the notebook is much better for actually getting work done.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
Sager build quality is pretty solid tbh. My current one is closing in on its second birthday and still looks and plays like new.
Just wanted to drop this link, because it's pretty useful. I don't know who wrote that, but he seems to keep it up to date:
http://alteredqualia.com/texts/notebooks/
I would try get an Nvidia GTX 860M, 965M, 970M or 980M and ignore anything else.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
"most powerful" does not equal "best". If you factor in size, heat, power and cooling then sometimes it's better to use a lower power card, which in your case would be the 965M or 970M.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
This isn't true. The bigger cards will run in a lower power profile and pull less juice doing the same work. All of this is a moot point though, because none of the gpus will work properly if it's not plugged in to mains power.
Size is still a factor. By choosing best performance card then you are limiting yourself to a big 15" or 17" laptop.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
I'm not seeing how this is a problem.
Yep if you're buying a "gaming" laptop, there is absolutely no point going about it half-cocked. 17 inches of thigh-melting fury or gtfo...
This all the way. If you don't go as big as you can, you'll end up spending tons of money on something that has poor performance and overheats!
Besides, anything smaller than 15" and you might as well get a 3DS or tablet for gaming. You're gonna have to have the screen shoved into your face anyway.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
yikes...
I have a 17" gaming laptop and travel with it extensively so that's pretty conclusively wrong. Also, the reason to get one is if you're like me and spend half the year away from home or, like @kingmetal, are looking for a desktop replacement for whatever reason.
You should probably read the OP.
I saw one of those in the wild once and I wasn't sure whether to play a game on it or sell it to a freak show.
On the flipside, I did bring my Sager to Afghanistan with me, and it survived the moon dust, the helicopter / plane transportation, the probably questionable electrical grid, etc.
The 980M is actually stupidly powerful:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-980M.126692.0.html
Though the 970M isn't too shabby:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-970M.126694.0.html
The difference is whether you are willing to settle for high graphics settings or need ultra (and 970M handles ultra in a substantial portion of games too).
My retailer of choice is xoticpc.com (already mentioned, actually).
As to 15" vs. 17", I actually prefer 15" myself. It's still big enough to be meaningful, but is substantially more portable than a 17". I'd argue running an external monitor at home, or, say, using a HDMI cord to play movies on a hotel room TV makes it very rare to actually need the extra 2" but there's no completely right answer.
It'd be a lot easier to help you out if we had more details other than "I have limited space and I tend to game in short bursts". Are you in the military? Or are you a college student? Do you travel a lot? If so, where, how, and how long? What kinds of games do you typically play? Etc. etc. etc.
The blanket advice is usually, "Don't buy a gaming laptop", but that's because the vast majority of people who buy them don't really need them and are just wasting money. There are plenty of cases where it makes sense, but even then there are a lot of things to take into consideration. For example, if you are a traveling salesman type and tend to be on long flights, then screen size is incredibly important, because you can't take out a 17-inch monstrosity and expect to be able to use it on the plane. However, if you don't "travel" per se but are stuck on a ship or a train for long periods of time, and only have access to limited space, then it may actually make more sense to get a shuttle box and hang up a large monitor somewhere. But if you never actually have your own space and are constantly changing rooms or sharing a desk, then maybe it does make sense to pick up the larger laptop just so you can stow it back and forth quickly (and securely).
The OP wanted a 15" screen. For most people I think 17" or bigger is a joke. Hey if you like a 17" screen, all the power to you. Not portable for my needs, at all.
Neo Geo Big Red owners club.
2009 PAX Puzzle Quest Champion
I have beat Rygar on the NES and many of you have not.
15 inches should be fine yeah
It's not so much that it's heavy, it's just I found it hard to find a bag, and once I found one that it fit into, I feel it leaves very little protection for the corners, etc.
Thing runs cool and is plenty powerful. Two m2.sata slots and you can fit one mech hd or two satas on top of each other. Pretty great deal for the price point.