Gaming Laptop Question

SpraykwoN

SpraykwoN

CAGiversary!
Feedback
454 (100%)
First, let me just say, I would rather build myself a killer PC.  But given my wife and I's current living environment, a large desk with two monitors, PC tower, and surround sound speakers, is not in the cards.  Therefore, I have started looking into a gaming laptop.  I'm fine with this since I do want a new laptop (besides my work MacBook Pro) that I can use for personal use and gaming (primarily D3 and WoW among other games).

I have been looking at the 2016 Razer Blade paired with the Razer Core to add some desktop power to it (plus they are offering $100 off if purchased together), but the price for a solid gaming laptop is insane.  This thing is definitely outside my budget, but I plan on using the thing for many years to come (last PC lasted me about 9 years and I spent around $2,500 on it when I built it), so I wanted to ask for some opinions about this being a good investment.

I have also looked at some Origin Laptops as well, but I am still leaning heavily on the Blade.  I myself have never owned a Razer product, so any info on them and their quality, performance, support, etc., is greatly appreciated.

I look forward to some insight.  Thanks in advance!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Razer's small size and QHD screens seem kinda contradictory... unless you plan on having your face right to the screen, you're not gonna see any benefit for a QHD screen at that size. And unless you plan to take that thing with you everywhere, the small size won't be much benefit. I'd think something with 15.6" to 17" screen would be better...  

For the price of the Blade, I think you could get a slightly nicer laptop in terms of internal hardware, even if they're going to be a bit bigger/bulkier. I never really cared for Razer products... their products always seem to have a premium on them due to style. Not saying they're bad products, just not worth the premium. 

I've got an 2014 Asus G751JL right now. It's their budget gaming laptop but it handles games at 1080p at medium settings just fine. It's big, bulky and ugly but I didn't buy it as a fashion statement so I don't care about those things, ha. And I'm pretty sure Asus is working on an external GPU option too though I'm not sure when it's coming out. 

Also, not sure how much of an impact this'll have, but maybe consider waiting? AMD and Nvidia both just launched their new desktop GPU lineups... I'm sure they're working on mobile GPUs too. Who knows, but you might either see better performing gaming laptops or maybe the older ones getting price reductions. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vinny said:
The Razer's small size and QHD screens seem kinda contradictory... unless you plan on having your face right to the screen, you're not gonna see any benefit for a QHD screen at that size. And unless you plan to take that thing with you everywhere, the small size won't be much benefit. I'd think something with 15.6" to 17" screen would be better...

For the price of the Blade, I think you could get a slightly nicer laptop in terms of internal hardware, even if they're going to be a bit bigger/bulkier. I never really cared for Razer products... their products always seem to have a premium on them due to style. Not saying they're bad products, just not worth the premium.

I've got an 2014 Asus G751JL right now. It's their budget gaming laptop but it handles games at 1080p at medium settings just fine. It's big, bulky and ugly but I didn't buy it as a fashion statement so I don't care about those things, ha. And I'm pretty sure Asus is working on an external GPU option too though I'm not sure when it's coming out.

Also, not sure how much of an impact this'll have, but maybe consider waiting? AMD and Nvidia both just launched their new desktop GPU lineups... I'm sure they're working on mobile GPUs too. Who knows, but you might either see better performing gaming laptops or maybe the older ones getting price reductions.
Click to expand...
Alienware has also caught my eye as of today, with their heavy discounts and coupon promotions. A 15in laptop I priced out is right around $3,000 before taxes, and that includes a 980 GTX along with an overclocked i7 6280 and the Alienware Graphics Amplifier in the price.

That alone should handle games for years to come. Just the price point is fucking nuts. I know I am getting a hell of a laptop for the price, plus the discounts sweeten the deal. But damn, I thought this would be so much easier than it is lol. Prices nowadays are nuts, ESPECIALLY for gaming laptops.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
SpraykwoN said:
that I can use for personal use and gaming (primarily D3 and WoW among other games).
Click to expand...
I have a 3-year-old Dell with an i7 and a geForce 650m 2GB in it that I paid like $650 for that can run both of those just fine.
Sure, not max settings, but not the lowest either, and they run fine.

Biggest thing would be, after you've picked out a laptop, to pick up an SSD and make that the primary drive (for OS, and D3/WoW if those are your main concerns). Just a small drive is fine if you have another hard drive slot as well. My laptop had both 2 hard drive slots, as well as an mSATA spot, so I just got a 180GB mSATA SSD and left 2x1TB 7200RPM drives in the other slots. If you're looking at smaller laptops they might not have as many drive spots - but even a bigger laptop to ensure the HD bays would be a better option than a chimera with an attached card you have to drag around.


P.S.

SpraykwoN said:
Alienware has also caught my eye as of today

...

Prices nowadays are nuts, ESPECIALLY for gaming laptops. for Alienwares.
Click to expand...
Fixed that for you.

P.P.S. Yes, I know Dell owns the Alienware brand now.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I probably would personally get away from the mainstream gaming laptops and consider stuff like Acer, Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI.  A lot of people also swear by Sager.  You'll be paying a premium for Razer and Alienware.  Check out Newegg as they have a good selection of gaming laptops and check out Sager's website to see how they compare price and feature-wise.  

 
This is one of the daily deals on Newegg for $1449 after rebate.  Comes with a free backpack, for what it's worth.

MSI GT Series GT72 Dominator Pro G-1252 Gaming Laptop

6th Generation Intel Core i7 6700HQ (2.60 GHz)

16 GB Memory

1 TB HDD

512 GB SSD

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4 GB GDDR5

17.3"

Windows 10 Home 64-Bit

 
I ended up deciding to build a PC and use my 60in 4K TV as the monitor.  A ridiculously powerful PC cost me about $2,500 bucks and smokes any of those laptops I was looking at.  Makes the most sense at this point.

 
SpraykwoN said:
I ended up deciding to build a PC and use my 60in 4K TV as the monitor. A ridiculously powerful PC cost me about $2,500 bucks and smokes any of those laptops I was looking at. Makes the most sense at this point.
Click to expand...
Details? What did you settle on for specs?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Laughing Mann said:
Details? What did you settle on for specs?
Click to expand...
- Intel i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad Core 4.0 GHz 1151 Processor
- Corsair Hydro Series H115i Extreme Performance CPU Cooler
- 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 SDRAM
- ASUS ROG Maximus VIII HERO ALPHA
- Corsair HXi Series HX750i 750W Power Supply
- MSI GeForce GTX 1070 SEA HAWK X Water Cooled GPU
- 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Operating System)
- 1x Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD (Games)
- 1x Western Digital Black 1TB 7200 RPM HD (Old HD that will be replaced by a 1TB SSD in the near future)
- Corsair 400C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- Windows 10 Professional

I will be running this all on my 60in 4K UHD LG Television with a Couchmaster Pro as the desk. I was originally going get a 1080 SEA HAWK X Water Cooled GPU, but the $300 price difference was not worth it IMO and eliminating this allowed me to get a second hard drive.

 
SpraykwoN said:
- Intel i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad Core 4.0 GHz 1151 Processor
- Corsair Hydro Series H115i Extreme Performance CPU Cooler
- 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 SDRAM
- ASUS ROG Maximus VIII HERO ALPHA
- Corsair HXi Series HX750i 750W Power Supply
- MSI GeForce GTX 1070 SEA HAWK X Water Cooled GPU
- 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Operating System)
- 1x Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD (Games)
- 1x Western Digital Black 1TB 7200 RPM HD (Old HD that will be replaced by a 1TB SSD in the near future)
- Corsair 400C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- Windows 10 Professional

I will be running this all on my 60in 4K UHD LG Television with a Couchmaster Pro as the desk. I was originally going get a 1080 SEA HAWK X Water Cooled GPU, but the $300 price difference was not worth it IMO and eliminating this allowed me to get a second hard drive.
Click to expand...
Quad core i7 running at 4.0 GHz. You're set for the next 5 years, easy.

Corsair Hydro coolers are definitely worth it, especially for a 4.0 GHz default clock.

16GB DDR4 is going to be plenty for a while. Only one or two games (particularly Steam Early Access titles) are emphasizing the need for that much RAM. A lot of others no more than 8, tops.

Love the ASUS Maximus choice of mobo.

750W is plenty for a single high end video card and CPU.

1070 is a solid choice.

While I like your choice of SSDs, I'd be wary even of running a dedicated SSD just for games (Samsung or not). I am hoping the tech's improved enough that more writes/rewrites won't diminish the life of the drive. All the same, keep the warranty in mind for the next 5 years (or 150 TBW, Total Bytes Written)

If the 1TB has games on it still (especially through Steam or Origin or what have you), you can repurpose those games for the new OS and save a frickton of bandwidth and time.

Windows 10 definitely is a good OS currently IMO. Definitely worth the Pro.

 
The Laughing Mann said:
Quad core i7 running at 4.0 GHz. You're set for the next 5 years, easy.

Corsair Hydro coolers are definitely worth it, especially for a 4.0 GHz default clock.

16GB DDR4 is going to be plenty for a while. Only one or two games (particularly Steam Early Access titles) are emphasizing the need for that much RAM. A lot of others no more than 8, tops.

Love the ASUS Maximus choice of mobo.

750W is plenty for a single high end video card and CPU.

1070 is a solid choice.

While I like your choice of SSDs, I'd be wary even of running a dedicated SSD just for games (Samsung or not). I am hoping the tech's improved enough that more writes/rewrites won't diminish the life of the drive. All the same, keep the warranty in mind for the next 5 years (or 150 TBW, Total Bytes Written)

If the 1TB has games on it still (especially through Steam or Origin or what have you), you can repurpose those games for the new OS and save a frickton of bandwidth and time.

Windows 10 definitely is a good OS currently IMO. Definitely worth the Pro.
Click to expand...
I swapped the 1070 out for the same model but the 1080 version. Computer is a fucking beast though lol.

 
IMO if you want overpriced go with Alienware/Razer but my recommendation would be an Asus ROG laptop that fits your budget/needs

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top