Era, what's your thought on gaming laptops?

[Travless]

My eight year old MacBook Pro is on its last limb so I'm going to upgrading laptops soon. I'm starting to get more PC games to review at the one site I right for, and while I have an above average gaming rig at home, I was debating on making my replacement for the MacBook Pro a gaming laptop. Wouldn't necessarily need to be anything amazing, as I mostly just do my writing and some graphic design from my MacBook, but it would give me the flexibility to work from my fiancée house on nights that I stay with her if needed. At the same time, part of me wants to go the opposite direction and look into a Surface Pro lol.

What's Era's thoughts on gaming laptops?

Edit: For those mentioning to go the desktop route, I have a gaming PC at home with above average specs where I do my non-console exclusive gaming. The laptop wouldn't be replace that, it would be replacing my current laptop that is on its way out. I also own all three major consoles, including a Switch. (Just trying to give enough context to the discussion. Haha)

 

[Mitsurugi]

Gaming laptops are good investment if you travel a lot. Other than that I'd recommend upgrading your PC with the amount of money you're willing to spend on a gaming laptop

 

[Travless]

Gaming laptops are good investment if you travel a lot. Other than that I'd recommend upgrading your PC with the amount of money you're willing to spend on a gaming laptop

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Normally, I'd agree with you, but I would be replacing a laptop I already have. I'd like to still have a portable option for work and my writing. The gaming side would just be an extra convenience thing thrown in.

I do need to upgrade my SSD in my PC though. ~128GB isn't enough anymore haha.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Despite what is usually believed, even a laptop that can play current titles is actually not absurdly expensive; however there is a caveat with most of the affordable models with great specs, they are not something that you can use unplugged since their battery don't last, and the models that are the whole package (screen, battery, specs, and built quality) are the ones that are actually really expensive.

 

[Unkindled]

Gaming laptops are much better than what they were before, just don't expect much battery life when you're gaming on it.

If you are planning to review games I would recommend 1060 or above for 1080p gaming.

Don't waste money on 4k panel and instead settle on either 1080p or 1440p with higher refresh rate.

Extended warranty on gaming laptop will help you out in long term if you have issues with it later.

Make sure you read up reviews of the laptop related to heat when gaming specifically before buying it since some laptop have bad cooling and will thermal throttle your cpu.

That should be it mostly.

 

[Ge0force]

For gaming, a desktop pc is very recommended. You can buy a smaller case (Fractal Design Define Mini C for example) if you don't have much space on your desk for a pc.

 

[Zephy]

When I bought my laptop about a year ago, with the price crisis on components, it ended up cheaper than if I had bought a desktop equivalent (GTX 1060 with i7 7700 for 1000€). I use it plugged in to my tv with a wireless keyboard/trackball, and I can take it with me when I go on holiday. It's powerful enough that I haven't used my desktop (SLI GTX970) since I've got it, I play everything on high/max at 1080p/30fps, or 60 for less demanding games.

Laptop gaming used to be a ripoff, now it's a solid investment I think.

 

[Dragonyeuw]

I'm planning a major move to a new country next year and I know I'm going to be doing alot of commuting, so I'm looking to invest in a beefy laptop next year( in the $2500 range). There's no way I'm logging my 4 year old gaming PC monstrosity over there.

 

[Mitsurugi]

Normally, I'd agree with you, but I would be replacing a laptop I already have. I'd like to still have a portable option for work and my writing. The gaming side would just be an extra convenience thing thrown in.

I do need to upgrade my SSD in my PC though. ~128GB isn't enough anymore haha.

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Yeah in your case go for it. Just don't go crazy much :p .. 128GB? That's one game + the patches xD

When I bought my laptop about a year ago, with the price crisis on components, it ended up cheaper than if I had bought a desktop equivalent (GTX 1060 with i7 7700 for 1000€). I use it plugged in to my tv with a wireless keyboard/trackball, and I can take it with me when I go on holiday. It's powerful enough that I haven't used my desktop (SLI GTX970) since I've got it, I play everything on high/max at 1080p/30fps, or 60 for less demanding games.

Laptop gaming used to be a ripoff, now it's a solid investment I think.

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This seems nice. What's the laptop if I may know?

 

[fourfourfun]

I'm starting to keep more of an eye on eGPU. For gaming on the go, my needs are suited by Switch (which is a far better device for the purpose), but I like the idea of being able to dock a laptop and take advantage of desktop PC grunt.

So I'm thinking tablet + eGPU = a pretty nice solution. Take the tablet away and have the great form factor for on the go. Plus, for design purposes, having a touchscreen unit may be absolutely fantastic for you. You could retire the Macbook and get stuck into illustrator.

I'm more of a Switch user nowadays and my PC usage is more directed towards music, but having the choice of being able to plug it in the TV if I want to play something like No Mans Sky sings to me.

 

[jon bones]

Gaming laptops seem like the perfect update to an aging MacBook.

My 2013 MBPr is starting to get old and for the cost of a new one I can basically have a thin, office-ready laptop that doubles as a portable 1X

 

[SunBroDave]

My laptop has been great for hanging out with the SO in the living room while they're watching TV. A GTX 1060 is enough for some solid 1080p gaming on a smaller screen when you're just chilling on the couch

 

[Travless]

For gaming, a desktop pc is very recommended. You can buy a smaller case (Fractal Design Define Mini C for example) if you don't have much space on your desk for a pc.

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I have a gaming PC at my home, that is pretty beefy. This would just be replacing a laptop I currently have. It wouldn't be my 'go-to' method for PC gaming; it'd be more of an added benefit to a laptop that will primarily be used for writing and some graphic design. Just would keep my options a bit more flexible if I needed to review some titles that get thrown my way on PC and was away with work.

 

[Big_Erk]

I do most of my PC gaming on a gaming laptop and love it. I do have a dedicated gaming PC but I like the luxury of being able to game in any room of the house. I don't use the laptop outside of the house (the damn thing probably weighs 10lbs) so battery life isn't an issue.

You can get a decent gaming laptop for between $1000-1500, maybe cheaper if you look hard enough. I think I paid $1300 for my ROG G752 a couple of years ago and I still love it.

 

[BriGuy]

Eh. They're fine if you expect to be on the road a lot, but I would personally get a Switch for gaming, a modestly priced laptop for work purposes, and then invest the rest in a gaming PC. I used to go the gaming laptop route for everything until fairly recently, but the experience is just subpar compared to a real PC.

 

[Zephy]

This seems nice. What's the laptop if I may know?

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Lenovo Legion, I think the model is Y720, with a 128Gb SSD, 512Gb HDD. This was a discounted price, it was originally 1500€ or something like that. I'm really happy with it.

 

[KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd.]

I can never pull the trigger on buying them, because by being both high powered and a laptop, the design gets compromised so much.

Gaming laptops are huge, heat up enough that they dont make good laptops but rather just good notebook computers on a desk, and the battery life will be short.

If I want a good laptop, those wont cut it.
If I want a good gaming PC, then I should get a desktop. An ugly box sitting on the floor or a desk is much easier to design around.

So I'd consider getting another desktop, if you really need another gaming PC. For a laptop, I'd just get another MacBook Pro.

But that's me. I'm not going to carry around a larger backpack like some college freshman or someone who's travelling, just to take a PC somewhere. If I need to play games remotely, I prefer my Switch, Vita, and 3DS.
If I want to play at home, there's better options.

 

[Mitsurugi]

Lenovo Legion, I think the model is Y720, with a 128Gb SSD, 512Gb HDD. This was a discounted price, it was originally 1500€ or something like that. I'm really happy with it.

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That's a good snatch

 

[Travless]

Eh. They're fine if you expect to be on the road a lot, but I would personally get a Switch for gaming, a modestly priced laptop for work purposes, and then invest the rest in a gaming PC. I used to go the gaming laptop route for everything until fairly recently, but the experience is just subpar compared to a real PC.

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Yeah, I hear ya. I love console gaming, and will always stick with the console market, but since I invested in a gaming PC a few years ago, it's kind of sullied my view when it comes to performance on consoles. IMO, 1080p/60 has to be the bare minimum for gameplay on consoles next generation.

 

[TheSubsequentStrajack]

Oh god don't get me started on gaming laptops (or gaming branded anything really)

They are huge, ugly, clunky monstrosities with like 20m of battery life and bad keyboards/trackpads. The only one that gets a pass from me is the really high end Razer notebooks, and even then they are covered in RGB from head to toe.

Sure the performance is killer but if you're looking for cost/specs then a desktop is a far better value. Good luck avoiding "Gamer" looking hardware in the realm of cases and monitors though, it's a shitshow.

 

[justiceiro]

I was not expecting my newest laptop to be better at games than my old PC...

 

[Deleted member 31817]

They are almost instantly outdated, good if you're on the go a lot or like to relax in bed while gaming but temper your expectations for performance.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Oh god don't get me started on gaming laptops (or gaming branded anything really)

They are huge, ugly, clunky monstrosities with like 20m of battery life and bad keyboards/trackpads. The only one that gets a pass from me is the really high end Razer notebooks, and even then they are covered in RGB from head to toe.

Sure the performance is killer but if you're looking for cost/specs then a desktop is a far better value. Good luck avoiding "Gamer" looking hardware in the realm of cases and monitors though, it's a shitshow.

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What? You can just get a high end laptop, no need to get alienware esque anything

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Oh god don't get me started on gaming laptops (or gaming branded anything really)

They are huge, ugly, clunky monstrosities with like 20m of battery life and bad keyboards/trackpads. The only one that gets a pass from me is the really high end Razer notebooks, and even then they are covered in RGB from head to toe.

Sure the performance is killer but if you're looking for cost/specs then a desktop is a far better value. Good luck avoiding "Gamer" looking hardware in the realm of cases and monitors though, it's a shitshow.

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It would be really easy, since the most popular style of cases for the last few years are Fractal and NZXT plain boxes and they have plenty of copycats.

 

[.git]

Before I switched to Cloud gaming, I gamed on a MSI laptop and it was perfect for me. Played every game I wanted on high settings and it wasn't too bulky. Always preferred a laptop to a tower.

 

[Buttchin-n-Bones]

When I bought my laptop about a year ago, with the price crisis on components, it ended up cheaper than if I had bought a desktop equivalent (GTX 1060 with i7 7700 for 1000€). I use it plugged in to my tv with a wireless keyboard/trackball, and I can take it with me when I go on holiday. It's powerful enough that I haven't used my desktop (SLI GTX970) since I've got it, I play everything on high/max at 1080p/30fps, or 60 for less demanding games.

Laptop gaming used to be a ripoff, now it's a solid investment I think.

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You've got an i7/1060 and you're only getting 30? What games are you playing

 

[theytookourjobz]

Playing AC: Odyssey on a 2011 MacBook Air via Google Project Stream was pretty freaking awesome. Won't ever replace a gaming PC or a console as a primary device but with MS talking a lot about investing in streaming and with how well Google's solution already works, I don't think I'd spend a bunch on a laptop specifically for gaming.

 

[Travless]

Playing AC: Odyssey on a 2011 MacBook Air via Google Project Stream was pretty freaking awesome. Won't ever replace a gaming PC or a console as a primary device but with MS talking a lot about investing in streaming and with how well Google's solution already works, I don't think I'd spend a bunch on a laptop specifically for gaming.

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That's true. From who I've talked to in relation to MS, xCloud is going to be something special. I didn't even think of that aspect lol.

 

[SlickShoes]

I bought one about a year and a half ago now, i7 32GB RAM and an 8GB 1070. Performance wise it's great, it's lasting well and those specs should see me through another 3 years before I need to think about upgrading. Due to the price of RAM and GPU's in recent years my laptop cost the same as a desktop would have and it was way easier to move when i moved overseas and being able to take it when I travel for work is really useful.

 

[TheSubsequentStrajack]

It would be really easy, since the most popular style of cases for the last few years are Fractal and NZXT plain boxes and they have plenty of copycats.

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You're right it's much easier on cases than it is on monitors. I feel like searching for an acceptable looking monitor that had good performance was a nightmare.

 

[ResoRai]

Do people really play games on battery with a laptop? Couldn't do it lol.
I have an HP Omen (older model) with a 1070 and gsync I got for $1300 and I love it.

 

[Serious Sam]

Gaming laptops made incredible advancements in the last couple of years. Traditionally laptops used to have significantly downscaled GPU models which were miles behind their desktop counterparts. That's not the case any more. You can now buy laptops with full fat desktop grade GPUs. It's gotten to the point where similar specced laptop with GTX1070 is matching in performance similar specced desktop with GTX1070. Also, gaming laptops are great for multimedia work, because they are fast, obviously heh, just make sure to get one with a good IPS panel.

 

[TheSubsequentStrajack]

What? You can just get a high end laptop, no need to get alienware esque anything

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I'm aware that these exist but mostly when people talk "gaming laptops" they are referring to the alienware / rog stuff

 

[WillyFive]

Gaming laptops have improved dramatically over the years, but from what you've told us, you want a Surface Pro.

 

[Weebos]

I like them. I only do occasional PC gaming, so they fit my lifestyle more than a traditional PC rig does. Being able to bring it to friends' places is a huge upside.

I recently picked up a 2016 Razer Blade and I absolutely love it. MacBook form factor that can actually play some games. It's not the most powerful machine, but it does what I need when I need it.

 

[Windrunner]

They're bad at being laptops for doing any work on but if you travel a lot, always have access to a power outlet and want something to game on they're pretty good now.

 

[sca]

Try to find one that doesn't throttle too badly. Check notebookcheck and any other detailed review sites since they don't seem to skip over that

 

[Serious Sam]

I'm aware that these exist but mostly when people talk "gaming laptops" they are referring to the alienware / rog stuff

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This is a gaming laptop. It has 6 core 12 thread CPU, GTX 1060 6Gb. It's thin (under 2cm), no gaming branding anywhere, optional customizable RGB keyboard backlight, 8 hours of battery life (when not gaming).

 

[Lampa]

Gaming laptops are actually pretty good now, even on the lower end, my biggest issue with them is how hideous most of them look. Big bezels, thick body, edgy gamery "features" everywhere and a shitty battery life. There's exceptions of course and I would look for a work laptop with good specs rather than a one marketed for gaming. Get one with 8th gen Intel CPU though, it's a big upgrade. A standard laptop 8th gen i5 is 4 cores 8 threads. Thats better than 7th gen i7s, which were 2 core 4 thread (iirc).

Edit: Check out https://www.notebookcheck.net/ besides pretty good a in-depth reviews of laptops, users also submit their benchmarks for laptop GPUs/CPUs. On the lower end I'd recommend something with an i5 8250u and an MX 150. Pretty cheap and capable. On the higher end, a 1060/1070 with an 6th gen i7 is your best bet.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

I actually wanted a "portable" option for VR development and wound up going with an Alienware monstrosity (their current 17 inch laptop) after getting talked into it from a friend. I honestly absolutely love it so far. It's huge and gamer-ugly and something I obviously couldn't recommend if you're even slightly concerned with portability and presentation, but if you're okay with that it's pretty luxurious when you're sitting down and actually using it. Love the big gsync display and it keeps surprisingly cool compared to pretty much any other laptop I've used.

 

[Deleted member 40102]

Actually terrible really heavy, not powerful enough and it heat really fast sometimes.

Ether go desktop or bust.

 

[Flevance]

The gap between laptops and desktops have dramatically closed up in the past years, so you won't go wrong with that choice right now

I've been using gaming laptops for five years now, they serve their purpose very well. Besides, not every game would cause the laptop to heat up if it's powerful enough and you can just lower the settings if you aren't in a suitable place when it did

If you're gonna get one then you better wait till early 2019 for the new GPUs tho

 

[Gusy]

I have a GLROG STRIX GL702. It comes with a i7 7700hq , a 1070 and a 1080p Gsync panel. Its portable, sleek and performance wise matches a similarly specced desktop. It handles my Oculus Rift perfectly. I haven't found a single game that doesn't run at 60 fps or very near at 1080P.

I gotta say, I love it...

 

[TheSubsequentStrajack]

This is a gaming laptop. It has 6 core 12 thread CPU, GTX 1060 6Gb. It's thin (under 2cm), no gaming branding anywhere, optional customizable RGB keyboard backlight, 8 hours of battery life (when not gaming).

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That font / those vent grills on the bottom. Blech.

 

[Thatguy]

Gaming laptops are good investment if you travel a lot. Other than that I'd recommend upgrading your PC with the amount of money you're willing to spend on a gaming laptop

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Also, laptops provide the Switch effect. Play docked in a desktop setting or play on your couch on the laptop screen. Some even have desktop grade graphics on board. Other plug into an eGPU when docked for high end graphics.

Bottom line, they're arguably the best hardware to game on if you have a higher end model.

 

[wholahay]

I used gaming laptops for about ~six years (made more sense when I was traveling a lot as an undergrad/grad student). They do the job well but in my experience the heat was always a big issue. Just be warned managing the heat is going to be a priority unless they've improved cooling tech significantly since then. I absolutely damaged components by letting them get overheated, and it shortened the lifespan of both computers pretty drastically.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I used gaming laptops instead of desktop for all of my pc gaming for the longest time. It's great if you're on the move a lot or if you have limited space. Also great if you're lazy and want to always game from a couch.

Now I have my desktop for like 95% of my gaming, but also have my regular day to day laptop for less intensive games when I just want to play like an indie game as I crash on my couch or bed.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

You're right it's much easier on cases than it is on monitors. I feel like searching for an acceptable looking monitor that had good performance was a nightmare.

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specially g-sync monitors, I don't know if there is any without some gamer aesthetics.

edit: At least there is always artist and color oriented ips monitors that are elegant, but anything high refresh rate over 120hz is gaming territory.

 

[matimeo]

Gaming laptop is the only way I go these days. I like being pretty mobile. The trade off for me is I also have a MacBook Pro so I wanted a laptop that did not scream gamer and had a thin profile. These gaming laptops are prone to overheating and should not be treated like a full on desktop.

This meant undervolting, ensuring I had a proper stand to allow cooling thru fans, and keeping gaming sessions to a reasonable time.

I will probably upgrade my MacBook Pro next year and keep my gaming laptop for gaming and streaming media only.

 

[Netherscourge]

LOVE my Clevo gaming laptop.

It has an unlocked desktop CPU (6700K) and GPU (980 GTX 8GB) in it, so it's not like I'm making any compromises on raw power.

It was pricey, but all the parts are plug-and-play and I can slap them into a desktop mobo if I ever wanted to. And there's upgrading available with mod kits for newer parts. But I haven't needed to upgrade anything yet.

Having so much power in something that folds up into the size of an old-school Trapper Keeper is the best thing ever.