Gaming Laptop Discussion Thread

Casper · Aug 30, 2018

Aaron D. said:
Thanks again!

My pleasure. Yeah starting at 1:50 here... pretty clacky with those kailh chocolate blues!

Though if it really has everything else you need and you yourself like the keyboard, you could always get another quiet keyboard for times when the clack would bother your wife, no?

Eolz · Aug 30, 2018

wol93 said:
I need an info:
If I buy now a laptop with an i5/i7 7th gen/8 gen with nvidia 1070/1080 it will be able to handle next gen games? Or it's better to wait next gen consoles and buy a new laptop after that? Current gen games minimum requirement (I checked these on steam) require olds cpu like i5 2xxx or 3xxx and GPUs like 4xx/5xx series. Do you think minimum requirement will have a HUGE bump after new console are out ?

It's hard to say since we don't know when they're releasing and with what. Worst case scenario, I'm sure you'll still be able to play them in medium for the first two years, as they'll probably do cross gen again.
CPUs won't change much in the next consoles anyway as even now they are not even on par with an i3, it'll be more on the GPU side.
(imo obviously)

chandoog · Aug 30, 2018

Eolz said:
It's hard to say since we don't know when they're releasing and with what. Worst case scenario, I'm sure you'll still be able to play them in medium for the first two years, as they'll probably do cross gen again.
CPUs won't change much in the next consoles anyway as even now they are not even on par with an i3, it'll be more on the GPU side.
(imo obviously)

Also "next gen" won't be here for at least a year or two either .. so you'll still have a good 4, 5 year mileage.

signal · Aug 30, 2018

1299 :think:

Zebei · Aug 30, 2018

EDIT: NVM. post not really needed anymore

Sir Garbageman · Aug 31, 2018

Is there a gaming laptop equipped with a 1060 that is:

1. In the $1,500 range
2. Decently light weight (sub 5 lbs)
3. Aesthetically doesn't scream gaming

?

Casper · Aug 31, 2018

Might be a case of pick 2 of those... There's the Asus ROG Strixat around 6 pounds. 8th gen processor. 1060. Not sure how you feel about its looks.

There is also the MSI Stealth Thin line. The 050 is about 2k though.

shockdude · Aug 31, 2018

The diagonal tearing issue that some people in this thread have been experiencing may have been fixed in Nvidia Driver 399.07, which released on the 27th. Check out the driver release notes on page 14.

fr0st · Sep 1, 2018

No labor day sales?

broncobuster · Sep 1, 2018

Anyone have an Acer Predator Helios 500 or similar type of huge, beefy 17 inch gaming PC?

I'm looking for a gaming desktop type of laptop. Less to play on planes and trains and more that I'd be able to move around every couple of weeks between states and countries, even if it's ~10lbs. Something comparable if not a little better than my current desktop, which is getting old at this point (i7 CPU from 2013 and a 970 from 2014).

I've always had 13 inch laptops paired with a gaming desktop, so I'm not entirely familiar with the laptop space.

MukuMuku · Sep 2, 2018

Hi Guys,

I need help in upgrading my RAM and I'm not sure how to go about it. I currently have :

ASUS FX550V
GTX 950M
i5 7300HQ 2.5 Ghz
4GB RAM

I experience a lot of slowdown when I launch different apps at the same time like steam, spotify, netflix. Netflix even froze and I wasn't even able to close it.

Should I add just a 4 or 8 GB RAM? will there be any problem if I add the 8 making it a total of 12GB? For some reason, the laptop doesn't say what type of RAM I need.

appreciate your help!

Clowns · Sep 2, 2018

MukuMuku said:
Hi Guys,

I need help in upgrading my RAM and I'm not sure how to go about it. I currently have :

ASUS FX550V
GTX 950M
i5 7300HQ 2.5 Ghz
4GB RAM

I experience a lot of slowdown when I launch different apps at the same time like steam, spotify, netflix. Netflix even froze and I wasn't even able to close it.

Should I add just a 4 or 8 GB RAM? will there be any problem if I add the 8 making it a total of 12GB? For some reason, the laptop doesn't say what type of RAM I need.

appreciate your help!

Asus says it's DDR4 2133. Says you can use up to a 16GB stick. Remember to look up laptop specific RAM sticks. Some Amazon options I just did a quick search for.

MukuMuku · Sep 2, 2018

ClownsAreATen said:
Asus says it's DDR4 2133. Says you can use up to a 16GB stick. Remember to look up laptop specific RAM sticks. Some Amazon options I just did a quick search for.[/QUOTE

thanks man! would there be a problem if i use an 8GB or a 12GB ram? some people told me there might be some problem with latency or whatever

Clowns · Sep 2, 2018

Can't speak to this with firsthand experience, but I know it'll work. I think dual channel RAM is more important with AMD systems than Intel. Perhaps someone else here can give you better advice.

MukuMuku · Sep 3, 2018

Thanks Mr. ClowsnAreATen!! I just hope I can find one with a reasonable price.

TheSHEEEP · Sep 3, 2018

broncobuster said:
Anyone have an Acer Predator Helios 500 or similar type of huge, beefy 17 inch gaming PC?

Are you sure about 17 inch?
From my experience, 15 inch is better as it is "big enough" to enjoy, but still fits everywhere.

17 inch laptops won't fit into most backpacks, and if they do, you'll be carrying one huge backpack with you - or an extra laptop bag just for the thing.
And if it is about also using it at home, I'd actually just buy a large monitor for that and connect that to the laptop.

Mike D · Sep 3, 2018

broncobuster said:
Anyone have an Acer Predator Helios 500 or similar type of huge, beefy 17 inch gaming PC?

I'm looking for a gaming desktop type of laptop. Less to play on planes and trains and more that I'd be able to move around every couple of weeks between states and countries, even if it's ~10lbs. Something comparable if not a little better than my current desktop, which is getting old at this point (i7 CPU from 2013 and a 970 from 2014).

I've always had 13 inch laptops paired with a gaming desktop, so I'm not entirely familiar with the laptop space.

I just bought an Asus ROG STRIX with a 17.3" display. It's 7 lbs for the laptop and 2 lbs for the power supply. I wanted something that can be set up anywhere in the house easily unlike a desktop with an external display, so it's great for that.

Here's the specs: https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ROG-Strix-GL702ZC/

I love it. Doesn't throttle and I can play most games at 1080p/60 with Ultra or Very High settings. The Ryzen 7 inside it is an 8-core desktop CPU while the RX 580 is comparable to a GTX 1060. As a bonus, it has loud built-in speakers so I don't need headphones to watch Netflix on it or play a game casually. Decent IPS panel too and I like the keyboard on it as well.

Here's a review:

broncobuster · Sep 3, 2018

Mike D said:
I just bought an Asus ROG STRIX with a 17.3" display. It's 7 lbs for the laptop and 2 lbs for the power supply. I wanted something that can be set up anywhere in the house easily unlike a desktop with an external display, so it's great for that.

Here's the specs: https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ROG-Strix-GL702ZC/

I love it. Doesn't throttle and I can play most games at 1080p/60 with Ultra or Very High settings. The Ryzen 7 inside it is an 8-core desktop CPU while the RX 580 is comparable to a GTX 1060. As a bonus, it has loud built-in speakers so I don't need headphones to watch Netflix on it or play a game casually. Decent IPS panel too and I like the keyboard on it as well.

Here's a review:

That looks nice and a bit less expensive than the Helios 500. I'll check it out next time I head to Micro Center.

TheSHEEEP said:
Are you sure about 17 inch?
From my experience, 15 inch is better as it is "big enough" to enjoy, but still fits everywhere.

17 inch laptops won't fit into most backpacks, and if they do, you'll be carrying one huge backpack with you - or an extra laptop bag just for the thing.
And if it is about also using it at home, I'd actually just buy a large monitor for that and connect that to the laptop.

I was thinking I'd stick it somewhere in a roller luggage. It is indeed a big, bulky, and heavy machine. Long story short, it's the type of situation where I'd only be moving it every couple of weeks. A Surface Pro 2017 is ostensibly my laptop/tablet that I'd be taking around, but it's limited in terms of games and other tasks where I'd need something powerful.

Screen size is a slight consideration, but more so the cooling and fan noise seem better on the larger laptops.

Tizoc · Sep 3, 2018

Bit of a silly question but seeing as most current laptops with 8th Gen have at least Intel UHD 620, how is this card for playing games such as World of Warcraft and Dota 2?
My brother's laptop is looking to be on its last legs, and I figure I could get him a budgety laptop to run those games as they're the main ones he would play.

Tizoc · Sep 4, 2018

If anyone's interested in the current Helios model, this video shows some benchmarks.

Prophaniti · Sep 6, 2018

Dell G7 came today and nothing works. None of my games will launch. It looks like the Directx9 installed won't work for any of the games. Internal error message Every time I try and run the installer. Everything seems like it's up to date. This sucks.

Beatle · Sep 6, 2018

JMTHEFOX said:
Was about to get Dell 7577 at Best Buy, but I got the Acer Nitro 5 with GTX 1050 Ti on sale since it was cheaper. I was really surprised on how well it runs Quake Champions on High settings.

I am looking into adding another 8GB stick of RAM as well as adding an HDD in the laptop. Any recommendations for good DDR4 RAM and HDD?

That is one of the best value gaming laptops I've seen, good buy

JackDT · Sep 6, 2018

The main criticism of the Nitro seems to be the screen isn't very bright. Other than that it seems like a good value.

Eolz · Sep 7, 2018

I remember reading that the Helios 300 was a better value than the Nitro 5 for similar hardware.

Anyway, bought the Asus Scar 2 in the end, as there was a great special deal on it :)

Minky · Sep 7, 2018

I recently bought this cool little thing after wanting a gaming laptop for years:

https://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/...=ABU&mastersku=3ZV36EA&masteropt=ABU&sel=NTB&

I'd never really looked at the HP Omen series too closely, but as we get a nice little discount on HP's stuff at work, I thought I'd give it a go. Retails for £1k, I got it for £880... Specs-wise:

Intel Core i7-8750H, @ 2.2Ghz base, 4.1Ghz turbo
8GB DDR4 RAM @ 2666 (upgradeable to 32GB max)
128GB M.2 SSD, 1TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 4GB GDDR5 VRAM
15.6" IPS display @1080p, 144Hz

Smashes through most games at max settings, has a really nice build with plenty of ventilation space and a reinforced chassis, so there's no flex to the keyboard whatsoever... The 1050Ti is grunty enough for most things, naturally the library of games that can actually run at the full 144HZ the screen supports is limited, but the few that do are gorgeous. The laptop's great for productivity as well, runs Maya very nicely and I imagine stuff like Premiere etc. would be a breeze. Battery life is not incredible but good enough for what I need it for, averages about 2 hours on lower power settings and about an hour+ with heavier gaming.
I don't really know how great value the standard £1k price tag is when compared to other similarly-specced machines, but at the price I got it for I couldn't find anything else that came very close. Either way, would highly recommend!

Dylan · Sep 7, 2018

Minky said:
Intel Core i7-8750H, @ 2.2Ghz base, 4.1Ghz turbo
8GB DDR4 RAM @ 2666 (upgradeable to 32GB max)
128GB M.2 SSD, 1TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 4GB GDDR5 VRAM
15.6" IPS display @1080p, 144Hz

Smashes through most games at max settings!

Really? Which games? I wouldn't think the 1050Ti would be able to get anywhere close to 144fps at max settings on modern games. I'm super curious. Did you try Witcher 3 or games of that ilk?

eleffdee · Sep 7, 2018

Prophaniti said:
Dell G7 came today and nothing works. None of my games will launch. It looks like the Directx9 installed won't work for any of the games. Internal error message Every time I try and run the installer. Everything seems like it's up to date. This sucks.

What a bummer. The G7 was at the top of my list. Can you return or exchange it? Where did you buy it from if I may ask?

Lady Justice · Sep 7, 2018

I'm in need of a new laptop, mostly for office work but thought why not one I can use for some gaming on the side.
Unfortunately I only have link to German Amazon, but has anyone ever heard of these laptops?

https://www.amazon.de/XMG-A517-ADVANCED-i7-7700HQ-Betriebssystem/dp/B0731BX4PW

I have an offer that is 1200,- Euros which would be round about my limit
15' is enough for me.
I'm completely out of the laptop game.

Minky · Sep 7, 2018

Dylan said:
Really? Which games? I wouldn't think the 1050Ti would be able to get anywhere close to 144fps at max settings on modern games. I'm super curious. Did you try Witcher 3 or games of that ilk?

Oh only a very small handful haha, and most of them not hugely current. Sorry, should've been clearer... MMOs or simpler stuff (A Hat In Time for example) can hit that FPS at max settings easily in most areas (some dips here and there, but they barely show). But generally in most cases you can expect a pretty steady 1080/60 for modern games. Was shocked to see that Doom manages about 85 with maxed out settings... Overwatch can probably reach 144 if you crank the settings down, but will happily chug along at 60 when maxed out. The laptop can even run a variety of stuff in CEMU and RPCS3 with little to no hiccups... It's a bummer that you don't often get the full benefits of the 144Hz screen when gaming, but it's nice to have it at all. Even just with the Windows UI it makes a difference.

More intensive stuff maxed out will definitely take a hit but are still playable... Hellblade averages 30, Planet Coaster averages 30, Hitman will hover at 45ish, same goes for Witcher 3... Yeah, it really varies, but everything's perfectly acceptable for a machine of this price range as far as I can tell (and keeping in mind those numbers are all for max settings). I don't know how much of an impact (if any) upgrading the RAM would have, but this machine is more than enough for my needs right now, so I'm not in a rush to tinker with it.

And obviously this will all vary wildly depending on whether you're plugged in or on battery, you'd definitely need to pull the settings back on some stuff for gaming on the latter.

But yeah, if you wanna know more please ask!

osnameless · Sep 7, 2018

Anyone had any experience with the HP Omen X17 (GTX 1080)? Is there any known issues?

Here are the specs of the model that caught my interest

Processor: Intel Core i7-7820HQ Processor (2.9GHz Clock Speed, 3.9GHz Max Turbo , 4 Core , 8M Cashe )

Chipset: Intel HM170

Memory: 32 (2x16)GB DDR4-2133 SDRAM Memory

Display: 17.3" Diagonal FHD 120 Hz IPS Anti-Glare WLED-backlit (1920 x 1080),NVIDIA G-SYNC™

Graphics Module: NVIDIA GeForece GTX 1080M w/ 8GB GDDR5 Video Memory

Hard Drive: 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive + 256GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive

Optical Storage: None

Audio: Bang & Olufsen; HP Audio Boost; Dual speakers

Connectivity: 802.11a/c Wireless LAN; Bluetooth 4.0

Interface: 2 Thunderbolt™ 3 (Data Transfer up to 40 Gb/s, DP1.2, HP Sleep and Charge)
3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (1 HP Sleep and Charge)
1 Mini DisplayPort™
1 HDMI
1 RJ-45
1 headphone/microphone combo
1 microphone-in

Card Reader: 2-in-1 Card Reader, Supports SD/ MMC

Camera: Built-in HD Webcam

Battery Pack: 6-Cell 99 Whrs Li-ion Battery

AC Adapter:

Output: 330 W AC power adapter

Input: 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz Universal, 3/ 2 pin Compact Power Supply System

Color: Shadow mesh cover, twinkle black base; Shadow mesh pattern

Dimensions (WxDxH): 42.5 x 32.72 x 3.64 cm; Dimensions vary by configuration

Weight: 4.85 kg; Weight varies by configuration

Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit

It would me a lot if someone could tell me if there is any known issues with this laptop. I am seriously considering buying one.

Olrac · Sep 7, 2018

Hello Peeps,

Looking to get a gaming laptop for my son, don't want to spend more than $1000. I bought my oldest a Predator Helios 300' last year, but want to see if there is anything else out there that is comparable.

fr0st · Sep 8, 2018

Olrac said:
Hello Peeps,

Looking to get a gaming laptop for my son, don't want to spend more than $1000. I bought my oldest a Predator Helios 300' last year, but want to see if there is anything else out there that is comparable.

Check out Slickdeals and search for gaming laptops

Ozzie · Sep 14, 2018

Hey there guys, I am currently looking for a gaming laptop (never owned one before) and would like some advice and recommendations. What I am looking for is a decent spec gaming laptop, I don't really care for ultra settings/4k, 1080p 60fps is more than enough for me.

The games I mainly want to play are jrpgs such as Nier, Nioh, Sekiro, Monster Hunter world and Dark Souls 3. My only concern left is the fan noise, I'm just hoping the fan noise isn't too loud, although I did read somewhere about whisper mode unless that doesn't help much? As for my budget, I may be willing to go up to £1k. What would you guys recommend?

If it helps, I live in the UK.

TheMink · Sep 14, 2018

I will cross post here, made a thread specific to my needs, but I wanted to ask about this specific machine to see how people felt about it.

https://www.amazon.com/GS73-STEALTH-016-i7-8750H-Windows-Notebook/dp/B07C7QKX4R?th=1

Also wondering if it might be worth it to wait for the cutting edge? I haven't heard anything about that but I'm definitely looking for longevity.

Kater · Sep 14, 2018

Hi there, everyone.

Discovered this thread just now since I've been looking for some input. I have been wanting to play some games from the past couple of years, 2015 - 2017 releases especially. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is one I'm especially keen on playing some more and my current laptop can't handle that game. There's always some lag here and there and the cinematic scenes are stuttering too, which is really not good for a game that lives off of the graphical presentation (besides the sound design). It's excusable in a slow-paced isometric RPG but not in an action game. There's other games I would also like to replay with a better framerate and shadows and longer draw distance (Bethesda titles mostly, like the Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4 and Bioware's Dragon Age Inquisition which I've never seen in it's proper state).

I am not sure which hardware parts are crucial for the gaming experience, I bought my last two laptops based on the brand alone mostly, although I did at least check the second to see if the GPU was good enough for the time (that was 3 years ago now). I picked up bits of knowledge but I don't feel confident that it's enough for me to make a decision about this at the moment so I would ask here for advice, if anyone can help that would be a great.

I would love it if I could find something affordable, I've been looking around myself for a while and a lot of laptops cost around 1500 Euros or more in the categories for Gaming laptops
I would have to settle for something around 1000 Euros if possible.

Deleted member 33082 · Sep 16, 2018

Is there any gaming-capable laptop that doesn't look like complete trash?

I'm considering this:

https://uk.store.asus.com/asus-vivo...50h-15-6-1920-x-1080pixels-gold-notebook.html

But would be nice to find something a bit cheaper!

fr0st · Sep 16, 2018

Issun said:
Is there any gaming-capable laptop that doesn't look like complete trash?

I'm considering this:

https://uk.store.asus.com/asus-vivo...50h-15-6-1920-x-1080pixels-gold-notebook.html

But would be nice to find something a bit cheaper!

Dell g7 or legion y520

Not sure about the prices since I'm in the US

myojinsoga · Sep 17, 2018

Hi, I wonder if anyone here would mind giving some tangential, UK-centric advice?

I'm not looking for a gaming laptop at all, just wanting to help a friend facilitate day-to-day computing on a budget.

Parameters are:

£550 realistic ceiling
Must be SSD only
15" screen (although I might take her to a store to dig into this aspect a bit)
Lighter is better
Windows 10 through gritted teeth
Recognised brand
Must run Minecraft XD
Good battery a bonus

I haven't specified things like processor and RAM because that's where I'm (especially!) weak on insight. I'd like the machine to be logically consistent. And not a highstreet pisstake. And anything on an SSD will by default be lightyears ahead of her current machine, performance wise.

I wondered about this Microsoft Surface GO, hence some dithering about her feelings concerning size. £598.99 including type-cover.

Then again this Acer seems to be exactly what I'm looking for ...

Any warnings, recommendations or pointers appreciated. Thanks Era x

Ra · Sep 17, 2018

Sorry I abandoned my post. Withdrew from the world for too long. Life shit.

Lady Justice said:
I'm in need of a new laptop, mostly for office work but thought why not one I can use for some gaming on the side.
Unfortunately I only have link to German Amazon, but has anyone ever heard of these laptops?

https://www.amazon.de/XMG-A517-ADVANCED-i7-7700HQ-Betriebssystem/dp/B0731BX4PW

I have an offer that is 1200,- Euros which would be round about my limit
15' is enough for me.
I'm completely out of the laptop game.

Looks like a Clevo rebrand. They are very solid laptops.

osnameless said:
Anyone had any experience with the HP Omen X17 (GTX 1080)? Is there any known issues?

Here are the specs of the model that caught my interest

It would me a lot if someone could tell me if there is any known issues with this laptop. I am seriously considering buying one.

Did you end up buying it? They seem to be well received laptops.

Ozzie said:
Hey there guys, I am currently looking for a gaming laptop (never owned one before) and would like some advice and recommendations. What I am looking for is a decent spec gaming laptop, I don't really care for ultra settings/4k, 1080p 60fps is more than enough for me.

The games I mainly want to play are jrpgs such as Nier, Nioh, Sekiro, Monster Hunter world and Dark Souls 3. My only concern left is the fan noise, I'm just hoping the fan noise isn't too loud, although I did read somewhere about whisper mode unless that doesn't help much? As for my budget, I may be willing to go up to £1k. What would you guys recommend?

If it helps, I live in the UK.

You can try configuring these: 15.6" VYPER or 17.3" OPTIMUS IX.

Can do either with a 1050 Ti, 8GB RAM, and a pretty large SSD for around £1k.

TheMink said:
I will cross post here, made a thread specific to my needs, but I wanted to ask about this specific machine to see how people felt about it.

https://www.amazon.com/GS73-STEALTH-016-i7-8750H-Windows-Notebook/dp/B07C7QKX4R?th=1

Also wondering if it might be worth it to wait for the cutting edge? I haven't heard anything about that but I'm definitely looking for longevity.

We're in a strange place, where we know with certainty what is coming, but with zero certainty when it's coming. How long are you willing to wait?

As for the GS73 itself, it's a good laptop. The keyboard and screen are absolutely amazing, I have the same in my MSI GT73.

Kater said:
Hi there, everyone.

Discovered this thread just now since I've been looking for some input. I have been wanting to play some games from the past couple of years, 2015 - 2017 releases especially. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is one I'm especially keen on playing some more and my current laptop can't handle that game. There's always some lag here and there and the cinematic scenes are stuttering too, which is really not good for a game that lives off of the graphical presentation (besides the sound design). It's excusable in a slow-paced isometric RPG but not in an action game. There's other games I would also like to replay with a better framerate and shadows and longer draw distance (Bethesda titles mostly, like the Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4 and Bioware's Dragon Age Inquisition which I've never seen in it's proper state).

I am not sure which hardware parts are crucial for the gaming experience, I bought my last two laptops based on the brand alone mostly, although I did at least check the second to see if the GPU was good enough for the time (that was 3 years ago now). I picked up bits of knowledge but I don't feel confident that it's enough for me to make a decision about this at the moment so I would ask here for advice, if anyone can help that would be a great.

I would love it if I could find something affordable, I've been looking around myself for a while and a lot of laptops cost around 1500 Euros or more in the categories for Gaming laptops
I would have to settle for something around 1000 Euros if possible.

In what country do you reside?

Issun said:
Is there any gaming-capable laptop that doesn't look like complete trash?

I'm considering this:

https://uk.store.asus.com/asus-vivo...50h-15-6-1920-x-1080pixels-gold-notebook.html

But would be nice to find something a bit cheaper!

Try configuring one of these.

Kater said:
Hi there, everyone.

Discovered this thread just now since I've been looking for some input. I have been wanting to play some games from the past couple of years, 2015 - 2017 releases especially. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is one I'm especially keen on playing some more and my current laptop can't handle that game. There's always some lag here and there and the cinematic scenes are stuttering too, which is really not good for a game that lives off of the graphical presentation (besides the sound design). It's excusable in a slow-paced isometric RPG but not in an action game. There's other games I would also like to replay with a better framerate and shadows and longer draw distance (Bethesda titles mostly, like the Skyrim Special Edition and Fallout 4 and Bioware's Dragon Age Inquisition which I've never seen in it's proper state).

I am not sure which hardware parts are crucial for the gaming experience, I bought my last two laptops based on the brand alone mostly, although I did at least check the second to see if the GPU was good enough for the time (that was 3 years ago now). I picked up bits of knowledge but I don't feel confident that it's enough for me to make a decision about this at the moment so I would ask here for advice, if anyone can help that would be a great.

I would love it if I could find something affordable, I've been looking around myself for a while and a lot of laptops cost around 1500 Euros or more in the categories for Gaming laptops
I would have to settle for something around 1000 Euros if possible.

In what country do you reside?

myojinsoga said:
Hi, I wonder if anyone here would mind giving some tangential, UK-centric advice?

I'm not looking for a gaming laptop at all, just wanting to help a friend facilitate day-to-day computing on a budget.

Parameters are:

£550 realistic ceiling

Must be SSD only

15" screen (although I might take her to a store to dig into this aspect a bit)

Lighter is better

Windows 10 through gritted teeth

Recognised brand

Must run Minecraft XD

Good battery a bonus

I haven't specified things like processor and RAM because that's where I'm (especially!) weak on insight. I'd like the machine to be logically consistent. And not a highstreet pisstake. And anything on an SSD will by default be lightyears ahead of her current machine, performance wise.

I wondered about this Microsoft Surface GO, hence some dithering about her feelings concerning size. £598.99 including type-cover.

Then again this Acer seems to be exactly what I'm looking for ...

Any warnings, recommendations or pointers appreciated. Thanks Era x

This Acer has a few more attributes. Even for Minecraft having an actual GPU is a good thing. Is "SSD only" a literal statement?

osnameless · Sep 17, 2018

K.Jack said:
Did you end up buying it? They seem to be well received laptops.

Thanks for responding.

Not yet. I think I am probably going to eventually, but just pushing it in favor of other stuff.

It would appear so. Most YouTube reviews praised the performance you get with this laptop, and there were some encouraging written reviews. The thing is, I am pretty conflicted on the heating issue. I've read many who said that this laptop does have heating issues, while many others said it manages its heating well. Seems it is a lottery purchase, much like the PS4 Pro.

Ra · Sep 17, 2018

osnameless said:
Thanks for responding.

Not yet. I think I am probably going to eventually, but just pushing it in favor of other stuff.

It would appear so. Most YouTube reviews praised the performance you get with this laptop, and there were some encouraging written reviews. The thing is, I am pretty conflicted on the heating issue. I've read many who said that this laptop does have heating issues, while many others said it manages its heating well. Seems it is a lottery purchase, much like the PS4 Pro.

From what I've read, the CPU runs hot, while the GTX 1080 stays cool. The system overall runs much hotter in stress tests, than it does in actual gaming.

Btw, how much are you looking at paying for it?

osnameless · Sep 17, 2018

K.Jack said:
From what I've read, the CPU runs hot, while the GTX 1080 stays cool. The system overall runs much hotter in stress tests, than it does in actual gaming.

Btw, how much are you looking at paying for it?

Pricing itself is not an issue. There's this local retailer who is having some sort of deal on this laptop (honestly have no idea what's the price situation outside of that). It is just some stuff with work and family keeps coming up and that's preventing me from looking into it.

That is actually good. I think I should be safe given that I am just hoping it can max out most games at 1080p/60FPS. Not interested in 4K or VR.

Ra · Sep 17, 2018

osnameless said:
Pricing itself is not an issue. There's this local retailer who is having some sort of deal on this laptop (honestly have no idea what's the price situation outside of that). It is just some stuff with work and family keeps coming up.

That is actually good. I think I should be safe given that I am just hoping it can max out games at 1080p/60FPS. Not interested in 4K or VR.

The GTX 1080 is a monster for 1080p, overkill really. You'll be running games maxed at 100+ fps, easily. You'll have a lot of longevity with that combo, with the G-Sync as a bonus.

osnameless · Sep 17, 2018

K.Jack said:
The GTX 1080 is a monster for 1080p, overkill really. You'll be running games maxed at 100+ fps, easily. You'll have a lot of longevity with that combo, with the G-Sync as a bonus.

That's kinda a relief. Thank you!

I've looked at some benchmarks, but always felt the need to do more research. I am not gonna lie, I am still not fully on board with this. I am hoping this laptop would be enough for the foreseeable future, so a good longevity is something really important to at this point.

Thanks man, for some reason, your words sound so assuring.

Okay, one last thing (and I hope I am not being too much). What's the CPU situation? is the 7820HQ good with 2.9GHz.? pretty much everyone saying that overclooking is a no go with mobile CPUs, so I gotta take it as it is, especially with the overheating thing.

Yunsen · Sep 17, 2018

myojinsoga said:
Hi, I wonder if anyone here would mind giving some tangential, UK-centric advice?

I'm not looking for a gaming laptop at all, just wanting to help a friend facilitate day-to-day computing on a budget.

Parameters are:

£550 realistic ceiling

Must be SSD only

15" screen (although I might take her to a store to dig into this aspect a bit)

Lighter is better

Windows 10 through gritted teeth

Recognised brand

Must run Minecraft XD

Good battery a bonus

I haven't specified things like processor and RAM because that's where I'm (especially!) weak on insight. I'd like the machine to be logically consistent. And not a highstreet pisstake. And anything on an SSD will by default be lightyears ahead of her current machine, performance wise.

I wondered about this Microsoft Surface GO, hence some dithering about her feelings concerning size. £598.99 including type-cover.

Then again this Acer seems to be exactly what I'm looking for ...

Any warnings, recommendations or pointers appreciated. Thanks Era x

I've been gaming on this Acer I bought for my mom while mine is getting repaired. I don't have Minecraft but I've been impressed with how well it runs WoW.

Caz · Sep 17, 2018

So this laptop is coming out soon:
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/predator-model/NH.Q3GAA.001

The first ever laptop to sport a desktop 2700/Vega 56 combo. And it's only about $3,000 Canadian!

Eolz · Sep 18, 2018

I'm now using the Asus SCAR II since a few days (1060 model, not the 1070), and it's really great! Need to get used to the keyboard that is a bit different from my previous ones, but fantastic feel/cooling/screen/etc otherwise, glad I found a deal on this one.

friz898 · Sep 18, 2018

Hi. I'm being a bad poster I imagine because I just got here and didn't read the whole thread. I did read the first post however!

I was hoping I could just come in and get a ballpark figure for a gaming laptop. Don't worry, I know it depends on what I want etc. I have a PC that is showing age now, it's still slightly stronger than a PS4 which is of course not saying much, but I think may days of building a desktop with the joy of putting it together myself and knowing I can upgrade it are behind me. I think I'd just be happy buying a new laptop every 3-4 years.

That being said, here is what I'm looking for. Something very similar to what OP had in the first post. Something that can do 1080/60fps on most games today. The only exceptions being the most visually demanding games, or ones that you can get 60 fps as long as you turn off some kind of crazy shadow, water, lighting, etc. I am not a FPS'er anymore, so I don't need that kind of rig.

What would I play if I had a brand new one today? DQ 11, Witcher 3, Ass Creed Origins, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mafia 3, FF 15...some of those I haven't played yet, and some of those I played 2-3 years ago and want to revisit. Oh and maybe Skyrim since its been years.

Thank you for any replies. Just trying to get a ballpark number to put on the "wish/dream list// future budget" etc. I was happy to see the OP and the 699 thing, but that was January, so I was curious what the answer is today. Would be my first gaming laptop so happy to hear if I don't have to spend 1500+.

myojinsoga · Sep 18, 2018

K.Jack said:
This Acer has a few more attributes. Even for Minecraft having an actual GPU is a good thing. Is "SSD only" a literal statement?

I think there was a link missing from your response! :)

"SSD only" means I definitely don't want her getting something with an HDD at all, even a hybrid. I've seen the future and it has no moving parts! I'll be sure to discuss it with her, but I'm confident she has no major storage requirements to worry about.

Yunsen said:
I've been gaming on this Acer I bought for my mom while mine is getting repaired. I don't have Minecraft but I've been impressed with how well it runs WoW.

Thanks! Though I'd say the screen here may be too big. She's said she wants something liveably portable.

I do take the point about dedicated graphics, and am conscious of which thread I'm posting in. I worry it would be adding unnecessary cost, heat and weight. She's not a gamer, you should really see the despicable wreck she's playing Minecraft on currently. But I'm asking for advice here, so I will add that as a possibility. Thanks again

D65 · Sep 18, 2018

It's silly to ask for no HDD because your fan is going to be louder than it.

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