Gaming Laptop suggestions needed
December 28, 2018 3:37 PM Subscribe
Hi!!!! I know very little about gaming laptops, but I know that I want one. I want to play the big games on relatively high settings - games like Witcher 3. I won't be playing any co-op or online multi-player games. I don't want the laptop to burn a hole in my couch, my lap, or my coffee table - which is primarily where and on what I will be playing. I'm having trouble parsing through all the paid opinions, and amazon reviews. Can the hive mind please help me find a laptop that fits my budget?
A few other requirements:
~$1500
I have to buy via amazon - not ideal, but I have a hefty giftcard that will go towards this purchase.
I want it to last for more than a year (my last laptop was a Dell - it was not a gaming laptop, but it really wasn't useable after a year of heavy academic use)
-It'd be nice if it didn't look like a gaming laptop - all spaceship-y with doom and gloom color schemes. (this is not a deal breaker though)
-relatively lightweight
-I'd like to be able to stream movies on it as well, without the need for headphones - I don't need it to be dance party loud or anything though. This is just for personal viewing. I've noticed a lot of laptop speakers make this awful popping/crackle sound.
Bonus points if you can point me to resources that will make whatever I buy run smoother, faster, and be less "bloated".
A few other requirements:
~$1500
I have to buy via amazon - not ideal, but I have a hefty giftcard that will go towards this purchase.
I want it to last for more than a year (my last laptop was a Dell - it was not a gaming laptop, but it really wasn't useable after a year of heavy academic use)
-It'd be nice if it didn't look like a gaming laptop - all spaceship-y with doom and gloom color schemes. (this is not a deal breaker though)
-relatively lightweight
-I'd like to be able to stream movies on it as well, without the need for headphones - I don't need it to be dance party loud or anything though. This is just for personal viewing. I've noticed a lot of laptop speakers make this awful popping/crackle sound.
Bonus points if you can point me to resources that will make whatever I buy run smoother, faster, and be less "bloated".
Best answer: I had an 17.3” ASUS ROG that I dearly loved. It finally bit the dust after 5 years and I replaced it with a MSI Apache. Both my ASUS and my current MSI feature the large back vents, which make the laptop very quiet and stay cool. Even when I’ve been gaming for a few hours, it’s still not very hot. Amazon doesn’t seem to have any of the exact model I bought, but this one is reasonably close:
Laptop
That’s a slim machine whereas mine is not, but hey. The option with GTX 1070 + 16GB RAM + 250GB NVME SSD + 1TB IDE is $1549. Computer Upgrade King seems to get a lot of positive reviews for their machines.
The speakers on my MSI are better than the ones on my previous ASUS, but it’s entirely possible that ASUS has improved their speakers in the interim.
posted by Autumnheart at 5:19 PM on December 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Laptop
That’s a slim machine whereas mine is not, but hey. The option with GTX 1070 + 16GB RAM + 250GB NVME SSD + 1TB IDE is $1549. Computer Upgrade King seems to get a lot of positive reviews for their machines.
The speakers on my MSI are better than the ones on my previous ASUS, but it’s entirely possible that ASUS has improved their speakers in the interim.
posted by Autumnheart at 5:19 PM on December 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have a 2017 Razer Blade that cost about $2400 new. It's good but boy is a gaming laptop a compromise. The GPU gets very hot and the fan sounds like a jet engine when I'm running an intensive game. Also Razer has some quality control problems with the hardware and their Razer Synapse driver software is total garbage. So, um.. that's not really a recommendation. The machine does work and do what I wanted it to, though.
posted by Nelson at 1:41 AM on December 29, 2018
posted by Nelson at 1:41 AM on December 29, 2018
My ASUS ROG is real nice and has Bang Olufsen speakers which sound pretty decent!
posted by Iteki at 4:38 AM on December 29, 2018
posted by Iteki at 4:38 AM on December 29, 2018
I'm gonna counter here and say it's a trap. gaming laptops are either too anemic to run games well, or if they do, they are too heavy and power hungry to really be laptops. having said that ASUS ROG has a good rep, and Linus Tech Tips on Youtube has done a number of reviews of gaming laptops and what you should look for and avoid.
posted by evilmonk at 12:00 PM on December 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by evilmonk at 12:00 PM on December 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Razer Blades are good when they work, and they are really lightweight and nice-looking laptops, but one of the ones I've used required a motherboard replacement and another developed annoying fan noises, so they are unfortunately a little suspicious.
posted by value of information at 3:51 PM on December 29, 2018
posted by value of information at 3:51 PM on December 29, 2018
Response by poster: Autumnheart - I ended up getting the MSI you linked to. It arrives on Friday. I'm excited. Thanks for the help!
And thanks to everyone else for your suggestions!
posted by anoirmarie at 3:36 PM on December 31, 2018
And thanks to everyone else for your suggestions!
posted by anoirmarie at 3:36 PM on December 31, 2018
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posted by carmicha at 3:57 PM on December 28, 2018 [1 favorite]