Help with New Computer

Stormola

Hi - 

I curretly have an Asus Laptop 17.3 in Screen

   -  i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.4 GHZ

   -  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX

   - 8 GB 

I originally purchased a laptop for gaming due to my current living space did not have room to set up a desktop in a manner that would be acceptable to my wife ( Happy Wife Happy Life - when I am not on the computer - usually at the kitchen table or on couch it is tucked neatly away ) .

It has worked fine thus far . My goal is to be able to play MMORPG at a decent framerate / Playing on max settings has never been a priority . ( It seems these days I spend more time looking forward to the next mmorpg then playing one , but thats another story )

My son (9) has played some of my games in the past and I would like to get another computer so we can play together which leaves me with some questions .

1.) what laptop which you suggest if I was trying to get something comparable and not spend a lot of money ( this would assume that at some point I would be upgrading the computers down the road together )

2.) what laptop would you suggest if I was trying to upgrade my current one ( this would assume that he would eventually get bored of playing these games with me and since I am buying something new might as well make it last for as long as possible ) 

3.) what desktop  would you suggest if I could negotiate a deal with my wife to allow one - while I have giving thought to trying a self build the time involved is just not worth the return at this time ( the money savings are not what makes me think of trying as much as just wanting to learn and experience new things ) This would become my desktop and hopefully would be a good upgrade and last some time 

4.) A cheap desktop that is comparable to my laptop ( for my son - and assuming the wife goes for it )

5.) any other suggestions you think pertinent based on the information giving 

As far as budget goes there is no hard fast cap although once I start getting north of $1500 I may start to come under scrutiny from my better half which is always best avoided if possible . It seems if option 2 is the way to go this is where I would be . Do not worry or factor in cost of monitors / keyboard / mouse .

I really would appreciate ideas on where to buy, specific builds etc as well as ideas on what specs I should be looking at . Particulary helpful would be a site / list or explanation to how specific laptop graphic cards compare to desktop . I can find plenty of information on which specs in a desktop would suit my needs but it seems more difficult to find an easy understanding for laptops ( maybe because laptops dont make sense for gaming ) 

Thanks in advance for anyone's time . All responses are appreciated . If I did not give enough information for you to provide advice I apologize and please ask for what is necessary to know so you may help .

 

Thanks again

 

Quizzical

I'm a little mystified as to how you simultaneously can be:

a)  wealthy enough to have a recent, potent gaming laptop and be willing to drop up to $1500 on another so soon, and

b)  poor enough to not have enough space for a desktop.

When I was in college living in a 70 square foot dorm room, I had room for a desktop--and with a CRT monitor, no less.

Would it help if it were a desktop with a small case?

jdnewell

If you are going to buy another laptop then just give that one to your son to use. It still has a lot of life left in it as far as gaming goes.

Take a look at some sager laptops.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/home.php

You can get a good idea of what $1500 will get you. One thing I did notice is that unless you upgrade to 16gb RAM they only give you 1 stick with 8gb selected.

Other than that for $1500 you can get a great laptop.

If you are looking at a desktop for $1500 you can get a beast of a machine. Actually for around $1200-1300 you can get a desktop that will blow a laptop around that price away.

If space is an issue then consider a small form factor PC, or even an HTPC type case.

Only you can decide what works best for you. A desktop will be more powerful, cheaper, upgradable, but take up more space. A laptop will be portable and wont take up as much space, less powerful, cant be upgraded, and overall wont last as long.

You could always consider something like this ~http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164020 comes with a gtx 760 in it, all you have to do is add an SSD / HDD and RAM. Thats about as small as your going to get.

jdnewell

Originally posted by Quizzical

I'm a little mystified as to how you simultaneously can be:

a)  wealthy enough to have a recent, potent gaming laptop and be willing to drop up to $1500 on another so soon, and

b)  poor enough to not have enough space for a desktop.

When I was in college living in a 70 square foot dorm room, I had room for a desktop--and with a CRT monitor, no less.

Would it help if it were a desktop with a small case?

No offense but is his situation really any of your business? i know you probably didnt mean it that way but that seems a little assholish.

You could ya know.. just try and answer his question

Stormola

I am an in upper management for the company I work and a couple of years ago ( when I bought laptop ) I was asked to relocate to run a different region that was having problems . So we sold our house and rented a townhouse ( 1200 sqft ) for a couple of reasons . I anticipated another relocation in the future and the real estate market where I am currently is very soft . Fast mobility is important. Our bedroom upstairs has plenty of room but when I am on my computer I like to be able to interact with my son and wife , not be tucked away in another room . The downstairs has an open Kitchen / Dining / Living Room which our furniture and decor fills .  I have discovered that not having the demands a home puts on my time is a great benefit to allow me to focus on work when I am at work and leisure when I am not therefore even though this move has lasted longer than I originally thought my motivation to purchase a home is mimimal . My desktop plan is to convince her the tower can fit in a nook behind our kitchen table , and the monitor can stay on the table unless we have company etc . 

Nightlite

Micro ATX board and case have an extremely small foot print and would allow for a full size gfx card usually. That along with Bluetooth or wireless accessories and you aren't using any cabling... That only leaves the display, which you could wall mount and run the cable in wall. It looks wonderful all said and done.

That leaves you to buy a tablet for that mobile stuff around your house, and the tablet generally makes an awesome remote.. especially with Comcast whose app makes them relevant. Lets be honest, MMO's aren't really couch games anyways.

Quizzical

Originally posted by Stormola
My desktop plan is to convince her the tower can fit in a nook behind our kitchen table , and the monitor can stay on the table unless we have company etc . 

Make sure it's a nook that has some airflow, not in the back of a cabinet or something.  You need it to be possible for air to go in one side and out the other.  Block the output and it's not a question of if things overheat, but only of how long it takes and how bad the damage is.

Do note the dimensions on the unit jdnewell posted:  2.35" x 5.04" x 4.54".  That's very small and will outperform your current laptop.  You'll need to add your own memory and storage, though.  It will need a place with some airflow.  And you're paying a premium for the form factor, though not as big of a premium as you'd pay for a laptop.

jdnewell

Another good thing about the Brix systems is they can mount on the back of a monitor / TV with a VESA bracket. If space is truly limited then having your PC attached to the back of the monitor / TV would be handy.

Stormola

Thanks for all feedback

Checked out Sager 

Looking at NP8671-S

Would appreciate any thoughts of value above or below that model - or any suggested customization 

 

Thanks again

 

Quizzical

Originally posted by Stormola

Thanks for all feedback

Checked out Sager 

Looking at NP8671-S

Would appreciate any thoughts of value above or below that model - or any suggested customization 

 

Thanks again

 

If this is what you're looking at:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/customize.php?productid=756

then I don't see anything in the default configuration that screams "you need to change this!"  Which surprised me, as usually sites that let you customize stuff to some degree have all sorts of stupid things as the default.

I'd personally prefer a larger SSD and no hard drive, but they don't even offer the option to save money by skipping the hard drive.

Stormola

I thought about upping the ssd to 256 ( which would pretty much cover what I keep on computer )