› ›

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register

Quick Links

New Laptop

CecropiaCecropia Member RarePosts: 3,985
in Hardware
I need to to replace my old laptop (original HP Envy) with something more modern. I'm looking to spend somewhere between $2000 and $2500 on a gaming laptop. I understand that a desktop would be the wiser choice, but I need a laptop due to travel/gaming at other people's homes etc.

Here's two that I am currently looking at:

Asus

Alienware

I'm mainly curious if it's worth the ~$500 to jump from the 970m to the 980m and 128 SSD to 256 SSD. 

Also, feel free to leave any other laptop options in that price range that you may think are better choices. 

Thanks.


"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb

Comments

  • laseritlaserit Member LegendaryPosts: 7,591
    Should be able to get a beauty for those $

    Alienware will be overpriced, try to get something with a 980m

    "Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    If you don't need it now, I'd really advise you to wait.  Laptops are all about how much performance you can fit into not very much power, and the die shrink from 28 nm to 14/16 nm is going to bring huge gains here.  It's probable that AMD Polaris cards will greatly outperform either of those laptops while being considerably cheaper than either.  Nvidia hasn't yet talked about Pascal-based laptops or even any Pascal GPUs particularly appropriate to laptops, but those are surely coming, too.

    AMD says Polaris is coming around the middle of this year, though it could easily take another month or two for the cards to show up in laptops after you can get them in desktops.  It's not clear when Pascal-based laptops are coming, but I'd expect to see them by the end of the year.
  • laseritlaserit Member LegendaryPosts: 7,591
    Don't worry about an SSD you can upgrade easily and cheaply, go for the foundation

    "Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    Even if you do decide that you need to buy something right now, you can do a lot better than shopping from Worst Buy.  For example:

    http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8678-clevo-p670rg-p-8651.html?startcustomization=1

    Upgrade to 16 GB of memory, a 480 GB SSD, and add Windows 10 and it's still under $1900 and includes a GTX 980M.
  • CecropiaCecropia Member RarePosts: 3,985
    Thanks for quick replies. Very much appreciated.

    @Quizzical ;

    Thanks for the link. You have likely saved me a good little chunk of change.  =)

    "Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb

  • CecropiaCecropia Member RarePosts: 3,985
    One more question Quizzical: is the copper cooling upgrade fairly effective and worth the cost?

    "Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb

  • jonp200jonp200 Member UncommonPosts: 457
    Sager is a good choice.  Solid advice from Quizzical.

    Seaspite
    Playing ESO on my X-Box


  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    Don't throw your money away.  www.newegg.com  boom just saved your life....
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    Cecropia said:
    One more question Quizzical: is the copper cooling upgrade fairly effective and worth the cost?
    You know what's even better than being able to dissipate a ton of heat?  Not needing to because the cards put out a lot less heat.  That's what the next generation offers.  If your old laptop is dead or otherwise doesn't work, then go ahead and replace it now.

    But otherwise, I'd wait a few months or so.  As soon as Polaris or Pascal arrive in laptops, all gaming laptops on the market today are instantly obsolete and definitely not what you'd want new.  This is likely going to be the biggest jump for gaming laptops with discrete cards in about a decade.

    Gaming laptops are fundamentally a case of trying to cram too much heat into too little space.  When trying to make a better gaming laptop, energy efficiency is the whole game.  AMD is promising that their next generation will offer 2.5x the energy efficiency of the previous.  Nvidia is promising gains of about 60%, though to be fair, Nvidia's current laptop cards are a lot more efficient than AMD's.  Those are huge gains and a huge deal.  Normally, you'd expect about 20% improvement per year.
  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    edited May 2016
    The Polaris 11 is suppose to be equal to the nvidia geforce 950.  Am I missing something it doesn't seem to be better graphics then nvidia.

    http://www.itechpost.com/articles/17909/20160506/amd-polaris-10-provides-impressive-gpu-performance.htm

    Seems to me this year they are only releasing the intro cards that are only good at conserving energy.  In 2017 they will be launching the actual cards which will give the boost in performance.

    http://wccftech.com/amd-polaris-11-gpu-specifications-leaked-compubench/
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    filmoret said:
    The Polaris 11 is suppose to be equal to the nvidia geforce 950.  Am I missing something it doesn't seem to be better graphics then nvidia.

    http://www.itechpost.com/articles/17909/20160506/amd-polaris-10-provides-impressive-gpu-performance.htm

    Seems to me this year they are only releasing the intro cards that are only good at conserving energy.  In 2017 they will be launching the actual cards which will give the boost in performance.

    http://wccftech.com/amd-polaris-11-gpu-specifications-leaked-compubench/
    The top end desktop cards don't go into laptops, as they put out too much heat.  A laptop GeForce GTX 980M is actually considerably slower than a desktop GeForce GTX 970.  And even so, at 100 W or so, cooling it in a laptop is a big problem.  You can build hardware to do it, but it's rough, and can easily cause severe overheating problems if you get some dust or accidentally block a vent.  It could also make the keyboard get really hot.

    If Polaris or Pascal can get the same performance in 60 W, that's so much better.  That would save a ton of money, not just from the much cheaper card, but also not needing nearly so exotic of a cooling apparatus.  If the rumored specs are accurate (which they might not be), a Polaris 11 may or may not get there, but a suitably cut down Polaris 10 surely could.  Presumably some (possibly still unannounced) Pascal card could do likewise.

    Alternatively, if you're willing to burn 100 W (which is really a lot for a laptop), having so much better energy efficiency could let you get performance that beats a desktop Radeon R9 390X or GeForce GTX 980, while still putting out less heat than the current GeForce GTX 980M.
  • CecropiaCecropia Member RarePosts: 3,985
    Wow. I was committed to throw down some cash today or tomorrow on a new laptop. But after reading your advice, Quizzical, I do believe I should wait it out. Sounds like things are genuinely changing in a big way for what I'm looking for. It's a bit frustrating but I think I'll "survive" with the laptop that I currently have for the time being.

    Thanks so much for the advice.

    "Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb

  • MrMelGibsonMrMelGibson Member EpicPosts: 3,039
    I have had 4 sagers (including my current 2).  Best gaming laptops i've ever owned.  Take a look at their site.  It's also made and shipped from the US.  Any issues and you will always speak with tech guy from Cali.
    http://www.gamespace.com/members/mrlobster/  - Me on Gamespace
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    Cecropia said:
    Wow. I was committed to throw down some cash today or tomorrow on a new laptop. But after reading your advice, Quizzical, I do believe I should wait it out. Sounds like things are genuinely changing in a big way for what I'm looking for. It's a bit frustrating but I think I'll "survive" with the laptop that I currently have for the time being.

    Thanks so much for the advice.
    For what it's worth, the cards you want are likely to be branded as Radeon 400 series (Polaris) or GeForce 1000 series (Pascal).  Once you see either of those show up, it's time to come back and ask for more precise help.
  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    edited May 2016
    No wonder amd's stock went crazy.  Sounds like they have something revolutionary.  My only question would be about the cpu's.  Will they now make ones that can compete with intel?  Will they start making laptops with amd gpu's and intel cpu's?
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • maple2maple2 Member UncommonPosts: 161
    Cecropia said:
    I need to to replace my old laptop (original HP Envy) with something more modern. I'm looking to spend somewhere between $2000 and $2500 on a gaming laptop. I understand that a desktop would be the wiser choice, but I need a laptop due to travel/gaming at other people's homes etc.

    Here's two that I am currently looking at:

    Asus

    Alienware

    I'm mainly curious if it's worth the ~$500 to jump from the 970m to the 980m and 128 SSD to 256 SSD. 

    Also, feel free to leave any other laptop options in that price range that you may think are better choices. 

    Thanks.


    i advise you to never buy alienware.. its utterly plastic crap. and it overheats and its loud. and overpriced for a ugly design
  • gervaise1gervaise1 Member EpicPosts: 6,919
    edited May 2016
    Whilst you (OP) are thinking a curve ball question - the answer is probably not appropriate but just in case:

    You say: "I need a laptop due to travel/gaming at other people's homes etc."

    Do you need a laptop or would a mini-ITX solution work?

    Obviously wherever you are going would have to have a spare monitor (probably TV) - assume you wouldn't want to carry a small monitor around! As far as mini-ITX systems go though the maximum motherboard size is 170mm x 170mm so not that big.

    As I say probably not the right solution for you but I mention it "just in case". Skylake motherboards with a PCIe 3.0 slot etc. are available so you could have a pretty powerful rig in something that is usually a small-ish cube.
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    filmoret said:
    No wonder amd's stock went crazy.  Sounds like they have something revolutionary.  My only question would be about the cpu's.  Will they now make ones that can compete with intel?  Will they start making laptops with amd gpu's and intel cpu's?
    Revolutionary?  Nah, this is just a die shrink.  Jumping ahead by two process nodes, but still just a die shrink.

    If you want something revolutionary, you'll have to wait for AMD to make an APU with HBM on package.  AMD hasn't publicly committed to do so in laptops yet, but it makes so much sense that I'm sure they will.  My guess is that that will show up in the latter half of 2017.  Once it happens, discrete video cards will vanish from laptops pretty quickly because there will be no point in having them.
  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383
    Well, you can put desktop GPUs in a laptop 

    http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/nvidia-crams-desktop-gtx-980-gpu-into-monster-17-inch-notebooks/
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    Ridelynn said:
    Well, you can put desktop GPUs in a laptop 

    http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/nvidia-crams-desktop-gtx-980-gpu-into-monster-17-inch-notebooks/
    They've put 130 W desktop CPUs into laptops, too.  That doesn't mean it's a good idea or a reasonable product outside of the vanishingly small market segment that:

    a)  needs really high performance,
    b)  needs it to be in a laptop,
    c)  is willing to accept that the laptop will be huge, heavy, and not very portable, and
    d)  is willing to pay a fortune for such a device.
  • MrMelGibsonMrMelGibson Member EpicPosts: 3,039
    gervaise1 said:
    Whilst you (OP) are thinking a curve ball question - the answer is probably not appropriate but just in case:

    You say: "I need a laptop due to travel/gaming at other people's homes etc."

    Do you need a laptop or would a mini-ITX solution work?

    Obviously wherever you are going would have to have a spare monitor (probably TV) - assume you wouldn't want to carry a small monitor around! As far as mini-ITX systems go though the maximum motherboard size is 170mm x 170mm so not that big.

    As I say probably not the right solution for you but I mention it "just in case". Skylake motherboards with a PCIe 3.0 slot etc. are available so you could have a pretty powerful rig in something that is usually a small-ish cube.
    Always has to be one guy who comes into a laptop thread and has to mention desktops lol.  I don't understand people like you.
    http://www.gamespace.com/members/mrlobster/  - Me on Gamespace
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    MrMelGibson said:
    gervaise1 said:
    Whilst you (OP) are thinking a curve ball question - the answer is probably not appropriate but just in case:

    You say: "I need a laptop due to travel/gaming at other people's homes etc."

    Do you need a laptop or would a mini-ITX solution work?

    Obviously wherever you are going would have to have a spare monitor (probably TV) - assume you wouldn't want to carry a small monitor around! As far as mini-ITX systems go though the maximum motherboard size is 170mm x 170mm so not that big.

    As I say probably not the right solution for you but I mention it "just in case". Skylake motherboards with a PCIe 3.0 slot etc. are available so you could have a pretty powerful rig in something that is usually a small-ish cube.
    Always has to be one guy who comes into a laptop thread and has to mention desktops lol.  I don't understand people like you.
    A lot of the people who think they want a gaming laptop really should just get a desktop instead.  Wanting to take it with you and play games away from home is the main reason to get a gaming laptop.  Had the original poster not said that in the original thread but just said he wanted a gaming laptop for unspecified reasons, I'd have questioned whether he really needed a laptop myself.  Sometimes the best advice is to answer the question that should have been asked rather than the one that was actually asked.
  • jonp200jonp200 Member UncommonPosts: 457
    Some of you may find this funny but I actually have some pretty good success traveling with my Surface Pro.  No, I can't play competitively but I have Black Desert installed and can fish, farm etc. when I am overnight in a hotel room.  It's "Playable" in that respect.  I can't imagine PvP on the tablet but the Surface cuts it for my day to day character stuff... Use it for fishing at work too...

    Seaspite
    Playing ESO on my X-Box


Sign In or Register to comment.