My work is giving me 1500 dollars to get a laptop of my choice and they will reimburse me. I will be traveling with it a lot on flights, in the car, etc... so it needs to be portable. I have to use excel, word, PDF files, publisher, PP, and various other things on a daily basis to create reports. At night I don't have much to do once I am done with work and I would love to be able to game with it too. At home I play ESO and Pillars of Eternity on a rig I built a few months ago (thanks Quiz) and it would be great to do the same with this one. Your advice is much appreciated. Thank you.
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Make sure to get an extra battery, or maybe even TWO if you are going to be using the laptop the way you are describing. Make sure it has a decent SSD drive in it. Beyond that, pretty much all high end gaming laptops use the same processor these days, and it is overkill. The bottleneck is generally the graphics card which lags way below the desktop equivalents. Again though they tend to end up as one of just a small number of choices at the high end.
Since the offerings are so similar, what you want to look at is the design of the PC and how well you like the keyboard. Bring your own mouse with the system as generally you can still have enough area on the go for a mouse, and it is far better than using what comes with a portable.
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8652-clevo-p650sg-p-7795.html?wconfigure=yes
Sager NP8652, Haswell i7, 980M, 8GB DDR3, 1TB 7,200 RPM drive, all for $20 over your budget (so close!)
I like Sager. Solid build quality and plain looks. I travel as well and I don't like carrying a laptop that screams expensive.
That is the processor they all have. What I don't like about the PC is the 4 cell battery. With that and a 980M your system is going to have horrible battery life. Also putting a 7200 rpm drive into a portable is.... Get an SSD drive. It is by far the better option in such a system. Stock Thermal compound on a gaming portable is also a bit worrying.
Battery doesn't worry me because any type of gaming laptop needs wall power. NVidia Optimus is pretty good though so OP can work documents/spreadsheets off battery with the 980M powered off and have plenty of life. I would have suggest an SSD but with the budget I figured better graphics over better load times would be best. And he can spend a couple bucks and have them put better thermals or do it himself when it arrives.
There's a very important judgment call here that you have to make for yourself: how big of a laptop do you want? The common monitor sizes are 11.6", 13.3", 14.0", 15.6", and 17.3". You can get plenty of gaming performance in either a 15.6" or 17.3" laptop, but at 14.0", it's slim pickings, and below that, there's next to nothing that makes for a respectable gaming laptop. Clevo offered something decently potent in an 11.6" form factor for a while, but I'm not sure if that's still around.
When you've got the laptop out and are using it in an area with ample space (e.g., just about any desk), larger is unambiguously better. Within the common form factors, it's not a case of trade-offs, but bigger is better, period. Larger lets you have more powerful hardware, a larger battery that lasts longer, and more monitor real estate.
When physically you're carrying the laptop around powered off, however, smaller is unambiguously better. Fewer inches means it fits better in more places. Fewer pounds makes it easier to carry around. I'd ignore thickness as a measure of portability, in spite of the ubiquitous marketing campaigns to convince people that thinness is more important than performance, battery, cost, reliability, or features; at best, it's a proxy for weight, and if you care about weight, look at the weight directly, not some proxy for it. And at worst, a thinner gaming laptop has a harder time dissipating the heat it produces.
If you have ideas about using the laptop on a plane (as opposed to merely carrying it on a plane powered off), smaller fits better, but even 11.6" is going to be awkwardly large unless you're flying first class or somewhere else that gives you extra space.
The problem is that you can't have an 11.6", 3 pound laptop when you carry it around that magically turns into a 17.3", 8 pound laptop when you plug it in and turn it on. So you're going to have to pick some fixed size and stick with it. What size makes sense depends on how you're going to use it. If you only occasionally move the laptop, and even then, only in a suitcase with 30 pounds of other stuff, but want to use it for hours per day, there's no reason to consider anything smaller than 17.3". If you're going to carry the laptop in a backpack or briefcase for an hour per day, but only spend a few minutes using ti to deal with e-mails and not otherwise use it at all, then there's no sense in getting anything over 11.6" and making life harder on yourself.
So, what size do you want?
Also, make sure you get an SSD. An SSD offers many advantages over hard drives, and the only drawback is the price tag. On a $1500 budget, price isn't a big problem.
Kinda the same feeling about Lenovo myself. A friend of mine dropped her laptop case a bit hard on the ground and the laptop was extremely damaged. Around one corner the case of both the screen and keyboard was letting loose and the display was damaged for 25%. She had an extra insurance on it but that's not gonna pay for the repairs.
Acer I kinda have an other bad experience with when it comes to aftersales & customer service - IT JUST SUCKS. If something is wrong with the thing, expect to have it in repair for months!
ASUS I have good and bad experiences with. Service is pretty good (also party from my local store's effort), but the pretty cheap powerplug is at such an inconvenient place (left side instead of the back) that it was bound to break the inner pin twice by now and we're afraid it'll happen again in a couple of months (but now we know what the problem is we're a bit more careful).
I've also had 2 old DELL laptops (still got 1, lend it to that friend of mine with her Lenovo problem) and those just seem to be the NOKIAs under the laptops. They just don't seem to break! Not sure though how DELL's latest series of laptops is...
If you're looking at buying a Lenovo laptop, there's also this issue to be aware of:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/427972/Lenovo-Superfish-malware-intentionally-installed-by-Lenovo-on-their-laptops.html
Pre-installing bloatware is bad enough, but Lenovo got caught knowingly and intentionally pre-installing some pretty nasty malware on their laptops.
They say they've stopped, of course. But that's the sort of thing that a reputable company wouldn't have started in the first place.
I bought a 17" acer v nitro for ~1350 with the 256gb ssd, also has a 1tb ssd.
I have a friend who is a professional in the computer science field and he bought the same laptop for a lot of the same reasons as you, he does a ton of work on it, coding, compiling, computing tasks, etc. He also plays a lot of games, D3, Pillars of Eternity, etc etc and has been supremely happy with it.
I can't reccomend the laptop enough. Its barely an inch thick, only weighs about 5.5 lbs, has a FANTASTIC screen, the build quality is amazing, it doesn't overheat or throttle, its just been perfect. I seriously can't reccomend it enough.
The y50 is a little cheaper but has a TERRIBLE screen. I mean its bad even by TN panel standards. I would not reccomend it.
Gigabyte/Asus has some nice laptops but you're gonna pay about 10-20% more for them. So you'll get less hardware to have Gigabyte or Asus on it.
Edit: Just as a side note, my buddy has been doing his PHD presentation stuff, and has basically had this laptop at 100% load on the processor doing genetic computation stuff, pretty much 20+ hours a day for the past 3 weeks and hasn't had a single crash, problem, etc. I don't use mine nearly as hard as that, i game a lot more on it than he does, and while it gets warm, i've never had it throttle or crash in a game.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
$800-$2000 I prefer Sager or MSI depending on your needs. If you want a more balanced laptop that's portable and can play games OK, then that would be the Sager. If you want a desktop replacement that is typically plugged into the wall and can have an hour or so of power while in full use then that would be MSI. The main reason I like these two is they are complete and focused. The hardware they choose is top notch; they pair it with a good keyboard and monitor; and they have the ports necessary for usability.
This has been a great thread with a lot of responses. At night I generally read through posts on here and listen to advice. This is the first time in awhile I actually posted a question for myself. Very informative information. When it comes to desktops I have that down, but my last laptop purchase was five years ago and it disappointed me. I am going to take some of these suggestions and look around. I am very intrigued by a few of them now, just need to make a purchase.
I just need the computer to have enough battery life for a few hours of work. I generally work when it is plugged in, but I have times throughout the day I need to be in places without plugs. I do need it to look professional because of the presentations I give so that is a must. I would also say an SSD is a must now too. My screen size can be the 15 or 17 and the weight was a luxury, but not a necessity.
Going to explore these choices now.
Here's one option to consider:
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8650-clevo-p650sa-p-7847.html?wconfigure=yes
Upgrade the memory to use both memory channels, switch to a 256 GB SSD, and add an OS of your choice, and you're still well within the stated budget. A Haswell quad core CPU is the CPU you want, and a GeForce GTX 965M is a plenty capable video card: it's basically a lower clocked version of the desktop GeForce GTX 960.
It's 5.5 pounds, which is ample portability, and switchable graphics means you should get several hours of battery life at low loads from its 60 Wh battery. It's also solid black, so the styling doesn't scream "I'm a gaming rig". Or you can get about the same thing in a 17" version if you'd prefer that:
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8670-clevo-p670sa-p-7849.html?wconfigure=yes&change_view=rbm
You should be aware that the GTX 960M is a much slower video card. Nvidia's mobile Maxwell lineup, together with the number of SMMs:
GTX 960M: 5 SMMs
GTX 965M: 8 SMMs
GTX 970M: 10 SMMs
GTX 980M: 12 SMMs
The first two are basically laptop versions of a desktop GTX 750 Ti and a GTX 960, respectively. The last two are cut down versions of a desktop GTX 970/980. There's also a GTX 950M, but that sometimes comes with DDR3 memory rather than GDDR5, which is definitely not what you want for gaming on a large budget.
Just a little information on the Lenovo LCD screen situation.
The first gen series that was launched came with a FHD screen which was sub par quality when compared to other screens.
All of the Lenovo Y series after March 2015 that come with the 900 series Nvidia Cards as well as the i7-4720HQ CPU are 2nd Gen Lenovo's and the LCD screens are completely different. You have 2 options an IPS screen and a UHD screen. Neither of these 2 screens have any display issues like first gen.
I just want to clear up any confusion regarding this as I am a Lenovo Partner.
I am aware, and i never expected the 960m to be a beast gaming machine. If you need that kind of power in a laptop you will need to buy something thats $2k+, usually weighs 8-10lbs, 2" thick, etc etc.
I play D3, Cities Skylines, Pillars of Eternity, myriad other games, all at 1080p on max settings, although i do disable AA because i hate AA, and i havent had any issues with significant slowdowns. D3 runs great, PoE runs great, cities skylines can sometimes get a bit bogged down when you get a massive city, but its only when you're trying to move the map around a lot and its trying to load all those assets.
It didnt sound to me like the OP is looking for a desktop replacement, rather something he can do work on and when he is out and about, play some games.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
There was deifnitely some bloatware, but it was mostly acer related stuff, like acer cloud, and that kind of thing. Nothing advertisement related. Just utilities they include that are all acer related. Only took me about 20min to get it all sorted out.
I was in the same boat as you with the Asus with the 970m, i did want it, but i read a lot of stuff about how it didnt have an adequate cooling system and would throttle badly.
From what i understand and the research i did, you really can't put a 970 or 980m in a reasonably thin laptop and not having throttling issues, not even the Razer Blade's are cooling them properly.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
So make the laptop thicker. Problem solved. This whole obsession with thinness is bizarre.
I really think you should consider the acer. As i was saying, my friend recently did his PHD presentation with it, and actually went about 20 minutes over his allotted time after he was done, because the professors were asking questions about the laptop, and how it was able to run all the simulations he was doing (they're very computationally intensive).
The build quality on it is amazing. I have another friend with the asus g550 and this is easily as good of build quality. Its also very unassuming, there aren't any super bright lights, or weird shapes to it, it looks very elegant, particular the back where the hinges for the screen and the cooling system are. Its a satin metal finish, feels very solid, not floppy or loose, and just looks/feels great. The top is kind of a weird soft plastic, doesn't get fingerprints on it, grips very well, doesn't reflect light etc.
I don't want to sound like i'm a shill. But i've been doing the computer thing for better than 20 years, and the laptop thing for about 10, and i have not in my entire life of purchasing literally 10's of thousands of dollars in computer equipment, been happier with a purchase than i have with this laptop.
It checked all my boxes perfectly. Now, my needs were a little different from yours, but i think it fits the bill very well and should be a strong contendor.
With that being said, i'll leave it alone ;-).
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
People have different needs man. I get what you're saying, someone paying an extra 20% because one laptop is .8" vs the other being 1" is ludicrous. But, having a 2"-2.5" thick 8-10lb laptop is NOT portable in any sense of the word. Its not something you can use on your lap, and they almost always looks ridiculous, not professional in any sense of the word.
Its all about give and take. I didnt mind giving up some gaming performance by getting a 960m in a reasonable size/weight chassis. I have a perfectly good desktop if i need to load up BF4 at 1440p with maxed out settings, etc. My laptop is for me to work with and play games on when i can't be at my desktop. I don't need it be to be a replacement, just a supplementation.
IMO it sounds like the OP is in a similar position.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
If you care about the weight, then look at the weight. Don't look at thickness and use that as a proxy for weight. 6 pounds, 15", and 0.8" thick is not meaningfully more portable than 6 pound, 15", and 1.3" thick. Thicker is correlated with heavier, but the correlation is far from perfect, and it's easy to look at the weight directly. Having a little more airspace to help with airflow isn't a terrible thing.
I actually think thickness matters - not as much as weight or screen size, and not so much that 0.1" matters that much, but it's not insignificant. There's a world of difference between a 0.8" laptop and a 2.2" laptop.
Sometimes that correlates to weight, but not always. The difference between a 0.8" and a 1.4" laptop may not be that much in weight, but it is the difference in if I can carry it in a briefcase or if I need a separate laptop case for it.
You are correct, but generally speaking there is a correlation between the two. What i've found is it typicall jumps from .8-1.2 ish inches, on up to 2+. I havent really seen many that weren't el cheapo dells or stuff designed for entry level that were bigger than about 1 and a quarter inches without being desktop replacement gaming behemoths.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
I had no idea the differences between the mobile GPU and the desktop. I knew there were some, just not that big. Thanks Quiz.
Hrimnir --- I like the ACER you were talking about. I think that is what I need. Professional, but it will cover my gaming while I am on the road.
I am going to include some links. I am very thankful for the feedback.
I have learned a lot in this thread.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/443098/Aspire_V15_Nitro_VN7-591G-70RT_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black_Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3FA2U28901
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314681
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314702
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-314-858
You should be warned that all of the New Egg links there are a GTX 860M, not a GTX 960M. That's likely to be the older Kepler architecture, which is a lot more heat for the same performance. If you can find some guarantee that it's Maxwell (Nvidia sells both architectures under the name GeForce GTX 860M), okay, but Kepler isn't what you want.