In Search of the Right Laptop

[Austin126936]

Hello, everyone. I've recently been looking into buying a laptop but I can't really decide upon which one is right for me. I'd be using it for average college work and possibly some video editing. I'd also need it to be able to run Minecraft (max settings and at least 60 fps) and Stranded Deep (decent settings and 60 fps) with Skype, several internet tabs, YouTube, and Open Broadcast Software (OBS) at the same time with no problems. As far as price goes, nothing over $1500. I'd also prefer it to be Asus with a business looking style. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[nerp]

Dell XPS 13, Microsoft Surface Book.

 

[EliteRetard]

You want a high end Asus under $1,500 that's not one of their glitzy gaming series...

That's an easy pick then, there's only one option right now:
http://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-Ultra-HD-Touchscreen-i7-6700HQ-Thunderbolt/dp/B018AX3OHO

i7 6700, 16GB RAM, GTX960m, 512GB SSD, 15.6" 4k display

FYI this laptop has GPU throttling issues with heavier gaming (Asus set a lower limit of 80c), and the 4k display is a problem due to poor windows scaling.

 

[Austin126936]

Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Austin126936]

You want a high end Asus under $1,500 that's not one of their glitzy gaming series...

That's an easy pick then, there's only one option right now:
http://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-Ultra-HD-Touchscreen-i7-6700HQ-Thunderbolt/dp/B018AX3OHO

i7 6700, 16GB RAM, GTX960m, 512GB SSD, 15.6" 4k display

FYI this laptop has GPU throttling issues with heavier gaming (Asus set a lower limit of 80c), and the 4k display is a problem due to poor windows scaling.

Can you turn the 4k off so it's display is 1080p? And how heavy is heavier gaming?

 

[blankslate]

If you're willing to consider a brand besides Asus

The MSI prestige models appear to have much the same internals of their gaming notebook counterparts but aren't too flashy on the outside

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2488153,00.asp


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[giantpandaman2]

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro, VAIO Z, or VAIO Z Flip. The most demanding of those tasks will be the video editing. I'd suggest a 940m+ or Iris Pro graphics for that. The Samsung has a 950m. The Vaio Z/Flip have Iris Pro.

The ASUS Zenbooks are nice if the weight/size doesn't bug you. I prefer the VAIO and the Samsung due to the high quality of the systems. They are more portable but less powerful than the Zenbook.

 

[EliteRetard]

Can you turn the 4k off so it's display is 1080p? And how heavy is heavier gaming?

Can't turn off 4k, that's the physical resolution of the screen. You can make the laptop run at 1080, or use 200% scaling, but either option may have some issues or cause blurriness etc (you're essentially stretching the image to fit).

You may run into throttling in AAA games from the last few years (and newer), like BF4, Metro LL, Tomb Raider etc. And you certainly can't run these at 4k, you'll have to make them run at 1080.

Lots of games are more modest on resources, like COD, HL2, JC2, etc. Looks like Stranded Deep has low requirements, it should run fine. Minecraft shouldn't stress the GPU much either.

A 960m unhindered can perform close to a desktop 750ti, but in this case the limits Asus uses can make the 960m perform closer to the 750 vanilla. It may be easier to find desktop benchmarks for the 750 cards, and they can give a general idea what performance will be like.

 

[Austin126936]

Can't turn off 4k, that's the physical resolution of the screen. You can make the laptop run at 1080, or use 200% scaling, but either option may have some issues or cause blurriness etc (you're essentially stretching the image to fit).

You may run into throttling in AAA games from the last few years (and newer), like BF4, Metro LL, Tomb Raider etc. And you certainly can't run these at 4k, you'll have to make them run at 1080.

Lots of games are more modest on resources, like COD, HL2, JC2, etc. Looks like Stranded Deep has low requirements, it should run fine. Minecraft shouldn't stress the GPU much either.

A 960m unhindered can perform close to a desktop 750ti, but in this case the limits Asus uses can make the 960m perform closer to the 750 vanilla. It may be easier to find desktop benchmarks for the 750 cards, and they can give a general idea what performance will be like.

Are the limits that Asus set final? Could they be overridden?

 

[EliteRetard]

Are the limits that Asus set final? Could they be overridden?

Basically final, unless you or someone you know can figure out what/where the thermal limit is and then modify the firmware/BIOS to up that limit...not sure it's even possible.