New gaming notebook - techs to looks for?

[SaltyNuts]

Awhile back (probably a year or so ago) I asked about a good gaming notebook - I was told it might be better to wait until a new screen tech came out. Anyone know what that might be, and if its out?

Also, generally, what techs should I look for in a gaming notebook? Such as recommended (or non-recommended) CPUs, graphics chips, and other devices (I would consider an SSD a requirement). Just trying to get up to speed on gaming notebooks because I finally want to get one. Any suggestions? Looking in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.

BTW, I will probably never be playing super intensive graphics games like Battlefield and other FPS. More like World of Warcraft, Company of Heroes 2, and other RTS games.

Thanks!

 

[Arachnotronic]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154297&cm_re=gs43vr-_-34-154-297-_-Product

Just buy that. It's within your price range, has super fast GPU and CPU, lots of memory, good storage setup, and a nice screen.

It's also fairly thin and light.

 

[SaltyNuts]

Thanks Arachnotronic. Question - I see it has a 14" screen. I think they make ones with bigger screens, no? I think I would prefer one with the biggest screen available. Maybe they have a similar model but with a bigger screen?

Thanks!

 

[dungeonimp]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233184

This Gigabyte is also a good deal for Black Friday. Similar specs (i7 6700HQ, 1060GTX, 1080p, 16gbDDR4) but a 15" screen and a couple hundred less than the MSI while it's on sale.

 

[SaltyNuts]

Thanks dungeonimp! That looks attractive. Questions though:

1. Any reason not to pay just a little more and get the 17.3" monitor? I would really prefer the bigger one.

2. No reason to get the 1070 chip, or 8gb video card memory, over the 1060 and 6gb respectively? Looks like these are sold out in the 17.3" inch side, and cost a good bit more anyways, so if there is not a compelling reason I think I'm going with the one you linked, but with the 17.3" screen. Thanks!

 

[dungeonimp]

If 17" is your preference I see no reason to get the 15". The 1070 will have better performance, but the 1060 shouldn't be too far behind. Plus it's a thin-ish laptop so there will likely be some throttling anyway with either.

 

[Valantar]

The 1070 will have better performance, but the 1060 shouldn't be too far behind.

That simply isn't true. The GTX 1070 is significantly more powerful than the 1060. Although laptop versions have stricter thermal limitations, that's still true.

If you can afford the 1070, want to play at resolutions higher than 1080p, and/or plan to keep this PC for a few years, get the 1070. It will get plenty of cooling in any reasonably designed 17" chassis. Go for it.

 

[SaltyNuts]

Valantar, yea, I did some looking, and the 1070 does look a good bit faster. However, if you follow that newegg link to the Gigabyte, and try and change the screen to 17.3" and the video card to 1070, they are out of stock. Wish they were in stock, as that ~$1349 (I think) price was very reasonable - I'm only seeing them for several hundred dollars more. I'll probably go with the 1060, as I suspect it can handle WoW and RTS games at the max resolution the monitors can take (which look like they can take 1920" max). If you know of any cheaper laptops with 1070s, do let me know! Thanks all!

 

[SaltyNuts]

Well, hell, I went to purchase the gigabyte that dungeonimp linked, but with the 17.3" inch screen, and now they are sold out. Looks like I'll probably wait a bit until they come down in price, particularly one with a 1070 chip. Thanks everyone.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

keep an eye out for the newest Asus laptops with Gsync. I'd probably go for a 1060 gpu just to save some battery power and throw less heat. With gsync being built in it mitigates the lower frame rates. Prices are competitive with the ones listed above.

 

[Insomniator]

Excellent time to buy a gaming laptop, 10xx series have brought huge mobile performance increases... probably the most exciting thing to happen in the GPU space in a long time.

With 1 - 2k you can get a pretty high end system. 1060/70, G-Sync, SSD of course. You could get a large external monitor for home gaming and get a 13" - 15" for mobile. Alienware 13 with OLED screen is really tempting to me... would be sick for vacations but at home or LAN parties you can use a larger and nicer screen than a 17" laptop would have anyway.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3135...-the-first-oled-gaming-laptop-has-landed.html

 

[Commodus]

One thing to ask yourself on the laptop front: how often will you be traveling?

It's tempting to say "I want the biggest laptop I can get!" when you're sitting at your desk. It's another thing if you'll be traveling with it daily, and realize that this 17-inch behemoth is a real strain when it's sitting on your shoulder for hours at a time, or that you can't use it in coach on an aircraft because it's too big.

This is why systems like the Razer Blade and that 14-inch MSI system exist. Sometimes you have to compromise on raw screen/performance to get something you can live with every day.

 

[JeffMD]

keep an eye out for the newest Asus laptops with Gsync. I'd probably go for a 1060 gpu just to save some battery power and throw less heat. With gsync being built in it mitigates the lower frame rates. Prices are competitive with the ones listed above.

The problem with gsync is it doesn't mitigate battery power. Optimus still provides a fairly good edge on battery life for non gaming stuff, and optimus = no gsync (in fact as I found out.. no fast or adaptive sync either, even on external monitors). I still haven't gotten a clear answer or able to test if gsync works externally if you have optimus, but the nvidia card is directly connected to the hdmi port.

17 inch laptops can still vary between a very acceptable 6 pounds (mine is just under 7) to 10 pounds like the asus ones with massive exhaust ports. I have been quite satisfied with my ge72vr, cooling is enough to keep the fans from ramping up to jet plane levels (activating max cooling is comical as the fan noise ramps up to speeds it never reaches under gaming loads), but the thickness and back end are no much bigger then a normal 15-17 inch laptop w/ dvd bay.