Have I lost my mind... Laptop purchasing decision

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TriBeard

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So who knows what will change in the next month and a half or so, but my current laptop's battery is dead, and the whole thing is beginning to fall apart. So I've been looking around at some possible replacements. My mother and her boyfriend have said that they will get me one for a college graduation present, so I have a decent budget to work with. I'd been looking at the asus G75 series. The one with the 770m was really catching my eye.

However, then some guy at school showed up with a dell laptop, and it looked super nice, so I thought I'd see what that one was, and how it compared. Turns out, it was a precision m6800. I know that's not really a "gaming" machine, but the base GPU is a firepro m6100, which as far as I can tell is basically equivalent to what would have been the 8950m, and performs in games within 3-5% of the 770m (better, if I'm reading notebook review's chart right). Spec'd out the way I'd like it to be, its just shy of 2k, which is about 4-500 more than the comparable Asus model. That being said, it does come with 3 years of warranty instead of 1, which I really like. Also, it's made of metal, and is pretty sexy as far as looks go, which is again a plus for me. Lastly, it can run 2 external displays + the internal display because it has a display port connector, which the asus does not, and it gets an extra hour, hour and a half of battery life, at least. Some people report 8 hours, but I'm really skeptical of that. Again, all this is really tempting to me.

I am not a "professional", so the fact that it's firepro doesn't really do much for me. If they made this laptop with a radeon/geforce chip, I would get that version instead. But they don't. I also know that for the money, I could get a gaming notebook with a 780m. However, I have a nice desktop where I play most of my games, so as long as the laptop can handle gaming when I go to a friends house and don't want to drag the desktop, or am on the road, that's all I need, and the extra warranty and better build quality seems like it might be worth the trade off.

Have I lost my mind, or does this make some sense? Whatever laptop I buy now will have to last me 3-5 years probably, because the next one will be bought with my own dime.

Also, if any of you are tested forum members, sorry for posting it in both places. I just wanted to get everyone's thoughts.

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YoThatLimp

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My advice would be: don't buy a laptop for "gaming" it is big, unwieldy and runs hot.

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rollingzeppelin

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Personally, I think that gaming on a laptop is a waste of time. If I were to get another laptop I think I'd get a fuckin chromebook actually ha ha.

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TriBeard

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I like 17" laptops. I'm a big dude, have a big backpack, and have always had them and never minded them. This one is actually about the same weight as the one I have now, and I've carried it pretty much every day for the last 4 years on and around campus. I know that's not what everyone likes or wants to do, but for me, it's not really an issue. As for the running hot part, this is sometimes true, however I would also argue that a lot of regular laptops run hot as well due to having barely adequate cooling solutions where as gaming and performance laptops have beefier ones to cope with the extra heat.

I don't intend to use it as my only gaming machine, or even my primary one. But I do travel a good bit, and don't want to have to be without access to a way to play games at a reasonable quality for days or weeks at a time.

Also, you two having basically the same profile picture is really throwing me off.

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killerclaw

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#5  Edited By killerclaw

I'd suggest getting one of the laptops in the Lenovo T-Series ThinkPad line (assuming you have a decent enough budge). Lenovo has a very high build quality and (depending on the model) has the option for discrete graphics (NVIDIA mostly).

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audioBusting

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#6  Edited By audioBusting

If that Dell laptop is $3800 like it is in the Australian online store, then yes you have lost your mind. Also be careful with the Asus G75, as I've heard that most models don't implement Optimus (i.e. no switch to integrated graphics, meaning more heat and noise and less battery life.)

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Zaphod0

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#7  Edited By Zaphod0

If you are looking for something to last 3 - 5 years in terms of gaming, then a laptop probably isn't the best move. For your budget, you'd be better off buying a mid range laptop and a separate gaming rig. So much more flexibility with a desktop. GPU not up to what it used to be? Spend 200 bucks and you've moved up a generation. Can't do that with a laptop...

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tourgen

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Don't worry. The FirePro isn't a professional card. I've had the distinct misfortune of using FireGL Pro & FirePro mobile GPUs in a few different laptops. They are garbage as far as running professional CAD and scientific/data analysis software that make heavy use of OpenGL. The FireGL was garbage for games too but the FirePro at least seemed stable for games.

If you have a place to setup a gaming desktop you should go that route. If not I second the Lenovo T-series recommendation with the optional NVIDIA discrete gfx hardware.

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Mcfart

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Don't get a gaming laptop, unless it's the only PC you'll have.

In which case, don't get a gaming laptop, because if that will be all you have, you likely don't have a TV to plug it into, and laptop screens suck.

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Zomgfruitbunnies

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Depends on what kind of performance you're looking to get out of the laptop. Realize that, unless you're willing to put out big bucks for something designed for gaming, you're not going to be getting perfect performance on resource intensive games. If you're okay with playing future games on medium or lower settings and at a sub-par framerate, go for it.

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Zevvion

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If I'm understanding you correctly, you want a laptop in addition to your desktop so that you can bring your PC around with you easier?

If so, then yeah, having a laptop is much easier than dragging your desktop with you all the time. The idea that laptops can't play games properly is exaggerated and crazy. They will cost more for the same performance. That's the entire story. It's a trade off. You pay more for the portability factor and easy set up. You just need to think if that extra investment is worth it to you and what you want to do with it.

It is for me. I'm on the move a whole bunch. It's all about value. Paying less can be less valuable if you can't use it as much. If I were to buy a desktop, I would not be able to use it half of the time. Paying 300-400 bucks less for something I can barely use is a waste of money to me. I'd rather pay a bit more and be able to use it all the time. It has increased value to me, so the increased price is something I'd gladly pay for it. I have an Alienware M14x myself. A lot of Alienware hate on the internet by PC elitists, but the fact of the matter is that their laptop line is outstanding. Yep, it sure costs a bit more. I can get the same performance out of my laptop that cost 1300 euro at the time for 900 in a desktop, but as I said: portability has increased value to me, so it was totally worth it. It plays all games well so far and it's a year old. I have no regrets buying it.

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Kidavenger

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#13  Edited By Kidavenger

@zevvion: The reason most of us tell people posting on here not to get a gaming laptop, is because it's plainly obvious that most of them haven't thought about it very much, your situation is not the norm.

I did the whole gaming laptop thing for awhile when I was in university, it sucked, gaming on a laptop sucks. It's not just the initial outlay of cash either, you are going to be spending $1500 every 3 years when you need to upgrade rather than $300-$400 to keep your videocard up to date on a pc, it's a big ongoing money pit for a poor gaming experience, really the only reason I'd consider one now would be if I was a traveling salesman or some other profession that required me to be on the road 300+ days of the year.

The m14x is a piece of garbage, check the laptops that I linked above and tell me how you think the m14x is in anyway comparable.

Don't assume we are a bunch of ignorant internet assholes, these same idiotic questions get posted everyday, and it's very rare that someone like the OP here has actually put some thought into it.

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Zevvion

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@kidavenger: Yes, gaming laptops do cost a bunch of money. It's a value proposition. 800 bucks on a PC and then 300-400 every 3 years is indeed cheaper than 1200-1300 in total every 3-4 years. That doesn't mean it has more value, as if I can only use that PC 40% of the time that I want to use it, then the value of it drops accordingly. Meanwhile, we are talking about PC's here. I don't know how it is for you, and maybe I come across as pathetic here, but even if I don't need to use my PC every day for work, I still want to use it to play games. If I cannot, then it really is worthless to me. I think you may be underestimating how many people that are looking for a laptop fully understand that it is more expensive. It's just a use situation.

That said, I have no idea why you think the M14x is garbage. Mine is great. It works perfectly. I'm wondering what specific aspect of it makes you say it's garbage. Since you are referring me to links of other laptops I can only assume you mean specs? In which case, yeah those specs do look better. Mine is over a year old, so it's not really a surprise. But did I miss something in this thread? Those specs seem like overkill to me. Mine is a year old and still runs games completely fine. Most of them at the highest settings, with some obvious exceptions like Crysis 2 and even though I run Witcher 2 at highest settings (uber sampling excluded), it is only at 30fps. But, while I'm not accusing you of anything, it does sound a bit like elitism. Maybe I just misread where he asked for max settings on all games. Personally, I am completely fine with having to play some of the highest benchmark games on somewhat lower than max settings. In all honesty, I'm fine with running some games on medium if I inevitably have to do so in the future. But perhaps that is why you think the M14x is garbage and I think it's great.

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TriBeard

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#15  Edited By TriBeard

@zaphod0: @kidavenger: @zevvion: I do have a gaming desktop as well, and will continue to do most of my gaming on that. It's got an older i7, but I just put an R9 290 in it, so it runs everything maxed. The laptop would just have to give me good enough performance that I could play games at high enough quality settings that it didn't make me want to claw my eyes out, and if I'm correct, this one should be able to do that, at least for a while. I was mainly just surprised to find myself considering a professional laptop, but the warranty, multimonitor capabilities, and build quality are really tempting.

My current laptop is actually a sager. I don't think I want to do that again. I have had more trouble with this laptop than with any other. The battery has been dead for a year now, and the chassis is full of flex, the screen gets bright spots (it's been replaced once, but now they argue it was user damage), and I've gone through two motherboards and a GPU replacement. I know my experience might not be the norm with them, and they do offer good value, at least on the surface. But I'm just not interested in that again.

@audiobusting: It's "only" about 1900 in the US store to get it spec'd the way I'd want it. So it's not THAT much more than the asus, especially when you figure in 3 year warranty vs 1.

@tourgen: How long ago was that? This card at least seems to be faster in OpenCL/GL than even the 600 dollar "upgrade" nvidia option. Not that it matters to me really, but their newer cards are GCN based, and we all know how good those are at compute and openCL (and litecoin mining. Stupid litecoin mining).

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Aviar

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#16  Edited By Aviar

I bought my wife last years model of the Asus G75 and she loves it, and so do I when I get a chance to use it. The laptop has played all games smoothly that I have thrown at it, and she uses it daily. I'm very pleased with the Asus purchase and would definitely recommend their laptops to anyone looking to get one.

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Sooty

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#17  Edited By Sooty

@rollingzeppelin said:

Personally, I think that gaming on a laptop is a waste of time. If I were to get another laptop I think I'd get a fuckin chromebook actually ha ha.

My Gigabyte P27K is awesome, Battlefield 4 looks and runs great on it, as does everything else I have tried.

By saying it's a waste of time, you are basically saying PC gaming is a waste of time because it implies the laptop is a far inferior experience, which is simply not the case if you buy a half-decent one.

Of course a gaming PC is better, especially bang for buck, but that doesn't help when I have limited space in my room at university. My 27" monitor took up half of my desk there, having just my 17" gaming laptop has improved my workspace tremendously. I use it as a desktop replacement because I also have a MacBook Air, to be honest though despite being 17" it's not actually very heavy at just 3lbs.

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#18  Edited By Budwyzer
No Caption Provided

WTF

@sooty said:
@rollingzeppelin said:

Personally, I think that gaming on a laptop is a waste of time. If I were to get another laptop I think I'd get a fuckin chromebook actually ha ha.

My Gigabyte P27K is awesome, Battlefield 4 looks and runs great on it, as does everything else I have tried.

By saying it's a waste of time, you are basically saying PC gaming is a waste of time because it implies the laptop is a far inferior experience, which is simply not the case if you buy a half-decent one.

Of course a gaming PC is better, especially bang for buck, but that doesn't help when I have limited space in my room at university. My 27" monitor took up half of my desk there, having just my 17" gaming laptop has improved my workspace tremendously. I use it as a desktop replacement because I also have a MacBook Air, to be honest though despite being 17" it's not actually very heavy at just 3lbs.

I find the fact that you used the term "University", which I find to be very European, and then ended with "lbs" very discomforting.

I CANNOT GEOGRAPHICALLY PLACE YOU!! Are you a Moonanite?

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rollingzeppelin

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#19  Edited By rollingzeppelin

@sooty said:

@rollingzeppelin said:

Personally, I think that gaming on a laptop is a waste of time. If I were to get another laptop I think I'd get a fuckin chromebook actually ha ha.

My Gigabyte P27K is awesome, Battlefield 4 looks and runs great on it, as does everything else I have tried.

By saying it's a waste of time, you are basically saying PC gaming is a waste of time because it implies the laptop is a far inferior experience, which is simply not the case if you buy a half-decent one.

Of course a gaming PC is better, especially bang for buck, but that doesn't help when I have limited space in my room at university. My 27" monitor took up half of my desk there, having just my 17" gaming laptop has improved my workspace tremendously. I use it as a desktop replacement because I also have a MacBook Air, to be honest though despite being 17" it's not actually very heavy at just 3lbs.

I wouldn't say PC gaming is a waste of time, gaming on a laptop is a far inferior experience unless you want to shell out a shit load more money. I just don't see the space savings as a great argument. You don't need to save too much space in university, If you need a lot of desk space you can go to the library. This is where the chromebook would come in handy. Once you're out of the dorms, it's not hard to find a place with enough room for a desktop.

Oh I looked up your laptop http://www.avforums.com/review/gigabyte-p27k-laptop-review.9687. It can't even run Battlefield 3 on high, a $200 videocard could do a better job. And the fact that there's no way for you to ever improve performance on your machine means that it's only going to become more useless for the new games coming out. Also, I don't understand how you make the connection between laptop gaming being a waste of time and PC gaming being a waste of time?

One more thing, your laptop is 3.15 kg so it's more like 7lbs so it's not exactly portable either.

The only laptop I would consider buying now would be the lenovo yoga as it's probably the best solution for watching videos on the go.

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falserelic

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@budwyzer said:
No Caption Provided

WTF

@sooty said:
@rollingzeppelin said:

Personally, I think that gaming on a laptop is a waste of time. If I were to get another laptop I think I'd get a fuckin chromebook actually ha ha.

My Gigabyte P27K is awesome, Battlefield 4 looks and runs great on it, as does everything else I have tried.

By saying it's a waste of time, you are basically saying PC gaming is a waste of time because it implies the laptop is a far inferior experience, which is simply not the case if you buy a half-decent one.

Of course a gaming PC is better, especially bang for buck, but that doesn't help when I have limited space in my room at university. My 27" monitor took up half of my desk there, having just my 17" gaming laptop has improved my workspace tremendously. I use it as a desktop replacement because I also have a MacBook Air, to be honest though despite being 17" it's not actually very heavy at just 3lbs.

I find the fact that you used the term "University", which I find to be very European, and then ended with "lbs" very discomforting.

I CANNOT GEOGRAPHICALLY PLACE YOU!! Are you a Moonanite?

I didn't realize it was two different users until you showed that, there's some weird shit already happening in this thread.

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Sooty

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#21  Edited By Sooty

@budwyzer: Well if I start expecting you Americans to do weight conversions someone might push the red button accidentally!

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TriBeard

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I didn't mean to spark a debate about the merits of gaming on a laptop vs desktop. Each has their pro's and con's, but one or the other may not always be one's preference, and that's ok so long as they realize the trade-offs

I just like to have a laptop that doesn't make me want to use my desktop whenever possible due to performance, and I like to not have to feel like I have to take my desktop somewhere if I want to be able to have at least an OK/Playable gaming experience. Since I like 17" laptops anyway, the weight doesn't really make much of a difference to me because I already have to have it in a decent backpack to fit it size wise.

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Sooty

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@sooty said:

@budwyzer: Well if I start expecting you Americans to do weight conversions someone might push the red button accidentally!

I just realised how stupid this was to say because I actually did the conversion wrong myself, it's 6 pounds, lol

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Snail

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I'll just say, on the off-chance that it checks out, that you should check if at least most games you would play at your friends' places on this laptop also have Mac versions.

If so, buy a Macbook Pro.

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TriBeard

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@snail: If that was directed at me, thanks, but no thanks. I don't really like OSX all that much, and when apple stopped making a 17" laptop, they lost any hope they had of getting me as a customer. There are way too many games that don't have mac versions, and there are just too many limitations on that platform with the RAM being soldered on, only one hard drive slot, and so on.

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Sooty

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#27  Edited By Sooty

@rollingzeppelin said:

@sooty said:

@rollingzeppelin said:

Personally, I think that gaming on a laptop is a waste of time. If I were to get another laptop I think I'd get a fuckin chromebook actually ha ha.

My Gigabyte P27K is awesome, Battlefield 4 looks and runs great on it, as does everything else I have tried.

By saying it's a waste of time, you are basically saying PC gaming is a waste of time because it implies the laptop is a far inferior experience, which is simply not the case if you buy a half-decent one.

Of course a gaming PC is better, especially bang for buck, but that doesn't help when I have limited space in my room at university. My 27" monitor took up half of my desk there, having just my 17" gaming laptop has improved my workspace tremendously. I use it as a desktop replacement because I also have a MacBook Air, to be honest though despite being 17" it's not actually very heavy at just 3lbs.

h I looked up your laptop http://www.avforums.com/review/gigabyte-p27k-laptop-review.9687. It can't even run Battlefield 3 on high, a $200 videocard could do a better job. And the fact that there's no way for you to ever improve performance on your machine means that it's only going to become more useless for the new games coming out. Also, I don't understand how you make the connection between laptop gaming being a waste of time and PC gaming being a waste of time?

One more thing, your laptop is 3.15 kg so it's more like 7lbs so it's not exactly portable either.

The only laptop I would consider buying now would be the lenovo yoga as it's probably the best solution for watching videos on the go.

That review is false. I can play BF4 on ultra if I want, but I play it on high because it's a bit smoother and it still looks better than my PS4 version, I don't know why that guy is saying it can't run BF3 on high. I wouldn't have bought it if I thought the review was accurate as I saw it before I bought the laptop.

I'm well aware that you cannot upgrade or improve a laptop's performance, I am not stupid and I'm still correct that it can play Battlefield 4 and other recent games rather well. Besides, this laptop isn't even my main machine so I don't care if it becomes obsolete for gaming within the next couple of years, it's a stop-gap machine for when I'm away from my PC.

The i7, SSD, comfy keyboard and great screen make it awesome for doing work and just using in general so I'm pretty happy all around, I just like having the option to game if I want which I still will in 2 years or so, it'll just have to be on lower settings/resolutions. If I'm that desperate to play a game on max settings I will just save the game for my PC.

I find your attitude strange because you seemed all too happy to try and rain on my parade, but never mind because now you know you are wrong.

GTX 765M:

Loading Video...

It is portable. I have taken it to university on numerous occasions, it does not feel very heavy because the weight is distributed well across the machine. The biggest problem is finding a bag for it because it barely fits into my pretty standard 15" rucksack. It's only slightly over twice the weight of my MacBook Air and is actually on the light side for a gaming laptop. (I admit the Air is far more convenient to take out, my P27 is more-or-less for my uni room only)

I'll bow out of this thread because I don't see the point in discussing any of this further, wouldn't have even replied if it wasn't for your shitty attitude since it's necro and I noticed the reply very late.

Never mind though, I'm out!