(Note: Initial post old. Since making it I started consider building a PC rather than getting a new laptop. Changed title from "What laptops are looking good" To "can you help with new hardware indecision" given increase in scope. See post #12 in this topic for more.)

Hey duders.

My current laptop, a 2013 Lenovo Yoga Ultrabook, is doing just fine. It's in great shape. That said I've been playing a lot of Heroes of the Storm and I have a vague interest in medium graphics settings. I tried them out for a few seconds (with a low fps) and they're crazy different! You can see what you're hovering over, it's crazy they don't have something like that without post processing or whatever. I was thinking maybe I should upgrade to get those.

What's good? What's going to be good? I want something that feels as good as the 2013 Yoga but I read the 2014 yoga was garbage and also Lenovo started spying on people so maybe not them. I thought I'd do it around Xmas. I'm willing to pump up its specs with money, did so with my old laptop.

Let me know if you have suggestions. I have no idea. I could just stay the course.

I scored this one for around $850 at the time. I need to look into installing another hard drive though. I'm pretty sure it has a second HD bay though.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YR6BMS2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Check out the wirecutter, that's what I use for tech reviews and they've not failed me yet.

That malware thing sounded pretty dodgy but I don't think its an issue anymore. In fact I think that their best laptop recommendation at the moment is a Lenovo.

What's your budget like?

@burt: I'm more or less willing to spend whatever I think if I'm willing to get one this year at all. I'll want to max out the fucker so I'm happy with it for longer. Worked last time.

@themasterds: If you're willing to go all out then and you're in no rush then maybe wait until the reviews for those laptops with the desktop grade 980's and g sync hit.

Although saying that there's always going to be something better round the corner.

This looks pretty sweet, needs an SSD though.

@burt: what are these laptops you speak of? I know not of them.

This is a PC Gamer article on them, but to get the increased performance they'll need to be plugged in, otherwise it's very similar to the 980m.

Definitely overkill for HotS but I mean if you can afford it...

@burt: that's pretty cool though might be more than I need. I have consoles for multiplatform games that laptops can't reliably run, you know? Additionally I like the form factor of Ultrabooks. Thin and quiet and such.

They said they aren't doing it anymore but it's totally still there. They just got better at hiding it. at the 55:56 mark.

@themasterds:Ha yeah fair enough, I can't imagine any of those being actually that portable. Check this acer out, looks to be reasonable slim.

@stonyman65: Thanks that's interesting, pretty outrageous they're still doing that, you'd have to imagine they can't be the only manufacture doing this as well. Regardless I won't be buying lenovo any time soon.

@burt: That looks reasonably slim, yes. I don't like the half sized up/down arrows though, that's a dumb design. I know they're hardly a big thing but they bother me.

Let's see what Wirecutter says. Oh, they say a Dell. Yo, fuck that, every Dell I've ever owned has been shit and has broken down multiple times within its lifetime. I'll never buy another.

If there's any other laptops that do the faux-leather palm rest like my Lenovo Yoga that'd be a start. I don't want to use any laptop that's just like "I dunno, how about some cold aluminum?"

(Title of thread changed to account for change in direction.)

I've been giving this some thought in the last month and decided to consider switching to a desktop and, honestly, I think I'm going to do it. My current Ultrabook will still work when I need a laptop and a PC would be significantly more powerful for less money overall. I've never built a PC though so I need to figure out what's good.

Internals seem straightforward though actually. I figure I put in an i5, a nice graphics card, 8-16 gigs of the best ram, a 500gb SSD and slap it into a nice motherboard. I saw a guide that seemed to suggest each category is actually straight forward right now. Three things stymie me though. The case, the monitor and the keyboard. Unlike the internals aesthetics matter for those. I want ones with fit and finish that are reasonably priced and not dumb. I have to work out the details for those now. Do I need a mid sized tower or should I go compact? Would that work? Would it hurt performance? I don't know. What about keyboards what's one that feels like a million dollars that doesn't cost a million dollars? Also monitors. I reckon I only want 1080. It'll make SSDing out to the TV simpler having both be the same resolution.

Help me out here.

@themasterds: Few people need even a mid-tower nowadays. The overwhelming majority of builds will fit into a mATX case.

You might even want to look at a mini ITX case like the Fractal Design Node 304. If you're not targeting anything above 1080, it won't hurt performance to target that size. This is basically my setup, and it was relatively easy to build, if that gives you any ideas.

@pcorb: Ah, well I am only targeting 1080p, yes, and also only envisioning this for Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch, but I can imagine once VR becomes real having a real use for some decent horsepower. Being oculus ready seems like it might be a good idea, you know.

Qué?

@themasterds: A 970 meets the requirements for full "presence" set out by Oculus.

@alexw00d: I meant to say HMDIing. Mixed up the abbreviations.

Oh you'll be connecting your TV? It makes 0 difference what the resolutions are between your TV and your monitor.

HDMI? You can have two or more displays with different resolutions, it doesn't make anything easier or more difficult. They're independent from one another.

@alexw00d: I currently do this with my Ultrabook and it does make a minor difference if you choose to mirror one screen onto the other which I do for simplicity since it renders the screen in my Ultrabooks resolution then mirrors it to the TV. Unless I'm mistaken. In any case 1080p seems plenty.

So... I just realized yesterday when the Overwatch specs came out my laptop is just shy of the minimum. I'm not qualified for that lottery basically. So... I have to do this like now.

I got all the internal parts pretty much decided on. Just need a nice keyboard with good fit and finish and a few USB ports and a solid monitor that looks atleast as good as my Ultrabooks screen. Please suggest candidates ASAP.

Edit: Ordering the parts off Amazon Prime for shipping speed. What parts I can't get there will come from a nearby Frys. I understand this probably isn't the best deal but I can't be bothered. Building this weekend. Will decide on Monitor/keyboard by then.