Hi GB!

I am interested in hearing your opinions.

Current laptop is too old and I want to change it for a more powerful one. Here is my scenario. I mostly use my computer to do browsing, music, video playing and casual gaming, but I am but I am tired of systems that get slow (or feel slow) after 1 year of use even if you do a fresh Windows re-install.

Currently:

• One work laptop (company owned), OK for office stuff, not good for casual gaming due to system configuration.
• One personal OLD laptop. It's age is starting to show, can't use it for anything other than browsing or office stuff, but it is SLOW! I had to change from Win 7 to Ubuntu. Can't handle Win 8 nor 10.

Budget: ~$1,000 US (max $1,200 US)

My options:

1. Low/Medium range gaming laptop. I do casual gaming. So minimum specs: Dual Core 2.5 GHz, 1 TB, 8 GB, Discrete GFX card 2 GB, 13 inch 1080P screen, USB 3.0, HDMI port. DVD/Blu-Ray optional.
2. Xbox One and a medium range 2-in-1 Tablet that I can use to handle occasional office work, online and offline multimedia (thinking iPad mini 64 GB WIFi only, data is expensive in MX, with keyboard case or something of similar specs). Preferably Windows or iOS, not Android for the Tablet. Don't care much about the camera as long as it's good for vid calls.

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Asus RoG's are meant to be good but I wouldn't really know. However I do like Asus laptops. The keyboard feels great as does the trackpad. Their gaming laptops go for about 1k I think. Some models apparently have heating issues but yeah, do some research on that one.

Go with a console.

A mid range laptop won't do you good, unless you're playing low demanding games like Dota and Hearthstone.

I'd recommend getting a small and convenient tablet or laptop and a separate gaming PC. You could easily get both for less than a grand. An Xbox One or PS4 is not a bad alternative for that PC, but I really don't understand gaming laptops so don't buy one of those.

As always, the answer is a desktop.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msca/en_CA/pdp/productID.323661500?Icid=SALE_EN_ModuleC_1_SurfaceXbox_081815

Microsoft is giving away XB1s with surface pro tablets, you can get the deal at bestbuy also.

I rolled the gaming laptop route for about 2 years. Built a PC when the laptop started getting blazing hot because I'd worn it down so much, despite using it carefully and promoting airflow with external fans. I personally don't think it is sustainable.

Sorry for being that guy but I'd say neither and go for a blown gaming desktop. Gaming laptops for under the $1500 mark are rarely good or even worth the money. With that kind of budget, I'd say get yourself a good mid-range desktop and a tablet. I think you could build something that rivals and surpasses current gen consoles and have extra cash for other stuff.

I wouldn't recommend a gaming laptop. They are overpriced compared to a desktop of the same specs and you cant really upgrade them, meaning after a few years you'll probably want to replace the whole thing. If you don't want to have a PC at a desk you can build pretty nice small form-factor PCs that fit under a TV well. If that doesn't suit you either then I think you'd be better off with a console rather than a gaming laptop.

I wish I could go for the desktop but space is limited and I don't really have somewhere to put it at home. I would go for it if I had the space. So, for those suggesting to get a desktop, any small form recommendations that I can plug to my 32" FHD TV?

I like the Surface+X1 bundle, thanks for the tip @kidavenger !

These are the laptops I have in mind:

• HP Envy 15.6", i7-5500U, 16GB, 2TB, NVIDIA GTX 950M 4GB, Full HD
• ASUS ROG GL551JW-DS71, 15.6", i7-4720HQ, 16GB, 1TB, NVIDIA GTX 950M 2GB, Full HD
• Acer V17 Nitro Black, 17.3", i7-4720HQ, 16GB, 2TB, NVIDIA GTX 950M 2GB, Full HD
• Lenovo Y50, 15.6", i7-4720HQ, 8GB, 1TB + 8GB SSD, NVIDIA GTX 950M 2GB, Full HD (not sure why it has such a small SSD, like, what for?)
• Alienware 13, 13", i5 5200U, 8GB, 1TB, NVIDIA GTX 950M 2GB, Full HD

Thanks again guys!

It depends on a lot on your needs, tablets are more convenient for general usage but a laptop has more functionality. I've been using a midrange 15" gaming laptop for 2 years (midrange 2 years ago) and another for 2 years before that, but I'm only happy with them because I need to move them a lot, they were useful for work/school, and I have consoles at home too. Weight and heat dissipation, especially with the power brick, matters a lot in the long run. A heavy and hot laptop could be more inconvenient and high-maintenance than a desktop. If you don't really really need a gaming laptop, I wouldn't recommend it. Tablet + console would save some money too.

Yeah! I've been thinking about that too @audiobusting ($$$). If I buy a laptop I would have to quote it in USD and then change that to Mexican Pesos and the USD-MXN exchange rate has increased by 25-30% in the last few months, while a console has a fixed priced.

As for the console, can anyone recommend good SteamOS machines, or are those sub-par to say, X1 (not a Sony fan here, sorry)?

@ibarguengoytia: The Alienware Alpha goes on sale quite often for under $350 USD. It's an i3 with a GPU that's essentially a 750ti in a case that's just a little bigger than the 360 controller it comes with. Sure, you won't be playing all the latest games at 1080p 60fps, but the machine's no slouch, being capable of running GTAV at 1080p while keeping a 30+ fps. I'd probably swap the drive that comes with it for an SSD, though.

http://www.techspot.com/review/934-alienware-alpha/page4.html

Then, grab an XBox1 and a 32 gig iPad Air and you've got all three for under $1200 USD.

I would also avoid a gaming laptop. You pay a huge premium for mid-range performance while having mediocre battery life, a chasis that looks like a transformer, and weighs just a hair less than Nibbler's poop.

Thanks for the suggestions @zelyre

The more I think aboyt all the opinions here, I am inclined to get this ASUS ROG http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OFQR0XA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

What do you guys think?

@ibarguengoytia: Good lord, no. $779 for a GTX 750 is robbery.

It might be helpful if you could elaborate on what you mean by casual gaming. That could mean anything from "I play Peggle every day" to "the only games I play are CoD and Assassin's Creed once in a while".

Hey @pcorb!

I want to catch up on games from the past 3 years and want this to be able to play games of the next 3-5 years without a massive upgrade.

I will play a couple of hours a week (3-5) and mostly single or co-op play, not really into full multiplayers.

So after much thinking and pondering on your comments, I am going to build my rig (first time) and am interested in reading your opinions.

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/VWrxFT/tiny-form-huge-power-800-usd-budget

Component list:

• AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard
• Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card
• Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case
• Cooler Master 500W ATX Power Supply

Can't wait to build this! Leave your comments/feedback!

That CPU (which is actually an APU iirc) will bottleneck that 970. I recommend switching that and the motherboard and just spend a bit more and get an i5.

@turtlebird95: Thanks for the feedback, I didn't consider that (n00b), could you please explain why this would happen so I am careful when creating/modifying builds? Thanks!

@ibarguengoytia: Bottlenecking is when a component isn't up to par with the rest and holds the other parts back... in this case, that AMD processor would hold your 970 back and you wouldn't get the full performance out of it. If you're looking to buy an i5, let's say the 4590 (which is what I have) you'd need to get a motherboard that has an LGA 1150 socket. (If you were wanting to get the new 6600k you'd need an LGA 1151 socket, as well as DDR4 memory)

If you already have a decent monitor, consider building a desktop PC. With 1000 dollars you can easily build a desktop that will last a few years.

If you don't want to go that route then just get a console+tablet. If you are looking at doing work on the tablet I would suggest going with a Surface 3(not Pro, out of your price range). I am sure people will disagree, but I just think doing any work on an iPad is a huge pain in the ass. At least with a Surface you are able to do nearly any work you are doing with your work laptop on it (my assumption based on you saying office work).

The i5 was 2x more expensive than the AMD so I did some adjustments to stay in budget, see below:

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/3wqqqs/tiny-form-huge-power-800-usd-budget

• Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Gigabyte GA-B85N PHOENIX-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
• Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card
• Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case
• Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W ATX Power Supply

Went down to the GeForce 960, instead of the 970, lowered the SSD from 240GB to 128GB, and chose a cheaper 1TB HDD.

This build (i5) totaled to $796.54 vs $796.83 with the AMD. I think the i5 wins!

This ^

I got a pretty good Laptop for about 1500 but for that i could have gotten a much better desktop. And of course Desktops are much easier to rig. But sometimes you just need a mobile device so if that's the case you can get something "good enough" for your price range for with a little digging

After much consideration and thinking I ended up with a laptop. My decision was driven by a few principles:

1. I don't need 1080P, 60FPS. Sure, I want it but I don't need it.
2. I don't have a good place to sit a PC and would need to use the only TV we have at home (we aren't that much into TV so we only need one), and that sits on the living room, so the PC needs to blend with the decor (ugh...)
3. I already had some games I bought on sale on Steam so that eliminated the console/tablet combo.
4. Want to start an MBA so I would need a computer I can easily take with me to go to school or team projects.

Ended up buying a HP Pavillion 15" bundle:

• AMD A10 8700P APU with integrated R6 Graphics that uses system memory which;
• 12 GB DDR3 RAM; more than enough to share with the integrated GPU and for regular system use
• Dedicated AMD Radeon R7 M360 2GB DDR3 (so this has two GPUs!)
• 1 TB HDD @ 5400 RPM
• 15" screen 1366 x 768 resolution (so I can play at a very decent 720P)
• Full keyboard with numeric keypad
• Windows 8.1 (upgrading to W10)
• DVD RW drive
• HDMI output
• It included a backpack with a built in 8000 mAh battery pack to recharge other devices
• $700 USD

I've been playing Borderlands 2 very smoothly, the game looks great and haven't had any issues, Yes, it's not a top performer but I am very happy with the outcome. I'll run some benchmarks just cuz and share if anyone is interested.

*Note: Apparently this model is only available in Latin America, maybe even just Mexico.