Current Events > I'm thinking of getting a gaming laptop

(+) Yeah! (+)

My PC has been over the hill for a few years now, and I'd really like to just move on to something much smaller. What's a decent gaming laptop go for these days? I remember I bought a nice Asus one back in like 2013, and that ran me like $1800-$2000. Is that still normal? I'm looking for a pretty standard laptop I guess. Not a budget one, but not a top of the line, uber expensive machine either. Just something that will probably run most games that come out for the next few years.

If you have any specific suggestions I'm all ears too, but I'm mostly just curious about what the price points were like these days, especially since I know chip prices were going insane during the pandemic and still might not have recovered.

Lenovo is running some pretty decent deals on their well regarded Legion line rn. Might be a good place to start.

The problem with "gaming" laptops is that they're effectively frozen in time, and the only meaningful upgrade is swapping out the RAM. You may as well just buy a console.

Yeah, don't buy a laptop unless space and/or portability is your number one priority.

Questionmarktarius posted...

The problem with "gaming" laptops is that they're effectively frozen in time, and the only meaningful upgrade is swapping out the RAM. You may as well just buy a console.

... what?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/2/2/AADdfsAAEw1u.jpg

I was looking on Best Buy's website earlier and found this:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7
-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-
1tb-ssd-mecha-grey/6535503.p?skuId=6535503

I have a Lenovo Legion 5, pretty good

Go SFF/MFF if you want a smaller gaming machine. Laptops not being upgradeable in a meaningful way just wastes even more of your money over time. Worse value prospect than even console subscription fees.

Waxitron_Gazer posted...

... what?

Exactly as stated.
You can't meaningfully upgrade anything. What you bought, when you bought it, it what it's always going to be.

Get the longest warranty you can. Something major will happen to that gaming laptop right after a year or two is up.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Exactly as stated.
You can't meaningfully upgrade anything. What you bought, when you bought it, it what it's always going to be.

I never upgraded the giant waste of space pc I have either, but I like indie PC games, so neither a console nor a new gaming pc are what I want.

Questionmarktarius posted...

The problem with "gaming" laptops is that they're effectively frozen in time, and the only meaningful upgrade is swapping out the RAM. You may as well just buy a console.

Well that's just not true.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Exactly as stated.
You can't meaningfully upgrade anything. What you bought, when you bought it, it what it's always going to be.

You can't meaningfully upgrade anything in any laptop, except those Frame Work ones and even that's kinda a crapshoot.

He specifically asked about laptops, I don't know why you're being so obtuse.

Waxitron_Gazer posted...

You can't meaningfully upgrade anything in any laptop, except those Frame Work ones and even that's kinda a crapshoot.

I had a shitty Lenovo craptop that had an empty m.2 slot inside.
...and then the solder on the powersupply rotted to dust right after I put in a beefy SSD.

I honestly don't even know what point you're trying to make now, dawg.

Waxitron_Gazer posted...

I honestly don't even know what point you're trying to make now, dawg.

You can't swap out the GPU in a laptop. That's the point.

Yah. Everyone knows that. It's fact of life that you live with when you buy literally any laptop ever.

With laptops you are always paying more for less performance. Literally the only advantage you get from them is portability.

If you want smaller and new, just get a small form factor desktop. Though really, depending on specs, you should probably just upgrade what you have.

codey posted...

Just something that will probably run most games that come out for the next few years.

Dont do this. Just take that money and buy a prebuilt or something.

I never understood the appeal of gaming laptops. They arent convienent like a handheld and they arent as good as a desktop PCs for similar prices.

Its like the worst of both worlds if you have space to get an actual set up.

dont do it, build your own pc it's ez

CE in a nutshell.
TC:
"I'm thinking of dyeing my hair blue or red, which one should I pick?"

The rest of CE:
"why not green?"
"Eew hair dye is trashy I bet you tattoos!"
"Dyeing your hair is bad for it you'll regret it when you're 90 mkay?"

eggcorn posted...

CE in a nutshell.
TC:
"I'm thinking of dyeing my hair blue or red, which one should I pick?"

The rest of CE:
"why not green?"
"Eew hair dye is trashy I bet you tattoos!"
"Dyeing your hair is bad for it you'll regret it when you're 90 mkay?"

Thats not what this is though.

It would be more like OP asking for advice on dying their hair and CE telling them not to go a place that will fuck their hair up and get value for their money.

kozlo100 posted...

With laptops you are always paying more for less performance. Literally the only advantage you get from them is portability.

If you want smaller and new, just get a small form factor desktop. Though really, depending on specs, you should probably just upgrade what you have.

What I have is a gaming PC I built in 2016 that needs literally everything replaced because I don't actually care to find new parts to install into it over the years lol

I like gaming and prefer PC gaming, I just don't like all the stuff that goes into it and would rather avoid it all.

codey posted...

If you have any specific suggestions I'm all ears too, but I'm mostly just curious about what the price points were like these days, especially since I know chip prices were going insane during the pandemic and still might not have recovered.

I'd honestly recommend just getting a small PC if your only issue is the amount of space that it takes up. Either a Mini-ITX, or Micro-ATX.

But if you're dead set on a laptop, Asus Rog is a good brand to look into.

codey posted...

I like gaming and prefer PC gaming, I just don't like all the stuff that goes into it and would rather avoid it all.

So buy a pre-built.

codey posted...

I like gaming and prefer PC gaming, I just don't like all the stuff that goes into it and would rather avoid it all.

Just buy a prebuilt. Gaming laptops are awful and arent even good for the one thing they are built for.

I should note that one of the things pulling me toward a laptop is my career. I'm a journalist, and while I do have a work laptop to use on assignment, it's an apple and I absolutely hate the OS.

I4NRulez posted...

Thats not what this is though.

It would be more like OP asking for advice on dying their hair and CE telling them not to go a place that will fuck their hair up and get value for their money.

Actually you're wrong.

eggcorn posted...

Actually you're wrong.

yeah it's more like tc asking for advice on hair dying and ce telling them to go get a burrito instead.

"laptops are pointless, buy a clunky noisy drm machine with limited interface options, high hardware failure rates, and corporate curated software with no ability to anything well besides video games because it's a few hundred dollars cheaper"

~ CE

I have used gaming laptops for many years because I was often away from home. They have come a long way over the years and I often get a good 5 to 7 years of use out of them. Still your gonna pay more for something with no upgrade path. I'm willing to accept low settings on my laptop after a few years.

Buy one if you need and want one. You don't need to spend 4 grand either I found around 1500 to 2 grand to meet my needs.

codey posted...

What I have is a gaming PC I built in 2016 that needs literally everything replaced because I don't actually care to find new parts to install into it over the years lol

I like gaming and prefer PC gaming, I just don't like all the stuff that goes into it and would rather avoid it all.

How about this, get a Steamdeck and a cheap laptop. Probably still cheaper than one gaming laptop, and everything is pretty much hassle free.

Tyranthraxus posted...

"laptops are pointless, buy a clunky noisy drm machine with limited interface options, high hardware failure rates, and corporate curated software with no ability to anything well besides video games because it's a few hundred dollars cheaper"

~ CE

Except that what Laptops are too with even more problems. Laptops themselves are fine but gaming laptops are a ripoff.

They overheat, they are noisy, and they don't have a battery life to support the one thing they are supposed to be specialized to do.

A Steam deck is a much better alternative than a gaming laptop.

I got one a few years ago for about a thousand bucks. It's considered entry level but it's the most advanced machine I've had by far. Everything is lightning fast on this thing. When it needs to update for example it only takes a couple of minutes instead of 20+ like on my old one.

XxAxem_BlackxX posted...

I got one a few years ago for about a thousand bucks. It's considered entry level but it's the most advanced machine I've had by far. Everything is lightning fast on this thing. When it needs to update for example it only takes a couple of minutes instead of 20+ like on my old one.

That's because you went from HDD to SSD, has little to do with the other components.

I4NRulez posted...

Except that what Laptops are too with even more problems. Laptops themselves are fine but gaming laptops are a ripoff.

They overheat, they are noisy, and they don't have a battery life to support the one thing they are supposed to be specialized to do.

A Steam deck is a much better alternative than a gaming laptop.

Oh, so you can get the same battery life with worse graphics, a smaller screen, and much less actual functionality?

Waxitron_Gazer posted...

Oh, so you can get the same battery life with worse graphics, a smaller screen, and much less actual functionality?

I mean if you're gonna waste money on one of em might as well spend 400 instead of 1000+

I just got an Acer Nitro 17 with a 4060 and a Ryzen 7 7840HS for $1300

Its pretty great so far. Runs everything in 1440p with high settings and good frame rates without getting too loud or hot.

Also who uses gaming laptops without plugging them in for maximum powah

i'm a video editor, so i need a high end PC for that, but i use my existing laptop at work so a desktop wouldn't be good for me.

just making a point that some people really do need the portability of a laptop.

I have a Lenovo Legion 5, not even Pro, for two years or so, and it can run any modern game in High. Elden Ring runs at 60fps. Looking forward to AC6.

Also work on it too. Never had an issue, and bringing it to bed on lazy days is great.

littlebro07 posted...

I just got an Acer Nitro 17 with a 4060 and a Ryzen 7 7840HS for $1300

Its pretty great so far. Runs everything in 1440p with high settings and good frame rates without getting too loud or hot.

Also who uses gaming laptops without plugging them in for maximum powah

Thanks, and also yes at the bold. Not sure why anyone thinks I care about the battery power, I'm not gonna be playing a video game unless I'm somewhere that I can actually sit down and play a game. I ain't trying to play Elden Ring on the train lol

Waxitron_Gazer posted...

yeah it's more like tc asking for advice on hair dying and ce telling them to go get a burrito instead.

Yes

codey posted...

Thanks, and also yes at the bold. Not sure why anyone thinks I care about the battery power, I'm not gonna be playing a video game unless I'm somewhere that I can actually sit down and play a game. I ain't trying to play Elden Ring on the train lol

Exactly. I got a gaming laptop so I can play in my office, in my living room, in my bed, on the toilet, etc.

All of those locations have an outlet nearby.