Upgrading to a more powerful Gaming Laptop

[Mystical Spork]

I'm looking for some suggestions from people in the community on a what would be a great choice for a moderately powerful gaming laptop that is future proof for high-end games.

I don't own a desktop PC because I currently don't have room for it and I know most people are going to tell me it would be a better investment to make your own, but I really want to get myself a laptop with a Nvidia 40 series GPU that has a good build quality and can overall stand the test of time with good care. I will eventually build my own custom gaming PC but until then I want something I could take anywhere in my house.

I've read that the quality of certain brands varies greatly with Razer laptops known to having a battery that could bloat over time, or the hinges on certain laptops being prone to eventually breaking, or even certain gaming laptop brands being known for having a high failure rate.

Regardless, I want to hear if any of you have good suggestions or what's your experience with gaming laptops?

[andreasaspenberg575]

you should try to find something with good storage. though internal storage is never enough so, you will need an external harddrive too. you should look for a laptop that is easy to upgrade. you should also avoid the thinnest laptops, because when the chassis gets thin, the cooler also gets thin. you need a good cooler in order to keep the cpu and gpu from burning up.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

you should try to find something with good storage. though internal storage is never enough so, you will need an external harddrive too. you should look for a laptop that is easy to upgrade. you should also avoid the thinnest laptops, because when the chassis gets thin, the cooler also gets thin. you need a good cooler in order to keep the cpu and gpu from burning up.

From what I checked, even with the one I currently own, I can only upgrade the ram and SSD storage. I haven't seen a laptop where you can upgrade the cpu or gpu or anything else for that matter. And don't worry, I forgot to mention that I'm also looking for primarily 18-inch laptops; the biggest sized ones because that extra screen space is great for experiencing triple A games.

[andreasaspenberg575]

the cpu can usually be upgraded. most of my laptops have that possibility. all of them have the ability to switch out the ram, though my toshiba laptop is maxed. 2 of my laptops have the ability to switch gpu. the size of the screen that you want is bigger than my toshiba. what you need to look for is chassis size. it should not be too thin, because then the cooler gets thin as well and your cpu and gpu will burn up. you should at least have 32 gigabytes of ram if you shall hope to run the heaviest games, like final fantasy 15. final fantasy 15 uses 17 gigabytes under load.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

the cpu can usually be upgraded. most of my laptops have that possibility. all of them have the ability to switch out the ram, though my toshiba laptop is maxed. 2 of my laptops have the ability to switch gpu. the size of the screen that you want is bigger than my toshiba. what you need to look for is chassis size. it should not be too thin, because then the cooler gets thin as well and your cpu and gpu will burn up. you should at least have 32 gigabytes of ram if you shall hope to run the heaviest games, like final fantasy 15. final fantasy 15 uses 17 gigabytes under load.

I thought you couldn't change the graphics card because it's soldered to the motherboard?

[andreasaspenberg575]

it depends on the laptop model entirely. asus laptops use a socketed gpu where only the vram is on the motherboard. the toshiba qosmio x70-A have the ability to upgrade everything. the graphics card sits in an mxm slot and the vram is on it. some other laptops also use mxm slots but, i do not have a complete list of laptops with that ability. certain acer models also have that ability.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

it depends on the laptop model entirely. asus laptops use a socketed gpu where only the vram is on the motherboard. the toshiba qosmio x70-A have the ability to upgrade everything. the graphics card sits in an mxm slot and the vram is on it. some other laptops also use mxm slots but, i do not have a complete list of laptops with that ability. certain acer models also have that ability.

I looked it up and those Toshiba Qosimio laptops have been discontinued since 2014 and are no longer available and I'm not going to buy an old laptop just because it has upgrade able parts.

[andreasaspenberg575]

i did not ask you to either. i only used it as an example. i usually use the stuff i have available as examples, as i know my equipment better than what is available on the market. i got my toshiba cheap, because it was on display. some stores have their own unique models of laptops so, you should check all stores available in your area to find what is best.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

i did not ask you to either. i only used it as an example. i usually use the stuff i have available as examples, as i know my equipment better than what is available on the market. i got my toshiba cheap, because it was on display. some stores have their own unique models of laptops so, you should check all stores available in your area to find what is best.

I mainly look online since it's more available compared to looking at my local electronics or Micro center store. They don't usually have what I'm particularly looking for. And I don't usually see customizeable gaming laptops available in stores. Not sure where you bought yours, but it seems really uncommon to find those types of laptops. Unless you can recommend me any new brands that makes them?

[andreasaspenberg575]

i would not recommend asus as those tends to be crashy. i myself usually explore stores. they might have something good not listed online. i purchased my toshiba in a store called power, though that is fairly nordic. i do not know what stores you have in your neighborhood. the 3 pcs i currently use i purchased in power. the key is patience, keep looking until you find what you want.
some stores can also order something for you. look for laptops that is not too thin. you could try HP omen, they should not be too thin.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

i would not recommend asus as those tends to be crashy. i myself usually explore stores. they might have something good not listed online. i purchased my toshiba in a store called power, though that is fairly nordic. i do not know what stores you have in your neighborhood. the 3 pcs i currently use i purchased in power. the key is patience, keep looking until you find what you want.
some stores can also order something for you. look for laptops that is not too thin. you could try HP omen, they should not be too thin.

I do not live in Europe, I live in the United States, so my typical PC hardware store tends to be a place called "Micro Center". As for the selection it has, I haven't been there recently, but I do know they tend to update their stock every once in a while with new computers every so often. So I will keep checking, but I'm curious what's your current laptop build that you have or the other 3 PCs you mentioned?

Anyways, thanks for the advice.

[andreasaspenberg575]

my other laptops is an asus(i7-2670qm and gt 630m) and an acer(amd a4 5000 with amd hd 8330). the asus was my main gaming laptop until i got the toshiba while the acer was a pc i got for writing my book, along with some gaming.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

my other laptops is an asus(i7-2670qm and gt 630m) and an acer(amd a4 5000 with amd hd 8330). the asus was my main gaming laptop until i got the toshiba while the acer was a pc i got for writing my book, along with some gaming.

You mentioned that Toshiba Qosmio laptop, what year did you purchase it because when I was looking it up online it, it looks like it's more than 10 years old.

[andreasaspenberg575]

about 10 years. i purchased it in july 2014. i did some upgrades however recently. i added a 2 terrabytes harddrive to the empty drive bay and 2 8 gigabyte ram sticks to the empty ram slots. it is my main gaming pc. most of the games i play runs well on the gtx 770m. for more demanding games i have a 5 year old acer predator orion 9000 with i7-8700k and rtx 2080 ti.

[Mystical Spork]

Originally posted by andreasaspenberg575:

about 10 years. i purchased it in july 2014. i did some upgrades however recently. i added a 2 terrabytes harddrive to the empty drive bay and 2 8 gigabyte ram sticks to the empty ram slots. it is my main gaming pc. most of the games i play runs well on the gtx 770m. for more demanding games i have a 5 year old acer predator orion 9000 with i7-8700k and rtx 2080 ti.

Okay, cool. Can it run modern high-end games well like Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk?

[andreasaspenberg575]

witcher 3: yes. that should work fairly well. its minimum requirements is 660. cyberpunk is a different story however, as that is more demanding.