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?

[Mystical Spork]

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

That's a fair point. But honestly, I also feel hesitant to make myself a powerful desktop gaming PC because I imagine it would use up more power than what I would normally pay for on my electric bill. I know that sounds like a silly reason, but I really take power usage into consideration, and I'm not entirely sure how much a decently good gaming desktop is going to use up since I tend to be on the computer for a while in a day not always gaming but sometimes doing work.

Then get a mini PC. They use very little power, even less than a laptop.

Also get one with an oculink port and an oculink dock. You can use the dock with and GPU you want, and just leave the GPU disconnected any time you are not currently gaming.

The gaming laptops are money sinks. If you have endless money, then go for it. Otherwise, you are missing out. If you are deadset on a laptop, just look for something with at least a 4070 in it.

Without getting into too much detail, how much wattage does your PC use and does it affect your monthly bills significantly?

[D. Flame]

Origineel geplaatst door Tonepoet:

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

That's the problem, "REFURBISHED". That means it was used, has broken once, was half-ass repaired, and is being resold.

I would never purchase anything that cost over $1000 that was "refurbished."

Yeah, it means it was broken but refurbished doesn't mean it was broken and left broken. Refurbished means it was broken and reconditioned in some way, ideally repairing it.

The details of what that means depends on who's doing the refurbishing. If it's the like of some random ebayer or gamestop it's meaningless garbage. However, coming directly from the likes of Apple or Dell, which to my recollection have been considered two of the best mainstream laptp brands, I expect that it should be factory reconditioned to be more or less as good as new, and I expect there to be some kind of warranty.

I'm not seeing much of a problem here other than somebody else's cooties possibly being on the computer but considering that a A similar brand new configuration direct from Dell's seems to cost $1500[www.dell.com], and a similar configuration cost $1800 last year[www.pcworld.com]. I'd take the $400 discount personally. I'll just take a five cent alcohol wipe to it (not touching the screen), let it dry and problem solved. Maybe I'd be a bit more weary of buying from E-bay since sketchy stuff happens there sometimes.


I mean if Mystical Spork absolutely insists on something new and doesn't mind sacrificing some spec. there's this H.P. Victus Laptop[www.amazon.com] or This Asus Tuf[www.bestbuy.com], but they don't have as much R.A.M. stock and at least on the Victus the processor isn't as strong, which is important if we want something future proof, since it's not as if we can just pluck the processor out and replace it with a new one.

I'm also not sure if those are max-q (energy efficient) or max-p (performanced focused) versions of the 4070, which is of importance.

Most corps just ecycle their used machines. Those refurbished machines are typically RMA returns, and the quality of those fixes are notoriously lacking.

[D. Flame]

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

Then get a mini PC. They use very little power, even less than a laptop.

Also get one with an oculink port and an oculink dock. You can use the dock with and GPU you want, and just leave the GPU disconnected any time you are not currently gaming.

The gaming laptops are money sinks. If you have endless money, then go for it. Otherwise, you are missing out. If you are deadset on a laptop, just look for something with at least a 4070 in it.

Without getting into too much detail, how much wattage does your PC use and does it affect your monthly bills significantly?

My GPU is a 16gb 4060 Ti with a 165W TDP. My CPU is an i5 13400F with a base TDP of 65W.

It does not affect my bill significantly at all. My AC alone affects my bill more than my PC. (Hence trying to build a cooler running PC.)

[Mystical Spork]

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

Without getting into too much detail, how much wattage does your PC use and does it affect your monthly bills significantly?

My GPU is a 16gb 4060 Ti with a 165W TDP. My CPU is an i5 13400F with a base TDP of 65W.

It does not affect my bill significantly at all. My AC alone affects my bill more than my PC.

I guess I'll consider using the same build as yours in the future if I get the chance. Did you build yours by yourself or did you already get it pre-built from the store like one of my friends did?

[D. Flame]

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

My GPU is a 16gb 4060 Ti with a 165W TDP. My CPU is an i5 13400F with a base TDP of 65W.

It does not affect my bill significantly at all. My AC alone affects my bill more than my PC.

I guess I'll consider using the same build as yours in the future if I get the chance. Did you build yours by yourself or did you already get it pre-built from the store like one of my friends did?

I started with a store bought non-gaming PC and I slowly changed parts over the years, including the case and motherboard.

Nothing of the original remains, but at least a few pieces always transfered from one build to the next.

Also watch this for minipc + oculink:
https://youtu.be/AFwp6xI_41o?si=mjCTEwiU5xO_dt4M

[Mystical Spork]

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

I guess I'll consider using the same build as yours in the future if I get the chance. Did you build yours by yourself or did you already get it pre-built from the store like one of my friends did?

I started with a store bought non-gaming PC and I slowly changed parts over the years, including the case and motherboard.

Nothing of the original remains, but at least a few pieces always transfered from one build to the next.

Also watch this for minipc + oculink:
https://youtu.be/AFwp6xI_41o?si=mjCTEwiU5xO_dt4M

There's something weird about seeing a completely uncovered gpu being used like that. Looks even more prone to dust build up than usual. Not sure how I feel about that.

The mini PC looks interesting, but I can't help but wonder if it could overheat since it doesn't look like there's a lot of space for cooling. And it being a small form factor makes me also wonder if it's decently powerful outside of hooking up a large graphics card next to it?

[D. Flame]

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

I started with a store bought non-gaming PC and I slowly changed parts over the years, including the case and motherboard.

Nothing of the original remains, but at least a few pieces always transfered from one build to the next.

Also watch this for minipc + oculink:
https://youtu.be/AFwp6xI_41o?si=mjCTEwiU5xO_dt4M

There's something weird about seeing a completely uncovered gpu being used like that. Looks even more prone to dust build up than usual. Not sure how I feel about that.

The mini PC looks interesting, but I can't help but wonder if it could overheat since it doesn't look like there's a lot of space for cooling. And it being a small form factor makes me also wonder if it's decently powerful outside of hooking up a large graphics card next to it?

The video covers all that.

[Mystical Spork]

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

There's something weird about seeing a completely uncovered gpu being used like that. Looks even more prone to dust build up than usual. Not sure how I feel about that.

The mini PC looks interesting, but I can't help but wonder if it could overheat since it doesn't look like there's a lot of space for cooling. And it being a small form factor makes me also wonder if it's decently powerful outside of hooking up a large graphics card next to it?

The video covers all that.

Are there any downsides with having something like this?

[D. Flame]

Origineel geplaatst door Mystical Spork:

Origineel geplaatst door D. Flame:

The video covers all that.

Are there any downsides with having something like this?

Oculink is not hot swappable. Meaning you have to shut down the PC before connecting or disconnecting the GPU dock.

And finding a mini PC with an oculink port on it.

Other than that, not really. The mini PC will be cheaper than a gaming laptop. You can upgrade GPUs easily. When the GPU is disconnected, those mini PCs use very little power. Etc.

[andreasaspenberg575]

there is a lot of bad gaming laptops. your best friend is time. you can buy a game that you can barely run and then upgrade when you find the optimal laptop. thickness however is relevant. you can not have good cooling in a too thin laptop.

[Mr White]

MSI Laptops or Asus TUF Laptops are the most popular brand. However Dell G Series and HP Victus are good as well. Try getting one with AMD RYZEN processor as there better for Battery life than Intel.

As fro Video card the majority are NVIDIA and you should look for one that has 6GB as entry or if you can afford it at least 8GB video. And 16GB of Memory as well.

[Mr White]

Origineel geplaatst door andreasaspenberg575:

there is a lot of bad gaming laptops. your best friend is time. you can buy a game that you can barely run and then upgrade when you find the optimal laptop. thickness however is relevant. you can not have good cooling in a too thin laptop.

Agree MEDION ERAZER LAPTOPS have great specs for the prices and cheaper. But a lot of people have problems when they fail to get them repaired.