Worth it for a 1.5k gaming laptop?

The Infectious Paradox

The Infectious Paradox

Gold Member
So, I recently built a pretty beefy gaming PC. It's my first and I'm in love with it. However, I do find my self in situations where I want to play games on the go. I just bought a steam deck, but I'm realizing now that games I want to play such as Total war and others may not be the best fit. Based on the price I paid for the Steam deck pled and accessories I'm wondering if it would be worth it to just go ahead and buy a gaming laptop. Money is a factor considering my PC was high price. I found this on Amazon


Could use some opinions if I should change or if a laptop at this price range won't cut it.
 
I built a 7800x3d + RTX4080 PC and still picked up an RTX4080 laptop for gaming on the go since I travel semi-frequently, so I understand your situation quite well.

That said, for $1500 you should be getting a 4070 laptop. Perhaps check if there's a good deal out there?
 
Why buy a steamdeck in 2024 when every other handheld is better?
Depends on how you want to play on the go, just another desk outside or anywhere like in the train or on a couch
 
The Infectious Paradox said:
So, I recently built a pretty beefy gaming PC. It's my first and I'm in love with it. However, I do find my self in situations where I want to play games on the go. I just bought a steam deck, but I'm realizing now that games I want to play such as Total war and others may not be the best fit. Based on the price I paid for the Steam deck pled and accessories I'm wondering if it would be worth it to just go ahead and buy a gaming laptop. Money is a factor considering my PC was high price. I found this on Amazon


Could use some opinions if I should change or if a laptop at this price range won't cut it.
Click to expand...
It's not bad, but 4060 is a bit weak for $1500 imo. You should probably be able to get a similar laptop with a 4070 for that price.

Edit: Yeah exactly what O Ozriel said
 
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Ozriel said:
I built a 7800x3d + RTX4080 PC and still picked up an RTX4080 laptop for gaming on the go since I travel semi-frequently, so I understand your situation quite well.

That said, for $1500 you should be getting a 4070 laptop. Perhaps check if there's a good deal out there?
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. I'll do some research. If you ever find any good recs like that please let me know.
 
The CPU is great I just hate being stuck with 8GB GPU memory at this point. My 3070 laptop has 8GB but I think you have to go 4090 for more.
 
Here's a nice bump to a 4070, and you might be able to do even better.

www.microcenter.com

Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16" Gaming Laptop Computer Platinum Collection - Onyx Grey; Intel Core i7 13th Gen 13700HX 1.5GHz - Micro Center

Get it now! AI-tuned via Lenovo AI Engine and LA AI chips to perform like never before, the Legion Pro 5i comes stocked with a fully-powered 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700HX Processor, alongside 40 Series NVIDIA GeForce RTX Graphics for some seriously sweet performance.
www.microcenter.com www.microcenter.com


www.microcenter.com

HP OMEN 16-ae0001nr 16.1" Gaming Laptop Computer Platinum Collection - Meteor Silver; Intel Core i7 14th Gen 14700HX - Micro Center

Get it now! Stop throttling your gaming potential and give your games the max graphics settings they yearn for with the new Intel Core processor and NVIDIA graphics.
www.microcenter.com www.microcenter.com
 
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IMO the gaming laptop is the end all gaming kit. All the versatility and (most of) the strength of a PC without being a massive cinderblock tethered in place with a dozen cables. If you intend to use it standalone, just don't skimp on the size or quality of the screen...
 
Bernoulli said:
Why buy a steamdeck in 2024 when every other handheld is better?
Click to expand...
Can you load SteamOS on the other PC handhelds with all the bells and whistles the Steam Deck has? That's mainly what I've been holding out for. I hate these Windows handhelds so much.
 
The Infectious Paradox said:
Do you think 1.5k is feasible for those specs? I guess I should note I have only begun to look into laptops recently.
Click to expand...

Not for that one, it's a 3rd party seller so I wouldn't. https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Display-GeForce-Windows-FA507XI-EH94/dp/B0CJS1RQ2W?th=1 directly from Amazon.

With any laptop, always pay more for the stuff you can never change, not for additional memory and storage. Go biggest on CPU and GPU.

I did have an Asus TUF before this laptop but changed to the Asus ROG with 17.3" screen and it's leagues nicer.
 
For that price you are almost in the 4080 tier. Even then the 4070 would serve you better. I find the 4060 on the laptop to be pretty meh as an experience. People relying too much on DLSS and frame gen as a crux this generation.

My main is a 13900k + 4090 for desktop I also have a laptop with a 4080 and whatever i9 from last year. That laptop was honestly really good for most gaming experiences even at max graphics settings. The weird 2k(1600) resolution is a bit offputting for some games on that screen. If you are spending $1500 then don't settle for anything less than 4070 but really the only tiers in my eyes that are good for heavy/highest graphical gaming are the 4080 and 4090. If you play stuff like terraria and league then 4060 would be more than enough lol. Total War is typically more CPU bound but I did have a pleasant experience on my gaming laptop but once again that is a 4080 and my last gaming laptop had a 1070(also decent experience for the time).
 
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-ka...tx-4070-1tb-ssd-black/6575345.p?skuId=6575345

  • Windows 11 Home

    Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes with new tools, sounds, and apps. Every detail has been considered. All of it comes together to bring you a refreshing experience on your PC.

  • 15.6" FHD display

    MSI gaming laptops are tailored for gamer with high resolution and refresh rate. Make your gaming world more lifelike and smooth than ever before.

  • AMD Ryzen 9-8940H PROCESSOR

    AMD Ryzen 9 8940H processor is here. With a base clock of 4.0 GHz and boost clock of 5.3 GHz, up to 8 cores and 16 thread, for better multitasking works and running demanding games.

  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics

    Backed by 8 GB GDDR6 dedicated video memory for an ultrafast, advanced GPU to fuel your games.

  • 16 GB system memory for intense multitasking and gaming

    Reams of high-bandwidth DDR5 RAM to smoothly run your graphics-heavy PC games and video-editing applications, as well as numerous programs and browser tabs all at once.

  • 1TB solid-state drive (PCI-e)

    Save files fast and store more data. With massive amounts of storage and advanced communication power, PCI-e NVMe SSDs are great for major gaming applications, multiple servers, daily backups, and more.
[h3][/h3]Seems like decent specs to me for your price range
 
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HeisenbergFX4 said:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-ka...tx-4070-1tb-ssd-black/6575345.p?skuId=6575345

  • Windows 11 Home

    Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes with new tools, sounds, and apps. Every detail has been considered. All of it comes together to bring you a refreshing experience on your PC.

  • 15.6" FHD display

    MSI gaming laptops are tailored for gamer with high resolution and refresh rate. Make your gaming world more lifelike and smooth than ever before.

  • AMD Ryzen 9-8940H PROCESSOR

    AMD Ryzen 9 8940H processor is here. With a base clock of 4.0 GHz and boost clock of 5.3 GHz, up to 8 cores and 16 thread, for better multitasking works and running demanding games.

  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics

    Backed by 8 GB GDDR6 dedicated video memory for an ultrafast, advanced GPU to fuel your games.

  • 16 GB system memory for intense multitasking and gaming

    Reams of high-bandwidth DDR5 RAM to smoothly run your graphics-heavy PC games and video-editing applications, as well as numerous programs and browser tabs all at once.

  • 1TB solid-state drive (PCI-e)

    Save files fast and store more data. With massive amounts of storage and advanced communication power, PCI-e NVMe SSDs are great for major gaming applications, multiple servers, daily backups, and more.
[h3][/h3]Seems like decent specs to me for your price range
Click to expand...
Definitely liking the look of that. Thank you Walter
 
I'm away from home half the time and a gaming laptop is a godsend.

Just be aware if you're not already, not all laptop graphic's cards are created equal. Check the wattage. Also a mobile 4070 isn't as good as the desktop variant.
 
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I recently bought a gaming laptop and love it.

One thing however when it comes to 'gaming on the go' - you do need to have your laptop plugged in otherwise performance drops off a cliff.
 
I got a 2023 ROG Zephyrus G14 few months back for $850 during a Best Buy sale. Similar specs 4060, same amd processor. Only had 512gb drive and 16gb of ram but upgraded the ssd with a 2tb from my ps5 and add more ram for next to nothing. Been loving it and at the price haven't fount anything that can out do it.
 
Gaming laptops are a HUGE mistake those are the worst purchases ever (Alienware 15r3 owner and motherboard failed) the key to gaming on computers is desk tops.
 
The Infectious Paradox said:
Definitely liking the look of that. Thank you Walter
Click to expand...
Couple things to take into an account.

1. You will want 32GB of RAM at some point sooner than later. Make sure the laptop is upgradable of you are going with 16GB.
2. 4070 mobile only has 8GB VRAM. IMO, that's a limitation so as long as you are ok playing at 1080p or 1200p, it would be alright.
3. Make sure you the laptop is providing enough power to the GPU. You will want around 100w if possible.
 
BlackTron said:
IMO the gaming laptop is the end all gaming kit. All the versatility and (most of) the strength of a PC without being a massive cinderblock tethered in place with a dozen cables.
Click to expand...
Most of the time it's a portable cinder block that weights a ton and has terrible gamer logos everywhere.
 
The Infectious Paradox said:
So, I recently built a pretty beefy gaming PC. It's my first and I'm in love with it. However, I do find my self in situations where I want to play games on the go. I just bought a steam deck, but I'm realizing now that games I want to play such as Total war and others may not be the best fit. Based on the price I paid for the Steam deck pled and accessories I'm wondering if it would be worth it to just go ahead and buy a gaming laptop. Money is a factor considering my PC was high price. I found this on Amazon


Could use some opinions if I should change or if a laptop at this price range won't cut it.
Click to expand...

I have an RTX 3060 laptop which for the most part is okay and does the job for what I want but is underpowered (95 watt) to keep the temperatures in check which herein lies the problem with gaming laptops - heat is a major problem.
 
Also, note that most Windows gaming laptops will take a significant hit for performance when on battery.

Also, realistically your runtime for even moderately demanding games is going to be around an hour to our and a half and that's if the laptop has a good sized battery. It may be better with AMD CPU and worse with Intel, depending on particulars.
 
Grechy34 said:
I have an RTX 3060 laptop which for the most part is okay and does the job for what I want but is underpowered (95 watt) to keep the temperatures in check which herein lies the problem with gaming laptops - heat is a major problem.
Click to expand...

StereoVsn said:
Also, note that most Windows gaming laptops will take a significant hit for performance when on battery.

Also, realistically your runtime for even moderately demanding games is going to be around an hour to our and a half and that's if the laptop has a good sized battery. It may be better with AMD CPU and worse with Intel, depending on particulars.
Click to expand...
Gaming laptop is simply too many compromises.

It's hot.
It's loud.
It weights a lot.
Design might be off-putting.
Battery is terrible.

I would just get Legion Go, it's the most powerful handheld right now, screen is huge. You can always play using GeForce now for full RT 4K 120fps.
 
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My experience with gaming laptops, in particular ASUS, were pretty bad.
They either overheat or stutter or both, and never really pull their stated performance one way or the other. Not to mention it deteriorates over time much quicker than any desktop. Don't even mention the battery life, it has to be plugged in all the time like a desktop.

I honestly prefer my Steamdeck over my much more powerful gaming laptop.
 
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Grechy34 said:
I have an RTX 3060 laptop which for the most part is okay and does the job for what I want but is underpowered (95 watt) to keep the temperatures in check which herein lies the problem with gaming laptops - heat is a major problem.
Click to expand...
Laptops need regular maintenance: thorough cleaning of vents, maybe repasting of heat sink to maintain their out of box performance. I have no problem with doing that but most modern laptops are not built with repairability in mind.
 
kubricks said:
My experience with gaming laptops, in particular ASUS, were pretty bad.
Click to expand...
I can confirm this as well. For some reason, Asus builds some really shitty laptops. The ones I had fell apart quite quickly and I didn't really do anything out of the ordinary with them.

Have good experiences with Macbooks (but they are overpriced and obviously not that suited for gaming (yet?)) and Lenovo laptops (YMMV).
 
Kilau said:
I did have an Asus TUF before this laptop but changed to the Asus ROG with 17.3" screen and it's leagues nicer.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have a TUF Dash F15 and the screen isn't that great. But it was only 999 (over a year ago) and I knew most of the time I'd have it plugged into a monitor or TV. Still pretty happy with it but if you're specifically buying a laptop to use by itself pay attention to the nits lol.
 
Cyberpunkd said:
Gaming laptop is simply too many compromises.

It's hot.
It's loud.
It weights a lot.
Design might be off-putting.
Battery is terrible.

I would just get Legion Go, it's the most powerful handheld right now, screen is huge. You can always play using GeForce now for full RT 4K 120fps.
Click to expand...
What a horrible advice... Yes, some of those downsides can be true, some are mitigated in different laptops, but why recommend lone of the worst windows handhelds out there? Even the Asus ROG Ally performs better and is much more portable. The Steam Deck OLED is a very serious contender too. The streaming capabilities of it are night and day compared to the LCD model. I can stream my main PCs and PS5 to it with no artifacts or discernable lag.

On the downsides:

"It's hot." It's not about how hot it is, but the heat dissipation being good. Also you can undervolt to lower temps and increase performance
"It's loud." Not a problem if you're wearing headphones. Also you can use above advice, lower the power profile a tad bit which will decrease fan noise to the 40db range which is barely louder than ambient noise
"It weights a lot." Depends on the laptop, but for the price range the OP is looking at you can get decent specs at under 3kg. Plus, you set a laptop on a desk, I don't think that's a factor.
"Design might be off-putting." That can apply to anything in life, there are 100's of designs and most even allow you to turn off RGB :messenger_tears_of_joy:
"Battery is terrible." Not really an important factor, a gaming laptop is used while plugged to the power, unless you're just doing very light gaming. For which the power profile should be set at low, with no fan noise whatsoever and running very cool.
 
Kinda funny because i was using a steam deck for over a year, which was great. But needed more performance and bought a gaming laptop myself.

I was busy with buying a laptop 6 months ago and this was my conclusion.

4060 is 1200 euro range. It's good for 1080p, but struggles at higher resolutions and raytracing and 8gb of v-ram can create some issue's in titles with framegen and RT
4070 personally would skip, because of its 8gb of v-ram and isn't much more performant over a 4060 and also features 8gb v-ram limit.
4080 is a massive jump upwards on RT (2x faster) and performance ( 70% faster) and also features 12gb of v-ram. Honestly u can play at higher resolutions with everything enabled perfectly fine

The only problem with 4080 = 2200~price range. but there are discounts that go as low as 1750 for some versions. I bought mine 4080 laptop for 1750 on a discount and while its 550 more then 1200 for the 4060, the performance jump is absolutely worth it. So if u can save some more money and wait its totally worth it.

As for memory and ssd space. Depends if u want to upgrade yourself i wouldn't focus much for it. I bought 64 gig of ram myself and 2tb 980 pro ssd + 4tb micron ssd for about 550 combined. So that stuff can always be upgraded down the road, performance on the laptop cannot.

1500 is a bit steep for a 4060, if u do want to spend that money i would atleast jump to a 4070 because laptops enough for that price with that spec. but jump from a 4060 to 4070 just isn't big in the laptop world.

Keep in mind for high ends the screens on laptops are not desktop level quality. My 4060 asus tuf screen was solid but nothing special, mine current msi vector gp68 hx screen is pretty bad, not even gsync on it. But i use it as a desktop connected to a lg c2 oled screen which has gsync so its straight up a portable desktop for me and no regrets so far. Performance about 3080 desktop levels with 12gb v-ram and framegen. Blasts through every game without problems.

The only real problem i have is the dam control centrum for performance profiles, can create weird audio glitches so i never use it.

Also heavily advice buying a cooling pad so temps will be far better managable for the laptop. shaved for me 20 degree's on the cpu and 15 degree's on the GPU.
 
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Setsuna Mudou said:
, but why recommend lone of the worst windows handhelds out there? Even the Asus ROG Ally performs better and is much more portable. The Steam Deck OLED is a very serious contender too. The streaming capabilities of it are night and day compared to the LCD model. I can stream my main PCs and PS5 to it with no artifacts or discernable lag.
Click to expand...
I have Steam Deck OLED myself but Legion Go has vastly superior performance. ROG Ally is hot shit and the support is nonexistent.
 
Kenpachii said:
Kinda funny because i was using a steam deck for over a year, which was great. But needed more performance and bought a gaming laptop myself.

I was busy with buying a laptop 6 months ago and this was my conclusion.

4060 is 1200 euro range. It's good for 1080p, but struggles at higher resolutions and raytracing and 8gb of v-ram can create some issue's in titles with framegen and RT
4070 personally would skip, because of its 8gb of v-ram and isn't much more performant over a 4060 and also features 8gb v-ram limit.
4080 is a massive jump upwards on RT (2x faster) and performance ( 70% faster) and also features 12gb of v-ram. Honestly u can play at higher resolutions with everything enabled perfectly fine
Click to expand...
4070 is WAY faster than a 4060. What are you talking about!?
 
Bernoulli said:
Why buy a steamdeck in 2024 when every other handheld is better?
Depends on how you want to play on the go, just another desk outside or anywhere like in the train or on a couch
Click to expand...
Better? Maybe more powerful but certainly not better. Battery life is bad on most other handhelds and the ease of use and SteamOS slaps the shit out of Windows on a handheld.
 
Cyberpunkd said:
I have Steam Deck OLED myself but Legion Go has vastly superior performance. ROG Ally is hot shit and the support is nonexistent.
Click to expand...
Hm, I also have a OLED Deck and i'm suprised at how little performance jump there is between it and the Legion Go. Some games run better on my Deck. (Maybe because pre-shaders etc in Steam OS?)

And I also had a Rog Ally, which to me feels a lot quicker and snappier then the Legion Go. Better screen too, although smaller.
Definitly getting the Rog Ally X when it arrives soon.

Good to see that people prefer various stuff. That means there's room for a few of these on the marked, and that makes for some healthy and good conpetition and hopefully better stuff for us consumers.
 
Hohenheim said:
Hm, I also have a OLED Deck and i'm suprised at how little performance jump there is between it and the Legion Go. Some games run better on my Deck. (Maybe because pre-shaders etc in Steam OS?)

And I also had a Rog Ally, which to me feels a lot quicker and snappier then the Legion Go. Better screen too, although smaller.
Definitly getting the Rog Ally X when it arrives soon.

Good to see that people prefer various stuff. That means there's room for a few of these on the marked, and that makes for some healthy and good conpetition and hopefully better stuff for us consumers.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't get another ROG Ally. ASUS has just been shown to have horrible and scammy support by Gamers Nexus. Basically stay away.

I haven't had to service Lenovo's consumer stuff so no idea on how they is. Steam Deck support is pretty great and so is the repairability.
 
Lucifers Beard said:
Better? Maybe more powerful but certainly not better. Battery life is bad on most other handhelds and the ease of use and SteamOS slaps the shit out of Windows on a handheld.
Click to expand...
OP doesn't care about steam OS, what's the point of better battery life if you can't run games or they run worse?
 
MonkeyClaw36 said:
4070 is WAY faster than a 4060. What are you talking about!?
Click to expand...

Not on Laptops it isn't. All to do with the power budget on the laptop in question.

A 4060 being fed 100w will outperform a 4070 being fed 70w.

..and even when both are being fed the same wattage, for a apples to apples comparison, a 4070 is no more than 15% faster than 4060.

Both GPUs are hot garbage, with only 8GB of VRAM and 128bit starved memory buses.

I'd only buy a 4070 laptop if it's been discounted to 4060 level laptop prices, I'd NEVER pay a premium for one.
 
Bernoulli said:
Why buy a steamdeck in 2024 when every other handheld is better?
Depends on how you want to play on the go, just another desk outside or anywhere like in the train or on a couch
Click to expand...
idk about that. Rog Ally is dog water in terms of build quality and service for repairs.
 
I wouldn't buy a gaming laptop below a 4080 OP. The lack of power draw for the lower end cards is too much of a sacrifice. Gaming laptops only really make sense at the high end. But you have to pay for it.

And if you don't move around much, a desktop is the better idea, anyway. I travel for long periods of time too much for a desktop, and can write laptops off as a business expense, so I have a Legion Pro with a 4090 in it, which is fucking marvellous - but was two and a half grand GBP.

I'd suggest a Legion Go is probably the best thing for you.
 
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FunkMiller said:
I wouldn't buy a gaming laptop below a 4080 OP. The lack of power draw for the lower end cards is too much of a sacrifice. Gaming laptops only really make sense at the high end. But you have to pay for it.
Click to expand...

And I wouldn't buy a top end $3000+ laptop with a 4080/90 right now.

Not when the new range of 50xx class GPU laptops will be revealed at CES in Jan 2025, and will be on sale in less than 12mths.

If I really, really needed a laptop right now, I'd buy a cheap, sub $1000 stop gap one, and then sell it in the new year.
 
Dr.D00p said:
And I wouldn't buy a top end $3000+ laptop with a 4080/90 right now.

Not when the new range of 50xx class GPU laptops will be revealed at CES in Jan 2025, and will be on sale in less than 12mths.

If I really, really needed a laptop right now, I'd buy a cheap, sub $1000 stop gap one, and then sell it in the new year.
Click to expand...

No. Not this year's models. Complete waste of money. Got mine last year. And so far it's been absolutely excellent. Easily punts games around at 60fps on max settings on quiet mode - which is all I really want or expect.
 
Problem is anything g with a 4090 or 4080 will invoke memories of the PlayStation jet engine under load they are all so freaking loud! I gave up and went with a desktop and steam deck oled
 
Just make sure the cooling system is good and that you can easily access the fan to blow the dust out of it. Cooling system is the most annoying part of laptops.
 
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