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[angelgs90]

I've had 2 gaming laptops.

It's the worst of both worlds. Pricey, heavy, loud and hot.

Never again.

 

[Hohenheim]

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.

I never had any issues with the Ally. If something is wrong with a device like that, I just take it back where I brought it and get a new one. But I read in another thread here that it's not that easy in USA? In that case, I would worry more about that stuff.

 

[Hohenheim]

I've had 2 gaming laptops.

It's the worst of both worlds. Pricey, heavy, loud and hot.

Never again.

Agree. And with all the handhelds coming out now, a dedicated gaming laptop feels even less tempting than it used to.

 

[majorgamer10]

Gaming Laptops are premium patch jobs that are staggered performance on purpose.

Expect to take them in for maintenance every year.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Why buy a steamdeck in 2024 when every other handheld is better?

 

[StereoVsn]

I never had any issues with the Ally. If something is wrong with a device like that, I just take it back where I brought it and get a new one. But I read in another thread here that it's not that easy in USA? In that case, I would worry more about that stuff.

Usually in US you only have 14 to 60 days for that.

 

[MonkeyClaw36]

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.

Ah of course they're the Mobile variants of the desktop ones. Forgot about that.......

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

Don’t do it, especially at that price.

Gaming on laptops just isn’t fun especially if you plan to play AAA games. I brought a gaming laptop mainly for travel because I have a high end desktop PC and I didn’t like how loud it got playing some games.

I would recommend just getting one of the PC gaming handhelds or at least waiting until Black Friday to get one of the higher end laptops for cheap. In most cases you can’t upgrade the gpu or cpu in the laptop so you will be stuck with what you get which is why you want to take time with deciding what you buy especially if you plan to spend $1,500+.

 

[Hohenheim]

Usually in US you only have 14 to 60 days for that.

Wow.. that's really terrible. In europe, if you pay a small extra fee, you'll get extra insurance that covers everything for two years(for example if the screen breaks on a handheld/TV etc). And that's on top of the 3-5 year warranty you have if something goes wrong with the device (defect card reader etc)

 

[StereoVsn]

Wow.. that's really terrible. In europe, if you pay a small extra fee, you'll get extra insurance that covers everything for two years(for example if the screen breaks on a handheld/TV etc). And that's on top of the 3-5 year warranty you have if something goes wrong with the device (defect card reader etc)

Yeah, you could buy a warranty separately but still can’t just return an item. And warranties aren’t cheap. Probably $300ish for a 3 year warranty.

And even there for first year it will still go to the manufacturer which in this case makes it all pointless.

 

[Ovech-King]

Check this one out and it’s a 4070 instead .

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Katana-144Hz-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B0BT3FKZ3N

I got an MSI with a 4080 and I’ve been driving this bad boy on my 4k tv playing 60 fps on high or ultra and it’s been smooth ride for 8 months . Asus or other bigger companies tend to charge a premiums for their brand name , MSI is a good common ground I think

 

[Salmonboy]

Nope!

 

[iHaunter]

4070 Minimum for $1500. Not sure why you need 64GB of RAM even for gaming. Won't get bottlenecked.

 

[Grechy34]

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
"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.

I don't think it's terrible advice at all. I purchased the Acer Nitro roughly now 2 years ago; to keep it reasonably cool I have to use a feature called cool boost which is insanely loud. Even if you can't hear it with headphones, it's still incredibly loud. Without the laptop plugged I'd be taking an enormous hit to GPU power. They do weigh a lot but this wasn't so much a problem for me as I wasn't taking it out very much. Also an RTX3060 mobile vs a 3060 desktop is vastly different in power.

Overall, from my own personal experience (now my second gaming laptop) I wouldn't recommend one unless you're investing in something really premium and at that point I'd prefer a medium range desktop.

 

[yet_another_alt]

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.

Have a similar one for around $2.6k. Lenovo usually has the best power to price ratio among laptops. Most 4090 laptops were $3k+ at the time.

 

[Mercador]

What about streaming? I use a Dell XPS13 with Iris XE so I stream from my gaming PC and it runs great.

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

I don't think it's terrible advice at all. I purchased the Acer Nitro roughly now 2 years ago; to keep it reasonably cool I have to use a feature called cool boost which is insanely loud. Even if you can't hear it with headphones, it's still incredibly loud. Without the laptop plugged I'd be taking an enormous hit to GPU power. They do weigh a lot but this wasn't so much a problem for me as I wasn't taking it out very much. Also an RTX3060 mobile vs a 3060 desktop is vastly different in power.

Overall, from my own personal experience (now my second gaming laptop) I wouldn't recommend one unless you're investing in something really premium and at that point I'd prefer a medium range desktop.

For that price range he can get a 4070 legion which has none of those issues. Just bought one with a 4080 less than a month ago for $2k, it's really good.

edit: thought i'd link up the deals

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/lapt...-legion-slim-5-gen-9-(16-inch-amd)/83dh0042us use coupon extrafive for to bring price to $1340 (rtx 4070)
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1745683-REG/lenovo_82wq002rus_16_legion_pro_7.html this is the one I got recently w 4080, around $2k

 

[Grechy34]

For that price range he can get a 4070 legion which has none of those issues. Just bought one with a 4080 less than a month ago for $2k, it's really good.

edit: thought i'd link up the deals

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/lapt...-legion-slim-5-gen-9-(16-inch-amd)/83dh0042us use coupon extrafive for to bring price to $1340 (rtx 4070)
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1745683-REG/lenovo_82wq002rus_16_legion_pro_7.html this is the one I got recently w 4080, around $2k

Fair enough . I'm based in Australia and these go between 4-5K which I'm not paying for a gaming laptop.

 

[samuelgregory]

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 Visit website.

• 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.

​

Seems like decent specs to me for your price range

Seeing as they only last around 4-5 years is it even worth it? especially when they cost more than 1.5k, sure you might go to college and need it a lot but is it worth spending that much every 5 or so years

 

[RoboFu]

Never

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Just know that you can’t really play games “on the go”. Battery life while gaming is just two hours or so. You will always want to be plugged in.

I bought a 3060 based laptop at the start of 2021 and it was a fantastic value. Still plays whatever I throw at it with high frame rates (using DLSS). The only thing holding it back is the VRAM.

Can’t use it unplugged for long. I sometimes would sit on front porch, but otherwise it just travels from desk to basement TV or living room, all while plugged in.

 

[StereoVsn]

Gaming laptops are best when you are either extremely limited in space or more importantly need to bring it between different places (not daily).

So a dorm room is a perfect example. Space is limited and you might be going to the parents’ house for the winter and summer breaks.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Seeing as they only last around 4-5 years is it even worth it? especially when they cost more than 1.5k, sure you might go to college and need it a lot but is it worth spending that much every 5 or so years

Not for me as I don’t buy laptops as I do all my mobile type of work and gaming on an IPad

 

[ResilientBanana]

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.

That laptop is only 1080p. 8GB is fine.

 

[yet_another_alt]

Seeing as they only last around 4-5 years is it even worth it? especially when they cost more than 1.5k, sure you might go to college and need it a lot but is it worth spending that much every 5 or so years

Different for everyone of course but 1.5k for 5 years seems pretty reasonable if it also serves as your primary work and entertainment device.

 

[samuelgregory]

Just know that you can’t really play games “on the go”. Battery life while gaming is just two hours or so. You will always want to be plugged in.

I bought a 3060 based laptop at the start of 2021 and it was a fantastic value. Still plays whatever I throw at it with high frame rates (using DLSS). The only thing holding it back is the VRAM.

Can’t use it unplugged for long. I sometimes would sit on front porch, but otherwise it just travels from desk to basement TV or living room, all while plugged in.

thank you so much for your suggestion