BOAR PLZ: Let's get a gaming laptop

[Human Snorenado]

So, I'm looking to buy one with my Crimmus bonus in about a month. Currently looking at this:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/Gaming-Notebook-NP8657-S.html

What say you, peoples? Anyone have any insight on the 970M? This is kinda stretching the upper limit of what I'm willing/able to spend on this toy for myself, so I doubt I can shell out more for a better gpu. Is there something comparable in the ROG line I should be looking at?

[bork]

Sager is good stuff.  The NP7338 I got last year has a 960M, and it does a great job of running things.  I can play most games at 1920x1080 on high/ultra settings with good framerates. 

I see they no longer sell this model.  That sucks; really like having a 13.3" gaming laptop and would buy another one.  I like that Sager makes normal looking laptops and not XTREME NEON TOYS fit for a 13 year old like Alienware does.

[Human Snorenado]

Yeah, same here. I'm a real big stickler for not looking like a shitheel in public or even private, and so many gaming centric laptops (or anything, really) fails that test.

Like for instance: here's a new ROG laptop coming out soon that's comparable (960m card vs. 970m, tho) but, if it's like the rest of the ROG line, it will have red backlit keys. I can't deal, bro. Just do it in white if they've gotta be lit at all, FFS.

http://store.asus.com/us/item/201510AM170008065/A18486

[bork]

I can't stand the whole "XTREME GAMING" thing which is a big reason why I went for Sager over Alienware.  Even Alienware's desktops look fucking stupid. 

The Alienware laptop I had in 2004 wasn't like that...it looked pretty much normal; was all metal and had the little alien head logo on the back.  That was it.  I guess shit changed after Dell bought them.  The Sager I have is more plastic/rubber, but still looks nice and works great.  The keys are backlit...with regular ol' white LEDs.  Just what I wanted.

[Dickie Dee]

I can't stand the whole "XTREME GAMING" thing which is a big reason why I went for Sager over Alienware.  Even Alienware's desktops look fucking stupid. 

Tribal tats = power, that's just electrical engineering bro

[Purrp Skirrp]

So, I'm looking to buy one with my Crimmus bonus in about a month. Currently looking at this:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/Gaming-Notebook-NP8657-S.html

What say you, peoples? Anyone have any insight on the 970M? This is kinda stretching the upper limit of what I'm willing/able to spend on this toy for myself, so I doubt I can shell out more for a better gpu. Is there something comparable in the ROG line I should be looking at?

Think that's a good choice, I'd def go with Sager. GPU looks like it can handle Fallout 4 at high settings in 1080p.

Only thing I'd do is upgrade to an IPS display for $80 more. I had a laptop that same size and the viewing angles were terrible.

[Atramental]

I might actually end up with that laptop in the OP since I'm in the market for a new gaming AND work laptop.

Last thing I need is clients saying, "Hey, why is there an alien head on your laptop? And what's with all the LED lights?" 

[chronovore]

Yeah, same here. I'm a real big stickler for not looking like a shitheel in public or even private, and so many gaming centric laptops (or anything, really) fails that test.

Like for instance: here's a new ROG laptop coming out soon that's comparable (960m card vs. 970m, tho) but, if it's like the rest of the ROG line, it will have red backlit keys. I can't deal, bro. Just do it in white if they've gotta be lit at all, FFS.

http://store.asus.com/us/item/201510AM170008065/A18486

Are you saying that there's no user controls over the keyboard lights, such as dim/on/off?

[bork]

I think he's saying he doesn't want red lights. 

[chronovore]

I think he's saying he doesn't want red lights. 

Sure, but who actually uses backlit keyboards?

[Human Snorenado]

JUST THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY'RE THERE IS TOO MUCH

[chronovore]

JUST THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY'RE THERE IS TOO MUCH

As a dude with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I should have known this.

[bork]

I think he's saying he doesn't want red lights. 

Sure, but who actually uses backlit keyboards?

[Human Snorenado]

IT HAS SHIPPED. IT WILL BE MINE SOON.

[Atramental]

Got mine today. 



Finally back in the ranks of the PC Mustard Race after using nothing but Macs for school and work for close to 6 years.

[Samson Manhug]

Got mine today. 

(Image removed from quote.)

Finally back in the ranks of the PC Mustard Race after using nothing but Macs for school and work for close to 6 years.

I've been using Macs for the last 9 years but am also interested in mustard races. I look forward to your impressions.

[Sho Nuff]

I just got my Dell Inspiron 15 per Prole's suggestion. It good. 16 gigglebytes of RAMz

[Trent Dole]

I'm just waiting on one last package from newegg and then I get to pop my PC building cherry.

[jakefromstatefarm]

I'm also looking into getting a new laptop but 1400 Jesus fuck. I just need something that'll run Witcher 3, doesn't need to be crazy. Boar plz

[Rufus]

Does it have to be a laptop? Witcher 3 doesn't actually need that beefy of a machine, outside of the GPU.

[jakefromstatefarm]

I'd prefer if it were, but anything under 700 I'd consider

[Rufus]

Hm, what did Esch end up buying? He played Witcher 3 on that... Let me find that thread. edit: There we go: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7XRH2A?tag=thbo09f-20

If you want to stick with a notebook it seems like you'll need a 970M GPU for 1080p:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html

[jakefromstatefarm]

I'm not a huge stickler for 1080, this ASUS notebook has a GPU with 850M, that's totally fine for my purposes. Witcher is by far and away the most intensive thing I'd be playing and I'm cool with running that on medium settings and getting 30-35 fps. Does anyone know if that model's straight?

[VomKriege]

I necro the thread because I am considering maybe buying a PC for gaming needs (among others). I am currently thinking of two alternative solutions but I am pretty green at PC (had Apple machines my whole life, pretty much).

I don't need a monster PC because the games I would be interested in are XCOM 2, Darkest Dungeon, Invisible Inc. (already have this on my missus PC), etc... nothing more taxing than that. Besides we live in a flat and are already cramped with computers. Ideally the PC could handle Photoshop and InDesign if needed though I haven't had a reel pro need for that recently, and would serve as an Office / Internet / Media Center station. So I'm thinking either :

- Get a mini-PC hooked up to the TV with HDMI (can't stuff another screen in the flat) with bluetooth keyboard / mouse / stylus tablet (not sure about those).
- Get a laptop that would double as my carry on work laptop, though as of now a beefy smartphone could probably do all I need to do on the go.

Any opinion of which alternative would be best and if so any advice on what type of model I could look into ? The smallest the better although I understand that you can't go below a certain point. I shouldn't need a huge HDD space, as I plan to cloud the shit out of my old data. HDMI / Bluetooth / WiFi is a must too (pretty standard but I know some of the smallest PCs may not have that).

Budget not settled yet but probably under 1500 at the very best.

EDIT : After snooping around, I see Intel has NUC that have mini-HDMI. I don't mind buying RAM, SSD and OS with that, since it doesn't seem an hassle to mount... Any experience return on that ?

[brawndolicious]

I'd recommend the small tower option if you don't need that sort of power on the go or in other rooms. It'd give you more access to upgrading parts in the future plus it lets you use a regular laptop for work that's a couple pounds lighter than a gaming one.

[VomKriege]

Yeah. I began looking at the Intel NUC solution and budgeting it brings me somewhere between 1150$ and 1350$ depending on whether I settle for an i5 or i7 chip and 8 or 16Go of RAM (otherwise includes 500Go HDD, 250Go SSD, keyboard + mouse + cheapo WACOM tablet and a W10 licence) which brings it cheaper than a Mac Mini.

For the gaming part I guess it's not the best for games asking for beefier graphics cards, but the playing part of the equation is not really major. I'll be fine waiting longer for XCOM2 if needed as long as I can run some less intensive titles and wargames.

[Human Snorenado]

Personally I would go i5 with your needs, but wouldn't get anything less than 16gb of ram.

[VomKriege]

Personally I would go i5 with your needs, but wouldn't get anything less than 16gb of ram.

Thanks for the advice. If I buy that it will probably happen in a couple months anyway. It's not that expensive to go to 16Gb and I could always lose the SSD or buy it later to get a much better price.

I never followed tech news very closely but it's pretty cool to see options like Mini-PC nowadays.

[Rufus]

You can even get a fully fledged desktop in a reasonably small form factor because ITX board are fairly common/popular now. Dedicated ITX cases can look really cute, too, like the NZXT Manta, but that thing is 150€ by itself, so...

[VomKriege]

So after toying a bit I settled for now on a possible :

Intel NUC5i5RYH
16Go of RAM
Seagate 2To HDD (5400 sadly)
Samsung 512Go SSD
Bluetooth keyboard / mouse / HDMI cable
USB W10 license

at 1400$ shipping included, but the prices I am quoting ain't the cheapest on the market anyway. Plenty of flexibility to scale back the storage if needed if and when I pull the trigger (dependent on a specific revenue coming in, soon hopefully) so worst case scenario I can still fall back on a 1100 or so option.

I'm having second thoughts on the tablet, I have a hard time setting for less than a WACOM but the classic Intuos Pro models are pretty expensive and I didn't have the use for one in the last 18 months or so. Will maybe push that back to the future.

Will keep you posted when I do and thanks for the pointers.

[Purrp Skirrp]

WD Black 750GB Performance Mobile HDD 7200 RPM 2.5 Inch
Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB M.2 SSD
Crucial 16GB SODIMM Notebook RAM
Microsoft Windows 10 Home | USB Flash Drive
ZOTAC ZBOX MAGNUS EN970
     + Desktop GTX 960
     + i5-5200U

~$1150.

[VomKriege]

For some reason, the Zotac EN970 seems absurdly expensive compared to your proposal in whatever online shops list it over here... I guess it's imported ?

[Purrp Skirrp]

Damn that's too bad. It's $750 in the US.

[VomKriege]

Damn that's too bad. It's $750 in the US.

The quick Google search gave me a 899-999 euros price in a couple of famous computer stores.

[Purrp Skirrp]

Alienware Alpha ($600 @ Dell.com):
- Intel® Core™ i5-4590T Processor Quad-Core
- Windows 10 Home 64bit English
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX GPU 2GB GDDR5

Upgrades:
- 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz
- Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB SSD

~$800.

[Purrp Skirrp]

Looks like that'd cost around 1100 euro.

[archnemesis]

- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX GPU 2GB GDDR5

This is not very specific and it can vary in price between $70 and $500. Which GTX model are you considering?

[VomKriege]

A bit silly to say but Alienware is a bit too gaudy looking  I suppose it pleases more people than it alienates, but I would be embarassed really.
But yeah, the Intel build have no Nvidia card and I guess it's big minus for games.

As it turns out I will probably only be able to do this in a couple months at best so builds suggestion are not lost.
That exceptional revenue I was eyeballing will probably turn out to be much smaller than what I briefly dreamed of, as such I probably gonna go for a modest bill (cheapest NUC build I would aim for is 925 euros I reckon, excluding mouse & keyboard).

- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX GPU 2GB GDDR5

This is not very specific and it can vary in price between $70 and $500. Which GTX model are you considering?

The GTX is factory-mounted and apparently the Dell site doesn't offer any alternative models for it.

[archnemesis]

I would never spend money on an Alienware product. They're all gaudy and ugly.

I prefer my cases to be as plain as possible. Lately I've been using Fractal Design R4. They're an inch wider than most cases so there is space to hide most cables behind the motherboard.

[Purrp Skirrp]

I def don't like the Alienware look either. There just aren't many prebuilt mini PCs (w/ a GPU) to choose from.

However, if you're up for building something yourself while saving money and having better components, then consider a mini ITX build like this:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/swishercrat/saved/Y2MzK8

Basically
- i5 processor
- GTX 960 2GB
- 16 GB Ram
- SSD
- Mini ITX Motherboard with WiFi
- Modular PSU for the smaller case
- Mini ITX case (Fractal is a good brand)

Mini ITX builds are relatively small, but obviously customized prebuilts or GPU-less builds like the NUC are gonna be smaller.

[VomKriege]

Yeah, barebones with a GPU is not the norm. Zotac and maybe Gygabite has this but often in the cheaper models at the expense of the main unit as far as I can tell.

Gonna sounds like a pansy, but as I said I never built a PC and the extent of my personal experience is changing RAM and HDDs. Is there any welding required ? Anything involving common tools shouldn't be a problem. Because of course I would be down with a better quality for a cheaper price. The size issue isn't a big problem, most of those barebones models are really tiny, smaller than I expected them to be.

[Human Snorenado]

No welding. It's really simple, if I can do it literally anyone with all their fingers can.

[archnemesis]

It's only slightly more difficult than building with Lego blocks.