Komrade_Konrad Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 (edited) I'm looking to get a new laptop for work first and gaming second and was curious if anyone had any good recommendations for reasonably priced laptops. I've been out of the PC hardware loop for a long time, so I have no idea what's considered good these days. Specs: Windows - most of my work software runs on windowsCPU - Min 2.4GHz Dual Core - I dunno what's good in laptops these days, but I remember that a couple years ago even the mobile i7's underperformed the desktop i3's. A lot of my work can be run remotely on my work computer, but more cores and horsepower would be good when I have to run code locally.HDD - Don't really careRAM - 8 GB minimum - I work with large data sets, and this is about as low as I can go. One of my work computers uses 132 GB for the big stuff.GPU - This is where I could really use the recommendations. I want it to have some kind of card for gaming, but it doesn't need to be cutting edge. Most of what I want to play on PC is a couple years old anyway.Touch Screen - Don't careScreen Size - Don't care - I've used a laptop with a monster screen previously, but the battery life was terrible, so I wouldn't mind smaller screens.Price - Want to keep it under $1000. Ideally looking around $750. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Bonus points for options on sale and non-Alienware suggestions (unless they're a better value now than they used to be). Thanks! Edited May 12, 2016 by Komrade_Konrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEMON Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 (edited) I've heard Lenova laptops are pretty good and they will be within your price range. And no, Alienware is still very expensive and not worth the money. Edited May 12, 2016 by DEMON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaivRules Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Slightly under $1000, should be good enough to meet all your expectations: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232770&Tpk=N82E16834232770 ASUS ROG GL752VW-DH71 Intel Core i7 6700HQ (2.60 GHz) 6 GB Memory 1 TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2 GB GDDR5 17.3" Can I just say it's amazing what kind of laptops you can get for under $1000 these days? First laptop: Gateway 2000 Pentium 1 133 Mhz = $1699.00 (1995) 2nd laptop: Toshiba Satellite 1805 Pentium 3 = $1299.00 (2001) 3rd laptop: Dell Inspiron 8500 Pentium 4m = $2200.00 (2003) 4th laptop: Apple Macbook Pro Core Duo = $2299.00 (2006) 5th laptop: Apple Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo = $2499.00 (2008) Still running - Good enough for what I need. And laptops under $1000 these days blow all those out of the water without sweating! People better appreciate what they have access to for less money than ever. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMDE Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 (edited) I've heard Lenova laptops are pretty good and they will be within your price range. And no, Alienware is still very expensive and not worth the money. Lenovo*, and IIRC, they took over the PC sales business of IBM. I've had some experience with those laptops, and they are usually pretty "sturdy" (a good thing). What DaivRules recommended sounds good to me, but NVIDIA is releasing a new GPU series very soon, so you may want to wait for that? =o By soon I mean like mid June (in a month's time). Edited May 13, 2016 by MMDE 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komrade_Konrad Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 I've heard Lenova laptops are pretty good and they will be within your price range. And no, Alienware is still very expensive and not worth the money. Thanks for the tip! Half of the reason I created this thread is to get a feel for the reputation of different brands, so this definitely helps. Will check out some of their computers. Slightly under $1000, should be good enough to meet all your expectations: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232770&Tpk=N82E16834232770 ASUS ROG GL752VW-DH71 Intel Core i7 6700HQ (2.60 GHz) 6 GB Memory 1 TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2 GB GDDR5 17.3" Can I just say it's amazing what kind of laptops you can get for under $1000 these days? I'll check that one out in more detail (I glanced at it before but was turned off a bit by the reviews). Any knowledge of Asus's reputation with laptops? Also yeah laptops have gotten a lot cheaper over the years. I had been using a $1800 custom laptop from 2008 until recently, but it literally snapped at the (metal) hinges and is now held together with wire and duct tape. My wife gives me so much crap for keeping it around. Lenovo*, and IIRC, they took over the PC sales business of IBM. I've had some experience with those laptops, and they are usually pretty "sturdy" (a good thing). What DaivRules recommended sounds good to me, but NVIDIA is releasing a new GPU series very soon, so you may want to wait for that? =o By soon I mean like mid June (in a month's time). With 2 recommendations, I'll definitely check them out. Thanks for the heads up on the new NVIDIA GPU's. I'm not in a rush to buy a new laptop unless a really good deal turns up, so I may wait and see if older models drop in price or if the new models are reasonably priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMDE Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 (edited) With 2 recommendations, I'll definitely check them out. Thanks for the heads up on the new NVIDIA GPU's. I'm not in a rush to buy a new laptop unless a really good deal turns up, so I may wait and see if older models drop in price or if the new models are reasonably priced. I'm not sure about laptops, but standalone GPUs for PC (non-laptop) usually don't drop much in price with the release of a new GPU. You're usually just better off buying the newer item. Might be a bit different with laptops though. In either case, you're likely to get a better deal. I had to google to make sure I was right about prices not usually dropping, found mostly answers like this: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3054101/980ti-price-drop-1080-release.html ^ That one is very recent, and about this new NVIDIA GPU series. I've had some bad experience with poor build quality on ACER laptops, but they are usually pretty cheap. ASUS should be pretty decent. Really, what you should be look at when it comes to laptops when you've decided on the hardware inside them is how good the build is, like how much damage it can take etc, really how long it will last you. Potential heat issues? May want to make sure you can clean inside it, especially around any fan areas. What kind of keyboard they have, this is more about if you want a numpad, which is more usual with larger screens (I think 17 inch and up). Screen is rather important, what kind of screen it is etc. USB ports, maybe if it supports USB3? DVD/blu-ray drive? Edited May 13, 2016 by MMDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaivRules Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Thanks for the tip! Half of the reason I created this thread is to get a feel for the reputation of different brands, so this definitely helps. Will check out some of their computers. I'll check that one out in more detail (I glanced at it before but was turned off a bit by the reviews). Any knowledge of Asus's reputation with laptops? Don't be too turned off by those bad reviews. You can tell by reading them the reviewers are imbeciles. I had used Asus motherboards in desktops from 1999 through 2007 and had great experience with their stability and got a very quick replacement when I had an issue on one. They are good about getting updates on their site quickly and tend to have very stable firmware. I have a couple friends and relatives who have Asus laptops after ditching Lenovo after the huge spyware debacle last year. They recommended them highly. You're an adult, treat your laptop nicely and it'll last for a very long time. Asus uses Foxconn for their laptops, just like Toshiba, Vaio, Apple and pretty much every other laptop designer. That said, they have much faster and better support than many other companies. I don't follow hardware trends anymore because it seems like no matter when you buy, everyone is always supposed to be releasing a new version soon, but improvements tend to be so incremental, they're almost pointless. However, if you're not in dire need, can't hurt to wait and see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMDE Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 I don't follow hardware trends anymore because it seems like no matter when you buy, everyone is always supposed to be releasing a new version soon, but improvements tend to be so incremental, they're almost pointless. However, if you're not in dire need, can't hurt to wait and see. While this may generally be true, I think in this case he really should wait. It's one thing that might actually make a decent difference performance wise when it comes to games and whatnot. The last series was released a year and a half ago, and this new series is getting released at the end of this month, with the laptop GPUs coming out in the middle of next month... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntenseFATE98 Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 I suggest you wait a bit, I'm pretty sure Intel is gonna unveil its 7th gen Core processors in the next 2-3 months. GPU wise, I think it will take a while for the GTX 10xx series to come to laptops. At this moment, you're better off waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitalFury Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 (edited) Don't be too turned off by those bad reviews. You can tell by reading them the reviewers are imbeciles. I had used Asus motherboards in desktops from 1999 through 2007 and had great experience with their stability and got a very quick replacement when I had an issue on one. They are good about getting updates on their site quickly and tend to have very stable firmware. I have a couple friends and relatives who have Asus laptops after ditching Lenovo after the huge spyware debacle last year. They recommended them highly. You're an adult, treat your laptop nicely and it'll last for a very long time. Asus uses Foxconn for their laptops, just like Toshiba, Vaio, Apple and pretty much every other laptop designer. That said, they have much faster and better support than many other companies. I don't follow hardware trends anymore because it seems like no matter when you buy, everyone is always supposed to be releasing a new version soon, but improvements tend to be so incremental, they're almost pointless. However, if you're not in dire need, can't hurt to wait and see. Asus are a fine brand. Helps they came from PC components which my last build was practically a asus machine(mother board, GPU, monitor) so they know their shit when it comes to laptops. Always recommend them if the price/spec is decent over other brands. Ill second the Asus, ignore the reviews. Good machines. Even their tablets are decent, it's the first tablet I've had that hasn't died in 6 months (I refuse to use apple) Edited May 13, 2016 by VitalFury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komrade_Konrad Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 Thanks for the advice everyone! I may end up waiting unless something really jumps out at me. This one from Dell also seems like a pretty decent option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834298771 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komrade_Konrad Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 (edited) Anyone have thoughts on this one for $950? I don't know anything about Cyberpower. Are they reliable? https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Spring_Gaming_Tracer_15_Special Intel® Skylake i7-6700HQ (2.6GHz Quad core) NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 965M 4GB GDDR5 VRAM 16GB DDR4 RAM 512GB SSD Edit: This deal is actually quite good with laptop, mouse, headset, and $50 Amex giftcard for $950. Edited May 13, 2016 by Komrade_Konrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMDE Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 That laptop looks good enough to me. I got no idea about how easy it is to clean, or how the keyboard feels, or the quality of the screen, build quality of the case etc. I see it has a 15.6 inch screen, if that's what you want... As for the technical hardware specs, I don't think you will do a whole lot better without paying a lot more atm, but as I said, they're releasing new hardware this summer, hardware that'd make a decent amount of difference when it comes to gaming capabilities of the laptop. But that's your choice. I personally would have waited until the release of new GPU. Sure, there will always be something better later, but then it'll be little in terms of upgrades in over a year and a half time or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komrade_Konrad Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 I personally would have waited until the release of new GPU. Sure, there will always be something better later, but then it'll be little in terms of upgrades in over a year and a half time or so. So actually I had misread your initial post thinking that the desktop GPUs were coming out mid-June and realized after a bit of research that you were talking about the laptop GPUs. People seem pretty keen on the new tech in terms of the expected upgrade potential, so I probably will wait to see how it goes. The above deal is pretty good in terms of hardware, but like you mentioned, I'm not sure about the build quality. A number of people mentioned the screen being flimsy which doesn't exactly inspire confidence from someone whose last laptop snapped at the hinges. The only real question is whether the new GPUs will be in my price range when they do drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaivRules Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 Anyone have thoughts on this one for $950? I don't know anything about Cyberpower. Are they reliable? https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Spring_Gaming_Tracer_15_Special I think on a spec analysis it looks like a good value for the price. However I have zero experience with the brand and a quick shout out to a couple of my techie cronies reveals they have no first hand experience. My only suggestion is the website says they also sell through Amazon, Newegg, Costco, Walmart and Best Buy. I'd HIGHLY suggest seeing if the same model is sold through either Newegg, Amazon or Costco. ALL have great service and great return policies if something goes wrong, on top of your credit card companies buyer protection. Buying through them allows you to use Cyberpowers support if you need it, but the return policy of the other retailers if it comes down to that. And as a last resort, a credit card chargeback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komrade_Konrad Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Figured I'd bump this now that Nvidia's new laptop hardware is about to release. From what I've seen, all of the new GPU's should be good options, and after putting up with my current laptop for another couple months, I think I'm also willing to push up my budget to ~$1500 (can do 0% interest for 12 months through my credit card). Currently trying to see if I could justify this one lol. https://www.amazon.com/GL502VS-DB71-Full-HD-Gaming-I7%C2%AD6700Q-Windows/dp/B01K1INYD0 or this for 17'' https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE62VR-Apache-Pro-026-i7-6700HQ/dp/B01IS33QWY/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1471381597&sr=1-11&keywords=1070&refinements=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011 Edited August 16, 2016 by Komrade_Konrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSheepGuy Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Alienware Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Hyper Balls Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 Asus Rog Got one a month ago and I use it almost everyday. After playing overwatch on my friends laptop, I had to buy one. Works great for both making music and gaming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Fishing Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 (edited) . Edited September 14, 2020 by Fragtaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now