Looking to buy a new gaming laptop

[Fizban]

Not sure if this is the right forum for such threads since laptops aren't built perse, but it seemed closer than any of the other forums.

I have a laptop with a 960M, but its performance is quite underwhelming.

Looking to replace it with a more powerful Pascal-driven laptop.

I take my laptop to work with me, and often game during downtime, so I do in fact, definitely want a laptop, not a desktop. Just figured I'd clarify before someone tried to convince me to avoid gaming on a laptop as is common for many people to do.

As far as budget is concerned, it's not super strict, but I'm definitely not looking to spend over $2,000. The cheaper the better, but I don't mind paying a decent bit for something that will be futureproofed. Absolutely not looking for anything with a GTX 1050, or 1050 TI. Mostly interested in laptops with either GTX 1060 or 1070, potentially a 1080 if there are any on great sales that result in them being in my budget. My goal basically is to save money, but sometimes spending more money saves you money in the longrun if the purchase is more future-proofed.

How crucial is VRAM likely to be in the near future? Would it be best to avoid anything with the 3 GB 1060, or will 3 GB likely be enough for the next few years?

Laptops I've been looking at so far include:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXO0PO2/?tag=tec06d-20 It's the cheapest laptop I can find with a GTX 1060 in it.
$865.24 ASUS FX502VM
i5-6300HQ
16 GB DDR4 @ 2133 mhz
GTX 1060 3 GB
1 TB HDD @ 7200 RPM
1920x1080 TN Panel

I assume the i5-6300HQ will be fine for several years, though I'm not sure how I feel about buying a laptop with a processor slower than what I've used for the past few years (i7-4720HQ). This laptop has issues, it has the worst cpu, and display of any I've debated buying. It also has only 3 GB VRAM. On the plus side, it's cheap. Cheap is good.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072C1TM1D/?tag=tec06d-20
$999.99 Acer VN7-593G-70U4
i7-7700HQ
16 GB DDR4 @ 2400 mhz
GTX 1060 6 GB
512 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel

This likely seems better priced than the ASUS actually. It is however refurbished. It has a superior cpu though, a SSD, 3 extra GB on the videocard, and a IPS panel instead of the TN on the ASUS. Those benefits are probably worth the extra ~$130? I will likely wind up with at least 512 GB SSD in whatever laptop I get, but not having to buy it separately is nice. I currently have a 256 GB SSD, but it is an old 2.5", so it can't be used in a lot of modern laptops alongside a large storage HDD.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154548
$1,019.00 MSI GE62VR
i7-6700HQ
GTX 1060 3 GB
1 TB HDD
256 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel

Has a $50 rebate, so is essentially $969. Better cpu than the ASUS, worse than the Acer. Unfortunately has 3 GB GTX 1060 like the ASUS. Does however have a superior IPs display and a 256 GB SSD for only $100 more than the ASUS. Seems like a good deal so long as the 3 GB GTX 1060 isn't be something to avoid.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233185R
$1,098.00 GIGABYTE P57Wv6-NE2
i7-6700HQ
GTX 1060 6 GB
1 TB HDD
128 GB SSD
17.3" 1920x1080 IPS Display

Inferior CPU to the Acer despite being more expensive. Same 6 GB GTX 1060. More storage, but less space on SSD. Larger screen. Only real reason I can see to get this if there's reason to believe that it is better cooled than some of the other options due to being a 17.3" laptop as opposed to a smaller 15.6" model.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711WXD7Y/?tag=tec06d-20
$1,338.99 Acer Predator G9-593-71EH
i7-7700HQ
16 GB DDR4 @ 2400 mhz
GTX 1070
1 TB HDD
256 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel with G-Sync

I'm unsure if it's worth spending the extra for the 1070. I think it probably is though so long as it is cooled well enough to still be working in a few years when a 1060 is less powerful than it is now and new games have higher system requirements.

In a desktop I'd definitely just get a 1060, because I could spend $210 less on a 1060 than a 1070, and then when the 1060 started to show its age I could spend the $210 saved now on a videocard stronger than a 1070. In a laptop though it is all or nothing, there won't be the option to upgrade the GPU down the line, I'll need to replace the whole system, which so long as the laptop continues to function long enough for a 1060 to become unoptimal means a 1070 could save me from needing to upgrade as soon as I would with a 1060.

Aside from being the cheapest laptop I could find with a GTX 1070 in it, it also has a G-Sync panel, something the cheaper options above lacked. It's also the first setup to come with both a HDD and a SSD right off the bat.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1INYD0/?tag=tec06d-20
$1,353.99 ASUS ROG GL502VS-DB71
i7-6700HQ
16 GB DDR4 @ 2133 mhz
GTX 1070
1 TB HDD
256 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel with G-Sync

Seems a worse deal than the Acer above potentially. Is more expensive, has a slightly inferior CPU. Is however new, not refurbished, really only worth buying if there's reason to suspect that it is much better cooled than the Acer, or that the Acer being refurbished makes it less reliable than otherwise.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071KCV9S5/?tag=tec06d-20
$1,599.99 ASUS ROG G752VS-XB72K
i7-6820HK
32 GB DDR4 @ 2133 mhz
GTX 1070
1 TB HDD
256 GB SSD
17.3" IPS 1920x1080 G-Sync @ 75 hz

The cheaper GTX 1070 laptops were capped at 60 hz, this one at least has a 75 hz display. It also has a superior cpu. 6820HK is faster than a 6700HQ, slower than a 7700HQ, at stock speeds, but the 6820HK can be overclocked unlike other mobile cpus as it has an unlocked multiplier. Not sure there's much reason to overclock it though, but the option is there. Is a GTX 1070 actually powerful enough to make the bottleneck be the CPU? I doubt it.

It also has 32 GB DDR4, which I guess is cool? I never have to close browser windows again? Hell, can probably play 2 AAA titles at once, just need to alt+Tab between them as I see fit.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834725033R
$1,504.00 Aorus 15.6" X5 v6-PC3K3D
i7-6820HK
16 GB DDR4 @ 2133 mhz
GTX 1070
1 TB HDD
256 GB SSD
2880x1620 IPS Panel with G-Sync

Same processor as the more expensive ASUS above, less RAM, smaller display, but also higher resolution display. Not usually a fan of laptop that have 1440p or higher displays because so many laptops come equipped with such displays but lack the power to utilize them properly. The GTX 1070 in this particular model though likely can support such a high resolution. This vs. the ASUS would really be more a concern of cooling capability/expected longevity than the price difference or difference in displays.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725WXVRG/?tag=tec06d-20
$1,956.99 Acer Predator 17x GX-792-703D
i7-7820HK
32 GB DDR4 @ 2400 mhz
GTX 1080
1 TB HDD
512 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel with G-Sync @ 75 hz

This is basically the top of my budget. It's the only model with a GTX 1080 that can be found for under 2k that I am aware of. It also has the fastest mobile processor in existence, and that's before overclocking it, which is doable on the 7820HK just like it is on the 6820HK. GTX 1080 seems a bit wasted on a 1080P display, at least it is 75 hz and has G-sync though. I'd imagine it should almost never budge from 75 fps.

Is there anything I didn't list that I should take a good look at? Anything I listed with known problems that would make it best to avoid?

 

[P4-630]

I'd probably take the:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711WXD7Y/?tag=tec06d-20
$1,338.99 Acer Predator G9-593-71EH
i7-7700HQ
16 GB DDR4 @ 2400 mhz
GTX 1070
1 TB HDD
256 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel with G-Sync

What's the refresh rate of this G-Sync panel?
I think this is a well balanced performance/price laptop

Or if money isn't a problem:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725WXVRG/?tag=tec06d-20
$1,956.99 Acer Predator 17x GX-792-703D
i7-7820HK
32 GB DDR4 @ 2400 mhz
GTX 1080
1 TB HDD
512 GB SSD
1920x1080 IPS Panel with G-Sync @ 75 hz

But it's only a 1080p 75Hz panel....
Surely this beast will play almost everything at Ultra with max AA candy at high fps.

 

[mad1394]

You seem to need both portability and performance.
Have a look at the new ASUS ROG Zephyrus. I found it for 2300 on amazon. I know its a bit out of your budget.
Otherwise if you need to stay under 2000 than by all means go for 1070 or 1060 laptops.

 

[Fizban]

Portability doesn't really matter to me. I mean, it matters enough that it needs to be a laptop - but not enough that the weight of it will be of major importance to me as opposed to performance or price.

The Acer Predator has faster black to black, and grey to grey response times than the Zephyrus. It also has a faster processor, 184 vs. 160 on Cinebench Single-Core, 874 vs. 735 on multi-core.

The Acer also scores much higher with its GTX 1080 than the ASUS's Max_Q 1080, 22,566 vs. 18,219 on Firestrike.

Even if the ASUS was the same price, I really wouldn't consider it vs. the Acer. 9.58 pounds, vs 4.96 pounds makes little difference to me. If anything I'd prefer a heavier laptop if it results in superior cooling.

I'm sure the ASUS would still be adequate for virtually any use, but paying more for inferior cpu, gpu, and battery life all in the name of weight just seems like a raw deal to me. It'd have to be cheaper than the Acer for me to consider it.

 

[DRDNA]

Not sure if this is the right forum for such threads since laptops aren't built perse, but it seemed closer than any of the other forums.

I have a laptop with a 960M, but its performance is quite underwhelming.
?

try this site
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/category/gaming-laptops

 

[mad1394]

Portability doesn't really matter to me. I mean, it matters enough that it needs to be a laptop - but not enough that the weight of it will be of major importance to me as opposed to performance or price.

The Acer Predator has faster black to black, and grey to grey response times than the Zephyrus. It also has a faster processor, 184 vs. 160 on Cinebench Single-Core, 874 vs. 735 on multi-core.

The Acer also scores much higher with its GTX 1080 than the ASUS's Max_Q 1080, 22,566 vs. 18,219 on Firestrike.

Even if the ASUS was the same price, I really wouldn't consider it vs. the Acer. 9.58 pounds, vs 4.96 pounds makes little difference to me. If anything I'd prefer a heavier laptop if it results in superior cooling.

I'm sure the ASUS would still be adequate for virtually any use, but paying more for inferior cpu, gpu, and battery life all in the name of weight just seems like a raw deal to me. It'd have to be cheaper than the Acer for me to consider it.

I used notebookcheck.com to choose my laptop. Back then I felt the MSI laptops offered the best performance and cooling.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebookcheck-s-Top-10-Gaming-Notebooks.98628.0.html
Let us know what you choose.

 

[Vayra86]

Not a single gaming laptop is worth the money. - Let me stress that again:

Not a single gaming laptop is worth the money.

Avoid it if possible, if not, go big or go home. Any sleek design fails by... design. They either throttle, are limited by the power brick, massively cumbersome if they don't throttle, and GPUs consistently perform a full tier below what they're called while you pay a premium that buys you a 1080ti.

There are things you just don't do This is one of them. Been there done that & never again

The irony of gaming laptops is that if they're mobile enough to actually use without having power and a desk, they're gruesomely bad for gaming. And if they're not mobile enough, they perform well but you might as well build an ITX and slap on a monitor where u sit down.

 

[Fizban]

Not a single gaming laptop is worth the money. - Let me stress that again:

Not a single gaming laptop is worth the money.

Avoid it if possible, if not, go big or go home. Any sleek design fails by... design. They either throttle, are limited by the power brick, massively cumbersome if they don't throttle, and GPUs consistently perform a full tier below what they're called while you pay a premium that buys you a 1080ti.

There are things you just don't do This is one of them. Been there done that & never again

The irony of gaming laptops is that if they're mobile enough to actually use without having power and a desk, they're gruesomely bad for gaming. And if they're not mobile enough, they perform well but you might as well build an ITX and slap on a monitor where u sit down.

The GPU's absolutely do not consistently perform a full tier below what they're called.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725WXVRG/?tag=tec06d-20
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Predator-17-X-7820HK-FHD-GTX-1080-Laptop-Review.207172.0.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-review,28.html

Desktop 1080 scores 5142 on Firestrike Ultra, aptop with a 1080 scores 5024. On regular Firestrike the scores are 19,370 for the desktop, 17,463 for the laptop. Desktop 980 TI scores 15,656. Desktop GTX 1070 gets around 16,229.

Laptop 1080 does score below desktop 1080, it however soundly bests both the desktop 1070 and 980 TI.

As I stated in the OP, I'm very aware that laptops typically perform worse than desktop counterparts. That's fine, they still perform plenty well, especially now that the Pascal line did away with the old "mobile processors" making the gap between desktops and laptops far, far, smaller than in the past. Portability matters to me. Even a 10 pound laptop is FAR more portable than your ITX scenario. Carrying around a laptop is trivial regardless of relative weight differences between different laptop models, carrying around a spare monitor at all times is not.

The price gap between laptops and desktops is also not remotely close to what it once was.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jqKrFd

That's a i5-6500, cheapest 16 GB DDR4 DIMM, GTX 1060 3 GB, and the absolute cheapest PSU, CPU Cooler, and motherboard that it considers compatible alongside the cheapest 1 TB HDD and case.

End result: $758.76 after a rebate. Yeah, that's clearly miles cheaper than a $865 laptop with similar specs.

If you need to buy a monitor or keyboard you're even closer to exceeding the price of the laptop.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wBQJr7

There's the cheapest monitor, mouse, and keyboard available added: $839.44

Lets stop exaggerating. This isn't 2005. The price gap isn't massive. Hell, in that scenario I'd actually argue the laptop is cheaper than the desktop as no one is actually buying a $30 PSU, $7 cpu cooler, or most likely a $47 mobo either.

The price comparison holds true with the higher end laptops too. You cannot build a desktop gaming computer for under 2k that beats the specs of the Acer Predator 17x due to the price of G-Sync monitors. Even without a monitor included a comparable desktop is over $1,400.

 

[Komshija]

Better get a gaming desktop PC. Gaming laptops are usually ridiculously expensive and their performance is about 70% of desktop's performance within the same price range. I would never recommend a laptop for an individual whose primary intent is gaming.

For occasional gaming I recommend Lenovo Y520 with GTX 1050 Ti/16GB/7700HQ or more expensive Y720 with GTX 1060. The point is that anything above 1600 $ (that would be around 1100$ or less in the USA where PC's are at least 30% cheaper) is just not worth the money.