Gaming Laptop recs please.

VimFuego

Could've sworn someone asked this a while back, but couldn't find the thread, so apologies. I'm after recommendations for a gaming/general use laptop. Think I'd prefer a laptop over a PC as I also use it instead of a TV (I watch all my stuff on my current laptop). I've always gone Dell before, but before I push buy it now, is there anything else out there? Budget I guess upto £2k, and I'd like it delivered ready to use, don't want the hassle of installing stuff etc, 

TheMarlin

Alienware

VimFuego

that's looks the ticket, thanks.

blobb

or ASUS. Check how much power the grafix card can use. This guy does good ranking videos.Then see what CEX have got available.

Sporky

This might be worth a read.

https://www.pcgamer.com/best-gaming-laptop/

Danny1969

Get something with a long warranty as gaming laptops tend to have a shorter life than a normal laptop. 

Alienware are owned and sold by Dell. Bump the warranty to 3 years when buying. 

VimFuego

Sporky said:

This might be worth a read.

https://www.pcgamer.com/best-gaming-laptop/

interesting, thanks!

blobb

Also think what you want to do with it. Massive graphic power on a 15in 1080p screen is pointless. If you want VR, different kettle. If so check it's got the ports you need / MUX switch for direct to graphics connection etc...

Bidley

Jarrod's Tech is the best Youtube resource for gaming laptops, have a look on his channel.

Dell/Alienware machines are decent, but don't let them upsell you on any nonsense if you buy direct from them. Lenovo Legions are very well thought of.

I got a HP Omen 16 on a good deal, but it had a few problems i.e. wifi card needed replacing, I had to add a grounding wire to the touchpad to make it work properly(!). I've had other HP machines that very good though. I bought it through Currys, which was a massive mistake as they remove all possibility of manufacturer support, and replace it with their own shite support (which they try to upsell to make it less shite).

Bear in mind, when buying a gaming laptop you're buying battery capacity and/or thinness/lightness, rather than raw power. What games do you want to play? And are you prepared to be plugged into the wall when you play?

VimFuego

Bidley said:

Jarrod's Tech is the best Youtube resource for gaming laptops, have a look on his channel.

Dell/Alienware machines are decent, but don't let them upsell you on any nonsense if you buy direct from them. Lenovo Legions are very well thought of.

I got a HP Omen 16 on a good deal, but it had a few problems i.e. wifi card needed replacing, I had to add a grounding wire to the touchpad to make it work properly(!). I've had other HP machines that very good though. I bought it through Currys, which was a massive mistake as they remove all possibility of manufacturer support, and replace it with their own shite support (which they try to upsell to make it less shite).

Bear in mind, when buying a gaming laptop you're buying battery capacity and/or thinness/lightness, rather than raw power. What games do you want to play? And are you prepared to be plugged into the wall when you play?

play most things I guess; liking world builder games at the mo, playing the arse out of Civ 6. In the past liked RPG games, Skyrim, Fallout etc, and I'd like to give that new Baldurs Gate a go. Not a fan of FPS, so I guess I don't need massive graphic speed, but on my current laptop when playing Civ it crawls to a halt when your world gets big. It will be plugged into the wall. I did think about a PC, but I'd have to get a decent chair as well, so the PC would have to be that much cheaper to compensate. 

strumjoughlamps

I've had Alienware and MSi laptops and both brands have been great..

The 3XS stuff on Scan get good write ups.

notsopro

I bought a Lenovo Legion 7 Pro last year, got it on offer for pretty much bang on £2k, and it is fantastic. 

current equivalent (mine is now previous gen cpu), is about 2400, always coupons or offers and you would probably get it for around your max budget.

Bidley

VimFuego said:

Bidley said:

Jarrod's Tech is the best Youtube resource for gaming laptops, have a look on his channel.

Dell/Alienware machines are decent, but don't let them upsell you on any nonsense if you buy direct from them. Lenovo Legions are very well thought of.

I got a HP Omen 16 on a good deal, but it had a few problems i.e. wifi card needed replacing, I had to add a grounding wire to the touchpad to make it work properly(!). I've had other HP machines that very good though. I bought it through Currys, which was a massive mistake as they remove all possibility of manufacturer support, and replace it with their own shite support (which they try to upsell to make it less shite).

Bear in mind, when buying a gaming laptop you're buying battery capacity and/or thinness/lightness, rather than raw power. What games do you want to play? And are you prepared to be plugged into the wall when you play?

play most things I guess; liking world builder games at the mo, playing the arse out of Civ 6. In the past liked RPG games, Skyrim, Fallout etc, and I'd like to give that new Baldurs Gate a go. Not a fan of FPS, so I guess I don't need massive graphic speed, but on my current laptop when playing Civ it crawls to a halt when your world gets big. It will be plugged into the wall. I did think about a PC, but I'd have to get a decent chair as well, so the PC would have to be that much cheaper to compensate. 

Civ 6 and the like will be CPU-intensive. Skyrim/Fallout 4 for example now won't need as much to run, but the modern equivalent (Starfield) is very difficult to run on most. BG3 needs beefier specs than you think.

If you're just gaming on the sofa, perhaps consider plugging a PC into your TV and using a wireless kb + mouse.

But the best advice with PC/laptop stuff is to buy the best you can afford right now. Just look for reviews, paying attention to cooling, performance and the screen for laptops.

VimFuego

/\ /\, that sounds like some good advice. I'll do some shopping around, see what I can find out there.

randella

strumjoughlamps said:

I've had Alienware and MSi laptops and both brands have been great..

The 3XS stuff on Scan get good write ups.

I use a Scan gaming laptop for work - I need the GPU for machine learning development. It's one of their frame built machines from a few years ago. I have to say it's been very reliable, any number of times I've left it running at pretty much full GPU/CPU for days on end.

The keyboard is fairly nasty (lots of flex) and the touchpad doesn't support multi-tap or swipe gestures which is a pain in the arse - it's clear where the money was spent. Have a good read up if you're thinking of going down this route - I don't know how they've improved the machines now they're branded as 3XS as mine was a run-out offer just before they made the change.

You get a lot of machine for your cash but it possibly won't feel as premium.

Grumpyrocker

I've been very impressed with my ASUS TUF laptop. The CPU is very good - it does DaVinci Resolve rendering quicker than my Macbook. 

The GTX4070 isn't the best deal around. But I can almost anything at 1440p at max settings over 60fps. It only has a 1080p screen, but I also have an excellent second monitor.