Gaming laptop $1500 range, need suggestions

[Nominative]

I'm looking for a gaming laptop for around $1,500. I've been looking at the ASUS ROG G751JY-VS71(WX) and the MSI GT72 DOMINATOR PRO G-1438. I'd like to know the best laptops in this category. 1080p, 980m, etc. What's the best I can do for those kind of specs around $1,500? More generally, I want the best performance possible for that price range?

Thanks!

 

[naturesninja]

I have a GT72 myself, and love it. The thing I like about it is that it has a MXM form(upgradeable) GPU. No other manufactures do this currently as far as I'm aware. So, you can upgrade down the line to a 1070m/1080m or 1170/1180m ect... The link you provided is a pretty good deal imo, as well. You may want to wait for Pascal based models to come out, but it's unknown as to whether the price/performance will be there or not.

 

[Nominative]

I have a GT72 myself, and love it. The thing I like about it is that it has a MXM form(upgradeable) GPU. No other manufactures do this currently as far as I'm aware. So, you can upgrade down the line to a 1070m/1080m or 1170/1180m ect... The link you provided is a pretty good deal imo, as well. You may want to wait for Pascal based models to come out, but it's unknown as to whether the price/performance will be there or not.

Sounds good. Of course these things come in different specs depending on what you want. What are your model's specs? Can you give me an idea of what fps you tend to get on what settings for what games?

 

[naturesninja]

I have an i7-4720HQ(4th Gen), 980M, 32GB RAM, and 4X 256GB m2 SSDs in MSi's "Super Raid 3" Non GSync model. The i7-5700HQ(5th Gen Broadwell) in the model you linked is about as powerful as a 4th Gen i5(non k)/Xeon which is pretty damn good for a mobile chip. The GTX 980m is about as powerful as a desktop R9 380, also pretty nice for a mobile chip. MSi informed me that they produce their own MXM GPUs for the GT72 and that will carry over to at least the Pascal generation as well (likely between $500-1000 depending on model for upgrade)

Currently, I am able to max out most games and retain near 60FPS@ 1080p. The following games are with maximum settings: GTA V is right about 55-60FPS, Fallout 4 is about 40-60FPS with a bunch of mods installed depending on location, Metal Gear V sees me at about 60 FPS, Witcher 3 runs about 35-45FPS depending on location, Metro LL is usually above 60FPS, with rare drops below. I don't have all the latest games, but I have a library of close to 1k steam games, so if you want me to test something specific I can let you know. I would expect the newer model with the 5th Gen i-7 5700HQ to be maybe 1-3FPS higher than what I achieve, but while using a little less power.

 

[Nominative]

Much appreciated! By the way, how much VRAM does your model's 980 have? Also, I assume that 16GB of RAM won't be worse than your 32GB, at least for gaming nowadays??