Laptop for College/Gaming

[lancekrett]

1. My budget is $1300, but I would prefer around $1000

2. 15.6"

3. 1080p is enough, because I do not think Ill find a laptop that can game well at 4K on my budget.

4. I need a portable laptop as I will be taking it to college classes.

5. Battery life is not much concern to me as I will probably be able to charge it in class.

6. I will be using it for games. Anything from Garry's Mod to FarCry 5 (when it arrives) at highest setting preferred.

7. I will be using it for architecture classes as well (CAD and such), and possibly video editing.

8. My HDD requirements are only 7200 RPM. I would like that to be at 1TB and an SSD if that would be possible.

9. Amazon.com . Other sites are okay.

10. Hopefully throughout my six years in college.

11. DVD+CD rom is required.

12. I really do not care about the brand.

13. I live in the United States of America.

14. I'm just a college kid looking for a good laptop for both gaming and classes. I know a decent amount about computers, but figured looking for help can't hurt.

 

[Turbo_]

1. My budget is $1300, but I would prefer around $1000

2. 15.6"

3. 1080p is enough, because I do not think Ill find a laptop that can game well at 4K on my budget.

4. I need a portable laptop as I will be taking it to college classes.

5. Battery life is not much concern to me as I will probably be able to charge it in class.

6. I will be using it for games. Anything from Garry's Mod to FarCry 5 (when it arrives) at highest setting preferred.

7. I will be using it for architecture classes as well (CAD and such), and possibly video editing.

8. My HDD requirements are only 7200 RPM. I would like that to be at 1TB and an SSD if that would be possible.

9. Amazon.com . Other sites are okay.

10. Hopefully throughout my six years in college.

11. DVD+CD rom is required.

12. I really do not care about the brand.

13. I live in the United States of America.

14. I'm just a college kid looking for a good laptop for both gaming and classes. I know a decent amount about computers, but figured looking for help can't hurt.

I think the ASUS ROG STRIX GL502 15.6 gaming laptop would be a good option for you. I im in college right now and I use the surface pro 4 but the version I have is a bit out of your price range although I would recommend it for video editing and CAD programs(what I use it for) I dont know how well it will do at video games bc it doesnt have a GFX card but for school its amazing.

I think the ASUS ROG STRIX GL502 15.6 gaming laptop is what your looking for bc it is centered more on gaming.

Hope this helped! feel free to ask questions!

 

[velocityg4]

GIGABYTE P55 P55Wv7-KL3
https/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233201
1. Check
2. Check
3. Check
4. Depends on how you define portable. At 5.73lbs the Gigabyte is average for a 15” gaming laptop. Personally, I would rather a very light 12” to 13” with great battery life and leave gaming to a desktop.
5. It will be. Unless you are certain your University has outlets all over the place. Charging will be difficult. Especially with many others wanting to do the same. Luckily this laptop has a 63Whr battery. About 50% higher than the average in this price bracket. Dell has a better 74Whr battery with a weaker GPU. If you turn down the brightness and don’t screw around on the laptop. It should last the day. Depending on your coursework.
6. Core i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060 6GB and 16GB of RAM should game quite well.
7. Should be more than fast enough.
8. Check and Check
9. Can’t have it all. Newegg is a big name in retail computer game. So, don’t worry about buying from them. This laptop is sold directly by Newegg. Not one of the third-party marketplace sellers. It costs $1350 on Amazon.
10. If it physically holds up it will likely still be useful. Gaming will be horrible on it by then. Same is true for the fastest laptops. You will almost certainly have gone through a few batteries by then.
11. This hurt the options a lot. Do you really need this?
12. Gigabyte should be good
13. Newegg is in the US so no problems there.
14. I really would emphasize just getting a simple, small, light laptop with great battery life. Lugging around a 15” laptop all day is not fun. Nor is trying to balance it on half desks while typing or finding a place to charge. Use the remaining funds to build a gaming desktop. A desktop will also be better for writing papers and gaming.

 

[lancekrett]

GIGABYTE P55 P55Wv7-KL3
https/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233201
1. Check
2. Check
3. Check
4. Depends on how you define portable. At 5.73lbs the Gigabyte is average for a 15” gaming laptop. Personally, I would rather a very light 12” to 13” with great battery life and leave gaming to a desktop.
5. It will be. Unless you are certain your University has outlets all over the place. Charging will be difficult. Especially with many others wanting to do the same. Luckily this laptop has a 63Whr battery. About 50% higher than the average in this price bracket. Dell has a better 74Whr battery with a weaker GPU. If you turn down the brightness and don’t screw around on the laptop. It should last the day. Depending on your coursework.
6. Core i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060 6GB and 16GB of RAM should game quite well.
7. Should be more than fast enough.
8. Check and Check
9. Can’t have it all. Newegg is a big name in retail computer game. So, don’t worry about buying from them. This laptop is sold directly by Newegg. Not one of the third-party marketplace sellers. It costs $1350 on Amazon.
10. If it physically holds up it will likely still be useful. Gaming will be horrible on it by then. Same is true for the fastest laptops. You will almost certainly have gone through a few batteries by then.
11. This hurt the options a lot. Do you really need this?
12. Gigabyte should be good
13. Newegg is in the US so no problems there.
14. I really would emphasize just getting a simple, small, light laptop with great battery life. Lugging around a 15” laptop all day is not fun. Nor is trying to balance it on half desks while typing or finding a place to charge. Use the remaining funds to build a gaming desktop. A desktop will also be better for writing papers and gaming.

I took your advice and I have started looking into getting a light laptop and a desktop. But even in doing that it seems it will come out much more expensive. I've looked through all sorts of pc sites and looked at building a desktop myself. Nothing comes close to the price and specs of this:
http/www.microcenter.com/product/476925/Rhodium_GXM7200I_Desktop_Computer ($999-1099)
Then looking at nice monitors that can handle the FPS:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-by-hp-25-24-5-led-fhd-monitor-black/5823065.p?skuId=5823065 ($150-200)
And the bare minimum laptop autoCAD recommends:
http/www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Design-TOSHIBA-Tecra-R950-i7-3540M-480GB-SSD-16GB-15-6-RADEON-USB-3-0-/142401562002?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275 ($525, college requires a minimum 15 inch screen)
So all-in-all I'm looking at $1675-1825. Which is a lot more than the $1300 I've planned for. Am I looking in the wrong areas?

 

[velo3100]

If you want a desktop, I would recommend building it from scratch as it is much cheaper. You should be able to get more performance out of the desktop than the laptop. I can't give you any links to any as I am not a desktop person.

 

[velocityg4]

I took your advice and I have started looking into getting a light laptop and a desktop. But even in doing that it seems it will come out much more expensive. I've looked through all sorts of pc sites and looked at building a desktop myself. Nothing comes close to the price and specs of this:
http/www.microcenter.com/product/476925/Rhodium_GXM7200I_Desktop_Computer ($999-1099)
Then looking at nice monitors that can handle the FPS:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-by-hp-25-24-5-led-fhd-monitor-black/5823065.p?skuId=5823065 ($150-200)
And the bare minimum laptop autoCAD recommends:
http/www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Design-TOSHIBA-Tecra-R950-i7-3540M-480GB-SSD-16GB-15-6-RADEON-USB-3-0-/142401562002?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275 ($525, college requires a minimum 15 inch screen)
So all-in-all I'm looking at $1675-1825. Which is a lot more than the $1300 I've planned for. Am I looking in the wrong areas?

I did not realize your college required a 15" laptop. I'm not sure why they would. It sounds like an absurd arbitrary requirement. A 13" 1920x1080 has as much screen real estate as a 15" 1920x1080. Everything just looks a bit smaller. If you have good eyesight, who cares. C'est la vie.

When suggesting a small and light laptop. I was thinking you wanted the 15" for gaming as a compromise between screen size and bulk. My thoughts were for some simple and cheap 11" to 13" laptop to carry around to classes for notes, group work or time in the library. Perhaps even an iPad and stylus. Then build a desktop. So, you could do assignments and game on a 23" or 24" screen at home.

Any cheap 15" will be bulky and have poor battery life. A decent one will drive the price up as you found out.

In which case the Gigabyte I listed is likely the best option. As it is the best mix of portability, gaming performance and battery life. In your price range. It meets all your requirements except it is on Newegg. A major online retailer.

 

[lancekrett]

I took your advice and I have started looking into getting a light laptop and a desktop. But even in doing that it seems it will come out much more expensive. I've looked through all sorts of pc sites and looked at building a desktop myself. Nothing comes close to the price and specs of this:
http/www.microcenter.com/product/476925/Rhodium_GXM7200I_Desktop_Computer ($999-1099)
Then looking at nice monitors that can handle the FPS:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-by-hp-25-24-5-led-fhd-monitor-black/5823065.p?skuId=5823065 ($150-200)
And the bare minimum laptop autoCAD recommends:
http/www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Design-TOSHIBA-Tecra-R950-i7-3540M-480GB-SSD-16GB-15-6-RADEON-USB-3-0-/142401562002?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275 ($525, college requires a minimum 15 inch screen)
So all-in-all I'm looking at $1675-1825. Which is a lot more than the $1300 I've planned for. Am I looking in the wrong areas?

I did not realize your college required a 15" laptop. I'm not sure why they would. It sounds like an absurd arbitrary requirement. A 13" 1920x1080 has as much screen real estate as a 15" 1920x1080. Everything just looks a bit smaller. If you have good eyesight, who cares. C'est la vie.

When suggesting a small and light laptop. I was thinking you wanted the 15" for gaming as a compromise between screen size and bulk. My thoughts were for some simple and cheap 11" to 13" laptop to carry around to classes for notes, group work or time in the library. Perhaps even an iPad and stylus. Then build a desktop. So, you could do assignments and game on a 23" or 24" screen at home.

Any cheap 15" will be bulky and have poor battery life. A decent one will drive the price up as you found out.

In which case the Gigabyte I listed is likely the best option. As it is the best mix of portability, gaming performance and battery life. In your price range. It meets all your requirements except it is on Newegg. A major online retailer.

I am going in college for Architecture so they want a laptop that can run certain softwares in class. I believe I will be going with the Gigabyte! Thank you very much for your help.

 

[abr46785]

I have friend in architecture school that uses the NEW DELL PRECISION M5510 and is very happy with the purchase.