Need a Gaming Netbook/Laptop under $1700

gamer2k1

Distinguished
May 7, 2011
13
0
18,560
Greetings All..


1. What is your budget? 1700

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15" could be a 17"

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1920 x 1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable I already have a Desktop but can't bring with me for traveling.

5. How much battery life do you need? 4+ hours as it will be plugged in

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Warlords Of Draenor & Legion - Both WoW Expansions, Would like Ultra settings in a 20 man raid environment . Battlefield 4 on Ultra could be High settings and other games.


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Nope just Gaming / Basic tasks ie Social Media, Microsoft Word, watching movies

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 1TB+ I already have external HDD's I can run but looking something right around 2TB for everything.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. NewEgg / Amazon, any other place that will take a check as payment.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 6 years hopefully

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? I could use an external Bluray Drive.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. Acer , Asus, Levono, MSI, Sager, I'm all open to brands as long as it will do what I want.

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I would prefer a 970M for gaming purposes

Don't need anything else, I'll be purchasing a TSA bag for the Laptop later on could use recommendations on that, won't be in that $1700 for the Laptop, the Bag if I can get recommendations that budget would be up to $200.

 
Solution
And I agree that you should go for the 970 (but it isn't my money). You said you want to keep the laptop for a number of years, so might as well get the best while you can, instead of getting something inferior, and regretting the choice a year or two down the road. As fast as new processors and GPUs become available, there is no such thing as "future proofing" a laptop. It will eventually become obsolete for your gaming needs. But by getting the best you can right now might put off that inevitability by an additional year or two.

gamer2k1

Distinguished
May 7, 2011
13
0
18,560
Thanks for the response 1Shado1. All 4 look really good, how is the Asus Rog compared to the other 3 you listed ie performance wise? I looked at the Sager NP8651 looks good. I even looked at a company called Digital Storm they have a 17" but with a 3 year warranty included the same type of Laptop as the Rog. The Asus Rog you listed is that upgrade able ie memory / storage? How's the two MSI you listed? Heard heat issues with MSI.
 
You're welcome! I have never had all 4 side by side to benchmark them, but the difference in CPU power between the 4 is very minimal, and probably not noticeable in real world applications (the 5xxx processors are about 5% faster than the 4xxx processors). Besides, in most cases, when gaming, the GPU is the more important of the two. As they all have the same GPU (GTX 970M), the performance of all four should be very similar, with only minor variations.

As to whether you can upgrade the RAM on the ASUS: Yes, but you only have (easy) access to two SO-DIMM slots, so if you want to max out your memory (32GB) you have to buy a 16GB model to start with. If memory serves, the other 2 slots that are hard to get to are under the keyboard, and as the deck is one piece, would require major disassembly. So if you buy a model with 16GB already installed, those slots would already be maxed out with 8GB in each slot. You would then be able to fill the remaining two empty slots from the access panel on the bottom of the laptop.

You can also add/upgrade HDDs/SSDs through the bottom panel.


Re MSI cooling problems: The cooling system on the GE72 has been revamped, so it supposedly runs cooler than its predecessor.

"I even looked at a company called Digital Storm they have a 17" but with a 3 year warranty included the same type of Laptop as the Rog. "

Which specific model? The Forbus?
 


Looks like a nice laptop for the price. No argument there. But the GTX 880M is significantly weaker than the GTX 970M.

 



You specifically asked for a GTX 970M. The Acer v15/17 Nitro Black Edition laptops come with the GTX 960M as their top GPU to the best of my knowledge. That's why I didn't bother mentioning them.
 

gamer2k1

Distinguished
May 7, 2011
13
0
18,560
Ah ok, so my best bet is the ones you listed and probably the Digital Storm I listed? Digital Storm is also 45 miles away from me, can pickup the system instead of having expensive shipping costs. Distance isn't an issue if I got one else where, forgot to mention Audio isn't really important to me as I've got a pair of $300 gaming headset which I can use
 



In this comparison, the GTX 970M is much better than the GTX 965M
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-970M-vs-GeForce-GTX-965M


Scroll down this page to #13 and #33, then sideways to see the various capabilities each card has with specific games.
Perhaps the discrepancy between the 2 isn't as pronounced as GPU Boss indicates (I haven't checked):
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html


Is it "better" to get the GTX 970M? Depends on your definition of better, I guess. Obviously, the 970 is the "better" GPU.
But in terms of price difference/performance ratio, is it better than the 965? Only you can ultimately decide that, as it is your money.
 

gamer2k1

Distinguished
May 7, 2011
13
0
18,560
Thanks for the quick response after going & reading the stuff on that page, looks like I'm going for a 970m. Also can you recommend a decent/good cooling pad for a 17" Laptop? Don't count the $1700 in the Cooling Pad.
 


You're welcome.

Nope. Can't recommend a good cooling pad. Never used one. Sorry. :(

 
And I agree that you should go for the 970 (but it isn't my money). You said you want to keep the laptop for a number of years, so might as well get the best while you can, instead of getting something inferior, and regretting the choice a year or two down the road. As fast as new processors and GPUs become available, there is no such thing as "future proofing" a laptop. It will eventually become obsolete for your gaming needs. But by getting the best you can right now might put off that inevitability by an additional year or two.
 
Solution

gamer2k1

Distinguished
May 7, 2011
13
0
18,560
Not worried really on new processor / gpu's, as long as I can run WoD / Legion - Next WoW expansion, BF4, Rainbow 6 Siege, The Division and few others on maxed or near maxed I'll be happy.
 


Fair enough. Please let us know how it goes and what you end up with! :D

 

gamer2k1

Distinguished
May 7, 2011
13
0
18,560
Thanks for your response 1shado1. As far as the Laptop search goes, It's still going on, Ii'm split down the middle. I'll post the 6 I've looked at and considered as my budget went up to $2200.

1. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4P02CM5300&cm_re=asus_rog-_-34-232-202-_-Product

2. - https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1142842 Level 2 model if that doesn't show up correctly

3. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834298168

4. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152682

5. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834198065

6. - http://www.sagernotebook.com/customize.php?productid=756

I'm leaning toward #4, #6, #2, #1, thoughts on either of the listed or I'm leaning toward? I would go with a 980M if all possible but don't think I can fit one within $2200 and I'm talking after tax / shipping.