Picking an affordable laptop that will last long (5 years +)

[ThaJewishPanda]

Hey guys, I have been researching extensively because, before a couple days ago, I did not know much about computers, especially the specs. I want to make sure I get a great, affordable laptop that will last long and most importantly avoid being gimped or scammed by the corporations. For instance, I have read that a NVIDA GTX 960 with 4 GB Vram will be useless compared to its usual 2GB because its memory bandwidth is 128-Bit as compared to the GTX 970, 256-bit which some people do not realize. Apparently in order for the 4 GB vram to be efficient the bandwidth needs to be higher. I do not know if this is true or not, but I am skeptical which is why I want others' opinions before i decide to hurt my wallet. Also, I am aware of the GTX 970 4GB or 3.5 GB vram controversy and concluded that those who go beyond ultra max settings purposely run into stuttering problems.

1. What is your budget?
Around 1k, and depends if GTX 970 is worth the extra money to last longer and to be on the safe side. If so, 1200-1300 but really not ideal especially near 1400-1500$

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Most laptops I have looked at are around 15inches and I would like it to be portable if and when necessary because I am a college student.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Most people play games on 1080p that is good enough for me then.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Not sure.

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)?
At the moment, if I play games, it has to be on the lowest possible settings which means editing the config files. I am not picky, I would like to play on high if I am making a big investment, but my main goal is for a good laptop that will last long and able to play the newest games so that I am not in the situation with my current laptop. This is why I have been thinking if a GTX 970 is worth it over a 960 which both are good and can play most games on high/ultra.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
possibly.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
For engineering, a lot of memory or ram is needed i think? University recommends that the hard drive is at least 128 GB, most laptops past this greatly it seems. I heard SSD is worth the investment also.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8651-clevo-p650se-p-7690.html

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
My current laptop is about 6 years old, still good for average users, but not good for engineering requirements. I want my new laptop to last longer and still be efficient around 2020 (5 years from now) and even longer. I am not looking to upgrade for awhile after purchasing a good laptop.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Do I really need one? The xoticpc site i listed has probably the cheapest GTX 970 I can find and that is because it does not have a optical 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.
Asus, lenovo, msi seem to be popular for engineering/gaming which require similar specs i think which is why I am mention gaming so others get the same idea.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I have been looking at several sites and laptops. The best deal seems to be with a intel i7, GTX 960 2GB vram around 1,000$. Will 2GB vram be enough for 5-10years? Most likely not, which is why I am considering buying a GTX 970 with 3 or 4 GB. I do not care for ultra mode, if I can play on high settings, sweet. If technology keeps advancing where 4k is the new thing, I would like to still be able to play on lower settings preferable mid settings and still have a good experience. I am not interested in overclocking either unless it is for school because that just shortens the life span it seems.
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Here are laptops I have looked at, If you can find an affordable laptop with GTX 970 graphics and is overall good then speak up. I am not a fan boy to any company because I have never used any of their products to be honest, my current laptop is ancient with intel pentium graphics which is probably one of the lowest. Please post your opinions on other laptops you know about, the ones I have listen, or if I should go for GTX 960 or 970.

1. ASUS ROG GL551JW-DS71 priced at 1,000$
http/www.amazon.com/GL551JW-DS71-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-GTX960M/dp/B00T7XRH2A?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAJM4NKIQGABP2PIRA&tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00T7XRH2A

This seems to be a great laptop at the best price, will it be great or average in 5 years though?

The only downside I have read from reviews is that it easily gets finger prints everywhere and the touch pad, sound, and screen are not the best. Most noted was the cooling system is great for the price.

2. ASUS N550JK-DS71T touchscreen about 1,000$
http/www.amazon.com/N550JK-DS71T-Touchscreen-Aluminum-Laptop-i7-4700HQ/dp/B00IAA5BSS

this resembles the same as #1 asus, just a touch screen. I am not sure about the touch screen, most reviewers were surprised on how much they used it.

3. http/www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Y50-Laptop-Computer-Generation/dp/B00KD5DUR2/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t?tag=viglink20850-20

Lenovo has been discussed a lot, but one problem it seems to have vs the asus is its temperature is much higher which leads to lower performance and life span over time.
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Higher end laptops, containing better graphics such as GTX 970

1. Sager NP8651 (Clevo P650SE), 1,200$ - customize-able to be more expensive.

http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8651-clevo-p650se-p-7690.html

2. Sager NP8651 (Built off Clevo P650SE) more expensive, 1,400$

http/www.amazon.com/NP8651-P650SE-Gaming-Notebook-i7-4720HQ/dp/B00PB8M80G

3. MSI Computer GT60 DOMINATOR

http/www.amazon.com/MSI-GT60-DOMINATOR-1065-9S7-16F442-1065-15-6-Inch/dp/B00O4ORNDA

Comments don't say anything about heating, but I read on other forms that the heating is not as good compared to asus ROG GL551

4. ASUS ROG G751JT-CH71

http/store.asus.com/us/item/201412AM130000005/A19581

 

[Tradesman1]

Realistically, with the advances made in computers, and for a laptop, don't think 4-5 years is realistic as the upgrade paths are almost nil. With your budget could get a decent Y50 from Lenovo or an Asus ROG laptop that should have the power to keep you happier than most other brands for a longer time

 

[ThaJewishPanda]

it seems to me that people upgrade because they want to be able to play every game on high or ultra.

 

[Tradesman1]

There is that, I'm not a gamer, but find software and projects are continually growing and laptops, being limited as far as upgrade paths just can't keep up, so try and get most powerful possible within a given budget and hope they will last a couple of years

 

[ThaJewishPanda]

Ah okay sounds good, most of what I read on forums come from gamers, but can you give me a little bit more in your perspective? I am going into engineering which is why I have to buy a new laptop.

 

[Tradesman1]

For that type of thing, look for a good screen, good GPU, CPU and plenty of DRAM, the ones I suggested the y50s from Lenovo and the ROGs from Asus fall into the requirements

 

[ThaJewishPanda]

have any opinions on gtx 960m vs 970m? asus gtx 960m is about 1k and a 970 could be between 1200-1400 with or without warranty. So is a 970m worth the extra cost. 960m is good enough for engineering but i fear in a year or two a gtx 960m would play on low settings for max fps to give you a perspective.

 

[Tradesman1]

have any opinions on gtx 960m vs 970m? asus gtx 960m is about 1k and a 970 could be between 1200-1400 with or without warranty. So is a 970m worth the extra cost. 960m is good enough for engineering but i fear in a year or two a gtx 960m would play on low settings for max fps to give you a perspective.

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Basically what I was saying, laptops aren't something you can expect to really use for a number of years if used heavily as their tech is normally somewhat out of date within a year or so

 

[ThaJewishPanda]

Yeah i get what you are saying, but when upgrading is not an option after making a big investment then I would think the gtx 970m would be better in the longer run since it is a newer graphics card while the 960m is basically a copy of the 860m. So the 960m and 860m are literally the same card just 960m is more over clocked.

I have an ancient laptop that is 6 years old, not useful for anything other than web browsing and watching netflix, but I have managed to do much much more intensive things on it that has surprised me after looking for a new laptop. This laptop is super outdated but I have made the most use of what I have which is my mindset with anything that I have.

My biggest thought right now is if an ssd and a gtx 970 is worth the extra money, because a good 1k laptop after adding a 128gb ssd and the warranty is about 1300-1400$, so i can pay an extra 100-250$ for a much better graphics card (almost doubled the rating from other sources) with better specs such as 8gb more ram, better cooling system...

from this link: http/alteredqualia.com/texts/notebooks/

it rates graphics cards.

The gtx 960m rates at - 4365
the gtx 970m rates at - 7459 ALMOST DOUBLE.

so it seems like the 970m is worth it, and I have not heard a person being regretful about getting a ssd for OS. SSD seems to only increase loading/boot time, uninstalling, doing a lot of little things at once I guess much faster than an HDD.

 

[Tradesman1]

Go for it

 

[velo3100]

The gtx 970m is a much better gpu than the gtx 960m as it brings 30% more gpu power in games I think. Out of the laptops I would either go with http/store.asus.com/us/item/201412AM130000005/A19581 or one of the sagar laptops. Asus are very good with their cooling and should last you a long time if you don't push the graphics in games to much. The sagars on the other hand have very good upgradability as some of them allow you to swap the cpu and gpu as well as the normal things lke hdd. The msi on the other hand is also good but they tend to be more louder than their competition to keep the laptop cool.