The perfect laptop

[TheRFSpark]

Hey guys I'm looking to upgrade from my desktop to a gaming laptop. I'm looking for a gaming laptop 800 to 1300 dollars. I am a youtuber and play a lot of games and I want to be able to play at the best quality possible. One of the biggest thing I would like to have to separate hardrives one for my games and pc and the other for my youtube content. I'm not all the good with laptops so I could use suggestion. I'm hoping AMD will make a gaming laptop soon but yeah. Thanks! Can't wait to see what you guys suggest.

 

[jaguarskx]

On the low end of your budget I recommend the Dell Inspiron 7559. On the high end I recommend the Dell XPS 15... however, adding a 2nd drive may push you over your budget by a little bit.


The Dell Inspiron 7759 is basically one of the least expensive laptops with a nVidia GTX 960m and a Core i5-6300HQ quad core CPU. Below are links to two versions. One has a 1TB hard drive and a 8GB SSD used as a cache for $800. The other has a 256GB M.2 SSD for $760. Everything else is the same.

#1 - You can buy the $800 version and add your own M.2 SATA (not PCIe) SSD of whatever capacity you want. If you want Windows on the SSD, then you need to use cloning software to clone the C: drive on to the SSD and go into the BIOS to change to boot order. If you want a large capacity M.2 SSD, then this is the option to take.

https/www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-2512BLK-Generation-GeForce/dp/B015PYZ0J6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478875019&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+inspiron+15+7559

#2 - You can buy the $760 version and install a 2.5" hard drive. If the 256GB SSD is large enough for you, then this the easiest option since all you need to do is buy the hard drive and install it.

https/www.amazon.com/Dell-15-6-Inch-Quad-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478875019&sr=8-2&keywords=dell+inspiron+15+7559



The Dell XPS 15 has an i5-6300HQ and the GTX 960m as well. It also has a higher quality screen that right out of the box is good enough for photos / graphics where color accuracy is important. The screen has very thing bezels so this 15.6" is actually about the size of a 14" laptop and weighs in at about 4.4lbs vs. around 5.3lbs for the Dell Inspiron 7559. However, it costs $1,200 and it comes with a 1TB hard drive.

http/www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9550-laptop?ST=dell%20xps%2015&dgc=ST&cid=297819&lid=5695354&acd=123098073120560&ven1=sEkin0DOM&ven2=e&ven3=471303134391041693


You should be able to buy a 256GB M.2 SSD for under $100. But just like #1 above, you need to use cloning software if you want to boot from the SSD. If you want something larger than a 256GB SSD, then that will push you over your budget.


There should be several reviews on Youtube for both of these laptops. Also, be aware that Amazon and Dell will charge tax.

 

[TheRFSpark]

I'm looking for a laptop that can hold two separate drives each 1tb for each. Also the 960m isnt better than my gpu I have now

 

[jaguarskx]

If you want something better than a GTX 960m, then you need to increase your budget. I think a laptop with a GTX 1060 sell for at least $1,400. There are laptops with the GTX 970m for around $1,100 - $1,200, but if you already have something equivalent to the GTX 960m, then I don't think it's worth upgrading to a GTX 970m. Upgrading to a laptop with the GTX 1060 is a better option even if it is over your budget since it is basically slightly better than the GTX 980m.

There are 1TB M.2 SSDs, I think they starts at around $275. If you want both drives to be 2.5", then you will likely need to look into 17" laptops since I do not know of any 15.6" laptops with two 2.5" bays.

 

[TheRFSpark]

Yeah I'm running a FX 8320 and r9 280 and 8 gbs of ram with two 1tb hard drives. A 17 in is probably would be nice.

 

[jaguarskx]

In that case forget the GTX 970m. Get a laptop with a GTX 1060 GPU.

I generally do not deal with high end game laptop so I can't really recommend any specific laptop to you. If you are open to a 17" laptop, then perhaps the Asus ROG Strix GL702VM-DB71 for $1,350 will suit your needs. However, it only has one 2.5" bay and a M.2 PCIe slot for additional storage. A second 2.5" bay in 17.3" laptops are likely going the way of the Dodo Bird because of the popularity of M.2 SSDs. They allow for smaller and lighter laptops.

https/www.amazon.com/Asus-GL702VM-DB71-17-3-Inch-i7-6700HQ-7200RPM/dp/B01KB0W4R0

 

[TheRFSpark]

I kinda like that lpatop just sucks that intel and nvida have to make it so much

 

[jaguarskx]

The nVidia's GTX 10 series used in laptops are basically the same chip used in desktop GPU cards with minor tweaks. That represents a huge increase in performance for gaming laptops for not much more than what laptops with the much less powerful GTX 960m cost when they were released.

AMD has been struggling for quite some time. They have a long way to catch to nVidia and Intel has basically caught up to and surpassed AMD when it comes to integrated graphic core performance. Hopefully Zen will be a good enough performance improvement over Piledriver to at least close the distance against Intel's 7th gen CPUs. I think mobile APUs based on Zen are not due until either late 2017 or early 2018.

 

[TheRFSpark]

I might just have to wait till amd releases a gaming laptop