Thinking about buying a gaming laptop, am I unhinged?

Barry_4

Estimable
Dec 10, 2015
2
0
4,510
I've been a desktop snub for as long as I can remember. Now I'm actually thinking about buying a gaming laptop, I'm concerned for my own sanity.

The reason for this is I'm moving to NYC for a new job while my family continues to stay in Chicago. I plan to fly back on the weekends. A laptop will obviously save some space in my tiny NYC apartment (although not sure how much, desktop can also be pretty slim). I will need a laptop to do some work while in transit at the airport or on the plane obviously, I will likely get a company-issued laptop for that though.

Would a gaming laptop make sense in this situation or am I crazy to consider this? Gaming on 15" screen kind of sucks though, and they tend to be bulky.
 
I would rather build a small gaming PC, use it for a home theater, get a nice TV to use as a monitor as well, that saves on space and your media/entertainment gaming, and use the work laptop for airplane stuff.

Sitting with a 20lb monster gaming sli laptop putting out 20,000 BTU's of heat in your laptop isn't really "fun" for gaming anyways. Gaming laptops shouldn't have the work "lap" in there. lol. Add the 1 or so hours of true full out performance you get.

My opinion anyways.
 

James Mason

Honorable
Jan 2, 2014
106
0
10,710
Gaming laptops are "expensive" (1200-2000) but you get one that can play games for only about $800 or so.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?sdtid=8313979&SID=9ed3ee409faa11e5b61bf2cb02b443550INT&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16834232848&cm_sp=

There are too many to list really.
 

My Life Is Tech

Estimable
Apr 23, 2014
59
1
4,590
I've had an Asus ROG G73JH for a long while now, sure it's five years old, but it still runs great and is capable of quite a few modern games. (Maybe not so much for FPS, but I don't really play those.) Battery life sucks though,(1 hr 15 min if you're lucky) and if not maintained and repasted often enough it will easily overheat. It's about 8.6 pounds and can be found on Ebay for about $400 to $600. Handles 1080p YouTube videos fine. I wouldn't go 4k or anything above 1080p though.

My specs:

Intel Core i7 720QM Quad-core, 1.7 GHz to 2.8 GHz Turbo Boost

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1 GB VRAM 800 MHz Core Clock, 1000 MHz Memory, I don't usually get 60 FPS, but I'm not spoiled so I can live with that. I can typically play on almost max settings though. (At 720p, 1080p will of course be even less.)

8 GB RAM PC3-10700 (667 MHz) DDR3

1600 x 900 resolution, I never really play above 720p, I'm not spoiled. (Plus I'm used to vintage gaming, you didn't used to have 720p.)

My temps can get pretty high under load, about 80c-84c on the CPU, and about 83c-87c on the GPU with Antec Formula 7 Nano-Diamond thermal compound. But it's typically on a hard surface, not on my lap. And if the heat bothers you, just get a portable keyboard and mouse, plug 'em in and there you go.

My idle temp is usually about 45c-55c on the CPU and 60c on the GPU. Depends on the external temperature of the room though.
 

Barry_4

Estimable
Dec 10, 2015
2
0
4,510


Wow man, this doesn't sound very good.

 

Nonpossible

Estimable
Jan 3, 2015
7
0
4,510

I went with a laptop when I was still in the Marines because I needed something mobile for flying all over the place and it was really handy for a little while. Now the laptop is 2 years old and it still runs well but it has left me wanting more. Don't get me wrong, it still runs games pretty well but once your GPU isn't up to today's standards you will wish you had a desktop that you could just update.

So I guess I'm not totally against gaming laptops, they make sense for people like us who have to travel a lot.
 

My Life Is Tech

Estimable
Apr 23, 2014
59
1
4,590


If you're referring to the temperatures, that's to be expected, gaming laptops always run hot, that's just their nature. If it's the performance, I can understand that for the latest high-end and demanding games, but it's always been great for me. I use it every day as my primary PC, though I don't play that many games. It's alright if you're willing to work with the repasting every once in a while and a bit weaker performance than new laptops. It's been fine on 720p. I really don't see much sense in going over 720p but that's just me. I don't get anything out of any higher resolution except less speed.

By all means search around, if this isn't your rig I'm sure you'll find something much better.

P.S. Also I would suggest for you to browse around on game-debate. It's a site that allows you to compare your PC's specifications to game-specific system requirements, including minimum and recommended. With a free account it allows you to view an estimated FPS for a specific configuration and screen resolution.

EDIT
What kind of performance(e.g. specs, playable games, etc.) are you looking for in a laptop, and can you provide an estimated budget? I might be able to help you find something you'll like. Also, a lot of gaming laptops have a 17" screen, and average about 6-12 pounds.