What is a better laptop for a higher price?

[Ayiden]

I been poking around at laptops for about 5 months. I've seen laptops that are decent priced, but when I compare the hardware I have no idea what to look for. Basically I am looking for a high end computer that will be able to do everything in need and more. currently I have about 1800$ give or take from financial aid and the way it is looking come fall I should have around 2500 total giver or take. basically I am looking for a really high end laptop with high end specs, that could right now run the game ark survival evolved or Arma 3 decently. I am looking for something that will last me about 5-6 years and would allow me to be able to dabble into 3D modeling, programming, and virtual machines. I am looking for something that two years down the road isn't going to be a piece of junk. My current desktop which is running a really old amd phenom II processor runs about 3.2 GHz and a I7 that is 2.5 has a higher benchmark then my 3.2 which has me confused, as well as what is classified as a good laptop gpu because on my desktop I have a gtx 970. but in 2-3 years I am going to be moving out of my home town so I need something that has enough performance to replace my desktop when the time comes. I don't care about looks, battery life or anything of the sort I just want raw power. right now with what I am seeing I am lost as there is so much difference and I don't know what is over priced or not. all I am looking for is something I could buy right now, and something better that I could by next semester.

 

[BadActor]

Check out the Sager laptops. They can be configured to use the desktop i7 CPU's and a desktop graphics card (GTX 980) for true desktop performance. Even so, the i7 6700HQ paired with a GTX 970M/980M should allow you to play the games and run the apps you want.

http/www.sagernotebook.com/17-Laptops/

 

[kittle]

as a general rule - laptops for gaming dont last long. For 2 reasons:
1) lack of upgrades. Normally you cant upgrade the CPU or GPU

2) heat and power. Compromises are made to keep power consumption down: lower clockspeeds. and in general your components will run hotter while gaming because there just isnt room to dissipate much heat.

So while you can get a "gaming" laptop that will run current games "okay" or "good" in a year or so it will fall behind, and since you (generally) cannot upgrade the GPU, or the processor, it will just fall further and further behind.

That said -- my last laptop cost me $2,000 USD. it was a Thinkpad T510, and it lasted for 5 years before dying. At the end of its life, it wasnt good for much more than minecraft and web browsing.

I replaced it with a "gaming" laptop this summer. This one is a custom built one from www.pugetsystems.com. It plays my games just fine, comes with a GTX 970m, an I7 and 16GB of ram. But it also cost $3,000. its approaching 1yr old, but my 6yr old desktop easily matches its gaming performance. the only difference is portability.

so if you MUST HAVE portability (ex: taking notes in the classroom), then you can get a laptop, but you will be limited on what you can afford.
But if your just looking for a desktop replacement -- get a desktop. For $2500 you can get a killer desktop system that will last you for years to come. Or you can save some of that and get a lesser priced desktop.

 

[Kenneth1987]

Do you consider about the workstation laptops? As far as I know, workstation is durable and efficient, either MSI or Dell would be a decent choice and based on your budget you can find a suitable one. I just search on Amazon for you, you can take a look.
http/www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D2476517011&field-keywords=workstaion+laptops&rh=n%3A2476517011%2Ck%3Aworkstaion+laptops

 

[velo3100]

For that price a barebone laptops are the best.