Which gaming laptop to get?

[timf79]

I read through the Toms Gaming Laptop test, but with the new Kaby Lake's I am not sure what to get. Have some thoughts, but would like to foster the community input.

1. What is your budget?
Not relevant, ideally around $2k, but flexible

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6" has to be portable (addition to y gaming PC)

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Would like 4k, but doubt that makes sense at 15.6"

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Portable

5. How much battery life do you need?
Not as important, but 2 hours would be nice for travel

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)?
Yes. Dota 2 (on ultra settings); Civ VI; maybe Steep

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Possible Video editing, basic MS office (but not too important)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
512GB would suffice, but you can not have too much storage

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Ideally BestBuy (ElitePlus member), but open to any

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
As long as possible

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
None

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.
So far had good experience with Asus & Acer, but open to any

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

 

[n3cw4rr10r]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154348&ignorebbr=1

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834234297&ignorebbr=1

 

[ikaz]

Take a look a this one from best buy

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110

 

[misteriosly]

Ideally http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422
Will leave you some $ for peripherals like mouse, latop case/bag and headphones.
With those specs, laptop should be solid for what you are thinking to do.
Except battery time i see no downside in this model.
Im not sure you would want anything higher than 1080p on 15 inches.
Got a laptop 4k@14" sittin next to me, well half of the programs cant scale properly.
You cant fully use 4k@15.6", also it would require a beefier GPU which would probably go out of your budget by a bit, not to mention it would be more heavy for sure.
Saw some 17" laptops similar specs and price, but you wanted 15".
Just to mention, if you travel by foot, get a backpack like:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/thule-enroute-escort-2-laptop-backpack-black/5096201.p?skuId=5096201
OR
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-renegade-rss-laptop-backpack-black-pindot/1398265.p?skuId=1398265#carousel-modal
They look good, feel good and protect your Laptop in the same time, while having additional space for peripherals + something more.
Else if u travel by car, just get a case but definitely for laptops, don't just get a case without laptop department( the pocket specified for laptop having a pad under laptop and reinforced walls/sides).

 

[timf79]

Ideally http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422
Will leave you some $ for peripherals like mouse, latop case/bag and headphones.
With those specs, laptop should be solid for what you are thinking to do.
Except battery time i see no downside in this model.
Im not sure you would want anything higher than 1080p on 15 inches.
Got a laptop 4k@14" sittin next to me, well half of the programs cant scale properly.
You cant fully use 4k@15.6", also it would require a beefier GPU which would probably go out of your budget by a bit, not to mention it would be more heavy for sure.
Saw some 17" laptops similar specs and price, but you wanted 15".
Just to mention, if you travel by foot, get a backpack like:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/thule-enroute-escort-2-laptop-backpack-black/5096201.p?skuId=5096201
OR
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-renegade-rss-laptop-backpack-black-pindot/1398265.p?skuId=1398265#carousel-modal
They look good, feel good and protect your Laptop in the same time, while having additional space for peripherals + something more.
Else if u travel by car, just get a case but definitely for laptops, don't just get a case without laptop department( the pocket specified for laptop having a pad under laptop and reinforced walls/sides).

Thank you for the advice, I already got a backbpack (during a 50% off sale):
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-bandit-ii-laptop-backpack-black/8918153.p?skuId=8918153

I think it essentially comes down to the Asus
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422&ref=199&loc=TnL5HPStwNw&acampID=1&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-a.AiTfH0xJRrX.vTdHvP1Q
or the MSI:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154470&cm_re=dominator_pro-_-34-154-470-_-Product

Is that a correct summary?

 

[EL_MONSTRO]

Ideally http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422
Will leave you some $ for peripherals like mouse, latop case/bag and headphones.
With those specs, laptop should be solid for what you are thinking to do.
Except battery time i see no downside in this model.
Im not sure you would want anything higher than 1080p on 15 inches.
Got a laptop 4k@14" sittin next to me, well half of the programs cant scale properly.
You cant fully use 4k@15.6", also it would require a beefier GPU which would probably go out of your budget by a bit, not to mention it would be more heavy for sure.
Saw some 17" laptops similar specs and price, but you wanted 15".
Just to mention, if you travel by foot, get a backpack like:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/thule-enroute-escort-2-laptop-backpack-black/5096201.p?skuId=5096201
OR
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-renegade-rss-laptop-backpack-black-pindot/1398265.p?skuId=1398265#carousel-modal
They look good, feel good and protect your Laptop in the same time, while having additional space for peripherals + something more.
Else if u travel by car, just get a case but definitely for laptops, don't just get a case without laptop department( the pocket specified for laptop having a pad under laptop and reinforced walls/sides).

Thank you for the advice, I already got a backbpack (during a 50% off sale):
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-bandit-ii-laptop-backpack-black/8918153.p?skuId=8918153

I think it essentially comes down to the Asus
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422&ref=199&loc=TnL5HPStwNw&acampID=1&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-a.AiTfH0xJRrX.vTdHvP1Q
or the MSI:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154470&cm_re=dominator_pro-_-34-154-470-_-Product

Is that a correct summary?

If you want longer battery life, then get the MSI laptop, otherwise the ASUS is lighter

 

[misteriosly]

Ideally http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422
Will leave you some $ for peripherals like mouse, latop case/bag and headphones.
With those specs, laptop should be solid for what you are thinking to do.
Except battery time i see no downside in this model.
Im not sure you would want anything higher than 1080p on 15 inches.
Got a laptop 4k@14" sittin next to me, well half of the programs cant scale properly.
You cant fully use 4k@15.6", also it would require a beefier GPU which would probably go out of your budget by a bit, not to mention it would be more heavy for sure.
Saw some 17" laptops similar specs and price, but you wanted 15".
Just to mention, if you travel by foot, get a backpack like:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/thule-enroute-escort-2-laptop-backpack-black/5096201.p?skuId=5096201
OR
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-renegade-rss-laptop-backpack-black-pindot/1398265.p?skuId=1398265#carousel-modal
They look good, feel good and protect your Laptop in the same time, while having additional space for peripherals + something more.
Else if u travel by car, just get a case but definitely for laptops, don't just get a case without laptop department( the pocket specified for laptop having a pad under laptop and reinforced walls/sides).

Thank you for the advice, I already got a backbpack (during a 50% off sale):
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/ogio-bandit-ii-laptop-backpack-black/8918153.p?skuId=8918153

I think it essentially comes down to the Asus
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-strix-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx1070-1tb-hdd-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5581110.p?skuId=5581110&productCategoryId=pcmcat748301724422&ref=199&loc=TnL5HPStwNw&acampID=1&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-a.AiTfH0xJRrX.vTdHvP1Q
or the MSI:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154470&cm_re=dominator_pro-_-34-154-470-_-Product

Is that a correct summary?

Correct.
Actually MSI is a bit newer model, since its 7th gen i7.
It should come down to how heavy you want it. The price difference is also around 180$.
As for battery, both are gaming laptops and you should avoid thinking they would last more than 25-30 minutes while gaming on battery and 2,5hrs in normal work probably.
Review of MSI model:
http/www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/msi-gt62vr-dominator-pro-1329537/review/3
Asus review:
http/www.anandtech.com/show/10885/the-asus-rog-strix-gl502vs-review-mainstream-gtx-1070/8