Buying a gaming laptop :o

[Zezeri]

Well, it depends on your budget and on what kind of 3d work exactly - maya/max or also Ue4/CE?

 

Apart from that, the machines are generally good, but lack a good GPU, the gt845M is kind of weak.

[marks]

my budget is like, up to £900ish - I'm talking hopefully low-end max/modo photoshop and ue4 stuff

 

17" does seem pretty damn big, 15" would probably suit me better in terms of display size...

[jackophant]

Well... How about this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/156-gigabyte-p35g-ultraforce-gamer-core-i7-8gb-1tb-gtx860m-without-operating-system

 

It's the lower end of Gigabytes P3xx platform, and this comes without an OS, but it's a really good platform imo. has more grunt than the dell you linked and is in the 15" range.

 

I should say that I have the P35W, which is a great build. Just a sensibly put together, no stupid high DPI screens or anything

Edited February 5, 2015 by jackophant

[marks]

Sure that gigabyte looks good, but it has half the RAM of the dell (which I think is a big problem), a faster processor (i7 rather than i5) which I don't think I really need, and its more expensive.

 

So I went to look at some laptops today - I think 17" actually is what I want. 15" is ok but for graphics work I think 17" will be nicer even if it is a little less portable - also fuck UHD screens, who even WANTS a 4k screen on a laptop? Ugh.

 

 

ok so this seems to tick all the boxes for me, any thoughts/advice?
http://www.dabs.com/products/dell-inspiron-7737-core-i7-4510u-16gb-1tb-17-3--fhd-touch-win8-1p-9XMC.html?refs=4294941452-56650000-23-479460000&src=3

Edited February 7, 2015 by marks

[Zezeri]

http://www.dabs.com/products/msi-ge70-2pl-218uk-apache-core-i7-4710hq-12gb-1tb-17-3--windows-8-1-9VK6.html?refs=51220000&src=3

 

This one does have 12 GB RAM and not 16, but it does also have a GT850M instead of a GT750M, which is a lot better. GPU is definitely going to be a laptops bottleneck, not the RAM. 12 GB is plenty and you can still upgrade it. GPUs are not upgradable in Laptops ususally, so this is whats going to slow it down heavily in 2 years. GT850M is still slow, but better than a GT750M at least.

But: Always make sure to google for reviews of your notebook model. There's so many pitfalls with notebooks to watch out for.

[blackdog]

Ye, previous models you looked at had a 84x or something, don't go for a model like 2 years old

[jackophant]

low price / performance / portable

 

when it comes to laptops, you can only have 2 of the above 3 options.

 

The model of laptop I linked has higher end models using 16GB of RAM, so you can always upgrade yourself. The screen isn't UHD, Scan says it's 1200p, but i'll be surprised if it is as mine is 1080p and is the same chasis.

 

You can go the other route and go for a custom build with a company such as utopia: http://www.utopiacomputers.co.uk/?module&id=custom-laptops

 

You choose a chasis and pretty much anything you want in there, but I think these end up being pricier.

 

You just need to know what it is you're willing to settle on and sacrifice. But generally speaking, CPUs and GPUs are soldered onto the motherboard and can't be changed. RAM can be changed, and I would never bother with >1080p laptop screen.

[jackophant]

Pretty dead thread but...

 

HNNNNNNNNNNNNGGG

 

http://www.aorus.com/x7pro.aspx

[blackdog]

Yeah, that's what i wish i could have bought

[Zezeri]

Hmm, I think the asus rog751 (the one you got) is better than this one.

While the aorus is lighter and slimmer and also a faster due to SLI, I'm not a huge fan of Multi GPU.

Asus is better temperature  and noise wise. Plus, the rog751 has a IPS panel.

[blackdog]

Mmh yes, the thinness raises concerns on how much it would heat up, mine doesn't, full stop.

But why against dual gpu? Does that often creates conflicts?

Don't get me wrong, in very happy about my machine, it's just that when I lug it around is annoying and more than that, worries me of something happening.

On more technical aspects, I've registered with Epic the day after U4 became free. Will install the sdk and see how it performs in the next weeks.

[Skybex]

Thought I would revive this thread with my own questions.

Been looking at the Asus rog or the Aorus x7 but the price is a bit steep at 1500£ or so

I don't need a laptop as a dedicated machine but just a replacement for my desktop while I'm on the move. I travel quite a lot and would like to be able to do 3D stuff as well as play some games while I am away. running unreal would be a plus, but something that runs Max/Photoshop as well as games such as civ 5 and of course csgo is the main purpose.

Is the Aorus overkill for this and better buying something cheaper?

edit, portability is the least important of jackophants 3 options

Edited April 2, 2015 by Skybex

[blackdog]

For me, a secondary machine shouldn't cost over 1K. Unless not having budget constrains, in that case I wouldn't compromise.

 

Your interest seems to be in a machine like Marks was looking for a some posts ago, so maybe consider what he was looking for as well, you get the work cut out for you

 

Since you are from London, I wouldn't mind showing you my machine in person, tho I can only show you how it runs some games, I still don't have PS and other productivity software. I'm actually going to be in town tomorrow (i'm planning to visit the Apple Store in Covent Garden) and will be through on my way back monday morning. I could pop in town any other day in between probably, as my gf is working anyway, I haven't made any plan of visiting particular sites or friends yet.

[Skybex]

You got the Asus rog right? Did you pick it up in London or buy online? Any regrets?

And Its not so much budget constraints, more spending that kind of money cannot be taken lightly. I would like to have a future proof machine, but is the extra 500+ worth it? But at the same time if I have something that's obsolete in a year I will regret not spending more.

I can take a look at yours in person, but mostly as an excuse to get out the house and do something.

[blackdog]

Yep the ROG, online order from... Overclockers or something like that, have to check. It's a British shop anyway, from Nottingham i think.

 

No regrets, I'm happy of how it's running stuff.

 

I'll PM you.