Gaming laptop for a strategy gamer

[mattb1]

Hi all,

So basically I'm a bit of a computer newbie.

My desktop pc died about 2 years ago and since then i have not really done much gaming. This is something I would like to change.

Mainly I'm a strategy gamer, and so I'm looking for a going pc targeted at strategy games. The last time i player I was playing things like company of heroes 2, start craft 2 etc.

So far I have had a look at a number of laptops and come to the following requirements:

1. Must have intel core i7 quad core.
2. Must have 8gb of ram min (preferably 16gb)
3. Must have both a HDD and SSD
4. Must be a 17 inch screen (or thereabouts)

This has narrowed my choices down but where i get stuck is graphics and the HDD / SSD combo and also brand / best custom place to have this made.

Leading me to my questions which are:

1. Graphics, what is best for strategy gaming?
2. What size HDD / SSD would you recommend?
3. What other components would be best to look out for? (Motherboard? sound card?)
4. Good brands / bad brands?
5. Where would be a good place to get a custom laptop?


My overall budget is not fully fixed but ideally around to £1000 - £1200 mark. Fr this I'm wondering whether to compromise slightly on graphics to get a better SSD (maybe even an SSD laptop only?) of whether to stick with the best graphics.

Your thoughts, opinions and recommendations for a laptop would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Peter450]

Some strategy games can have pretty hefty requirements, latest Company of Heroes/Total War so I'd get the best GPU/CPU combo you can afford. An Asus 702 with a 1060 would be your best bet IMO not many 1060 machines available within that price range, see if you can get a Xmas/Jan sales deal

 

[Delta3D]

MSI GE72 6QD Apache Pro 17.3-Inch Notebook should suit your needs.
It has:
Processor: Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core (2.6GHz)
RAM: 8GB (DDR4 2133MHz)
Hard Drive: 256GB SSD + 1000GB
GPU: 960M

That should be able to run the current strategy games decently well.

 

[MGP]

You can upgrade SSD and RAM later, OK so there would be a cost, but at least you can do it.

You can't upgrade the main components - CPU, GPU, Screen (a couple of laptops claim to have a GPU upgrade route but other threads on here show that isn't reliable).

So buy the best CPU / GPU / Screen combo for your needs, and worry less about the storage if everything else fits. To me that means, for the budget, you want to try and find a 1060 based laptop, rather than the older 9xx GPUs

 

[mattb1]

Thanks all for your replies.

I was predominantly trying to weigh up the need for such high spec graphics
(which overall seems to push up the general price). Although having been out of gaming I'm not so up to speed on the general requirements.

So in essence I am ideally going to look for a laptop with the Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU. Is 1060 good. Are the 1070 and 1080 overkill for strategy?

I am pretty sold on the SSD idea as it makes sense to me why they are faster. What would be a good minimum size to aim for?

Screens - This is not something i have really considered. What should I be looking for? Sizewise I'm thinking of a 17 inch screen minimum as it will really just get used around the house with a few trips out.

Last but not least - Any custom laptop builder recommendations? I wish over clockers did custom laptops!

Overall im in no rush and a fairly flexible budget, just want to find something which will suit and have good longevity (potentially via upgrades).

Cheers,

 

[MGP]

Although the 10xx range of GPUs is more pricey than the 9xx range, they are more powerful and efficient. So you will get much better performance. A bang for your buck thing.

The 1060 will good at powering most games in 1080p resolution with most beauty things on and achieving a reasonable frame rate. Certainly lappy's with a 60GHz screen refresh should be good. Strategy games will probably be less demanding than many of the current FPS type stuff which is what most reviews benchmark on. So on that basis the 970 GPU will also be good albeit that the 970 is a tier below the 1060 that some would rank equivalent to a 980. But actual performance can vary from game to game. It's worth noting that the 9xx series cards in lappys were often "M" versions which were less potent than their desktop equivalents, yet the 10xx series lappy cards are supposed to be quite close in performance to the desktop card, unless they get throttled from heat.

Personally, although there is often something new around the corner, the 1060 seems a good fit for a balanced, sort of future proof lappy. The 9xx series is good tech, but quite a few months older. For a lappy that can't really be upgraded the 1060 is the better buy. Moving up to a 1070 would be nice, but adds a lot more to the budget so it's beyond your current price range, and unless your lappy has a high refresh rate screen - 120GHz, you probably wouldn't see anything even with modern FPS stuff like Battlefield 4.

There will be many reviews on techy sites that list different GPUs and their expected performance on certain games. Check your favourite search engine.

 

[mattb1]

Great, thanks for that!

I shall have a browse around at what seems to be a good option. I may well (definitely will!) post the specs here for a check.

Thanks

 

[mattb1]

Hi,

Having had a look through a fair few laptops I am struggling to decide between the GPU's.

Essentially it comes down to price.

I can get similar spec laptops with the different GPUs for very different prices. The 960m GPUs typically being £400+ cheaper than the 1060.

This has got me thinking as to whether I will really notice the difference. Im not a massive gaming person and had run COHII on my previous desktop with no issues. Im pretty sure the GPU in that would be worse than the 960m.

So, do you think I will really notice a big difference between the two? Or is it simply a case of the 960m not running the games I wish to play?

Cheers

 

[mattb1]

Also, i am thinking that the internet connection may well be the limiting factor for gaming (I live in a rural area) and so getting a higher spec GPU may just be wasted?

 

[mattb1]

Just had a read of this

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Company-of-Heroes-2-Benchmarked.97022.0.html

Obviously this doesn't cover the 960 or 1060 but if the older CPU and GPU's run COH2 i would have thought 960m would be sufficient?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Peter450]

Just had a read of this

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Company-of-Heroes-2-Benchmarked.97022.0.html

Obviously this doesn't cover the 960 or 1060 but if the older CPU and GPU's run COH2 i would have thought 960m would be sufficient?

Thanks for the help.

COH 2 needs a 980 (desktop card) to run at around 60 FPS average in max settings at 1080p

A 960m will be low settings all the way, look at the performance of a 980m in that review at 1080p on top settings and bear in mind those are probably average frame rates so things could drop down an easy 25% + when the action heats up on screen

Look at this way 960m laptops are between £750 & £900 quid

A 970 is between £900 and £1100

And a 1060 is £1200 +

A 970 is around 75% faster than a 960
A 1060 is around 50 % faster than a 970

Yet the cost of going to a 970 from a 960 is not 75% more

Their is also the new 1050ti coming out early 2017 which should be 970 performance levels with much less heat (less fan noise in theory) and power consumption and that will probably be around £1000 to £1200 as well

You can't upgrade a laptop so if your going to be using it for lots of gaming then it's definitely worth getting the 1060 or at an absolute min a 970m/1050ti based system.

Strategy games DO need lots of hardware to run well COH 2 has very very high system requirements (if you want to turn up the settings) just like the original version did and on low settings it looks very basic and worse than the original.

My advice is to get at least a 970m/1050ti but if possible a 1060, if you get a 960 you will wish you spent the 30% extra the second you start gaming on it

I cancelled my order during Black Friday of 965 based HP omen which was 800quid as I felt that once I played a few games I'd regret not getting at least a 970 and the 965 is around 50% better than a 960

 

[mattb1]

Thanks.

That is what i needed to hear!

My main issue was whether the 960m would play COH2 etc. at a good level. Obviously if it will only play at low settings then cite not so good. So thats makes the extra money worthwhile spending.

Ill stick with the 1060 and have a look around.

Thanks again for all input!

Cheers

 

[mattb1]

One question on CPU's

I have seen a fair few laptops with the I5 6600 (i think) processor and the GTX 1060 GPU. Having read a few reviews, admittedly mainly of desktop processors, the I5 6600 is often rated as more than enough for most games.

Is the I5 a good option, or should I stick with I7 only?

Thanks

 

[Peter450]

The I5 6300 is the one I've seen a few laptops using, the main difference to the I7 6700 is clock speed and hyper threading

Don't think many/any games really using that at the moment

Clock speeds are around 10 to 15 better, if you can get an I7 it's better and more future proof but if it's a choice between an I7 970 or a I5 1060 I'd probably go with the faster card

 

[mattb1]

Hi all,

So, I have still not decided on a laptop for strategy gaming. Taking on board the advice of above I have seen the below laptop, and for the price I am very tempted. Could anyone give me thoughts on usability for strategy games (I.E COH2, Total War etc.) as above I don't need to play on high settings, medium would be good though.

Acer Aspire V Nitro VN7-592G

• Intel Core i5-6300HQ Quad Core Processor
• 15.6" Full HD IPS Screen
• Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 128GB SSD + 1000GB HDD
• Dedicated GeForce GTX 960M 4GB Graphics
• USB3 | HDMI | Bluetooth | USB Type C
• Backlit Keyboard
• NH.G7REK.004
• Seen for sale at £700

Thanks

 

[JimboJet]

I wouldn't go for a 960 machine at all. 970m, 980m possibly but a 1060 machine is where you want to be right now imo. You can often find good deals on alienware refurbished machines on the outlet website. I've had 3 machines from them and they've all arrived in "as new" condition. (actually now i think of it, one had a minor dent on the underside which didn't affect anything at all and was purely cosmetic in an area you couldn't see) They still have 1 yr warranty (extendable) so there's little risk and you can save up 30% of some machines.

 

[Joe_Easy]

I wouldn't go for a 960 machine at all. 970m, 980m possibly but a 1060 machine is where you want to be right now imo. You can often find good deals on alienware refurbished machines on the outlet website. I've had 3 machines from them and they've all arrived in "as new" condition. (actually now i think of it, one had a minor dent on the underside which didn't affect anything at all and was purely cosmetic in an area you couldn't see) They still have 1 yr warranty (extendable) so there's little risk and you can save up 30% of some machines.

+1...you're going to be spending a lot of money and laptop graphics don't upgrade...get something that will last you a few years...1060 6gb gfx card in a laptop is a great option and with black Friday coming up, wouldn't surprise me if a few options became available at your price point

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I only play strategy games on my laptop which has a i5 7300HQ, 16GB Ram and a 1050 4GB. Not had any issues running anything tbh......

 

[DiMeo]

I love MSI and always have. They have the most comfortable feel and monster specs usually. GS63VR Stealth Pro-230 is what I have and it’s been amazing. Look at the features compared to Asus ROG Strix GL502VM: http://reviewtech.info/best-gaming-laptop-msi-vs-asus/

 

[davisdavid]

I can't link the online laptop retailer but there's medion eraser x7851 if you Google it for £1149.

7700HQ, 6GB 1060 with gsync, 16gb Ram, 256 ssd and 1tb hdd. You won't find better specs for that price without a sale or b grade / refurbished