New laptop needed - recommendations please

[Wrinkly]

Seems like a lot of gaming laptops suffer heat issues from what I've read here and there. Is that to be expected these days then I guess? Surely not if it gets to the point that BSODs occur without any tinkering to the system? I'm so close to buying https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...-g-sync-i7-8750h-gaming-laptop-lt-254-as.html but a small handful of reviews suggest it BSODs too often. I mean if it did that's certainly an RMA job right?

They all run hot and you do need to tweak to get the best out of them. Not had any BSOD so far on my GL703GS-E5011T. Left AC:Odyssey running for ~1 hour with everything maxed. There has been a few BIOS updates and like many I have installed the Samsung NVME drivers over the default Microsoft. Payed £1499 for it during Black Friday and then added an additional 16GB of ram (~£120) to enable dual channel. I also put the 250GB NVME that it comes with aside as a spare, and installed a 500GB 970 EVO with a copy of W10 PRO 1809.

I felt that with the 1070 there was no need for TB3 as I'd be upgrading the laptop before the 1070 was past its best.

I've not tried it with the Rift yet, but have read that it is VR ready, Rift compatible.

 

[Shoxt3r]

In laptop you should look for Thunderbolt port for future proofing.
That allows using external GPU and basically desktop PC graphics cards.
External GPU would also help with cooling by allowing laptop's cooling system to handle only CPU's heat.

Good call - I've already sidelined that I need a Thunderbolt 3/USB Type C port as a mandatory. I regularly need to top up my phone's battery so this is a handy port to have (surprisingly not many seem to have them as standard, and others have the option but also still have USB 2.0!!). Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to opt for an external GPU as I need the laptop to be as portable as possible - it won't spend any time on a desktop and almost 60% of it's time in a bag! haha.

Agreed Angerer, I'm ideally looking for a laptop with at least a 2 year warranty given the screen problems I had with my Dell.

The PC Specialist Recoil II looks intriguing - I doubt there's plans for Overclockers to stock it though?

 

[Shoxt3r]

There will be a performance increase obviously and also a price increase, I bought my laptop just a couple of days before the 8th gen cpus came out so got a good deal I went for the msi ge72 mvr which als has the 17” screen. No problems with heat and usual noise with fans when gaming

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...-intel-i7-7700hq-gaming-laptop-lt-26a-ms.html

I found the link!

Nicely done! If it was to be a semi-permanent machine I might consider it but unfortunately it's likely to be on the move a lot so I can't justify a 17" screen - it just wouldn't fit on the matchbox-sized tables that are on commuter trains these days (15.6" screen laptops barely even fit!!). Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[EsaT]

Nicely done! If it was to be a semi-permanent machine I might consider it but unfortunately it's likely to be on the move a lot so I can't justify a 17" screen - it just wouldn't fit on the matchbox-sized tables that are on commuter trains these days (15.6" screen laptops barely even fit!!). Thanks for the suggestion!

Already bulk of 17.3" laptop would make carrying it trouble reagrdless if trains had big enough table.
16:9 low screen aspect ratio also makes 15.6" bloated, good old 16:10 15.4" would be more reasonable.
And laptops with super narrow display bezels likely have compromised durability.
There simply isn't way for such anorexic bezel to not weaken structure compared to usual bezel width.

 

[DJ85]

Nicely done! If it was to be a semi-permanent machine I might consider it but unfortunately it's likely to be on the move a lot so I can't justify a 17" screen - it just wouldn't fit on the matchbox-sized tables that are on commuter trains these days (15.6" screen laptops barely even fit!!). Thanks for the suggestion!

I’m used to the whoaaaaas I get when I take it out offshore and it takes up nearly the whole table

 

[Angerer]

I was considering getting the Blade by Razer but whats with the Max-Q Design graphics?

I suppose the option to go eGPU later down the road I suppose.

Is the Blade worth the money?

 

[Shoxt3r]

Already bulk of 17.3" laptop would make carrying it trouble reagrdless if trains had big enough table.
16:9 low screen aspect ratio also makes 15.6" bloated, good old 16:10 15.4" would be more reasonable.
And laptops with super narrow display bezels likely have compromised durability.
There simply isn't way for such anorexic bezel to not weaken structure compared to usual bezel width.

Haha very true! Some of them are huge, both the width and the thickness. True about the thin bezel, I just prefer the look of it but would have to be careful when carrying it around. I will be storing it in a well-padded sleeve inside my rucksack when travelling though so it should be fine. So many laptops have a thicker bezel and to me I find it distracting.

I’m used to the whoaaaaas I get when I take it out offshore and it takes up nearly the whole table

Haha yeah I even remember when I had my Dell Inspiron 7577 that it would raise a few eyebrows in meetings due to it's thickness. As I've said before though it was a perfect laptop apart from the screen's failings.

I was considering getting the Blade by Razer but whats with the Max-Q Design graphics?

I suppose the option to go eGPU later down the road I suppose.

Is the Blade worth the money?

I did look at the Blade but it got slated when it came to cooling performance - that thing like many other modern laptops gets so hot under the hood, as well as heating up the keyboard. Still, I guess heated keyboards are quite good in this wintry weather haha. I don't quite get the difference between the standard and Max-Q graphics cards, I assumed the Max-Q was an upgrade...or is it just a marketing term that actually means they've scrimped on it?

 

[Wrinkly]

I don't quite get the difference between the standard and Max-Q graphics cards, I assumed the Max-Q was an upgrade...or is it just a marketing term that actually means they've scrimped on it?

From what I have read, Max-Q runs ~10-15% slower than non Max-Q while drawing less power, which should result in a cooler quieter system.

 

[Angerer]

From what I have read, Max-Q runs ~10-15% slower than non Max-Q while drawing less power, which should result in a cooler quieter system.

I believe you're right @Wrinkly and at that premium price I'd want the best performance.

Will wait and see what new year brings.

just a quick one, has anyone gamed using 4G via phone hotspot? was looking to have a cheeky game at work every now and then.

cheers

 

[Shoxt3r]

From what I have read, Max-Q runs ~10-15% slower than non Max-Q while drawing less power, which should result in a cooler quieter system.

Ah I see, so it's more about how much power and heat they generate which is why they're a premium....and yet they run slower? haha.

I believe you're right @Wrinkly and at that premium price I'd want the best performance.

Will wait and see what new year brings.

just a quick one, has anyone gamed using 4G via phone hotspot? was looking to have a cheeky game at work every now and then.

cheers

Yes I'm a bit confused by the premium price vs the power as well. Why would you spend more to get less performance....other than to get a cooler system. It seems a little counter intuitive, like you need to spend more to gain full use of the original card's power or something. As the original card or other components in the setup presumably run slower because of the heat anyway, it offers false promises from the off?

I'm with you Angerer, I'm really not impressed by what's on offer at the moment and feel like I need to wait it out until the new models get released. I've been trying to research what's coming up but no one is talking about it yet - I presume it won't be until much later in the year now?

Regarding using 4G hotspot for gaming, I used to do this when I had a poor broadband connection and while playing Lord Of The Rings Online for example, I very quickly (in about an hour or less) burned through several GBs of data. So it works but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have an unlimited data deal, or something ridiculous like 40GB or so which will get you a few hours gaming time a month.


....

I've looked around again at the latest deals but all I have found are Gigabyte's Aero 15W which appears to have hinge build quality and overheating issues (and for the price, only a 1060), and the Asus ROG Strix GL504GS which has a fantastic spec (1070) and often comes bundled with a headset and bag as a bonus...but has a very mediocre battery life at just 4 hours if you're lucky, and that includes watching films!

I think I'm now fairly settled on getting a laptop with a 1070 to future-proof it but there just really isn't the choice out there without paying over the odds in relation to the rest of the specification.

 

[Shoxt3r]

Hi all,

So I've been doing some more research into what Asus currently offer and have got the following comparison table.
What I don't understand is why there are 2 versions of effectively the same laptop on the right. They both have the same core specifications, and yet there is a difference in price of around £600 (at least on a competitor's website).

https://imgur.com/a/tT8PM0j

Any thoughts?

 

[Shoxt3r]

There's so many new laptops coming out soon that I wonder what the price drops will be for the current 1060/1070 models but I guess it's going to be a long time now until we get a new sale across retail for laptops...?

 

[Angerer]

Hi Shoxt3r,

I am still waiting it out as well, as long as it has Thunderport 3 for future eGPU then can even grab a laptop with lower gpu like a 1050ti?

I am also considering Shadowtech game streaming service as a way to keep cost and cooling down.

Lots to consider.

 

[Shoxt3r]

Hi Shoxt3r,

I am still waiting it out as well, as long as it has Thunderport 3 for future eGPU then can even grab a laptop with lower gpu like a 1050ti?

I am also considering Shadowtech game streaming service as a way to keep cost and cooling down.

Lots to consider.

Yeah same here - there just isn't anything in budget that's grabbing my attention at the moment.
If there was a price drop for a 1060 or 1070-based laptop then I might be interested but for now there doesn't seem to be many deals happening.