random_soldier

3 hours ago, neurotix said:

Interesting topic. Are Zen 4 mobile chips available yet? If not, you may want to wait for them.

 

I see Costco specials on laptops as they send us a flier monthly, but the last one I saw with Ryzen had the 5650u, but it's 7nm and only 6 cores with a low boost of 4.2GHz.

 

If you aim to play AAA games on it, I'd suggest getting a processor with at least 8 cores/16 thread since that's what the current gaming consoles have, so you want at least that from either Intel or AMD.

 

Graphics wise I'd shoot for top of the line like 4070 minimum.

 

Hope this helps.

Are current gen i7s 8 core/16 thread? Most top of the line stuff usually has an i7 from what I've seen. If you recommend 4070 then it should probably have that.

Also thought I would add that I plan on purchasing in the next month so I can't wait past that.

Whatever I buy, I want to be able to run latest AAA releases at a constant 30 FPS at least on the lowest settings at 1080p at the end of a 5-7 year period after purchase. Is that feasible with a lower end system or am I going to have to buy something more top of the line?

So I just learned that 4050 and anything even with 8 GB VRAM is fairly weak nowadays due to a lack of optimization for any of that. Not technically inclined so thought I would share that.

Hi I had made a thread a while back about a laptop purchase. I have spoilered the details answering pertinent questions about my purchase at the end, since they don't change.

However, I have made a new thread as I was hoping in the past few months prices might have dropped, if just a bit. Just in case recommendations change because of that or some other reason. I plan to complete the purchase some time next month.

Also adding a few details that might further help: I am currently using a 2017 ASUS Strix G15 with an i7 7th gen, Nvidia GTX 1070, 16 GB RAM, 15" 1080p display, 256 GB SSD + 1000 GB HDD, Windows 10 Home. Whatever I buy next I am hoping for equivalent, if not better performance, without breaking the bank.

I have little knowledge of whether AMD or Nvidia is better but assuming the latter, I am hoping to upgrade to an RTX 4000 series and I am linking a few laptops with 4090s as well as 4050s, to demonstrate some of the prices and specs that are available to me. Please help me consider what I should buy.

Some 4090s:

Some 4050s:

Following are details from my original thread:

Thanks and regards.

Hi guys. I had another question in mind. Could you guys comment with regard to the battery swelling, CMOS battery and thermal paste?

Thanks.

3 hours ago, The Pook said:

wait another month or two for more RTX 4000 laptops with Intel 13th gen/"real" AMD 7000 series CPUs to fully launch.  cheapest currently is the MSI Bravo 15.6" with a rebadged last gen AMD CPU + 8GB of RAM + 4050 for $1000. 

Thanks I will check back in about a month on this thread.

Hi I am in the market for a new laptop. Following is a template from laptop forums to help guide the selection process.

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Indefinite. That said, I am not shelling out $10,000+ nor am I paying an extra $1,000 for an extra 10 GB of storage or 1 GB of RAM.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?a. Ultraportable; 10" - 12" screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen Doesn't matter. Primarily for gaming and essentially a portable machine. Whichever offers the best performance is fine for a good price.

3) In which country will you buying this notebook?

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:
b. Dislike:

None in particular. As long as it is good quality.

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

No.

6) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?

Gaming.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Desk. It's mostly a compromise for a gaming desktop as I am not settled enough to keep a huge gaming rig I can only move once very so often.

Will you be playing games on your notebook? (If so, please state which games or types of games?)

Yes. All kinds.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

Doesn't matter. Not familiar with current quality but battery was not good for gaming last I checked and again it's a compromise for a gaming desktop.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebook you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Whichever guarantees I am getting what is advertised. Also to consider, I may have to move countries in a month or two if my contract isn't renewed, so I am not sure if I will have time to make any requests of the manufacturer if things go bad. Also problematic if warrantees and other post purchase services are completely limited to the USA (i.e. nothing outside).

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Chrome OS, etc.

Whichever is offered with the best performance.

12) What ports do you require on your laptop? (ex. MiniDisplayPort or HDMI? Displayport or USB-C w/ DP?)

Not sure. Any help with this one?

Screen Specifics

13) What screen resolution(s) would you prefer? See further below for explanations.

Doesn't matter. I just care about the performance. I doubt anyone is selling gaming laptops below 1080p and I don't care for 4K/8K.

14) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? See further below for explanations.

Matte preferred but not required.

Build Quality and Design

15) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

No.

Notebook Components

16) How much storage space do you need?

Doesn't matter. I doubt anyone is selling below 500 GB and I don't keep too much on my computer at once.

Timing, Warranty and Longevity

17) When do you consider purchasing this laptop?

Immediately.

18) How long do you expect to use this laptop?

If all goes well, about half a decade. I have managed to use my current gaming laptop for about 6 years (with some troubles...).

19) How long could you afford to do without your laptop if it were to fail?

Not long at all.

20) Would you be willing to pay significantly extra for on-site warranty, or would it be acceptable to you to have to ship the laptop to the vendor for repair with perhaps a week or more outage?

If possible, neither. But if I have to choose, the former.

Other: For experience, I'd say to err on the side of caution and consider me a novice. I have had gaming/multimedia laptops twice before. The first had poor quality thermal paste that degraded within two years. The second (current) had it's battery swell up which I had to personally remove by opening it (which I remember being easily removable by design in my first machine) and also it's CMOS battery dried up.

To be clear, I'm not debating whether or not these should be there. I'd simply prefer these and other lifetime limiting issues not be present. Again, not debating that there should not be any. As far as paste is concerned, I know from experience that the manufacturer can definitely provide high quality thermal paste. I'd simply appreciate not having to open up my machine in a market where modularity and right to repair is being limited and it is becoming easier to brick your machine if trying to attempt a repair that can be done but the manufacturer does not provide themselves.

Please let me know if there are any other details I can provide.

Thanks and regards.