Recommend me a TOUGH gaming laptop.

[Chronified]

My girlfriend has $5000 budget through a program she's in to get a new laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse and thunderbolt dock.

 

She's REALLY rough on her electronics though, she's been through countless Acer+Toshiba laptops (broken chargers, keys, hinges) and it's only been since I gave her a Thinkpad T540p last year that she's been able to make it last.

Is the Asus "Tuf" series actually Tough?? Should I just recommend her a Lenovo?? Open to recommendations, price isn't really an factor.

+1 if it's pink

+1 for Canadian links

 

**No recommending to buy 2 laptops and keep one for parts as needed, I asked the program if that was an option and it's not

[Chronified]

Currently on the chopping block, as long as it's actually as tough as reviews make it out to be

https://www.newegg.ca/fortress-gray-asus-tuf-gaming-tuf506iv-as76-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834235406
 

She REALLY doesn't need anything more. The most demanding games she plays are Sims 4 and Golf w/ Friends, plus I'd be a little pissy if her laptop was better than my desktoplol

[Guest]

Tuf is mostly a marketing term, actual "tough" laptops are meant more for the military and you sacrifice performance and looks for toughness.

[SupaKomputa]

She's probably have the "Unexplained Linus Syndrome" 

 

No asus TUF is not tough per se. But panasonic Toughbook is true to it's name, also expensive and heavy.

The only thing i could think of is Lenovo thinkpad, but it doesnt' came in pink.

[Chronified]

7 minutes ago, Darpyface said:

Tuf is mostly a marketing term, actual "tough" laptops are meant more for the military and you sacrifice performance and looks for toughness.

I more-so mean "tough" as in longevity for a user, especially with how many $300-$600 Acer+Toshiba laptops she's gone through in the past ~10 years (easily 15+ in the timespan) I'd like to get her something that has a hinge that isn't just going to disintegrate , keys that won't fall out and USB-C charging because she cruises through a laptop charger on that T540p every 3-4 months. 

 

I had a few people recommend I just get her 2x Acer Nitro laptops and keep one for parts, really wish that was an option lol

[Chronified]

2 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

The only thing i could think of is Lenovo thinkpad, but it doesnt' came in pink.

Eh dbrand skins are always a thing, I've always wondered how they affect thermals though

[SupaKomputa]

5 minutes ago, Chronified said:

I more-so mean "tough" as in longevity for a user, especially with how many Acer+Toshiba laptops she's gone through in the past ~10 years (easily 15+ in the timespan) I'd like to get her something that has a hinge that isn't just going to disintegrate , keys that won't fall out and USB-C charging because she cruises through a laptop charger on that T540p every 3-4 months. 

 

I had a few people recommend I just get her 2x Acer Nitro laptops and keep one for parts, really wish that was an option lol

Don't count longevity for gaming laptops, they are hot.

 

5 minutes ago, Chronified said:

Eh dbrand skins are always a thing, I've always wondered how they affect thermals though

Unlike smartphones, laptop skin is barely thick enough to reduce cooling.

As long as the air vents aren't covered, i think you should be good.

[zeusthemoose]

Why not get a protective case that is pink? That way you don’t have to consider color or protectiveness when choosing the laptop. If you choose one where you can’t find a case, you could always get a protective pouch type thing and it just won’t be protected when in use but will be protected all other times. 

[Chronified]

14 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

No asus TUF is not tough per se.

Marketing gimic? Just straight up lies?? They have a bunch of marketing on the website claiming it's gone through a bunch of BS tests to be "tough" lol

Are they at least "stronger than average"?. I don't want to get her a Thinkpad and have her stuck on IGP or needing a graphics dock. The IdeaPad 3 with a 1650 4GB exists, but reviews are TERRIBLE. 

 

[SupaKomputa]

3 minutes ago, Chronified said:

Marketing gimic? Just straight up lies?? They have a bunch of marketing on the website claiming it's gone through a bunch of BS tests to be "tough" lol

Are they at least "stronger than average"?. I don't want to get her a Thinkpad and have her stuck on IGP or needing a graphics dock. The IdeaPad 3 exists, but reviews are TERRIBLE. 

TUF laptop only been around like 3 years maybe, no confirmation on this.

I bet no gamer would even test this feature haha.

 

wait for thinkpad with ryzen 4000, at least it has better igpu than intel.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-first-ThinkPad-with-Ryzen-4000-has-arrived-AMD-much-faster-than-Intel.477477.0.html

 

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Chronified said:

Marketing gimic? Just straight up lies?? They have a bunch of marketing on the website claiming it's gone through a bunch of BS tests to be "tough" lol

Are they at least "stronger than average"?. I don't want to get her a Thinkpad and have her stuck on IGP or needing a graphics dock. The IdeaPad 3 with a 1650 4GB exists, but reviews are TERRIBLE. 

 

These certifications are on most laptops anyways, it's just that they advertise them.

[Kisai]

53 minutes ago, Chronified said:

My girlfriend has $5000 budget through a program she's in to get a new laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse and thunderbolt dock.

 

She's REALLY rough on her electronics though,

 

I hate to say it, but someone who is that hard on electronics should not be using a laptop. Laptops are fragile by design and with the exception of some business laptops designed for field use, no such animal exists. It's only getting worse with ultrabook designs being fragile enough to break the screen if a cat jumps on it.

Quote

In order to earn the TUF Gaming name, these laptops designs must successfully survive a rigorous battery of MIL-STD-810H tests. Test devices are exposed to drops, vibration, humidity, and extreme temperatures to ensure reliability. Dependable even in the harshest conditions, the A17 is more than capable of withstanding the accidental bumps and knocks of everyday life.

 

Note no mention of "klutzes"

 

http://ruggedpcreview.com/2_notebooks.html

Quote

Unfortunately, the term "rugged" is somewhat relative. Manufacturers describe their notebook products as ultra-rugged, rugged, semi-rugged, business-rugged, vehicle-rugged or durable, but there are no hard definitions as to what all that means.

...

There are many different testing standards, and tests can be conducted inhouse or by dedicated independent party testing labs. An often used standard is the MIL-STD-810G created by the United States Department of Defense. It is a very comprehensive document discussing environmental engineering consideration and laboratory testing standards.

 

Note, however, that the MIL-STD-810G does not mandate standards or set minimum goals for the various tests; for the most part it simply describes how testing is to be conducted. This leaves considerable room for interpretation, and it is therefore important for manufacturers of rugged notebooks to provide detailed information on what tests were conducted, how exactly they were conducted, what the results were, and what those results actually mean. The claim that a product is "MIL-STD-810G tested" is not enough, and prospective customers should ask for more detail.

To put it bluntly, all MIL-STD-810x means is that they tested it, not that it survives in a usable condition. In some cases merely surviving in a way that the data can be retrieved may be required.

 

Rugged laptops look like this:

https://www.ruggedpcreview.com/3_notebooks_getac_b360.html

 

Where there is substantial amounts of "armor" (eg plastic/metal) around the edges of the screen and laptop bottom. 

 

They're also expensive to get like this, and likely a lot lower powered for the price, in fact there is a Pro model of the one above:

https://www.getac.com/us/products/laptops/b360-pro/

Quote

Intel® Core™ i7-10710U Processor 1.1 GHz
Max. 4.7 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
– 12MB Intel® Smart Cache

...

Optional NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX1050 4GB
discrete graphic controller

So at least a year if not two behind a more typical business laptop. Not by much, but it's no gaming laptop since it's a 13/14" size. Also costs between 4000 and 5000 euro. So... uh yeah.

 

[Chronified]

15 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

wait for thinkpad with ryzen 4000, at least it has better igpu than intel.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-first-ThinkPad-with-Ryzen-4000-has-arrived-AMD-much-faster-than-Intel.477477.0.html

 

I do want to get her something with dedicated graphics, at least a 1660 Super and 120hz since I'll be yoink'ing it on road-trips and using it myself.

Time to retire that T540p, I've been using it since launch and was half-hoping she'd kill it for me so I'd have an excuse to get a new one too. No luck for me. 

8 minutes ago, Kisai said:

 

I hate to say it, but someone who is that hard on electronics should not be using a laptop.

 

Desktop is not an option, the organization purchasing for her is only willing to go with a laptop, as it needs to be portable for reasons easier not to list. 
 

Hence why a monitor+keyboard+mouse+thunderbolt dock are in the budget, so she can use it just hooked up at a desk whenever possible. 

[Kisai]

6 minutes ago, Chronified said:

Desktop is not an option, the organization purchasing for her is only willing to go with a laptop, as it needs to be portable for reasons easier not to list. 
 

Hence why a monitor+keyboard+mouse+thunderbolt dock are in the budget, so she can use it just hooked up at a desk whenever possible. 

Yeah, however if someone is hard on a laptop, getting them something that is military-use tough might really be overkill. 

 

Like, if a business is paying for it, then the business should be going "yep that sounds reasonable" and just go with whatever you put forward. But if the user breaks the things all the time, then that's a massive productivity loss. I know my office will readily replace a $5000 laptop with a new one, but a user breaking two of them in succession makes people ask questions about if that person should be employed if they just blew through an entire months salary in computer hardware two weeks.

[Chronified]

8 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Yeah, however if someone is hard on a laptop, getting them something that is military-use tough might really be overkill. 

 

Like, if a business is paying for it, then the business should be going "yep that sounds reasonable" and just go with whatever you put forward. But if the user breaks the things all the time, then that's a massive productivity loss. I know my office will readily replace a $5000 laptop with a new one, but a user breaking two of them in succession makes people ask questions about if that person should be employed if they just blew through an entire months salary in computer hardware two weeks.

I guess I'll get into explaining her a bit more.

 

It's not really a business use computer, moreso an organization that promotes her due to a disability.

She competes in the Canadian Special Olympics and gets a bunch of kick-backs from it, this being one of them. Management wants her to get something portable so she can take it with her during testing/training, hence why a desktop is out of the question, but I don't think they'll just shovel out another $5k if she breaks it in 6 months, will likely need to wait 2-3 years for a replacement before asking for a new one .

 

It's not that she's "hard" on her laptops persay, it's that she's a little special and treats them like a 13 year old does; closes the lid kinda hard if she rage-quits a game, slides off the bed onto the carpet once in a while, tosses it in her backpack and forgets its in there then sits down with it on her back, lays in bed while it bends the charger against her leg, weird pressure when opening the hinge etc.... just feels best to get something that'll actually last the 2-3 years.

 

Edit: She doesn't need something "rugged", just something "tough/durable" idk

[SpaceGhostC2C]

 

1 hour ago, Chronified said:

She's REALLY rough on her electronics though, she's been through countless Acer+Toshiba laptops (broken chargers, keys, hinges) and it's only been since I gave her a Thinkpad T540p last year that she's been able to make it last.

 

 

15 minutes ago, Chronified said:

Edit: She doesn't need something "rugged", just something "tough/durable" idk

 

What i would do: get a Thinkpad, get the extended warranty, get the accidental damage coverage.

You can't keep some people from breaking their stuff, but you can get free replacements for them 

[Skipple]

18 minutes ago, Chronified said:

disability

Is this a physical disability? There may be specialised solutions rather that what we traditionally suggest here that may benefit her more.

[Kisai]

2 minutes ago, Chronified said:

 

Edit: She doesn't need something "rugged", just something "tough/durable" idk

Alright then. My suggestion might be to pick something that is lower-down on the performance tier but higher on the build quality (eg no "thin an light" types, no 2-in-1's)  The Panasonic Toughbooks are kinda a mid-tier laptop (8th gen cpu's) but they're available for around $3000-$4000CAD, but really they're a $1200 laptop in a $1500 chassis. These are what you more typically see installed in police cars. You could also try to get a refurbished one which might save money in this case, but will still feel like a 4 year old laptop.

 

Basically, no laptop is designed for the user to abuse it, at best they are designed for field use where they might fall off the back of a truck, or get buried in organic material. The ideal situation, if it's the case that she just doesn't treat equipment well, you might have to go with something like the Panasonic toughbook that has actually been designed for field work over the military-spec stuff. The Asus TUF series are cheaper, and they certainly look more like a regular laptop so I would question any actual "tough" handling ability other than maybe the keyboard mechanically surviving a lot of hard key presses. These laptops would still need screen protectors and likely would need protection for the ports. A docking station is SUPER fragile especially usb-c ones. The USB-C connector will be snapped off and that will be the end of the dock, at like $300 a piece plus the repair to the laptop. This might be where you can compromise, as you don't need to buy the expensive dock and can go with the cheaper third party docks, but you'll still need to make sure the power bricks don't get damaged.

 

If I was in your shoes I would probably hesitate to buy a gaming laptop just on the basis of how easily they're damaged, but anything that has a dGPU in it is either a 15" business laptop or a 15" gaming laptop or better and for that price, I just wouldn't be willing replace them one after the other, so it would likely be in your best interests to maybe get the toughbook or something similar where there is adequate material to prevent damaging it if it falls off a bed or is slammed down. Nothing will really prevent a screen from being damaged if it's slammed hard enough but in many cases a laptop will survive even being stood on by a 125lb teen if the screen is thick enough. 

[Chronified]

19 minutes ago, Skipple said:

Is this a physical disability? There may be specialised solutions rather that what we traditionally suggest here that may benefit her more.

Cognitive disability, physically she's fine. She's got "the aspies" so she's rough on things and doesn't take advice seriously when I tell her to be gentle on her electronics.

20 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

What i would do: get a Thinkpad, get the extended warranty, get the accidental damage coverage.

I'm thinking a Razer Blade 15 (non touch) or something from that Asus TUF series with the same extended warranty and accidental damage coverage. Perhaps purposely damage it under coverage before coverage expires with some high-powered magnets that I use for river-pulling, if it actually lasts that long  that is . 

 

17 minutes ago, Kisai said:

A docking station is SUPER fragile especially usb-c ones. The USB-C connector will be snapped off and that will be the end of the dock, at like $300 a piece plus the repair to the laptop.  

I'd trust her to use a docking station more than to use it as a laptop at home 100% of the time.

She's fine for plugging+unplugging ports, where she's rough on ports is sitting in bed with the charger+ethernet pressed against her leg, bending the port. I've had to re-splice the 50ft RJ45 running to the room a few times since I moved in from this issue. Dock won't be used in bed so port-bending won't be an issue.

 

We're talking someone with cognitive ability around the age of 10-15 so I don't want to treat her like she's 3. She knows how to properly plug+unplug things so I figured docking at the desk would be the best way to make a laptop last.

[Chronified]

She gave a hard-no on a Panosonic Tuffbook, she has friends and doesn't want "to look like a loser" when she goes over, so nothing uglier than a Thinkpad lol

[zeusthemoose]

I think your best bet might be to get good warranty like @SpaceGhostC2C said. I don’t know if it is available in Canada, but I have square trade for my laptop and desktop. It has great reviews and is owned by Allstate, so I trust it even though I haven’t had to use it yet. It seems to cover everything from fall damage to liquid damage to standard failure after the manufacturers warranty is up (or doesn’t apply to the damage). See if you can find something like that and then if it does break, you get a replacement.

[Kisai]

12 minutes ago, Chronified said:

She gave a hard-no on a Panosonic Tuffbook, she has friends and doesn't want "to look like a loser" when she goes over, so nothing uglier than a Thinkpad lol

*chuckle*, say "that's what you will get if the next one doesn't last three years."

 

13 minutes ago, Chronified said:

Cognitive disability, physically she's fine. She's got "the aspies" so she's rough on things and doesn't take advice seriously when I tell her to be gentle on her electronics.

I'm thinking a Razer Blade 15 (non touch) or something from that Asus TUF series with the same extended warranty and accidental damage coverage. Perhaps purposely damage it under coverage before coverage expires with some high-powered magnets that I use for river-pulling, if it actually lasts that long  that is . 

If you can get three years out of it, you'll be fine. I don't realistically expect anyone to hold onto a laptop for 8 years, as those that do typically only get that mileage out of Macbook's and laptops that don't travel.

13 minutes ago, Chronified said:

I'd trust her to use a docking station more than to use it as a laptop at home 100% of the time.

She's fine for plugging+unplugging ports, where she's rough on ports is sitting in bed with the charger+ethernet pressed against her leg, bending the port. I've had to re-splice the 50ft RJ45 running to the room a few times since I moved in from this issue. Dock won't be used in bed so port-bending won't be an issue.

Maybe use WiFi. Another thing is that USB-C can run DP/HDMI+Ethernet+USB Hub, so that saves all the other port wear, but the cheaper models don't do PD while the higher end ones do (usually the manufacturer's works best, but any 120w PD will work on all 14" and smaller laptop, just check what the power brick that comes with it is.) At least if there is only one cable, it's easier to replace/fix than multiple cables.

 

13 minutes ago, Chronified said:

We're talking someone with cognitive ability around the age of 10-15 so I don't want to treat her like she's 3. She knows how to properly plug+unplug things so I figured docking at the desk would be the best way to make a laptop last.

As much as I hate these usb-c docks, these ones can have the USB-C cable replaced easily as they're just USB-C on both ends:

https://www.visiontek.com/visiontek-usb-c-to-usb-c-coaxial-1-meter-cable-m-m.html

 

This is the cheapest one that has PD (eg you don't need the laptop's power supply)

https://www.visiontek.com/vt4500-dual-4k-usb-dock-with-power-delivery.html

The 4800 (60w) and 5000 (85w) are thunderbolt docks and significantly better, but might be overkill and not worth the additional 40 or 80 dollars unless you're connecting 4K monitors.

[Chronified]

3 minutes ago, Kisai said:

I don't realistically expect anyone to hold onto a laptop for 8 years

>stares at my Thinkpad T540p I got at launch in 2013  

Shit, do I ever owe myself a new laptop this xmas lol

 

10 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Maybe use WiFi. Another thing is that USB-C can run DP/HDMI+Ethernet+USB Hub, so that saves all the other port wear, but the cheaper models don't do PD while the higher end ones do (usually the manufacturer's works best, but any 120w PD will work on all 14" and smaller laptop, just check what the power brick that comes with it is.) At least if there is only one cable, it's easier to replace/fix than multiple cables.

 

As much as I hate these usb-c docks, these ones can have the USB-C cable replaced easily as they're just USB-C on both ends:

https://www.visiontek.com/visiontek-usb-c-to-usb-c-coaxial-1-meter-cable-m-m.html

 

This is the cheapest one that has PD (eg you don't need the laptop's power supply)

https://www.visiontek.com/vt4500-dual-4k-usb-dock-with-power-delivery.html

The 4800 (60w) and 5000 (85w) are thunderbolt docks and significantly better, but might be overkill and not worth the additional 40 or 80 dollars unless you're connecting 4K monitors.

I'll recommend that she gets one of the docks you mentioned, although I feel like just keeping the supplied charger at the desk and using a more affordable "dock" (really just need a dongle) without PD would suffice. I'm thinking the one that Linus carries around in his pocket and claims is perfect lol. HDMI, 3x USB, Ethernet are the only requirements for her dock, PD is just a bonus.

 

I'm going to make her use a USB type-c with PD in bed to save the included charger from damage, for whatever laptop I choose (leaning towards the Razer Blade 15 with coverage and get a dbrand skins for it) so leaving the included charger at the desk will work in that situation. 

 

[Lord Vile]

4 hours ago, Darpyface said:

Tuf is mostly a marketing term, actual "tough" laptops are meant more for the military and you sacrifice performance and looks for toughness.

Nah it’s more science applications afaik the military don’t use off the shelf stuff on ops. 

[SupaKomputa]

6 hours ago, Chronified said:

I do want to get her something with dedicated graphics, at least a 1660 Super and 120hz since I'll be yoink'ing it on road-trips and using it myself.

Time to retire that T540p, I've been using it since launch and was half-hoping she'd kill it for me so I'd have an excuse to get a new one too. No luck for me. 

1660 super? sure, but not thinkpad. Or asus zephirus G14. Looks as tough as TUF book. Any Ryzen 4800u cpu.

 

Other idea is to use rugged laptop case, but only for popular laptops like macbook, surface or dell xps.

check out UAG.