Recommend the best laptop for 1080p gaming, $800 budget, GO!

[Jake Dalay]

My buddy needs a new laptop. His budget is $800 USD.

 

Windows 10, 1080p screen, and dedicated graphics is a must, otherwise, he has no idea what he wants.

His gaming is largely older titles, Starcraft 2, but he needs a little room to work with if something newer catches his eye.

 

I would say I'm looking for the best value for him here as the primary objective.

 

I haven't been in the market for a laptop in some time, so I figured I'd ask for recommendations here while I look around myself.

He isn't very tech savvy, so this device basically has to work out of the box and have enough reliability that he won't be calling me 24/7 lol.

 

Thanks for your help!

[SSOB]

My Choice:

 

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-GeForce-Storage-Windows/dp/B07DV4DFJ2/ref=sr_1_42?dchild=1&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1593649828&refinements=p_36%3A66600-88800%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011&rnid=2257851011&s=computers-intl-ship&sr=1-42

 

 

[Jake Dalay]

That's interesting, but I've just now seen this - would you still recommend your selection @SSOB?

 

https://www.amazon.com/R5-3550H-Processor-Graphics-FX505DT-AH51-Keyboard/dp/B07VBK4SYS/ref=sr_1_31?dchild=1&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1593648612&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A2423841011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011|13580791011|7817224011%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A18107821011|18107822011|3012497011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_36%3A-80000&rnid=2421885011&s=pc&sr=1-31

[SSOB]

1 minute ago, Jake Dalay said:

That's interesting, but I've just now seen this - would you still recommend your selection @SSOB?

 

https://www.amazon.com/R5-3550H-Processor-Graphics-FX505DT-AH51-Keyboard/dp/B07VBK4SYS/ref=sr_1_31?dchild=1&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1593648612&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A2423841011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011|13580791011|7817224011%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A18107821011|18107822011|3012497011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_36%3A-80000&rnid=2421885011&s=pc&sr=1-31

Oh wow you found a steal! I'd get that one, Amazon didnt even show me that one. Weird!! Guess they're doing some crazy tracking or something no idea!

 

Get this one OP!

[Jake Dalay]

@SSOB Scary times, to think they wouldn't show the same results on a similar search. Still, I think it is a good find! If someone here beats it great, but thank you for your help too. Also I found it renewed for $50 less, but not sure my friend will go for that. I'm going to reach out, see what he thinks.

 

Anyone else, if you can beat the above laptop specs or price, thank you very much and I look forward to your suggestions.

[SSOB]

4 minutes ago, Jake Dalay said:

That's interesting, but I've just now seen this - would you still recommend your selection @SSOB?

 

https://www.amazon.com/R5-3550H-Processor-Graphics-FX505DT-AH51-Keyboard/dp/B07VBK4SYS/ref=sr_1_31?dchild=1&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1593648612&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A2423841011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011|13580791011|7817224011%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A18107821011|18107822011|3012497011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_36%3A-80000&rnid=2421885011&s=pc&sr=1-31

Although I will say that the Intel CPU is much faster and that the battery life is better. But the GTX 1650 is so nice :3

 

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-8300H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3550H/m425634vsm718601 

 

[SSOB]

Just now, Jake Dalay said:

@SSOB Scary times, to think they wouldn't show the same results on a similar search. Still, I think it is a good find! If someone here beats it great, but thank you for your help too. Also I found it renewed for $50 less, but not sure my friend will go for that. I'm going to reach out, see what he thinks.

 

Anyone else, if you can beat the above laptop specs or price, thank you very much and I look forward to your suggestions.

Most definitely scary times !!!

[Jake Dalay]

To your point, certainly the processor is inferior. But do you think it will matter for the described workload? I think the GPU is going to be his main issue - when he isn't gaming, he is just streaming video and web browsing. But I've been out of the laptop market so long, and haven't really dug into things yet today, so do you figure the mobile ryzen will be a significant bottleneck for him? I am certain the system will be an overall upgrade (his current system is many many years old) but he's only going to get one device for the next 4-5 years likely so I want it to work out for him.

[5x5]

22 minutes ago, Jake Dalay said:

To your point, certainly the processor is inferior. But do you think it will matter for the described workload? I think the GPU is going to be his main issue - when he isn't gaming, he is just streaming video and web browsing. But I've been out of the laptop market so long, and haven't really dug into things yet today, so do you figure the mobile ryzen will be a significant bottleneck for him? I am certain the system will be an overall upgrade (his current system is many many years old) but he's only going to get one device for the next 4-5 years likely so I want it to work out for him.

Mobile 3000 series are average but for gaming, they're identical to an i5 10300H/9300H. Mobile Ryzen 4000 are far far superior than anything Intel have in the laptop space. The Lenovo Legion 5 with a 4600H and 1650 Ti is about 800-900 and is by far the best value gaming laptop. The HP Omen 15 and Acer Nitro 5, again with the 4600H, are also good value. Shop around but buying intel laptops is a pretty poor decision in 2020 considering Ryzen 4000 models run cooler, quieter, faster and get better battery life due to 7nm efficiency