Pick Gaming Laptop Option

[sauronofmordor]

I would like advice on what gaming laptop to get (budget is around $2000, sales tax for me is 7% so before tax total is around $1875)

 

TL;DR here are the links of what I'm looking at:

Lenovo Legion 7 3080ti 12900HX (Note: Certified Refurbished backed by Ebay)

MSI Vector GP66 3080ti 12900H (Notes: Open Box Hassle-Free Returns from Newegg, I love the look of this laptop chassis)

MSI GE66 Raider 3080ti 12700H (Notes: New, Seller does NOT accept returns)

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 3080ti 12900HX (Notes: Used, Seller does NOT accept returns)

(All these have 32gb of RAM  and at least a TB of storage, which I'm happy with)

 

I have two primary use cases for the laptop:

1: D&D/Pathfinder, it will be literally on my lap plugged into the wall while I'm on a couch shoulder to shoulder with other people, it just needs to act as a pdf viewer and web browser to look stuff up for Pathfinder. Typically the fan profile will be set to silent.

2: Gaming with a controller at my home, the host's house after Pathfinder, and also on the go as I travel a bit. Typically I will put a cooling pad on my lap and put the laptop on that pad and game with a controller (I don't really play mouse and keyboard for any game unless it's Minecraft). I usually play big open world games like Cyberpunk, currently I am playing Elden Ring.

 

I also have many miscellaneous secondary uses that are mainly typing and web browsing based including coding

 

 

 

Currently I have the Gigabyte Aero 15x v8, I love this laptop and want a laptop as close to it as possible. Review of my current laptop.

 

List of desires in order:

1: Good touchpad (preferably glass, this will pretty much be my sole mouse input)

2: Good typing keyboard (I prefer clicky/crispy mx-blue type keys)

3: Good display (competently color accurate and 300+ nits of brightness and I'll be happy, I prefer brighter displays over extreme color accuracy)

4: Highest 1% low fps possible (I don't really care about average fps or resolution, if the 1% low on my current laptop was 30fps and the highest fps was 45fps I'd happily play Elden Ring at 720p low settings and keep my current laptop. Unfortunately the 1% low at 720p min settings in Elden Ring is usually around 4fps for my current laptop)

5: Low-pitch and/or quieter fans (not super important unless they are banshee wails though, my current laptop hits over 50dba but it's a low woosh sound so I don't really care.)

 

Things I don't really care about:

• Battery Life
• Resolution
• Refresh Rate
• Energy Consumption/Heat
• Ports
• Storage Beyond 1TB
• Weight
• Minor Wear or Condition (i.e. used/refurbished/open-box)

 

Currently I'm thinking I'm going to get the Legion 7i Gen 7, the only thing that gives me pause is if I don't like the keyboard/touchpad/screen/fan sound the seller does not offer returns, and so I'd have to resell the laptop myself if I hate it (which would probably cost me hundreds of dollars in shipping/platform fees).

 

 

 

[filpo]

1 minute ago, sauronofmordor said:

I would like advice on what gaming laptop to get (budget is around $2000, sales tax for me is 7% so before tax total is around $1875)

 

TL;DR here are the links of what I'm looking at:

Lenovo Legion 7 3080ti 12900HX (Note: Certified Refurbished backed by Ebay)

MSI Vector GP66 3080ti 12900H (Notes: Open Box Hassle-Free Returns from Newegg, I love the look of this laptop chassis)

MSI GE66 Raider 3080ti 12700H (Notes: New, Seller does NOT accept returns)

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 3080ti 12900HX (Notes: Used, Seller does NOT accept returns)

(All these have 32gb of RAM  and at least a TB of storage, which I'm happy with)

 

I have two primary use cases for the laptop:

1: D&D/Pathfinder, it will be literally on my lap plugged into the wall while I'm on a couch shoulder to shoulder with other people, it just needs to act as a pdf viewer and web browser to look stuff up for Pathfinder. Typically the fan profile will be set to silent.

2: Gaming with a controller at my home, the host's house after Pathfinder, and also on the go as I travel a bit. Typically I will put a cooling pad on my lap and put the laptop on that pad and game with a controller (I don't really play mouse and keyboard for any game unless it's Minecraft). I usually play big open world games like Cyberpunk, currently I am playing Elden Ring.

 

I also have many miscellaneous secondary uses that are mainly typing and web browsing based including coding

 

 

 

Currently I have the Gigabyte Aero 15x v8, I love this laptop and want a laptop as close to it as possible. Review of my current laptop.

 

List of desires in order:

1: Good touchpad (preferably glass, this will pretty much be my sole mouse input)

2: Good typing keyboard (I prefer clicky/crispy mx-blue type keys)

3: Good display (competently color accurate and 300+ nits of brightness and I'll be happy, I prefer brighter displays over extreme color accuracy)

4: Highest 1% low fps possible (I don't really care about average fps or resolution, if the 1% low on my current laptop was 30fps and the highest fps was 45fps I'd happily play Elden Ring at 720p low settings and keep my current laptop. Unfortunately the 1% low at 720p min settings in Elden Ring is usually around 4fps for my current laptop)

5: Low-pitch and/or quieter fans (not super important unless they are banshee wails though, my current laptop hits over 50dba but it's a low woosh sound so I don't really care.)

 

Things I don't really care about:

• Battery Life
• Resolution
• Refresh Rate
• Energy Consumption/Heat
• Ports
• Storage Beyond 1TB
• Weight
• Minor Wear or Condition (i.e. used/refurbished/open-box)

 

Currently I'm thinking I'm going to get the Legion 7i Gen 7, the only thing that gives me pause is if I don't like the keyboard/touchpad/screen/fan sound the seller does not offer returns, and so I'd have to resell the laptop myself if I hate it (which would probably cost me hundreds of dollars in shipping/platform fees).

 

 

 

I would get this one MSI Pulse 15 B13VGK-287US Gaming Laptop Intel Core i9-13900H 2.60 GHz 15.6" Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

But this one can really extend your budget (it is 2100 dollars) but has a 4080 gpu and a 12900h MSI Vector GP68HX 12VH-006 Gaming Laptop Intel Core i9-12900H 2.50 GHz 16.0" Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

[sauronofmordor]

2 minutes ago, filpo said:

I would get this one MSI Pulse 15 B13VGK-287US Gaming Laptop Intel Core i9-13900H 2.60 GHz 15.6" Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

But this one can really extend your budget (it is 2100 dollars) but has a 4080 gpu and a 12900h MSI Vector GP68HX 12VH-006 Gaming Laptop Intel Core i9-12900H 2.50 GHz 16.0" Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

How does the VRAM affect performance for the GPU? I went with the 3080ti (laptop) because I wanted it's 16gb of VRAM, typically I keep a laptop for around 5 years before getting a different one so I want to make sure it's as future proof as possible. the 4070 (laptop) as I understand has about equivalent performance to the 3080ti (laptop) but half the VRAM (8gb).

[filpo]

32 minutes ago, sauronofmordor said:

How does the VRAM affect performance for the GPU? I went with the 3080ti (laptop) because I wanted it's 16gb of VRAM, typically I keep a laptop for around 5 years before getting a different one so I want to make sure it's as future proof as possible. the 4070 (laptop) as I understand has about equivalent performance to the 3080ti (laptop) but half the VRAM (8gb).

Unless its some of the newer titles like TLOU part 1 or jedi last survivor you should be alright. Otherwise get the 4080 model that has 12 gigs of vram (it is a bit over your budget but is a good gpu that performs about the same as a desktop 3070 (but with more vram and 40 series features)

[jaslion]

So the msi's overheat with the 12900h

 

The 3080ti is only at best 10% faster and that is IF it is allowed to push it's power envelope.

 

These are all HOTBOXES of laptops and not something I'd recommend you use on your lap whilst gaming at all because these things need no airflow obstructions and get so hot they actually hurt to touch.

 

I'd actually opt for a newer 4070 laptop with a lower end cpu since you don't need the cpu power at all and it will help a ton with heat and battery life as battery with a 12900 is well flat out bad.