"Best" overall laptop

[mattias1172]

Anyone got an idea for what the "best" overall laptop currently out May be? When I say best I mean price vs performance and when I say overall I mean for play AND work. For 5 years now I've been pile driving my MacBook Pro into the ground and I think it's time to retire it for something new and better gaming friendly. I saw the new Asus rog laptop with the 4k screen coming out around September, but with no base price listed I don't want to get my hopes up for it. I've also seen the razor laptops. They look pretty decent. Anyone have any other ideas?

[Enderman]

Only buy a Razer blade for the looks. Price performance is horrible.

Asus ROG notebooks are quite aggressively priced, and have some of the best all round performance. You just need to find the right one that fits your budget and has the parts you want

[mattias1172]

Any idea what the price point on the new Asus gx500 rog laptop coming out May be? Like near $2000 or $3000+ etc?

Been looking at the msi gs60 pro. Anyone got any feedback on it?

Also looking at the gigabyte P35W v2.

[BudgetEngineer]

Any idea what the price point on the new Asus gx500 rog laptop coming out May be? Like near $2000 or $3000+ etc?

Been looking at the msi gs60 pro. Anyone got any feedback on it?

Also looking at the gigabyte P35W v2.

I've been heavily debating the GS60 pro (non-3k version, but with 870m 3gb) and the p35w v2. 6gb vram sounds juicy for the same price but in the end I'm ordering the GS60 tonight because it has a better wireless solution, better build quality, more customer and professional reviews, and m.2 ssd support. I also prefer the port layout with ethernet, two display outputs and one USB 3 all right next to each other.

As for best laptop all around, 15" retina Macbook pro hands down and a desktop for gaming. If it has to be in one system then the Msi GS60 Ghost Pro comes darn close to the target.

[mattias1172]

So for someone who already has an overkill gaming desktop (which I do), you would recommend a the MacBook Pro over the gs60 pro? Don't get me wrong, I am a Mac person, but when it comes for a balance between gaming and work, macs arnt usually in the forefront of it. Especially since the difference for the Mac is a lower tier less VRAM gpu, much less storage, and a $500 more asking price. Plus unless I pardoned the hardrive and ran windows on it, it's got all the incompatibility issues with most games/software out there. What makes it so special besides the retina display?

[BudgetEngineer]

So for someone who already has an overkill gaming desktop (which I do), you would recommend a the MacBook Pro over the gs60 pro? Don't get me wrong, I am a Mac person, but when it comes for a balance between gaming and work, macs arnt usually in the forefront of it. Especially since the difference for the Mac is a lower tier less VRAM gpu, much less storage, and a $500 more asking price. Plus unless I pardoned the hardrive and ran windows on it, it's got all the incompatibility issues with most games/software out there. What makes it so special besides the retina display?

 

I've never used a mac, but a fair number of my friends do and I've seen the advantages.  Excellent battery life, OSX is very well optimized for the hardware it runs on (as it should be), top tier build quality, keyboard and trackpad, guaranteed future support by apple for many years, and it's all around designed for productivity in features and high speed peripherals.  But not gaming.  

 

If you're looking for something to game on when you can't be at your desktop, then I'd recommend something like the GS60 or Gigabyte P35 series.  Windows machines are getting close to being feature competitive with the MBP, very close.  Price for performance in work and gaming the GS60 is the best option right now in my opinion if you're going to be gaming as well.

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

the best overall laptop is still a macbook Pro. when you throw in that you will do a lot of gaming, it makes this untrue, but if you take into account how much of your time is actually gaming, and how much time on your laptop is doing other things, a macbook Pro makes sense. the Iris Pro is enough for casual gaming here and there, and the rest of the laptop is great, except the price, but you get what you pay for.

honorable mention to the Lenovo X1 Carbon IMO

[mattias1172]

Thanks for everyone's help. I've narrowed it down to he msi gs60 pro 3k vs the msi gs70. Both are the same price 2,099.

Gs60 pro:

3k display

Lighter and more portable

3gb gddr5

--better display and more portable

Gs70:

1080p display

3x 128gb ssd

17 inch display

6gb gddr5

--more memory and graphic power but heavier for it.

[BudgetEngineer]

Thanks for everyone's help. I've narrowed it down to he msi gs60 pro 3k vs the msi gs70. Both are the same price 2,099.

Gs60 pro:

3k display

Lighter and more portable

3gb gddr5

--better display and more portable

Gs70:

1080p display

3x 128gb ssd

17 inch display

6gb gddr5

--more memory and graphic power but heavier for it.

Another reason I chose against the 6gb model is because I don't think there's enough memory bandwidth on the 870m to really capitalize on it in gaming. It couldn't hurt but I elected for the portability of the gs60.

[mattias1172]

Another reason I chose against the 6gb model is because I don't think there's enough memory bandwidth on the 870m to really capitalize on it in gaming. It couldn't hurt but I elected for the portability of the gs60.

True, i didn't even consider that.  Figured if they had 6gb of gddr5 they would have the bandwidth for it...Ill have to look into that before i can make a clear choice.  

[mattias1172]

Another reason I chose against the 6gb model is because I don't think there's enough memory bandwidth on the 870m to really capitalize on it in gaming. It couldn't hurt but I elected for the portability of the gs60.

Just thought you may like to know, this is from game-debate.com comparison between the 870m and the 860m. It's there verdict and las minute thoughts on the 870m.

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=2212&gid2=2210&compare=geforce-gtx-860m-2gb-v2-vs-geforce-gtx-870m-6gb

"GeForce GTX 870M 6GB is variant of the high-end mobile graphics card - GeForce GTX 870M 3GB.

In this edition, the frame buffer was doubled to 6GB which will not boost its performance and can be addressed as a gimmick - marketing to lure consumers into paying more for the same product.

Thus, its performance is exactly like the 3GB variant.

GeForce GTX 870M 6GB will only be seen on large notebooks and it needs to be paired with 8GB of RAM and a Strong Quad Core. The card is suited for 1080p and even the most demanding games should run fluently at high settings."