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If to be or not to be?

Malkavain3
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Hey-oh LTT Forum!

 

I am in a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, I want to move pass the troubles with my old laptop to building a custom gaming PC. In the other, I still need a portable laptop. Now, you might say, "Why don't you just build the system and keep your old laptop?" and I would reply, "I would, but I fear it will completely die on me. It has already shown signs of failure, from the screen fazing to white(probably loose cable or panel(?) going bad), to the HDD making a click noise then the computer freezing... I fear it won't make it to New Year. 

 

I have two solutions to this dilemma of mine. One is to just build an awesome gaming PC and cheap out on the laptop. Simple yet effective. The second is to buy an awesome gaming laptop, and upgrade it(SSD, RAM), as well as adding accessories(Monitors, separate keyboard, mouse, etc.)

 

Thus my questions: 

 

1. What do you recommend I should do?

 

2. What gaming laptop would you recommend if I(or you for that matter) had to buy one?

 

Either buying a gaming laptop or building a computer of my wants(...) comes to about the same price.(~$2000-$2500 USD)

 

Linus had reviewed some laptops like the Gigabyte P34G and the Razer Blade 14 and Pro; out of these I like the P34G the best for Linus' reasons. I like Gigabytes P35K as well, with the hot swap bay, makes it a good option. I have checked out the Lenovo y510p and y410p; both seem good especially with the y510p having an SLI option, except of some complaints about the trackpad and WIFI. Other choices I have looked at are the MSI GE60 and MSI GS70, both seem really nice. The gaming laptop will really be a desktop replacement for most of the year, although I do take an enjoyable trip on vacation in my summer time when I am not in school.

 

My personal requirements in a Gaming laptop are:

1. Must be thin, not super thin, but about to or thinner than my current laptop at about 1.20-1.5 inches(30.5mm to 38.1mm) at the thickest. Definitely not pushing the two inch mark, "that not cool", and not really portable...

2. A screen size of 15.6 inches or 14 inch(396.24mm or 355.60mm). On the GS70(17.3in((439.44mm)), I gave a little on it, because of performance and design. (For the people who may not be use to Imperial measurements; I got your back...hence the mm measures...)

3. Performance to price.

4. Build quality. 

5. 128gb+ SSD, 1080p display...

 

Simple yet prudent requirements, yes?

 

Well, to conclude I will leave you with the parts list if I do do the PC build; if you are curious. I might go with a Black/White theme and might change some parts around, maybe add another graphics card.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23y8r

 

Well, If you got this far I must applaud you... Thanks for your recommendations and feedback in advance! 

 

(Pardon me if I posted this in the wrong forum or did something else... I'm a newbie...  ;)  )

 

 

 

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?" —John Milton, Paradise Lost (X.743–5)

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Build a powerful desktop, and buy a $300 laptop.

[AMD Athlon 64 Mobile 4000+ Socket 754 | Gigabyte GA-K8NS Pro nForce3 | OCZ 2GB DDR PC3200 | Sapphire HD 3850 512MB AGP | 850 Evo | Seasonic 430W | Win XP/10]

 

 

 

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Build a awesome PC and forget about the rest

                                                                                                                                       # -_-     [Planned RIg AKA Project ARES]     -_-#

| AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core | Be Quiet DARK ROCK 2 57.9 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing | Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z  |G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM |Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" SSD | Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB  |Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower|Gelid Solutions Silent 14 PWM 74.5 CFM 140mm x3 |Corsair RM Series 750 Watt ATX/EPS 80PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supply|

|Rosewill RNX-N250PCe | Windows 8  | Acer H236HLbid 23.0" |Corsair Vengeance K70 | 
Corsair Vengeance M65 Wired Laser | STEELSERIES QCK Black|Sennheiser HD 558| Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer         
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Desktop with a cheap ultrabook. The gaming performance will be much better.

Intel 3570k @ 4.4 GHz |Asus Sabertooth Z77 |EVGA GTX 660 Ti FTW |Kingston HyperX Beast 16 Gb DDR3 1866 (2x8Gb)


|Samsung 840 250 GB |Western Digital Green 2TB 2x |Cooler Master 850w 80+ Gold |Custom Water Cooling Loop |Noctua NF-F12 4x
|Noctua NF-A14 3x |Corsair Carbide 500R (White) |Corsair K95 |Razer Mamba |Razer Megalodon |Samsung SyncMaster T220 2x Computer Bucket List   Greatest Thread Ever   WAN Show Drinking Game  GPU Buyers Guide
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Well, I must say thanks for the quick replies. 

 

I am definitely feeling better about going for a nicer built PC. 

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?" —John Milton, Paradise Lost (X.743–5)

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hate to be the guy that says this but....

 

spend ~$1400 on a desktop and get the new Macbook Pro. ive got one and its ridiculously thin. and powerful. not meant for gaming but thats why we have desktops :P

 

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD212LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-25ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5-with-retina-display?afid=p219%7CGOUS&cid=AOS-US-KWG-PLA

Big Bertha3570k @ 4.5GhzASRock Fatal1ty Z777970 DCUII TOP EVGA GTX 780Swiftech H220 w/ NF-F1216GB RAM128GB Kingston HyperX 3K1TB Western Digital Black40GB Western Digital Raptor 10K PeripheralsMionix 3200 MouseCMStorm Quickfire Rapid w/ Cherry MX Blues2 x Dell U2713HM AudioAsus ROG Orion Pro HeadsetSony XB-500AKG K240Bose AE2i​Fiio E10

Samsung Galaxy S45.0" 1920x1080p Super AMOLED screen16GB Storage2600 mAh battery1.9Ghz quad-core Krait CPU2GB RAMCyanogenMod CameraNikon D310018x55mm NIKKOR VR Lens14.2 MP
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hate to be the guy that says this but....

 

spend ~$1400 on a desktop and get the new Macbook Pro. ive got one and its ridiculously thin. and powerful. not meant for gaming but thats why we have desktops :P

 

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD212LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-25ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5-with-retina-display?afid=p219%7CGOUS&cid=AOS-US-KWG-PLA

Haha, yeah you had to be the guy! Guess now all we have to do is to feed you to the sharks? Joking of course :D , your recommendation has been noted. 

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?" —John Milton, Paradise Lost (X.743–5)

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Haha, yeah you had to be the guy! Guess now all we have to do is to feed you to the sharks? Joking of course :D , your recommendation has been noted. 

 

trust me, for $1400 you can get a pretty good system. 

 

oh and might i point out the macbooks screen res.... 2560x1600. ya thats kickass

Big Bertha3570k @ 4.5GhzASRock Fatal1ty Z777970 DCUII TOP EVGA GTX 780Swiftech H220 w/ NF-F1216GB RAM128GB Kingston HyperX 3K1TB Western Digital Black40GB Western Digital Raptor 10K PeripheralsMionix 3200 MouseCMStorm Quickfire Rapid w/ Cherry MX Blues2 x Dell U2713HM AudioAsus ROG Orion Pro HeadsetSony XB-500AKG K240Bose AE2i​Fiio E10

Samsung Galaxy S45.0" 1920x1080p Super AMOLED screen16GB Storage2600 mAh battery1.9Ghz quad-core Krait CPU2GB RAMCyanogenMod CameraNikon D310018x55mm NIKKOR VR Lens14.2 MP
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trust me, for $1400 you can get a pretty good system. 

 

oh and might i point out the macbooks screen res.... 2560x1600. ya thats kickass

Oh yes, indeed. Linus has a build guide video, being it is a bit dated, for $1500... Not bad for a starting building, anyway. 

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?" —John Milton, Paradise Lost (X.743–5)

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Just build the better pc and while i dont really like gigabyte their laptops according to linus are really nice so anything linus recommends is good. also be mindful that with the 240mm aio in the define r4 the spacing between the motherboard and the rad are going to be really close so you cant run push pull and also noctuas 

its GE (pause) TechNicks

my rig plus everything i have bought for it http://pcpartpicker.com/p/30sNV

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Just build the better pc and while i dont really like gigabyte their laptops according to linus are really nice so anything linus recommends is good. also be mindful that with the 240mm aio in the define r4 the spacing between the motherboard and the rad are going to be really close so you cant run push pull and also noctuas 

Yeah, I did read about the Define R4 spacing at the top is a bit tight...So, I might upgrade to the Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 w/ Window. That case should hold a 240mm rad nicely, I do believe, but still keeping the silent factor.

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?" —John Milton, Paradise Lost (X.743–5)

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Spend $1200 on a gaming rig and then the rest on the best Sony Vaio laptop that you can find. You can customise them on Sony's website.

Compatible with Windows 95

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A gaming laptop will likely cost more and offer less performance. The upgrade path is also limited with a laptop. Upgrading your PC will require new GPU, then later down the line the CPU, mobo and RAM. You can likely keep your case, PSU, keyboard, mouse, monitor, soundcard, hard drives. If you want to upgrade a gaming laptop you'll need a new laptop.

 

You could probably build a PC with equal performance to a gaming laptop plus buy a new cheap laptop for a similar cost, maybe a little more. You could also keep your old laptop around until you can afford one to replace it.

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Yeah, I did read about the Define R4 spacing at the top is a bit tight...So, I might upgrade to the Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 w/ Window. That case should hold a 240mm rad nicely, I do believe, but still keeping the silent factor.

very nice choice although the arc midi is still fairly quiet but not to the extent of the others very nice pick though and welcome to the forum

its GE (pause) TechNicks

my rig plus everything i have bought for it http://pcpartpicker.com/p/30sNV

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Build a beast gaming rig(if you turely are going to play games), and buy a chromebook and install ubuntu on it.

The Syndicate

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I'm in the same situation here.

My craptop has like 10 missing keys, 20min batterly life,severe heating issues and the hard drive has signs of failure so I really need to change it.On the other hand,my desktop really needs a new overhaul.The drive is kinda failing, I still have DDR2 RAM,etc.The only thing that's good in my desktop is the 560 I threw in it a few years ago.

I usually spend my vacantions/holidays away, so I need a notebook.

I would get a Surface Pro 2 to use as a laptop but Microsoft doesn't sell them where I live.Same story with the Ativ Book 8.

I'm really afraid of IGPUs now, after what experiences I've had with my current notebook.I just want something that can play League @ 1080p at stable fps

I think I'll end up buying a Sony Flip.

i5 4670k @ 4.2GHz (Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo); ASrock Z87 EXTREME4; 8GB Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3 RAM @ 2133MHz; Asus DirectCU GTX 560; Super Flower Golden King 550 Platinum PSU;1TB Seagate Barracuda;Corsair 200r case. 

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I'm in the same situation here.

My craptop has like 10 missing keys, 20min batterly life,severe heating issues and the hard drive has signs of failure so I really need to change it.On the other hand,my desktop really needs a new overhaul.The drive is kinda failing, I still have DDR2 RAM,etc.The only thing that's good in my desktop is the 560 I threw in it a few years ago.

I usually spend my vacantions/holidays away, so I need a notebook.

I would get a Surface Pro 2 to use as a laptop but Microsoft doesn't sell them where I live.Same story with the Ativ Book 8.

I'm really afraid of IGPUs now, after what experiences I've had with my current notebook.I just want something that can play League @ 1080p at stable fps

I think I'll end up buying a Sony Flip.

You just about quoted a little more than half experience, lol! Only, I am going from Craptop to Desktop with a cheap laptop in tow... Was even looking at the same laptop models as you.  :o

"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?" —John Milton, Paradise Lost (X.743–5)

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You just about quoted a little more than half experience, lol! Only, I am going from Craptop to Desktop with a cheap laptop in tow... Was even looking at the same laptop models as you.  :o

I've met so many people in this situation.

Anyway,I'll just wait for the Sony Flip to release in my country.I'll get a 15" for the GPU,unless Europe decides to make it 30% more expensive(this always happens unfortunately).

Damn Europe.

Last year ultrabooks still cost ALOT.Let's take the last year zenbook(ux31la) for example.Right now,the model with 2 x 128GB SSDs costs 2000$.Same story with pretty much all the other ultrabooks : they're all around the 2000$ mark.

-.-

Time to call my friend in the US...

i5 4670k @ 4.2GHz (Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo); ASrock Z87 EXTREME4; 8GB Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3 RAM @ 2133MHz; Asus DirectCU GTX 560; Super Flower Golden King 550 Platinum PSU;1TB Seagate Barracuda;Corsair 200r case. 

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Desktop, desktop and desktop. Desktop forever. Gaming on a laptop for me was more painful than playing on consoles(hard to believe but it was).

Specs of my PC:

CPU: AMD FX 8350  Motherboard: Gigabyte 990XA UD3  GPU: Gigabyte GTX 770 Windforce 2GB  HDD: WD Green 2TB SSD:  Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD RAM: Corsair 8GB(2X4) PSU: CoolerMaster G650M

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