Desktop Replacement Recommendations

Mobile Tech Laptops & Netbooks
1

Due to work I travel throughout the year. I also have at least two LAN parties planned for the year. A desktop doesn’t fit my life anymore.

Uses: Playing strategy games and Sims, light video editing and live streaming, light coding with the occasional compile, and running some testing VMs/containers for said code.

What I am looking for:

  • At least a 1070 (MaxQ is OK because they are so quiet) NVIDIA if at all possible because, I own a Shield TV I use for in home game Streaming.

  • Portable, really don’t want to get much heavier than 6bls. I want to be able to fly with it and I don’t check bags.

  • Passable screen, color and contrast are more important to me than resolution.

  • Can hold two drives

  • At least 16GB of ram

  • If Linux will dual boot easily is a major bonus

  • Price, cheaper is obviously better but I understand this won’t be cheap.

  • Easy to upgrade and work on is a bonus

  • Thunderbolt or some way to hook up a GPU Dock would be really nice for future upgrades.

I know it is a lot to ask for but if you guys have any experience and recommendations I would really appreciate it. Tried reading professional reviews but they vary wildly.

I have a Chromebook for light daily travel so I am covered on that.

If you respond with"'get a desktop" you will be ignored since I have already sold my desktop.

2

Here are some recommendations with in-depth reviews

You can also try out the buyers guide on notebookcheck here:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Laptop-Buying-Guide-Tool.13212.0.html

3

My issues here isn’t finding the reviews but the fact they are inconsistent. I am looking for first hand experience.

4

I have some haswell-era first hand experience if you are interested in some. I owned a Clevo P177SM-A for a short while.

1 Like
5

I’ve been pretty happy with my MSI. Its a haswell i7 HQ SKU and some nvidia mobile 800 series I forget. It runs a little hot and the fan is pretty loud but it has always been solid and was cheap for what you got per $. Battery leaves something to be desired but it is a power hungry system.

I have had 0 issues using kali on it the few times I booted it live but I dont keep linux on it. I would imagine it would install fine otherwise.

It sounds to me like you know what you want. I would just get whatever is cheapest with those specs. My brother and I both have been fans of MSI laptops for the sheer performance per $ aspect. They do have their downfalls, like a goofy touchpad and running warmer than most but I dont mind.

6

I’ve had a Lenovo Y910 as my primary rig for 1.5 years now, went with it since it had a HK CPU instead of HQ like most other laptops out there… plus it’s not all too ‘gamey’ on the looks, something I prefer. Other than that it’s pretty standard spec-wise; 2xNVMe + 1 SATA (Windows on 1 SSD, Linux on the 2nd), 4xDDR4 slots, GTX 1070 8 GB, 17’’ 1080p 75Hz and all the ports you might need.
It’s heavy, the battery life is crap, but it’s a desktop replacement after all.

The thing the Lenovo stands out with is its mechanical keyboard, which is a nice touch to a laptop.
The display has an anti-glare film on it, and if you remove it the color contrast is superb, but might void the warranty depending on the retailer.
The cooling fans obviously get loud when playing games, but doesn’t bother when using a headset.
At home I just plug it to a kb and monitor, on the road it’s great if you have a power outlet nearby and a table, not too great on the lap.

2 Likes
7

Doesn’t look like it available in the States. Hmm. Kinda like it.

8

Maybe the Y920 is available, it’s basically the same machine just updated

1 Like
9

I can recommend the Clevo OEM brand of laptops because I’ve bought and used a few over the years. Never really had an issue and they are pretty straightforward if you want to add more ram or storage.

The question becomes who to buy the Clevo from?

Now I’ve bought from Origin PC but in retrospec I paid way too much.

So I’d recommend buying from AVA Direct. This is who I personal would buy the laptop from if I were buying it.

Next is the specs. You want something that is going to last and be portable right?

Are your comfortable with it being 17 inchs? If so this is a good starting base for you to play with:

Clevo 17 inch

17 inchs too big [It would be for me.] Then 15 inchs is next. This is a good starting base:

Clevo 15 inch

I can’t really recommend any other brand of laptops when it comes to gaming cause this is the only brand I’ve owned or used. Hope that helps.

1 Like
10

Notebookcheck.net is a trust-worthy site, whether u want to negate that or not is your decision.

Clevo’s gamer laptops are semi-portable and their keyboards are garbage, so is their construction in most cases. Talking from experience.

11

Be very careful about subtle things.
I have a gigabyte G55w v5. The vent over the heat sink is flimsy plastic and barely lasted a month. The warranty wouldn’t cover it either.
Go for a metal body laptop if you can. But I don’t know if many exist in the high power form factor.

12

The Asus Zepherus, MSI Ghost, Razer Blade and Lenovo Legion seem to fit the bill.

13

I’m one partial to recommend System76 for this. Build the machine you want, 2 or 4 drives, linux or windows, both work great. Worth the money. Been meaning to get an Oryx for a while but have used my money for more worthwhile things.

14

Don’t want to be that guy, but Coffee Lake-H will probably be announced at CES - Unless you’re in a hurry to get a machine now.

15

Overpriced can get the same Clevo elsewhere cheaper

16

Well currently I don’t have anything game.

17

Except you give most of that money to an american company that helps them push the company forward.

18

Sager and AVA are both American companies.

Also want Windows AND Linux installed.

I may just make do with a Chromebook because Coffeelake CPUs with MaxQ GPUs sound like a very attractive combo. CES is less than a month away.

1 Like
19

Though the 15"Clevo @wolfleben suggested has a 1070 MXM card (upgradable) and has thunderbolt. Has a Coffeelake CPU and all the other stuff I want.

It is just a tad heavy. I may settle and go with that.

2 Likes
20

If you want the best performance for the lowest price, Acer has always the best ratio.

It doesn’t matter what site you visit. Acer with the same specs as MSI/Gigabyte/Lenovo will be still cheaper.
However it will be heavier than you would like.

Here is a 15.6" version.