Good day, I’m looking for a gaming/work laptop.
For gaming I’d like to run 4K or scaled lower resolution to run games GuildWars 2 type.
As for work, I’d like somewhat of a portable solution, that can run linux, preferably without many driver issues, perfect case would be good overall driver compatibility, a good quality screen, as I spend a lot of my time at the computer.
Requirements:
Near 30 FPS GuildWars 2 running at 4K
SSD for OS and HDD for storage ( can have at least two storage units, can be m.2)
Thunderbolt 3 compatible, 3.1 USB type-C
Can run external 4K monitor (hence ^)
At least i67… preferably HK, no U’s!
Upgradable to at least 16 GB ram
Would be nice:
4k no glare Screen ( opinions on touch?)
Strong screen hinge, as I would move it a lot
Not a cluster fuck
Works well (or perfectly) with linux
What I’ve looked at :
Alienware - meh… looks cool, but clunky and expensive. The specs and dell graphics card extension has cough my eye well, considering it somewhat (I’m ashamed). If I bought this, I’d buy the nvidia 980 graphics, 4k touch screen but everything the cheapest, as the upgradable parts are WAAAAY overpriced.
Dell XPS 15 9550 - Looks a like a well portable solution, decent graphics, a favorite solution, not made for gaming, though.
GIGABYTE P37Xv5-SL4K1 - Still little to no clue on this.
MSI GE62 Apache Pro-004 15,6" OR GE62 6QE Apache Pro - Heard bad about MSI laptops
ASUS ROG G752VT-DH74 - clusterfuck, but worth looking at.
Borderline thoughts:
Get a portable solution that supports 4k external screen (for work) and use it for some on road gaming and a stationary PC for gaming.
Alienware with graphics card extension - cool and overpriced solution, fits my needs with a little bit more weight than I’d like.
Well I average 50 fps on Witcher 3 @4K with a single GTX980, and easily run GW2 @4K so maybe something from this list? Anything with at least a 980 is going to go close - but I dont have first hand comparison between a gtx980 desktop vs laptop gpu
Id say you probably want to look at the GT72S Dragon. It's pretty pricey, but it'll do what you want. I don't know exactly how demanding guild wars 2 is, but i'd imagine a 970m won't cut it...you might be able to knock off $600 going with a 980m.
The biggest drawback on this machine (I have the GS70 Ghost) is the built in keyboard, it's mushy and the ~ key is bigger than normal, which offsets the entire number row. I type my password a LOT, and this has been a pretty big PITA for work. If I'm demoing something and end up having to login, or if I'm working from a restaurant while on call it has been an annoyance. Other than that though, I've had nothing but love for my machine. I use a external keyboard 99% of the time, so it hasn't been too big of an issue.
The other deal is that laptop is 17" and heavy. It weighs in at just over 8lbs, and if you haven't owned a 17" laptop in a while, it's kinda ridiculously large.
@Vandal85 They do differ in performance and power consumption / heat output. Sadly, the article is outdated and does not include high end laptops @reikoshea did you mean g60 ghost or g70 stealth? Anyway, the dominator is a bit overkill, if I wasn't taking the laptop with my quite often... I assume a GTX980m would suffice in my situation. The keyboard would be hard for getting used to for me as well, as the key layout looks pretty darn inconvenient due to the arrow key and ~ placement. With that price, I would be able to go for Alienware + graphics amp or Razor + their extender, and it would end up cheaper.
Edit: Oh and how's driver and IO compatibility on linux?
Edit2: This seems like a perfect choice for me, anyone know anything about this Gigabyte product?
Sorry, GS70 Stealth (I wish the thin and "light" stuff would all use the same descriptor)
As for linux compatability, I use ubuntu on mine nearly 100% of the time. When I first got it I played wow 3 times a week, but have since stopped raiding. The biggest down side is going to be killer wireless. It works on linux don't get me wrong but it did take a lot of fiddling. Atheros drivers just aren't as reliable as intel wireless. Additionally flipping between dedicated and on-board graphics has been a little wonky. Bumblebee has been working...but there's still some tearing in youtube at 4k on my 970m. With the monitor set to intel graphics, I can easily run 9+ workspaces in 4k (mostly terminals, and a couple browser windows) in i3 dm, but full screen video playback is shaky.
The only reason I was suggesting a Desktop 980 is because you said guild wars at 4k 30fps. My 980Ti in my home desktop struggles with some games at 4k and others it just destroys. I was putting Guild Wars at more demanding than WoW and Source games, and less demanding than Shadows of Mordor when I recommended the desktop 980. Since I don't know what that game would require I definitely might have been going overkill...hence my CYA about saving money on a 980m.
Ah, I heard the killer wireless even has some devices that are not supported at all on linux. I assume changing the wireless driver is possible? Anyhow, a dongle wouldn't be too much problem for me, but still inconvenience is inconvenience...