Totally confused on buying new gaming laptop

[weasel65]

As stated, it is time to move up from my G551jm but I have to admit I am absolutely confused as to what is best for gaming. I don't play heavy games like witcher, but mostly Trainz and some FPS. My budget is about $1700Cdn which is roughly $1100 USD and I would really like a gtx1060 at least. I have been searching everywhere, easily spending 24 hours total scrolling the internet and reading but finally I had to throw up my hands.

That my wife has no quams with me dumping $1700 on a LT is fantastic!

Thanks for all the feedback.

**I would also prefer a LT that does not run at 85+c playing Rome2 like my 551 does before I repasted and drilled holes into it**

[xeromist]

It depends how portable you need it to be. 17" models are likely to cool better because the chassis has more room for the engineers to fit cooling. On the other end a 15" Max-Q model is going to be portable but hotter/slower because of the cramped chassis and strict noise limit.

[weasel65]

17" is preferred too but my other two Asus have been 15", I don't move around my LT, it just sits on the table. There are so many models, it really is confusing and they all seem to have the same components yet guys discuss A being crappy but B is good when they look the same part wise.

[xeromist]

If it doesn't move you could expand your search to include an All-in-one or compact pre-built machine. You'd likely get better value and performance out of desktop hardware.

As for model comparisons, I don't own any recent machines so I'm not sure I can give you specific advice. In general the more expensive machines will have more custom cooling which could contribute to your A vs B observation. Modern Nvidia based laptops have the same GPU you would find in a desktop but due to the form factor they have a lower power target and less heat dissipation. So they will run slower. Accordingly, a laptop with better cooling and power delivery could run the exact same hardware faster.

Also the "crappy" complaints could be related to something other than pure performance. If the panel selection is poor or the assembly is sloppy it could be annoying to use.

In the US I would use SlickDeals and set an alert for 1060 based laptops but I'm not sure how that would work for Canadians.

Personally, I'm a cheapskate. I prefer to buy used or refurbished outlet/warehouse deals on laptops and just replace them more often. Given that laptops aren't very upgradeable I'd rather save money and keep up with the pace of technology than invest in something bleeding edge and expensive then try to stretch out its usefulness.

[weasel65]

Thanks for your feedback. I already have a desktop which my wife uses but she wants my 551 and to get rid of the DT, even though it has a sweet Asus 2ms monitor but it is old, sata II only. I looked at the list of LT they have on Asus.com and there must be 6 different versions of Asus Strix alone. I was looking on Newegg and they have a refurbished Asus on there but it says "no returns, no refunds" so it could be DOA and TOO BAD BOPPO!

[weasel65]

Ha, I was just talking to my wife and she agreed with you, I should just rebuild my desktop and give her this laptop, currently she sits in the computer room on the DT and I sit in the kitchen on the LT, we would just switch around. And I could probably build a killer gamer for less then $1700 too!

[Matt_Rowen]

There are many here from Asus, MSI and such. Many hit your price point.

Dell seems to deliver the lower cost model but I only note it to budget gamers.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=lp_8588812011_st?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%2113900871%2Cn%3A%212334091011%2C... seems to rank the rest and there you have Asus, MSI, Lenovo.

Be sure to find in depth reviews on the model you go with. Lenovo often has a PWM LCD that can flicker. Not always noticable but for me, I saw it and know to avoid.

PS: My easy pick will asus. It will just stand and deliver