Gaming Laptop recommendation?

nWovance · 16 Apr 2020 at 05:42

Asking for a friend, as I don't own or have never owned a gaming laptop, I lack knowledge in this area.

Considering he's rather large budget(£2400), I'd rather consult you guys n gals.

Things to consider: Thermals/144hz+

Things like large storage mainly secondary, really he's looking for something with raw power & non-melting components.

Thanks.

Minstadave · 16 Apr 2020 at 05:54

Maxed out Zephyrus G14 would be where I'd put my money as portability isn't compromised.

What size is he looking for? That budget allows some high end stuff.

nWovance · 16 Apr 2020 at 06:49

Minstadave said:
Maxed out Zephyrus G14 would be where I'd put my money as portability isn't compromised.

What size is he looking for? That budget allows some high end stuff.

He's looking for 17" preferably, prob would go 15 if he needed to.

philstanbridge · 16 Apr 2020 at 20:27

Seems to be quite a few new laptops coming out shortly, I’ve been looking too and I’m thinking a rtx super and perhaps an i9 in a 17” chassis. There are a few around that price bracket.

MiSJAH · 18 Apr 2020 at 08:12

A Clevo PC70DD2 with 17.3" 144Hz, I7-1085H (5.1Ghz max turbo), 32GB, RTX 2080 Super Max-Q, and 2 x 1TB Samsung EVO Plus would come in just under budget.

Or the following great laptop from Overclockers:

AERO 15 YB-7UK1430SH with 15.6" FHD 144Hz IPS Display, Thin Bezel, Intel i7-10750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Super MAX-Q, 32GB DDR4 2666, 512GB NVMe PCIe, Win10 Home, 2 Year Warranty. This is a beautiful machine.

Rannoch · 18 Apr 2020 at 08:18

Alienware 51m. Full 2070 and it’s upgradable according to Dell. CPU is a desktop version and can also be upgraded.

Rannoch · 18 Apr 2020 at 11:51

Ah, no worries. I have edited my post to be on the safe side.

nWovance · 20 Apr 2020 at 23:04

Really appreciate the help with this peeps, I've passed along everything advised here.

Also conducted my own research, especially on thermals, basically to no avail haha. Not sure how difficult it is to find a true modern higher tier gaming laptop with solid thermals, but maybe that's asking too much for a new skinny bit of kit, personally I would go down the route of tinking with the internals and applying some grizzly ect.

Not too confident on him doing that, so I advised against it.

azza21 · 22 Apr 2020 at 10:46

i would wait until May as loads of new gaming laptops are being released. They will come with the RTX 2080 Super Q max and new 10th gen Intel CPU's. The one that stands out for me at this stage is the Zephyrus S15 gs502lxs version.

Brok · 22 Apr 2020 at 14:21

The days of cool running quiet gaming laptops are gone in my opinion. The last one I had that ran at sensible temps was an ASUS G751YJ with a 970m in it which even now is incredibly quiet even under load. The desire for either thinner laptops (Max-Q) or desktop level components (Max-P + Desktop CPU) means these components are always pushing the thermal envelope for the chassis they are put in.

You have to accept if you want maximum performance its going to come with the associated noise and heat. Yes there are things that can be done to mitigate this but you do have to be comfortable tearing down a very expensive piece of equipment to do it.

azza21 · 22 Apr 2020 at 18:05

Brok said:
The days of cool running quiet gaming laptops are gone in my opinion. The last one I had that ran at sensible temps was an ASUS G751YJ with a 970m in it which even now is incredibly quiet even under load. The desire for either thinner laptops (Max-Q) or desktop level components (Max-P + Desktop CPU) means these components are always pushing the thermal envelope for the chassis they are put in.

You have to accept if you want maximum performance its going to come with the associated noise and heat. Yes there are things that can be done to mitigate this but you do have to be comfortable tearing down a very expensive piece of equipment to do it.

This has also been the problem with gaming laptops, its slowly getting better but as you said they are getting thinner so it is also negating the progress made by smaller chips.

philstanbridge · 28 Apr 2020 at 14:23

Is there a RTX 2080 and a 2080 Max Q or is it one and the same.

Deleted member 66701 · 1 May 2020 at 19:15

philstanbridge said:
Is there a RTX 2080 and a 2080 Max Q or is it one and the same.

Different - a max q is a power limited version of the "full fat version" designed to lower acoustics in thin and light laptops. Slightly lower performance (i.e you'd go 2070 > 2080 max q > 2080).

Alexrose1uk · 1 May 2020 at 20:08

It gets pretty messy actually, Hardware Unboxed's video about the new super chips highlighted that, as there are usually different power variants of the MaxQ ALSO.

Max P is where it's at but can be damn hard to find.

philstanbridge · 2 May 2020 at 08:44

Ive got a 2080 Super laptop on order. But the spec sheet on one site stipulates a 2080 Super max Q and the other a 2080 Super, and the official site just lists the options.

Alexrose1uk · 2 May 2020 at 17:21

Oof, I'd get in touch with the manufacturer then to find out; as I understand the 2080 Super Max P and 2080 Max P arent all that different (the Super basically IS the MAXP with a higher TDP so clocks a bit better from my understanding). The Max Q models however are notably weaker.

When I was looking for my machine, it was a bit of a nightmare to work out what was what without quite a bit of research.

Nvidia really should have gone with a slightly different naming system. Ie 2080-60/70/80/150/180 or similar. At least you'd have been able to work it out. Right now there's about 8 different configurations with almost identical names which is silly.

philstanbridge · 2 May 2020 at 18:31

Yes I had to do a lot of research before making my choice. I like to refresh every couple of years so I give myself plenty of time, and then sell my existing machine on. However my reservation this time was the difference in thermals between the max q and the 2080 super. More so than speed in this case. I don’t mind a bit of noise but I can’t tolerate a constant whirring from the fans as they cool the heat pipes. So it’s a bit of a toss up in an already compromised market, but needs must. I’m not allowed to invest in a desktop due to space saving..

Alexrose1uk · 2 May 2020 at 18:41

You may actually find in some cases the MAX-P variants will run cooler/quieter than the MaxQ variants, simply because the chassis they are part of is typically equipped with much more space and more substantial cooling solutions. The MaxQ chips are often placed into smaller chassis that aren't always that well suited for them, so sometimes run hotter and louder, even with the lower clocks/power requirements.

Mark T · 23 May 2020 at 07:41

OP - did you get a laptop in the end?

I'm actively looking for a mid range 17" with a Ryzen 4000. Has to be upgradable, not fussed about it being slim or pretty to look at. The Asus A17 TUF is almost there...but they have limited the GPU to a 1660 in the 17". That said, if I could find a decent discount off the current £1250 I might go for it.

Alexrose1uk · 23 May 2020 at 07:46

Unfortunately the Ryzen chassis are currently limited to 2060 top. Nvidia are in no rush to certify the higher end stuff, and I suspect many OEMs didn't take an early punt with Ryzen 4000 because of how anaemic Ryzen 3000 mobile was. Hopefully this will improve.

I believe Dell is just releasing a G15 SE that has the Ryzen 4000 mobile CPU and 5600M in it, seems pretty powerful and somewhere between the 2060 and 2070 Max Q so worth looking at.

Gaming Laptop recommendation?

Deleted member 66701

Deleted member 66701