Solved! Question about Laptop choices

ezeron

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Nov 21, 2013
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10,510
Hi there, some advice would be wonderful.
Goal: Be satisfied with a laptop that will be my primary computer for years to come.
Currently I have a Early 2011 MBP with the dual core i5 running at 2.3 ghz with 4 gb of ram. For school purposes and general use it does the job. I've looked into possible upgrades for this laptop and it seems like all that could be done is pump the ram up to 16gb and replace the HDD with an SSD. My first question is would these upgrades suffice for my goals?

Primarily what I want to be able to do with it is everything from everyday general use to light gaming, but the main goal is to be able to record speedruns(particularity older consoles like NES, SNES, n64, GB etc.) via OBS and perhaps stream later in the future. As far as the gaming capabilities, as long as it outperforms my current PC by a noticeable margin is the goal.

My current pc that I will no longer be using as much specs are as follows:
Gtx 770 2gb
i5 3750k
8 gb ram

I haven't done much research as of yet on certain products, but what I want is a lightweightish slimish laptop that is strong(powerful i7 processor), respectable enough GPU, hefty amount of ram, hdd, ssd and 15 inch screen. Budget shouldn't be an issue as long as it's not freakishly expensive(well over 3-4k canadian)
What I have looked up so far were some of the i7 surface books, this Gigabyte laptop https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834233181 and a few other "gaming" laptops.

My question is will I be satisfied with the quality of this old MBP for my purposes or would it be better to invest in a power laptop that I wont have to worry about in the near future.

Thank you and sorry for the block of text. I just wanted to give you guys enough info to stir some good discussion and recommendations. I look forward to discussion and your responses. Cheers.
 
Solution
With an old laptop it could be done, but a new laptop will outperform it easily. A gaming laptop with nvidia GPU will also have built-in streaming and recording software which works very good and doesn't put much strain on the system. All gaming laptops have (or should have) an i7 CPU.

There are many gaming laptops out there that are good for what you describe, however you don't mention what resolution you are aiming for. Most laptops will come with a 1080p screen and that will be fine for gaming, streaming, etc. if equipped with a gtx 1060 6gb.

If you want to do it at 4k however, it will cost a bit more, maybe over your budget. You will have to consider at least 1 gtx 1080 for 4k gaming, some laptops can have 2 in sli, though i don't...

bootcher

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Feb 22, 2013
178
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10,910
With an old laptop it could be done, but a new laptop will outperform it easily. A gaming laptop with nvidia GPU will also have built-in streaming and recording software which works very good and doesn't put much strain on the system. All gaming laptops have (or should have) an i7 CPU.

There are many gaming laptops out there that are good for what you describe, however you don't mention what resolution you are aiming for. Most laptops will come with a 1080p screen and that will be fine for gaming, streaming, etc. if equipped with a gtx 1060 6gb.

If you want to do it at 4k however, it will cost a bit more, maybe over your budget. You will have to consider at least 1 gtx 1080 for 4k gaming, some laptops can have 2 in sli, though i don't think you can get those in 15".

Decent/good gaming laptop brands are MSI, Asus with their ROG series, Sager/Clevo, Dell with its Alienware line, Acer with their Nitro, Razer. I think Gigabyte's laptops are made by sager/clevo, not sure though.
 
Solution

ezeron

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Nov 21, 2013
9
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10,510


Hey, thanks for the reply.

1080p would be perfect. Do you have any ideas of laptops that fit the criteria of lightweight ish 15 inch 1070 1060 gtx builds?

https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP8157.html perhaps?
 

ezeron

Honorable
Nov 21, 2013
9
0
10,510


Thanks again for the replys.
Switching gears a bit, any advice on powerful laptops disregarding to use for gaming? Hp spectre x360 or dell xps 13 for example.
I've changed my thought process a tad thinking that I will continue to just use my desktop for gaming.

 

bootcher

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Feb 22, 2013
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There are more workstation/business oriented laptops available, in many configurations. All brands have their business/performance oriented laptops such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, etc. If only for this purpose you should look for what you find important, eg size, resolution, SSD/disk configuration, software, etc. If only criteria is (CPU) performance and not gaming basically any laptop with an i7, SSD and 16gb of ram will do.
 

ezeron

Honorable
Nov 21, 2013
9
0
10,510
I think I've decided on the xps 15 9560 with i7-7700hq, 16 gb ram, gtx 1050 and 512ssd. I just have one question you could perhaps answer. The laptop I'm looking at, the 9560 has the 1050, and last years model, the 9550 has the 960m, how are these two cards comparable performance wise and if the 960m is better would it be worth it for me to get the older model? Thanks
 

ezeron

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Nov 21, 2013
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10,510
I'm having trouble finding a laptop with these specs, i7 7700hq, 16gb of ram and 512gb ssd in a slim notebook build. I don't really care about the gpu as this point as I would use my desktop for gaming. Know of any laptops that fit this bill? Thanks