Looking For Mid-Range Gaming-Capable Laptop (under or at $1500)

[Boxtop5000]

Hey guys. I'm in the market for a new laptop (preferably one that can handle games) and I'm having a hell of a time deciding on one. Originally I had settled on the Acer Aspire V17 Nitro BE and was willing to deal with its shortcomings, but now I'm not so sure.

Any help would be appreciated.

1. What is your budget?

$1500. Preferably less, but no more than that.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15" or 17". However, considering that I don't plan on traveling extensively with it, the size isn't exactly a concern for me.

3. What screen resolution do you want?

Doesn't matter.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Desktop replacement. It's a long story as to why, but my goal is to find a laptop that's at least in a similar league to my desktop:

AMD Phenom II 965 BE 3.2 GHz
8 GB DDR3 1333 RAM
Radeon 6850HD Video card
1 TB 7200rpm hard drive

5. How much battery life do you need?

Since I'm going to have the laptop plugged in all of the time, battery life isn't a concern.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Yes. Generally, I don't play games at ultimate settings--I tend to turn off stuff like Bloom, AA and AS, Post Processing effects, VSync, and so on, since I don't really notice them, and they just bog things down or make things harder to see--unless I need to. Basically, I'm looking for something that can run games like Borderlands, TF2/CS:GO, Defiance, Warframe, Starbound/Minecraft, Skyrim, etc at reasonable settings. Also maybe newer games like GTA V and Shadow of Mordor when I can afford them.

This is one of the things that is making my choice so difficult; do I shell out for extra power even though I'm mostly likely not going to use it, and in the long run might shorten the life of the laptop due to heat issues, or do I settle for something less knowing that it won't exactly be future proof?

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Websurfing and Youtube viewing mostly, though I would like to use it for occasional editing in Photoshop and Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

I'd like 1 TB, primarily for large games, but if I had to I could probably get by on 500 GB.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

Amazon and Newegg are my two main ones, since I have previous experience with them.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

A few years, maybe one or two.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

I'd like a laptop that has a DVD ROM included with it.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

I don't really care about the brand name of the laptop or the graphics card.

13. What country do you live in?

California, United States

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Two of my biggest concerns are heat and noise. I don't want to deal with heat blowing in my face, or have the laptop overheat while I'm playing games. I know gaming laptops run rather hot under load and as a result don't last as long as other laptops, so I've been trying to find a non-gaming laptop that can still handle some games, but I haven't had any luck.

As far as noise is concerned, I have somewhat sensitive hearing, so I'm likely to find a loud fan irritating after a short while. Plus, on occasions that I do travel, I don't want the fan to be disruptive to anyone around me.

Thanks.

 

[SuicidalCookie]

A bit more money: http/www.amazon.com/G750JS-DS71-17-3-inch-Gaming-GeForce-Graphics/dp/B00IEV85OU

What you want: http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y50/ (Has great specs and preforms well)

Cheap option: http/www.amazon.com/MSI-GE60-Apache-033-15-6-Inch/dp/B00IMTQ44W

I would also recommend the 1TB version of the Lenovo as you wanted at least 1TB

Hope i helped

 

[geekIN]

http/www.amazon.com/ASUS-G751JT-CH71-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B00NVV2B98/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420187441&sr=8-2&keywords=Asus+Rog

check this one.
The demanding games will run just fine as it has the latest tech gpu (900 series// much faster from 800) from nvidia. Heat wont be an isse as it has a heatsink each for the cpu and gpu. It will also last for atleast 2 years.

 

[Boxtop5000]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'll keep these in mind.

What you want: http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y5... (Has great specs and preforms well)

I avoided the Y50 because I've read, that, among other things, the screen is terrible. Is that true?

I've also been considering the MSI GS60 Ghost-470. What do you think?

 

[geekIN]

As per the reviews, they are biased. y50 screen is not terrible but not that great too, however the viewing angles are great.
The MSI one is good but again 800 series gpu.

So I want to know why not consider the one's with 900 series graphics ? It is always better to buy the latest tech available, as in a year or two, they become old. Why I focus on 900 is because it is almost 40% faster than the 800 series cards by all means.

 

[z_4]

Hey if you are interested in custom built Laptop from Xotic PC, have a look a this Model from them.

$1230 - Sager NP8651 - http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8651-clevo-p650se-eta-nov7-p-7690.html
Base config include :
CPU: i7-4710HQ
RAM - 8GB
HDD -1TB
GPU: Nvidia GTX 970M
FullHD Screen, etc.

I'd suggest select this as base. Add OS(+80), get 4K res Screen (+175) and if possible an SSD (+120).
This will be well around your budget.

Hope it helps.

 

[SuicidalCookie]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'll keep these in mind.

What you want: http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y5... (Has great specs and preforms well)

I avoided the Y50 because I've read, that, among other things, the screen is terrible. Is that true?

I've also been considering the MSI GS60 Ghost-470. What do you think?

Know that i look at the MSI Ghost, i think you should go for that, very good specs, would last a long time. And if you have any spare money, you could buy a spare 1080p monitor and hook it up to that, that's what i did when i had a laptop

 

[RiditDo2]

http/www.amazon.com/ASUS-G751JT-CH71-17-3-Inch-Laptop...

check this one.
The demanding games will run just fine as it has the latest tech gpu (900 series// much faster from 800) from nvidia. Heat wont be an isse as it has a heatsink each for the cpu and gpu. It will also last for atleast 2 years.

Go with this. ASUS has the best laptop cooling solutions of any of the gaming laptop manufacturers and you also get a lot of horsepower in this setup for the money.

 

[Boxtop5000]

So I want to know why not consider the one's with 900 series graphics ? It is always better to buy the latest tech available, as in a year or two, they become old. Why I focus on 900 is because it is almost 40% faster than the 800 series cards by all means.

I guess it's because of price, mostly. Plus I actually have a deadline to make the purchase in (this Thursday) so I'm running around in circles here. I'll consider the Asus, though; most of the user reviews say the sound is bad but I plan on wearing headphones anyway.

 

[geekIN]

Well if I were you, I'll definitely go with the Asus coz spending a little more than the budget will not harm if its for the good.
Moreover, you yourself said that you will use heads most of the time so dont let audio bother you on this.

 

[i7Baby]

Brand preferences - Asus, MSI then Lenovo.

If you want fps performance then stick with a 1080p screen - which is plenty for 15in or even 17in.

 

[Carl Li]

Try HP OMEN 15, it has SSD+i7+GTX 860M, mid level gaming laptop, pretty nice card, you can play most games on high settings,
Try the new Alienware 13 inch laptop, sick look and very thin compare to the Alienware 14, it has GTX 860M card as well, and you can buy Alienware Graphic amplifier which allows you to install desktop card and play on your laptop screen.
Also, try MSI GE series, it has GTX860M card too, and around 1200$,