Computer Gaming Geeks - Laptops?

[mmmmm...beer 790]

So Guardian Mmmmm...beer in the Space Force is graduating his basic in a couple weeks.  He said he knows it's a big ask but he'd like to be able to game with friends and family back home. This rig below should cover him for awhile right? It's either this or buy 3 cheaper "gaming" laptops in the next 3-4 years?  I guess case in point when I was getting sent all over the country a couple years ago I bought a cheap "gaming" laptop for $400 and it literally bricked in less than 6 months.  He's getting paid now, so I think I'd be willing to go half on this.

Anyway... I've kicked around getting the below because right now it's a smoking deal.  The specs seem like it'll last awhile.  I know their could be some good deals coming up for Black Friday, but I think he's going to want something quite a bit sooner than the end of November.

What do you guys think?

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-5-series/legion-5-pro-gen-7-(16-inch-amd)/82rg001jus

Legion 5 Pro Gen 7 AMD (16”) with RTX 3070 Ti
Part Number: 82RG001JUS

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System Specs:
•    Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX Processor (3.30 GHz up to 4.90 GHz)
•    Operating System: Windows 11 Home 64
•    Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 3070 Ti Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6
•    Memory: 32 GB DDR5-4800MHz (SODIMM) - (2 x 16 GB)
•    Storage: 2 TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 TLC (2 x 1 TB)
•    Display: 16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, HDR400, 100%sRGB, 500 nits, 165Hz, LED Backlight, Narrow Bezel, Low Blue Light
•    Camera: 720P Slim HD with Electronic Privacy Shutter
•    Keyboard: 4zone RGB Backlit, Storm Grey - English (US)
•    WLAN: Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 AX & Bluetooth® 5.1 or above
•    Warranty: 1 Year Courier or Carry-in

[mmmmm...beer 790]

Or... for half the price does a guy just buy him a Steam Deck?

Though the PC would also help him with school, as I've been hinting around he should think about starting his AA once he's out on the side as they provide it for free.

[Cloaca du jour 2,147]

Get a desktop...laptops overheat...they used to anyway...a desktop you can add screens etc.

[craftsman 1,045]

2 minutes ago, Cloaca du jour said:

Get a desktop...laptops overheat...they used to anyway...a desktop you can add screens etc.

I agree with this. You can get all types of towers with different cooling options and easily upgrade and exchange. That is really what you want for computer gaming I would think.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

2 minutes ago, craftsman said:

I agree with this. You can get all types of towers with different cooling options and easily upgrade and exchange. That is really what you want for computer gaming I would think.

Yeah we've built our own gaming desktops the last few machines.  I think he's thinking he'll be in the barracks as he's a single guy and with TDY's out of country and all over the US something he can take with him probably makes more sense at this point.  Once he's out and established well sure.  We had a lot of fun getting everything together and putting it all together last time.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

So looking at them... right now I'm leaning on just buying him a Steam Deck and getting him a decent starting laptop for school etc.

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

[craftsman 1,045]

52 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

So looking at them... right now I'm leaning on just buying him a Steam Deck and getting him a decent starting laptop for school etc.

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

Nice.

[Cloaca du jour 2,147]

1 hour ago, mmmmm...beer said:

So looking at them... right now I'm leaning on just buying him a Steam Deck and getting him a decent starting laptop for school etc.

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

Check the reviews...all im sayin.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

3 hours ago, mmmmm...beer said:

So looking at them... right now I'm leaning on just buying him a Steam Deck and getting him a decent starting laptop for school etc.

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

 

I have 3 gaming laptops(including a lenova legion) and will never go back to a desktop. I travel a ton, 2 times a year to denver, 2 times to el paso every year and we will mix in albequerque. The reason I mention this is because my kids and I game with all of my relatives.

Gaming laptops are awesome, and you do not need to get him what you have in your OP.

I can help research this and provide brand recommendations. I currently have an MSI, ASUS, and Lenova as my 3 gaming laptops and the brands have their pro/cons in different lineups. My video cards are 2080, 3060, and 3050 in my 3 gaming laptops.

I know steam deck is good, but having a full blown portable gaming computer is probably better for most gamers.

 

What games does he play and do you really need to go high end?  You should be able to get a 3060 for half that price, which is what i would recommend looking at.

 

 

[mmmmm...beer 790]

1 hour ago, MTSkiBum said:

 

I have 3 gaming laptops(including a lenova legion) and will never go back to a desktop. I travel a ton, 2 times a year to denver, 2 times to el paso every year and we will mix in albequerque. The reason I mention this is because my kids and I game with all of my relatives.

Gaming laptops are awesome, and you do not need to get him what you have in your OP.

I can help research this and provide brand recommendations. I currently have an MSI, ASUS, and Lenova as my 3 gaming laptops and the brands have their pro/cons in different lineups. My video cards are 2080, 3060, and 3050 in my 3 gaming laptops.

I know steam deck is good, but having a full blown portable gaming computer is probably better for most gamers.

 

What games does he play and do you really need to go high end?  You should be able to get a 3060 for half that price, which is what i would recommend looking at.

 

 

Yeah after contemplating for a bit today I agree with you.  I don't think he plays anything that needs ultra settings.

This  is the Acer with the 3060 for what looks like a good price.  I was looking at that prior to going off the rails with the redic expensive one.

https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/756619

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

8 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

Yeah after contemplating for a bit today I agree with you.  I don't think he plays anything that needs ultra settings.

This  is the Acer with the 3060 for what looks like a good price.  I was looking at that prior to going off the rails with the redic expensive one.

https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/756619

Acer and a lesser extent lenova are good budget pc's, however they do not feel as sturdy when you travel with them. The hinges feel sturdier on a brand like msi or asus. In addition asus in particular includes propietary software that is very useful that allows you to overclock/underclock different components on the fly to suit your current needs.

It is nice to be able to really underclock a laptop so that it stays cool and conserves battery life. Little things like this you cannot see in the spec's, however they make a big difference if it is your computer that you use all the time.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

I would not buy myself either an acer or a lenova, however as per previous posts I have purchased my kids a lenova.

I do understand going cheap on the kids, if the laptop was for me i would start by looking at either asus or msi though.

 

Read the reviews over at tom's hardware, a historically pretty fair site, there description of acer has pros of being cheap and cons of too much bloatware and poor video quality, where as the msi is cons of expensive/loud with pros of high performance.

I know what i would(have) buy, and that is what i recommend.

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-laptops,4828.html

[mmmmm...beer 790]

Thanks man

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

10 hours ago, mmmmm...beer said:

Thanks man

 

I would go to Costco to look at the below, I would want to make sure the keyboard quality is high enough, I have an MSI raider(not a katana) and the keyboard layout looks different. That is one of the problems with Acers is that the keyboard is junk.

The below laptop weighs 1.5 pounds less than my raider, and i wonder how they got that weight savings, did they skimp on hinge quality for example. The raider feels like a tank as far as laptops go.

But the price is so cheap it is worth looking at the below in person before making a decision.

 

https://www.costco.com/msi-katana-15.6"-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-12700h---geforce-rtx-3060---1080p---144hz.product.100848090.html

 

 

I found a review:

 

Overall a pretty solid laptop which looks to be really nicely constructed, with a smart-looking chassis which for someone like myself who isn't a fan of RBG lighting everywhere or large, flashy logos, is a nice touch.

 

Decently appointed with I/O (1 x USB-C 3.2Gen1; 2 USB-A 3.2Gen1, and 1 USB-A 2.0) but I really would have liked to have seen an SD card slot and really wished the USB-C port was a Thunderbolt 4 port--given that this is a Core i7 12th Gen, I think not having at least one TB4 port is a big miss...

 

Keyboard keys have a nice action for typing, and I have used it for a couple of days of work (emails/documents/etc.). I'm not entirely sold on the need to the have the number pad squashed in on the right as it has been as it has squashed in the directional arrow keys and others.

 

The screen is crisp and sharp with decent color rendition, although it isn't all that bright (to be expected at this price point).

 

My single biggest disappointment with this laptop is the speakers. They are truly awful (although I know gaming will mean external speakers or a good set of headphones), but even for 'basic' speaker use like watching YouTube or doing a video call (the webcam and microphones are a nice touch), they are truly terrible--my 4yr old work laptop has much nicer speakers than this GF66.

 

Overall, a really nice laptop and I'm so far happy with the purchase, I just really wish that MSI had opted for at least one Thunderbolt 4 port (and maybe some better speakers!)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/646847/msi-katana-gf66-12ue-457-156-gaming-laptop-computer-black

[iam90sbaby 2,515]

No point in getting a laptop with a 3070 ti, it'll overheat, throttle and you won't get full performance out of it anyways. 

[iam90sbaby 2,515]

16 hours ago, Cloaca du jour said:

Get a desktop...laptops overheat...they used to anyway...a desktop you can add screens etc.

You can triple a laptop if it has the display ports 

[Cloaca du jour 2,147]

1 hour ago, iam90sbaby said:

You can triple a laptop if it has the display ports 

If..

[mmmmm...beer 790]

3 hours ago, MTSkiBum said:

Deleted

I 

[mmmmm...beer 790]

Nevermind.. I'm dumb.

[WhiteWonder 2,688]

19 hours ago, mmmmm...beer said:

So looking at them... right now I'm leaning on just buying him a Steam Deck and getting him a decent starting laptop for school etc.

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

Are these actually popular? I can’t imagine doing legit gaming on something like this. I mean to be fair I don’t do much gaming (last thing I tried was that Amazon New World game). 
 

I have an Alienware aurora I bought in 2019. Paid around $750 for it after a Memorial Day sale and a corporate discount code. All I did was add 8 more gigs of ram afterwards. 

[mmmmm...beer 790]

@MTSkiBum

What am I missing here?

https://a.co/d/fLIBHDg

ASUS TUF Dash F15 3060 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" FHD 144Hz Display, Core i7-11370H (Beat i9-8950HK), GeForce RTX 3060, 24GB 3200MHz RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Thunderbolt 4, Backlit, WiFi 6, Win 10 ~ $1,199.99

Reading forums.... everyone wants the Thunderbolt.  What's that do for me?

[mmmmm...beer 790]

Okay... read up on Thunderbolt... that seems pretty danged convenient and something I want.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

43 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

@MTSkiBum

What am I missing here?

https://a.co/d/fLIBHDg

ASUS TUF Dash F15 3060 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" FHD 144Hz Display, Core i7-11370H (Beat i9-8950HK), GeForce RTX 3060, 24GB 3200MHz RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Thunderbolt 4, Backlit, WiFi 6, Win 10 ~ $1,199.99

Reading forums.... everyone wants the Thunderbolt.  What's that do for me?

No numbpad, that is a non-starter for me.

 

I don't like the compressed keyboard design.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

34 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

No numbpad, that is a non-starter for me.

 

I don't like the compressed keyboard design.

Ah... Didn't think about that.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

28 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

Ah... Didn't think about that.

 

1 hour ago, mmmmm...beer said:

@MTSkiBum

What am I missing here?

https://a.co/d/fLIBHDg

ASUS TUF Dash F15 3060 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" FHD 144Hz Display, Core i7-11370H (Beat i9-8950HK), GeForce RTX 3060, 24GB 3200MHz RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Thunderbolt 4, Backlit, WiFi 6, Win 10 ~ $1,199.99

Reading forums.... everyone wants the Thunderbolt.  What's that do for me?

 

I cannot find a better deal than that. The display size and the keyboard are the only real negatives. I use 17" screens but that is  a personal preference.

If you are traveling daily/weekly with the laptop the smaller size could actually be a positive, it depends on use case. My laptops are a pain in the a$s to travel with.

 

 

[mmmmm...beer 790]

34 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

 

 

I cannot find a better deal than that. The display size and the keyboard are the only real negatives. I use 17" screens but that is  a personal preference.

If you are traveling daily/weekly with the laptop the smaller size could actually be a positive, it depends on use case. My laptops are a pain in the a$s to travel with.

 

 

I guess if the monitor and keyboard are big deals to him he can always use that Thunderbolt and get him a big ass monitor and keyboard/mouse combo?

[JustinCharge 2,397]

when i shop for a laptop, my #1 priority is the ability to clean the fans / reapply thermal paste as easily as possible.  i dont want to disassemble the entire thing to do it, and its a required task to keep it running well.  i casually browse laptops once in a while but i cant find anything easy.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

1 hour ago, MTSkiBum said:

 

 

I cannot find a better deal than that. The display size and the keyboard are the only real negatives. I use 17" screens but that is  a personal preference.

If you are traveling daily/weekly with the laptop the smaller size could actually be a positive, it depends on use case. My laptops are a pain in the a$s to travel with.

 

 

Something feels a little off.. although it's from Amazon, it's a 3rd party seller on Amazon.  That deal seems a little too dealish.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

5 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

Something feels a little off.. although it's from Amazon, it's a 3rd party seller on Amazon.  That deal seems a little too dealish.

I usually buy my laptops/tablets from microcenter or Costco and skip Amazon. Too many counterfeit goods on it.

 

Don't get me wrong I spend too much money at Amazon, but the only electronics I buy from them are Amazon devices or direct from the manufacturer selling through Amazon.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

I think I just need to wait a couple weeks.  Once he's in California on base, I can buy and have stuff shipped directly to him, which I think will help out as I don't think he'll have state sales tax going to the base.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

So everything I'm reading is making sense.  As far as laptops... The CPU and graphics card is what to focus on.  

Maybe spend a little more on a 3070 and newer I7 processor... More ram.. bigger SSD or m.2 can be added in years to come.  Those others... Not so much.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295068953330?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=VbCS6q0NQ6a&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=okcuR9KXTKa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[mmmmm...beer 790]

Curious to see what the early Prime Deals for "Prime Days" are tonight.  Supposed to drop at midnight PST.  May be just on time.

[Hawkeye21 2,388]

My son wants to build a gaming PC with me this winter.  I need to start researching what to get.  It's been about 8 years since I last built one.

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

On 10/8/2022 at 6:49 PM, mmmmm...beer said:

I think I just need to wait a couple weeks.  Once he's in California on base, I can buy and have stuff shipped directly to him, which I think will help out as I don't think he'll have state sales tax going to the base.

 

Since you can wait a few more weeks you might want to see when Costco rotates it's deals. They usually have 1 great deal and 1 good deal on gaming laptops at all time.

 

[MTSkiBum 1,620]

13 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

So everything I'm reading is making sense.  As far as laptops... The CPU and graphics card is what to focus on.  

Maybe spend a little more on a 3070 and newer I7 processor... More ram.. bigger SSD or m.2 can be added in years to come.  Those others... Not so much.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295068953330?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=VbCS6q0NQ6a&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=okcuR9KXTKa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

That seems like an exceptional deal.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

49 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

 

That seems like an exceptional deal.

Yeah I snagged this one for now.  Everywhere else that's a $1700+ machine to include Levono which has this configuration at $1809.  I'll cancel if something better pops tonight.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

1 hour ago, Hawkeye21 said:

My son wants to build a gaming PC with me this winter.  I need to start researching what to get.  It's been about 8 years since I last built one.

Yeah things change so fast.  I really enjoyed finding all the parts, chassis, power supplies, etc.  Comparing deals, what specs we wanted... did we want AMD or an Intel model?  Did we want fan or water cooling?  Got our game plan together and then the hunt was on.  What deals were popping today on the exact build you want.... or wait... that graphics cards upgrade is on sale right now even less than what I was looking for on the lower one! 

And then... watching some kid named Austin on the YouTubes guide me through on how to put it all together.  It really was pretty easy, but I was super nervous I was gonna fock it up.

I was genuinely shocked when I hit the power button for the first time and SHOOM!!! It took right off.  Was sooooo cool.

The best part of course was how we did it together, father and son.  I'd venture to guess maybe not quite the same extent but what the old timers felt when they put together a hot rod with their boys, back when that was a thing.

[Hawkeye21 2,388]

2 minutes ago, mmmmm...beer said:

Yeah things change so fast.  I really enjoyed finding all the parts, chassis, power supplies, etc.  Comparing deals, what specs we wanted... and then the hunt was one.  What deals were popping today on the exact build you want.... or wait... that graphics cards upgrade is on sale right now even less than what I was looking for on the lower one! 

And then... watching some kid named Austin on the YouTubes guide me through on how to put it all together.  It really was pretty easy, but I was super nervous I was gonna fock it up.

I was genuinely shocked when I hit the power button for the first time and SHOOM!!! It took right off.  Was sooooo cool.

The best part of course was how we did it together, father and son.  I'd venture to guess maybe not quite the same extent but what the old timers felt when they put together a hot rod with their boys, back when that was a thing.

Your experience sounds exactly like mine.  I'm looking forward to doing it with my son this time around.

[mmmmm...beer 790]

9 hours ago, mmmmm...beer said:

So everything I'm reading is making sense.  As far as laptops... The CPU and graphics card is what to focus on.  

Maybe spend a little more on a 3070 and newer I7 processor... More ram.. bigger SSD or m.2 can be added in years to come.  Those others... Not so much.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295068953330?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=VbCS6q0NQ6a&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=okcuR9KXTKa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

https://www.ign.com/articles/lenovo-legion-5-pro-review

Really nice review on this laptop if anyone's interested.

Legion 5 Pro 16" QHD Gaming Laptop 165Hz R7-6800H 16GB DDR5 1TB SSD RTX 3070Ti

[Hawkeye21 2,388]

Any great deals or must haves here?

https://www.amazon.com/deal/4cb74dba?showVariations=true&ref=dlx_early_gd_dcl_img_35_4cb74dba_dt_sl7_a6