We’re trying to choose between gaming laptops. The specs we want are 17.3 inches screen i7-9750 processor . The problem is that when we find the specs we want, it has a much less graphics card, usually GTX 1660 Ti. On the reverse, we’re finding the graphics card RTX 2070, but it tends to be paired with 8750. We want the laptop to be competitive for at least the next ten years. So would it be better the get the option with the better graphics card or the one with the better processor. We want to keep the price around $1500 or less.
Since you are looking specifically for a gaming laptop, let’s move this to the Game Room (from IMHO) where folks will be more familiar with games and hardware requirements.
Get the 2070 version. For most games, graphic cards are more important. I don’t believe there’s much difference between 8750 and 9750, and these days top of the line processors stay relevant for years.
I have been doing some research, looking for my next gaming laptop.
This is about 6 months old, but the 2070 seem to be only marginal over the 2060,
Always take with a grain of salt as things are constantly changing and being tuned, But personally, I’m not really looking at 2070 because of the cost/benefit over 2060 doesn’t seem good from what I’m finding.
Yeah, the consensus seems to be that graphics card quality outweighs processor speed, especially when the processor speed difference is not that significant.
A friend did complicate matters by noting that her AMD processor made a significant difference but that a gaming laptop using AMD with a Nvidia graphics card was not common. What’s the consensus here?
We’re still intrigued by the Eluktronics laptop above but that is a new brand to us and we have no idea about its reputation.
This is generally true. It’s possible to bottleneck with a high end GPU and a cruddy CPU but that’s a “I’m upgrading the GPU in my six year old computer” issue, not a buying a new laptop issue.
AMD CPUs can play fine with Nvidia GPUs. You usually don’t see them mixed in a laptop because AMD is usually the ‘cheaper’ option and once you decided on a lesser priced AMD CPU, it stands to reason that you’d pair it with a relatively less expensive AMD GPU. It’s more common to see a “premium” Intel CPU with an budget-friendly AMD GPU than to go the other way around with the economics. But a laptop with an AMD processor and Nvidia GPU wouldn’t worry me on any technical basis (and AMD CPUs are roughly equal to Intel offerings these days in most cases).
I’m not familiar with them though the few reviews I read suggest that they’re okay. You’re maybe doing a little better than “you get what you pay for” but $1,500 isn’t a ton in gaming laptop budgets so it’s not as though it’s going to compete with the high end ASUS and Razers. Still, it looks as though if that’s your budget then Eluktronics isn’t a bad way to spend it. Pity they don’t seem to be available in store to actually see a display or give the keyboard a whirl.
I failed to mention- in the OP comparing the Alienware and the ASUS, that the ASUS does indeed have double the memory.
To what extent would it make up for the lesser graphics card?
We are wondering about replacing graphics cards in gaming laptops? Can that be done?
Every time I look for graphics cards by themselves, they seem to be only for desktops.
Where do I go if I just wanted to purchase a laptop graphics card?
In this instance, probably none. 16GB is more than sufficient, 32GB is (for most non-graphic workstation applications) just overkill.
Assume not. They’re generally not intended to be and are often soldered to the boards. When you’re buying a laptop, assume that the GPU in there is the GPU it’ll die with (aside from solutions like external GPU housings).
Alienware is just Dell’s gaming machine brand. They were an independent PC builder before 2006, but it’s unlikely you’d have heard of them before then.
Thanks for the assistance, everyone- we ended up going with this
HP Omen Gaming 17-an179wm.
We’re now looking for a keyboard cover & also a replacement for the back cover of the top part of the laptop.
I think I’ve found the cover but not sure where to look to see how much it would be to replace the back/top cover.
I appreciate the assistance!
Thanks. We actually did find a back cover. I took the radical step of looking up the actual manual, finding the part number, and seeing some available on eBay.