My MacBook Pro may have bit the dust (I’m trying to figure out why it won’t boot) and I refuse to buy a new one because I don’t want what Apple is selling. So, I’m looking to go back to Windows and get a gaming laptop so I can finally play XCom 2. There’s a lot of options out there, but I figured I’d turn to the Dope for advice.
Basically, I’d like a 15 or 17 inch screen. 4k isn’t necessary, but I’d take it if the price is right. Don’t mind upgrading some RAM myself, same with the hard drive. It doesn’t have to be too lightweight and portable, as it’s mostly just a desktop replacement and doesn’t leave the house much. I’ve heard good things about the Alienware 17 R3, the ASUS ROG G75, and even some HPs and Dells. I’d also like to keep the cost between $1500 and $2000, because once it gets close to $2500 I might start thinking about compromising my principles and getting a new top-end MacBook Pro. Thanks for the advice.
What kind of games do you expect to play on it aside from XCom2? Do you think you’ll want high graphical performance?
How long are you ready to wait to get it? Right now seems a pretty bad time because the 14/16nm mGPUs will make a big difference but they’re either unavailable for now or difficult to get. If you want to run nice looking games at 4k, you’ll need that generation (even then it might not be enough).
This List of AMD graphics processing units - Wikipedia says the 4xx AMD series of mGPUs are out in May or June (although this may be a paper launch). Don’t know for sure about Nvidia but one can expect the mobile versions of the 10 series to be out 1 or 2 months after the desktop versions are available. I’d expect Nvidia mGPUs to be far less likely to get throttled by heat.
CPU: Apparently, Intel is a no-brainer now, especially for laptops.
I must admit to being puzzled as to why you want a gaming laptop that’s a desktop replacement and won’t leave the house much. You will get so much more for your money if you get a gaming desktop.