Gaming Laptop Recommendations/Deals/Where to Buy - $2000

Heya,

So – I've been out of the computer/laptop business for a while – not very familiar with what's out there and what is coming out. I NEED help! Five years ago I bought a Sager NP8690 (by Clevo) 5 years ago… it was meant to be a gaming laptop at that time…. Now it's obsolete and honestly I've been having problems with it since day 1. Basically – it's gone up to a point where it freezes if I play League of Legends (which isn't high demand).

Now – I'm looking for another gaming laptop. I prefer NOT to spend more than $2000 (as a matter fact, the lower the better). I paid 2.5K for my Sager.. I'm hoping that prices of laptops went down since then and I would hope my laptop would last a tiny bit longer than my Sager.

My goals are:
- Able to play Guild Wars 2
- Able to play Final Fantasy XIII
- Able to play Skyforge
- Others – just surfing net, league of legends – other etc stuff.

I know black Friday is around the corner (and I can wait that long IF there are decent sales). Problem is – I suspect specialty sites/items normally don't go on sale (my experience with BF is just generic stuff go on sale).

That being said – any suggestions on what laptop fits the bill? Any websites to buy from??? I know a lot of gaming computer/notebook sites allow you to customize (and I am completely okay with that).

Any help/advice/reality checks are appreciated!

Thanks!!!

Do you absolutely need a laptop? Why not a small form factor desktop for 1/2 the cost and twice the performance?

I've honestly never heard of someone buying one of these $2K+ "gaming" laptops and being problem-free. You're overpaying for hardware which will depreciate rapidly and isn't really suited to the task it's charged with (high-power GPU, shrunk down in size, and crammed into a laptop chassis with minimal ventilation...yea that won't have issues...).

If it must be a laptop, so be it, but I would never let a friend buy one for gaming.

Msi gt series. 1500 gets you a LOT of laptop....

I have a MSI GT70 Dominator and it is a great laptop, but it weights ~10 pounds. I really like it though and has no problem running any game including triple A titles. Specs: i7 4810MQ @2.7 Ghz, 8Gb of ram, and a nvidia 870m (The main reason I bought it). If you want a more portable laptop I would go with a lenovo y series laptop.

Sager is a good choice. They have a lot of offerings, some with desktop CPU's, SLI and even a desktop GPU. Alienware used to be a top of the line brand for gaming laptops, but no more.

I read that you have had trouble with your previous Sager, but I really do recommend that you take a second look. They have come a long way in just the past couple of years. There is also great community support for them over at Tech Inferno and Notebookreview.com forums. You really should be asking your questions over at Notebook Review forums. There are lots of knowledgable folks there.

In the meantime, take a look at this: NP8685S - i7-6700HQ and GTX 980M
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8658s-clevo-p650rg-p-8663.html

ninjacore said:

Do you absolutely need a laptop? Why not a small form factor desktop for 1/2 the cost and twice the performance?

I've honestly never heard of someone buying one of these $2K+ "gaming" laptops and being problem-free. You're overpaying for hardware which will depreciate rapidly and isn't really suited to the task it's charged with (high-power GPU, shrunk down in size, and crammed into a laptop chassis with minimal ventilation...yea that won't have issues...).

If it must be a laptop, so be it, but I would never let a friend buy one for gaming.

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He is asking about a gaming laptop. Yes, there are some models that don't do well in this arena. Others are much better at it. To get good performance the gaming laptop is generally heavier and bulkier than most. Large heatsinks and fans contribute to this. The power brick is usually larger too. I have a 240w for travel and a 330w that I use when at my home office. It is the price you pay for portability.

I understand. I just don't know that it's all that much more portable than an ITX build and monitor. To each his own, of course.

ninjacore said:

I understand. I just don't know that it's all that much more portable than an ITX build and monitor. To each his own, of course.

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Late to the party, but thought I'd throw in that you don't really need to bring a monitor, unless wherever you are going doesn't have a modern HDTV. I mean, yea, when home, you'd definitely want a monitor, but that doesn't mean you need to bring it with you. Just a keyboard, mouse and headset.

I second the ITX build, but understand the convenience of a laptop.

OP, what did you end up doing. Inquiring minds want to know!

I went with this one http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5053#kf got decent CPU & GPU COMBO adjustable Fans for cooling for DIFF APPS!

It depends on you space you have and if its got to be portable for other usage!

Cheers Ajay.