Laptop for gaming

[SaiyanGoku]

Warning: Long post ahead

1) What is your budget? (INR or USD)
INR 100-120k (USD 1500-1700) max. Lower is better.

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
If it is thick, it better have good thermals and bigger battery.

3) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?
AAA gaming (mostly Single player, sometimes PUBG). Target: At least 1080p60 on medium/high settings
Watching Anime/TV Series
Some Emulation/VMs

5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?
8750H, RTX 2060/GTX 1070 non Max-q, 16GB DDR4 2666 (dual channel), >=256GB M.2 nvme ssd (primary, optional), want a separate numpad too.

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Asus, Gigabyte, Dell, Lenovo
b. Dislike: Apple, MSI, Acer (anything with inverted motherboard layout)

6) Anything else you would like to say?
Screen resolution: 1080p 144Hz IPS panel; gsync not necessary; strictly no to 60Hz or TN panel.
Battery back up: Don't care much if it has Optimus enabled.
Purchase place: RTX 2060 laptop outside India. I don't want to pay 50% extra in taxes. Would take a trip to UAE/Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand if that saves me significant amount of money (ETA June/July for that). For GTX 1070 laptop, offline market in Hyderabad/Raipur, if I can get one in that budget.
Warranty: If it has international warranty, that would be a plus. Otherwise, I'd prefer to have very low hardware defect rate (<5%).
I'd gladly wait if nvidia doesn't nerfs GTX 1660Ti for laptops and it ends up matching the laptop 2060. Not interested in 9th gen CPUs. I think they'll be same as 8th gen with a boost clock increase.
If I'm not satisfied with thermals, I would undervolt and repaste CPU, GPU with MasterGel Maker Nano or Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut.

So far, I've decided on Illegear Selenite (link: ILLEGEAR SELENITE). It uses the same Tongfang GK7CP0S Barebones used in Eluktronics Mech 17 and Walmart OverPowered 17+ laptop, has a 1080p 144Hz 100% sRGB panel with Professional Color Calibration, rgb mechanical keyboard and a 512GB nvme ssd (probably Toshiba XG5 or XG6). They would replace and test the stock thermal paste with Kryonaut too.
Asus GL504GS is unavailable at the 4 shops mentioned on Asus' website (in Hyderabad).

Don't have space for a desktop and somewhat similar R5 2600, RTX 2060 build would cost me about 90-95K (excluding a 144Hz IPS monitor, good keyboard, mouse and UPS).

PS: Would need recommendations for palm grip mouse with some programmable keys (not expensive though). How is Logitech G102?

 

[whitestar_999]

You will definitely get a better model in US for same price but international warranty is only available if same model is also sold in India else not. I think @anupam_pb can suggest some good models if willing to take a chance on foreign buy. 1660Ti laptops in India will take some time though.

 

[omega44-xt]

For your info RTX 2060 laptop performs similarly to desktop GTX 1660 (not Ti). The older 10 series was just 10-15% slower than desktop variants, but that is not the case with RTX. I think laptop 1660Ti should perform a bit better than GTX 1060 (2060 is about 30% superior but still falls short of full 1070 by few %) & 1660 will perform similar or a bit inferior to 1060. There were rumors of 1650 performing similar to 1050Ti (most likely same will be the case with laptops). Avoid 2070MQ as it is barely 10% better than 2060.

The reason I went with Alienware m15 was the support, even if I move to India, I will get the parts & even warranty if I have it remaining (need to get it transferred first). I totally disregarded any custom built laptops even though they were like $200 cheaper for similar specs (Eluktronics for $1300 somewhere but even new Dell G5 costs that much). The m15 runs pretty hot out of the box, disregard thermal review of Dave2D, check JarrodTech or OwnorDisown. I was getting CPU temps of 85C+ with spikes to 90C+, this was with the laptop being raised from the back. I undervolted it by -150mV & reduced all core turbo freq to 3.5GHz, now the temps are mostly in late 70s with spikes to 85C. GPU was under 75C everytime, it is being power throttled. These temp issues are the case with most of the non-thick laptops with i7 8750H. Even I have no hope from 9th gen, 8750H can barely run at 3.9GHz is most laptops, so clock speed boost won't help it. Intel needs to go beyond 14nm.

If you can purchase from US, Dell has laptops on sale right now. G7(no 144Hz) & m15 are good options as you can transfer their warranty to India (both of them were launched in India for 1.5 lakhs & 1.8 lakhs). Not sure about other countries. From what I know Asus, HP & Lenovo has international warranty support (policies might be different in country of purchase as Acer doesn't have international warranty in US but offers that in India).

From my research, Asus GL504GV & Lenovo Y740 have decent thermals out of the box but they have some cons. Also, Y740 is not available in India & might never be launched.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

For your info RTX 2060 laptop performs similarly to desktop GTX 1660 (not Ti). The older 10 series was just 10-15% slower than desktop variants, but that is not the case with RTX. I think laptop 1660Ti should perform a bit better than GTX 1060 (2060 is about 30% superior but still falls short of full 1070 by few %) & 1660 will perform similar or a bit inferior to 1060. There were rumors of 1650 performing similar to 1050Ti (most likely same will be the case with laptops). Avoid 2070MQ as it is barely 10% better than 2060.

I know. 2060 laptop is around 1070MQ.(to hell with RT cores ). I won't enable raytracing or DLSS ever. I hope they don't waste laptop 1660Ti and it outperforms laptop 2060

The reason I went with Alienware m15 was the support, even if I move to India, I will get the parts & even warranty if I have it remaining (need to get it transferred first). I totally disregarded any custom built laptops even though they were like $200 cheaper for similar specs (Eluktronics for $1300 somewhere but even new Dell G5 costs that much). The m15 runs pretty hot out of the box, disregard thermal review of Dave2D, check JarrodTech or OwnorDisown. I was getting CPU temps of 85C+ with spikes to 90C+, this was with the laptop being raised from the back. I undervolted it by -150mV & reduced all core turbo freq to 3.5GHz, now the temps are mostly in late 70s with spikes to 85C. GPU was under 75C everytime, it is being power throttled. These temp issues are the case with most of the non-thick laptops with i7 8750H. Even I have no hope from 9th gen, 8750H can barely run at 3.9GHz is most laptops, so clock speed boost won't help it. Intel needs to go beyond 14nm.

I've gone through so many reviews (and lurking other forums/reddit) that I can't even remember. I'm considering that illegear laptop just for better thermals and compact form factor. Their tech support has answered every question I've asked so far.

If you can purchase from US, Dell has laptops on sale right now. G7(no 144Hz) & m15 are good options as you can transfer their warranty to India (both of them were launched in India for 1.5 lakhs & 1.8 lakhs). Not sure about other countries. From what I know Asus, HP & Lenovo has international warranty support (policies might be different in country of purchase as Acer doesn't have international warranty in US but offers that in India).

I can't get one from USA. GL504GS with 1070 on sale for $1500 (newegg) + ~$350 (shipping+taxes to UAE) was going out of budget. The 1060 GL504GM is around 85k in offline market here but that's not worth it now.

From my research, Asus GL504GV & Lenovo Y740 have decent thermals out of the box but they have some cons. Also, Y740 is not available in India & might never be launched.

Bad pricing from nvidia has made it to consumers. Most reviewers have stated that despite being good enough on their own, RTX laptops don't justify the price hike over previous gen laptops. To make matters worse, 2080MQ ones don't perform 20% better than 2060 but are priced double.

 

[omega44-xt]

I know. 2060 laptop is around 1070MQ.(to hell with RT cores ). I won't enable raytracing or DLSS ever. I hope they don't waste laptop 1660Ti and it outperforms laptop 2060


I've gone through so many reviews (and lurking other forums/reddit) that I can't even remember. I'm considering that illegear laptop just for better thermals and compact form factor. Their tech support has answered every question I've asked so far.


I can't get one from USA. GL504GS with 1070 on sale for $1500 (newegg) + ~$350 (shipping+taxes to UAE) was going out of budget. The 1060 GL504GM is around 85k in offline market here but that's not worth it now.


Bad pricing from nvidia has made it to consumers. Most reviewers have stated that despite being good enough on their own, RTX laptops don't justify the price hike over previous gen laptops. To make matters worse, 2080MQ ones don't perform 20% better than 2060 but are priced double.

Based on the review by Jarrod Tech for AW m15 with 1070MQ, I'm getting a bit better fps (like 5%) on FC5, AC Odyssey & R6Siege. But still a full 1070 is upto 10% better. I don't think Nvidia will shoot their own foot. They will keep the performance of 1660Ti in between 1060 & 2060. Even I don't plan to use DLSS & RT now, but if those get optimized, I might consider using them in games like Assassin's Creed which are not face paced.

Remember that laptops have higher chances of failure than desktops due to higher temps, esp for gaming laptops, that's why I avoid Clevo, etc. Just be aware of the risks, they surely have better thermals & pre-installed custom thermal paste is a peace of mind.

That GL504GS is a good deal but I got my m15 under $1500, so I chose it because of better build, Dell's after sales & reliability.

With good 2060 laptops priced at $1700 or so without discounts, yes it is overpriced. $1500 is a good price for m15, Asus GL504GV, Y740, etc with Dell G5 & MSI GL63 starting at $1250. 2070MQ & 2080MQ are indeed big disappointments, one being 10% better & other one upto 25%. AW charges $400 for the upgrade to 2070MQ & $850 for 2080MQ which is just outrageous. Even full 2070 & 2080 aren't a big improvement over last gen with 2070 matching 1080 & 2080 being 20% faster than those two.

 

[Zangetsu]

I bought the Azom Exigo last year which is a clevo barebone model and got the mobo replaced under warranty

Mind you that 1070 GPU laptop is much heavier than the Max-Q version.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

I bought the Azom Exigo last year which is a clevo barebone model and got the mobo replaced under warranty

Mind you that 1070 GPU laptop is much heavier than the Max-Q version.

Would've gone with Azom but they don't have P960ED or P970ED. They have laptops with desktop CPUs only. The starting price is 95k +18% GST but it has just 8GB RAM and i3-8100 without storage

I don't mind the weight as long as thermals are good.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[Zangetsu]

Would've gone with Azom but they don't have P960ED or P970ED. They have laptops with desktop CPUs only. The starting price is 95k +18% GST but it has just 8GB RAM and i3-8100 without storage

I don't mind the weight as long as thermals are good.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

The thermals are much better than the other brands.
I think you can save cost by adding components from your side (RAM,HDD,CPU,SSD etc) and get the barebone laptop ordered. (which I did in my case).

Get the quotations for all the possible setups and make your choice

 

[SaiyanGoku]

The thermals are much better than the other brands.
I think you can save cost by adding components from your side (RAM,HDD,CPU,SSD etc) and get the barebone laptop ordered. (which I did in my case).

Get the quotations for all the possible setups and make your choice

I'm not too keen on desktop processor. Stock thermal material used by Intel is terrible, would need to delid and apply liquid metal on it.
Still, would ask for a quote today.

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[SaiyanGoku]

Got reply from Azom.
Barebones Exigo would cost 92k and i7 8700+16GB ram + ~512GB ssd around 50k extra. Total would be around 140k which is well over my budget for laptop.

 

[Zangetsu]

Got reply from Azom.
Barebones Exigo would cost 92k and i7 8700+16GB ram + ~512GB ssd around 50k extra. Total would be around 140k which is well over my budget for laptop.

How about i7 8700 + 1070 GPU only ?

SSD, RAM you can add by yourself as they charge high for these components.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

How about i7 8700 + 1070 GPU only ?

Would ask for this. Hope they have a clearance sale for 1070 variants.

 

[omega44-xt]

Why not desktop i5 9400F or 8600K? Should reduce some cost & their performance is similar to i7 8750H

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Why not desktop i5 9400F or 8600K? Should reduce some cost & their performance is similar to i7 8750H

Wouldn't more threads help in emulation (RPCS3, dophin and the likes) ?

 

[omega44-xt]

Wouldn't more threads help in emulation (RPCS3, dophin and the likes) ?

Not sure, but more cores & threads aren't better always.

 

[Zangetsu]

Yes, you can opt for the i5 8600 but don't go for K in laptops atleast.

 

[omega44-xt]

I forgot 8600 exists, unlike just a few 9th gen models.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

They don't have 1070 in stock. Even if I go with i5 8600, the 2060 build would cost around 130k. Moving forward, I am not considering Azom.

 

[Nerevarine]

I'm not too keen on desktop processor. Stock thermal material used by Intel is terrible, would need to delid and apply liquid metal on it.
Still, would ask for a quote today.

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Wow, post pics while doing so, very much interested in this.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Wow, post pics while doing so, very much interested in this.

Sorry to disappoint you, I won't be getting a laptop with desktop processor.

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