Building a laptop

[ztejas 43411]

Anyone have experience with this? In the market for a laptop for gaming/home entertainment/music/video production. The thing is - I already have an SSD from my last build.

Would it be worth it to try and piece one out and build it myself or would I still save money if I just got a pre-built with like a cheap 512 SSD?

Also - any recs? Looking to spend $1,000-$1,300.

[pantone159 719]

I have built several desktop systems myself, but I always figured that a laptop would be too much of a PITA, since in that case everything is as tiny as possible, and fitted together as closely as possible. A desktop leaves you plenty of room to work. So for a laptop I would just buy one. I don't know that you save any money building your own anymore, it is more for the fun/satisfaction of doing it yourself.

 

[tchookem 3900]

I have built several desktop systems myself, but I always figured that a laptop would be too much of a PITA, since in that case everything is as tiny as possible, and fitted together as closely as possible. A desktop leaves you plenty of room to work. So for a laptop I would just buy one. I don't know that you save any money building your own anymore, it is more for the fun/satisfaction of doing it yourself.
 

Any suggestions on where to get a good gaming laptop (Austin area)? We bought one for my son off Amazon, but returned it when it went kaput after 2 days.

We're looking to buy one from a brick and mortar. It just seems like a better idea.

[immamac 42832]

6 minutes ago, tchookem said:

Any suggestions on where to get a good gaming laptop (Austin area)? We bought one for my son off Amazon, but returned it when it went kaput after 2 days.

We're looking to buy one from a brick and mortar. It just seems like a better idea.

Budget? 

[tchookem 3900]

Budget? 

$350

Just kidding... about $2000

But good preforms for a lower price would be okay too.

[tchookem 3900]

This was what we got from Amazon.

MSI Raider GE68HX Gaming Laptop | 16" FHD+ IPS 144Hz | Intel 24-core i9-14900HX | 32GB DDR5 2TB SSD | GeForce RTX 4070 | RGB Backlit Thunderbolt4 Dynaudio FHD IR Privacy Camera Win11Pro + HDMI Cable https://a.co/d/iSniHYW

[immamac 42832]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-predator-helios-16-16-240hz-gaming-laptop-wqxga-intel-i9-13900hx-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4080-1tb-ssd-black/6546241.p?skuId=6546241

This is a really good deal. Can't go pick it up but worth the wait IMO. 

[immamac 42832]

The GPU matters a lot more than anything else besides the screen. Getting a 4080 under 2k is insane. You can upgrade the RAM later if you want for relatively cheap. Can't ever upgrade the GFX card from a 4070 to a 4080. The difference in 13th and 14th gen HX is negligible. 

[Captainant 27618]

14 minutes ago, immamac said:

The GPU matters a lot more than anything else besides the screen. Getting a 4080 under 2k is insane. You can upgrade the RAM later if you want for relatively cheap. Can't ever upgrade the GFX card from a 4070 to a 4080. The difference in 13th and 14th gen HX is negligible. 

It's a mobile 4080, which is considerably less powerful than a desktop chip mainly due to a smaller power budget. It lands between a desktop 3080 and 4070 in terms of power

And honestly with what I've been seeing with the new mobile Intel chips, those may be worth waiting. Full x86 instruction set but ARM power budget

[immamac 42832]

5 minutes ago, Captainant said:

It's a mobile 4080, which is considerably less powerful than a desktop chip mainly due to a smaller power budget. It lands between a desktop 3080 and 4070 in terms of power

And honestly with what I've been seeing with the new mobile Intel chips, those may be worth waiting. Full x86 instruction set but ARM power budget

Yeah compare it to the mobile 4070. 50%+ uplift. And on a 1600P screen it matters. Gaming laptops are plugged in power budget doesn't matter. Your GPU is using 175W. 

[immamac 42832]

@tchookem let us know what happened

[tchookem 3900]

[mention=1549]tchookem[/mention] let us know what happened

I shared the Best Buy link you gave me with The Boy. I think that may be the way to go. If nothing more, it'll give him the Geek Squad support (supposing Best Buy stays in business).

[tchookem 3900]

[mention=1549]tchookem[/mention] let us know what happened

This is what he went with. Don't tell me if he was ripped off.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-legion-pro-5i-16-wqxga-gaming-laptop-intel-core-14th-gen-i9-with-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-8gb-1tb-ssd-onyx-grey/6573726.p?sb_share_source=PDP&skuId=6573726

[immamac 42832]

Great machine has a lot more creature comforts they traded for the 4080. 

The other one was a gaming only machine this is a much better all around. 

[tchookem 3900]

Great machine has a lot more creature comforts they traded for the 4080. 
The other one was a gaming only machine this is a much better all around. 

Thanks. That's probably a better option for a college kid.

[ztejas 43411]

5 hours ago, tchookem said:

This is what he went with. Don't tell me if he was ripped off.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-legion-pro-5i-16-wqxga-gaming-laptop-intel-core-14th-gen-i9-with-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-8gb-1tb-ssd-onyx-grey/6573726.p?sb_share_source=PDP&skuId=6573726

Not an amazing value but that's a reasonable price. 

[Captainant 27618]

On 10/20/2024 at 10:07 AM, tchookem said:

This is what he went with. Don't tell me if he was ripped off.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-legion-pro-5i-16-wqxga-gaming-laptop-intel-core-14th-gen-i9-with-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-8gb-1tb-ssd-onyx-grey/6573726.p?sb_share_source=PDP&skuId=6573726

He's gonna be just fine and happy with that - that's an excellent display panel and a 4070 can play anything for the next couple years at least at high or maxed out settings