Searching for a new laptop or desktop

Ardorj

Elite
Joined
Jul 29, 2005
Posts
3,277
Location
the Netherlands
Society
NBK Rangers
Avatar Name
Ardorj-Njarr
Some months ago my desktop broke down after being in service for a decade I think. I used it mainly for multimedia stuff (Excell / Word), so no big deal. Now my laptop, wich took over the task I did on the old desktop, is cracking down. Taking a long time to start-up (if it does at all!), giving errors that the harddisk is in problems, suddenly falling into a state of sleep babbling. It's not even three and a half years old, so it kinda sucks I'd say.
I am now looking to buy a new something (either laptop or desktop), before this sick laptop fails in front of my nose. That's an Acer Aspire V3-771 by the way. And I have no idea how and where to look.

Laptop or Desktop? I am now taking my laptop from one room to another (only two rooms where I'll use it). I think I've took it out of my home three times. I do have a laptopbag for it though, a large one because this one is 17.3 inch.
What do I do with it? I have become quite a casual gamer. Medium to high settings-requirements for Entropia Universe are good enough for me. I don't play any other, modern or new games. Beside Entropia it's office stuff, going on the internet and watching a DVD.
What brand(s) do you (dis)like? I don't care much. This Acer laptop is falling to pieces too soon for my liking, earlier this year I had to replace the keyboard. Apart from that, I don't know/ I don't care.
How much money do I have in my pockets? About 25 euro I think. The laptop I use now has costed me about 650 euro. Wich is pretty cheap I think, but when it is going to selfdestruct so soon, then not so cheap in the end. I don't have a fixed number in my mind, but let's say that I won't go above 900 euro.

Any and all suggestions are welcome! :)
 
Laptop or Desktop?

If you need to travel with it get a laptop, otherwise a desktop will give you more for less. If you need to move it around the house (or outside) then get a laptop.

Budget
...but let's say that I won't go above 900 euro...

* The laptop route:
Ok then, for laptops I like very much Asus and MSI. I've had both and they work great even though I noticed slightly better build quality on Asus.
- Example 1: [ Asus K501UX ] ($670)
- Example 2: [ MSI GL62 ] ($800)

Just look for one with 6-8 Gb RAM, an SSD for storage and Core i5/i7. Also get one with a dedicated GPU (I prefer Nvidia, you know Geforce GTX bla bla).

* The desktop route:
I would build one for myself, but if you don't wanna just get a prebuilt one. ( DO NOT get one of those DELL premade turds please.. ).

A couple of good prebuilt stores:
- Cyberpowerpc
- iBuypower
- Digital Storm (usually more expensive)

When you look for one apply the same rules than for laptops, more or less. Just choose how much you want to spend.

Still, building one for yourself would be cheaper imho.

Little general advice:
- I hate playing on a laptop because of their shitty keyboard. Also they get pretty hot while playing, so under similar conditions a desktop is less prone to heat related issues (imho).
- For gaming, a Core i5 is more than enough. Spend those extra bucks on a better GPU if you want.
- If you choose a laptop: do not play while at home with the battery connected. Take it out and plug the cord. Otherwise you are causing unnecessary wear on the battery cells.


Feel free to PM me before making the final decision on some specific computer if you want.

Good luck.
 
Go desktop with your aim to have high settings in game. otherwise we're talking 1000$ or more for something that even gets close to fluid and proper running high settings on modern games.

for 1000$ and buying from the right place you can get 2 x the graphical power for the money if comparing to a laptop. i always put together my own PC. but here in denmark there is several online stores that makes prebuilt (not any brand, just made up of different components) pc's for attractive prices
 
If you need something to be portable, then obviously a laptop is the right suggestion (while I much prefer desktops). That being said, my favorite gaming laptop line is the Asus Republic of Gamers laptops. Great cooling, build quality, styling, and performance.
 
if i could get windoze on my steam machine i'd say go that route but im not going win10 ever
 
You may have to limit your self to business class machines if you want windows 7 pro as the cheap retail machines will now always come with 10 home.

You can still get the business machines with 7 preinstalled thanks to downgrade rights thanks to a 10 Pro license but they're becoming rare and any new features on Intel processors will be locked down to 10 and above. New machines don't have license stickers any more so you have to rely on either a recovery partition or discs.

Acer is a swear word in my house. Nice cheap monitors but the pc's are utter crap. I usually stick to Asus with Intel chipsets for component builds or HP if I'm buying complete units.

Although I did just deal with an Asus UX305 which was incredibly light but useless for gaming as it's a 4.5w processor built for mobility.
 
Last edited:
If you play new games just get windows 10. Directx 12 is win 10 only, and Microsoft is beginning to release Xbox games on PC platform now but only on win 10.

Besides its a good operation system. Been reliable so far
 
Better value with a desktop. Build it yourself. Don't buy a prebuilt anything
 
Assuming you on a budget, gaming capable desktops are cheaper, in general. But you will need to buy seperate screen, keyboard, etc, whereas laptops have all those build in.

On the other hand, laptops are portable (be it moving around to different rooms, or bringing it out of your home).


As for brands, all brands have good and bad series. You have to research to find out which series tend to last longer. In general, business series laptops tend to last better then laptops designed for home.

I have laptops which lasted me many years, cos am careful with what I buy (Had an Acer which lasted me approx 7 years, a HP which lasted me approx 4 years, all with heavy usage and massive travelling. My sis had an Acer which barely lasted her 2 years - she got it from her University).

Currently am using an Acer Predator series laptop (I compared it to Asus / MSI / Alienware / and other assorted branded laptops at a similar pricing prior to getting that). Running EU on max graphics in a portable package is nice.

Previously was gaming on a HP laptop, and before that, on various custom DIY PCs.

So it's hard to advice you on what to get without knowing your exact requirements.

Good luck with your new purchase ;)
 
for desktop :

Asus rock killer MB. / AMD R9 380/390 4gb / Xeon CPU (is cheaper about no grafic into it and you dont neet grafic in cpu, if you run a GC)
Win 10 / SSD 500gb / 8-16 gb ram. P.S. 650-850 watt / cheap case / if you like nice sound + Soundblaster card (much better as all integradet sound chips of main board)

You should get all this below 900 Euro.
 
With the next generation of Radeon GTX GPUs by Nvidia (1070 and 1080) you might find a good deal on a system with a 970 or 980. Be on the lookout and maybe you might find something with a very reduced price.
Myself I do have a 970 now and am very pleased with the performance.

Oh and a i5 CPU is completely sufficient, even 2 generations back has enough oomph for any modern game.
 
I recently bought a MSI Leopard Pro GP62 Notebook and I'm quite happy with it.

Most important from my point of view is that you get one with nVidia GTX 980M, GTX 970M or GTX 965M/960M Video-Card in it since these Video-Card use the faster GDDR5 Video-RAM while the GTX950M is still using the DDR3-VRAM (which might be still enough for EU but not for other, newer games with other engines). I have the GTX 965M and it's probably a good compromise when it comes to costs and power of the Video-Card.

Also an i5 Processor (2,3GHz minimum) of the latest generation is a must. I have a 1TB SATA-HD and kinda really miss my SSD-HD from my old Mini-PC, means the boot takes a bit longer than with a SSD. The lack of an SSD I only recognize during the boot-process though.

8 GB RAM usually do the job, but since RAM is very cheap these days and you have a free slot, get yourself another 8GB block and have 16GB in total if you need it.

Since I'm only playing EU, Counterstrike or Trackmania, I can't tell if other new games would run smooth with it, but for EU it is absolutely ok if High-Settings will do the job for you.

As stated before, a SSD-Drive would be a great improvement to the standard SATA they have in their notebooks per default.

Hope that helped. And very important, this notebook fits my personal needs and they can differ from those of others and people have other req's and opinions ofc.

Additional info: Since power is quite expensive in germany, I decided to buy this Notebok as it has a 130WATT Power-Adapter only - Means it's still quite economic for the power it generates. A Desktop PC will easily tripple the power-input which means 3x the costs for power.

Regards
MM
 
Last edited:
Hmm a normal data hhd and only feel a difference in boot up. That is only compared to that hybrid hard-drive I hope. Since a ssd especially on laptops that have those power saving hdd. A ssd upgrade makes a world of a difference no matter what you do :)

I recently bought a MSI Leopard Pro GP62 Notebook and I'm quite happy with it.

Most important from my point of view is that you get one with nVidia GTX 980M, GTX 970M or GTX 965M/960M Video-Card in it since these Video-Card use the faster GDDR5 Video-RAM while the GTX950M is still using the DDR3-VRAM (which might be still enough for EU but not for other, newer games with other engines). I have the GTX 965M and it's probably a good compromise when it comes to costs and power of the Video-Card.

Also an i5 Processor (2,3GHz minimum) of the latest generation is a must. I have a 1TB SATA-HD and kinda really miss my SSD-HD from my old Mini-PC, means the boot takes a bit longer than with a SSD. The lack of an SSD I only recognize during the boot-process though.

8 GB RAM usually do the job, but since RAM is very cheap these days and you have a free slot, get yourself another 8GB block and have 16GB in total if you need it.

Since I'm only playing EU, Counterstrike or Trackmania, I can't tell if other new games would run smooth with it, but for EU it is absolutely ok if High-Settings will do the job for you.

As stated before, a SSD-Drive would be a great improvement to the standard SATA they have in their notebooks per default.

Hope that helped. And very important, this notebook fits my personal needs and they can differ from those of others and people have other req's and opinions ofc.

Additional info: Since power is quite expensive in germany, I decided to buy this Notebok as it has a 130WATT Power-Adapter only - Means it's still quite economic for the power it generates. A Desktop PC will easily tripple the power-input which means 3x the costs for power.

Regards
MM
 
for desktop :

Asus rock killer MB. / AMD R9 380/390 4gb / Xeon CPU (is cheaper about no grafic into it and you dont neet grafic in cpu, if you run a GC)
Win 10 / SSD 500gb / 8-16 gb ram. P.S. 650-850 watt / cheap case / if you like nice sound + Soundblaster card (much better as all integradet sound chips of main board)

You should get all this below 900 Euro.

Why recommend a Xeon class CPU with a X/Z-series mainboard? It makes no sense. Also, for Entropia I would prefer an Nvidia card over AMD card.
 
Why recommend a Xeon class CPU with a X/Z-series mainboard? It makes no sense. Also, for Entropia I would prefer an Nvidia card over AMD card.

Just a price question. Xeon cpu is much cheaper as a I7 and near same power, just without gpu into it.
Same with Nvidia or AMD, just a price question. Atm it may give better stuff.. this settup is 6 months old.

I use the Asus rock killer, about it was cheap for what it is. Why should it be bad with Xeon?
 
I would recommend you the Dell XPS 13
13.3 inch Full HD IPS (1920 x 1080)
Intel Core i5-6200U 2.30 GHz with turbo boost upto 2.6ghz,
HD Graphics 520 (perform similar to a dedicated GeForce 820M)
128GB SSD
8GB DDR3 RAM
2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C with Thunderbolt, 802.11ac Gigabit Wifi, Bluetooth 4.1, Backlit Keyboard
52 WHr 4-cell Battery(up to 11 hours battery life)
Windows 10 Home 64bit
 
Thanks all for the replies and information given so far!
My first nut to crack, it seems, is deceiding where I go for: Laptor or Desktop?

Laptop, pro's: movable; .... eh that's it?
Laptop, con's: can't choose my own parts.
Desktop, pro's: same price = better performance; I can choose my own parts.
Desktop, con's: static device; have to buy a monitor too.

I'm not considering how much I accually need to move around my laptop through the house. I had it with my one time when I went to Berlin for a month, wich was great. However, I don't have anything like that planned in the (near) futury.

Damnit, I'm an awful decision maker! :ahh::laugh::ahh:
 
If you decide on a Laptop (I would recommend a laptop over a desktop if you like to go places and play or move around your house and play; back porch, living-room, in-bed etc.) please take a moment to consider the following:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-7559-Q...618950?hash=item360300d046:g:IrYAAOSw5IJWd3Ka

It is exactly at your price range @ $900

I noticed in an earlier post the MSI, BUT, you will get much more bang for your buck with this.

It sports a 4GB DDR5 Dedicated Graphics card, 128Gig SSD for crazy fast startup, 1 TB Hardrive to hold many games.

i7 3.5ghz processor

A 4K Touchscreen!

Subwoofer speakers for rich game sound (It can get pretty loud so I use it for music too!)

Bluetooth for a wireless headset if you desire.

And a whopping 16 Gigs of Ram.

Oh and a back-lit keyboard for night gaming. :)

Plus it's stylish looking and not heavy like those thick gaming asus rogue laptops.

And a 1 year warranty.

I thought it was worth mentioning because I was in your same position (I came from having a desktop but it finally gave up the ghost) and I bought this exact laptop and I am very, very happy with the value.

It has no problem staying cool and really just runs EU like a charm. It's replaced my desktop (It wasn't high end but still) and I am loving it. Plus being able to take it anywhere really is a nice option.

Check it out!
 
I know its not really relevant here, but omg if I had money to throw around I would be all over this one
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-sfx-the-worlds-smallest-gaming-tower?lang=en

As it is it does limit the possibilities of hardware to pick too much, but I just love the concept.

Anyhow if its laptop or desktop you should always bear in mind that the portability of a laptop comes with much less performance. Seeing that cheap tablets (like 100 $ or so) are a real travelling option I would recommend going the desktop route.

Also if you have the time just buy the components one by one, its a fun puzzle for the adult child :)
 
There is a dirty little secret: Clevo. They are makers (not traders) of high-performance laptops suitable for gaming and desktop replacement. They often provide the basis for boutique brands who just stick their logo on it and pass it on for a killer markup. But you could buy the original machine directly if you only knew about it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/forums/sager-and-clevo.1017/
 
After my new pc's PSU exploded I had to get a refund, I then built a cheap machine for EU.


AMD A8-7600 £57 http://www.shop.bt.com/products/amd...ocessor-ad7600ybjabox-9NRZ.html?refs=58730000

16gig ram £40 (on offer at the time) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007J0BHZQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

480gig SSD £80 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AWP7L7M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Case & PSU £26 http://www.ebuyer.com/645716-cit-te...cro-atx-gaming-case-with-cscitblacktemplarusb

Motherboard £35 http://www.ebuyer.com/705751-gigaby...-channel-audio-matx-motherboard-ga-f2a78m-hd2

Total = £238

I doubt it will do 3 screens on 1920x1080 at high settings but it's fine for what I want. Only had it for a day now but it's running EU in a window on medium nice and smooth while I watch the west wing on dvd (USB dvd player).
 
I've deceided to go the Desktop-route. Why? Because my laptop suddenly started doing ok again. Don't ask me how, I didn't do anything 'cept saving all the files I used each day on an USB-stick. :laugh:
I think that I can get a better machine-performance as a desktop, then as a laptop. This laptop I can, hopefully, continue to use as a backup and for when I need a portable computer.

Now, as Pirx Danford said, I'll make the "fun puzzle for the adult child :)"
Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll dive into it! :cool:
 
After about one-and-a-half evening of searching for reviews, baffling at tech-data, and comparing one string of numbers to the next, I think I go for the option of "Here we got a standard package, adjust to your needs, and we'll assambly it for you." I kinda forsee that when I buy all the loose parts (wich is cheaper ofcourse), it will end like this:
:yay: Yippy-ya-yeah! I got all the parts I need!
:cool: Oooh! This box looks so shiny! Let's see what's inside!
:ahh: Rewatching for the 10th time the 1-2-3 steps "How to assembly your own desktop"
:confused: Which part was the Motherboard again?
:eyecrazy: Is this side up?
:scared: It got to go in like this. Do I dare to apply a little bit more force?
:bomb: Why doesn't the godson-mobo fit?
:duh: That is not the Motherboard I have in my hands ....
:hammer::banghead::wave::cdevil::cussing: No comments ...

I found this website (in Dutch) that is offering the service to choose your own parts (from their selected storage), and let them do the work of fitting it all together. I arrived (first time) at the following setup:
Motherboard : ASUS Z170-P
Processor : Intel core i5 6400
Memory : 4GB DDR4
Videocard : AMD Radeon R7 360 = Action :wtg:
Soundcard : Onboard 7.1
Harddisk : 500GB (same as laptop that is half-empty)
Voeding : (where the power comes into the computer ... don't know what it's called in English lol) - Corsair VS450
Special action : Free mouse :wtg:

In closing, note that the only game I play is Entropia and that I don't have the intention to get anything else. Playing at "High Settings" is top that I aim for. This setup at >850 euro is at the ceiling of my (initial) budget. If there is anything that I am overreaching, please let me know!

Ardorj :)
 
After about one-and-a-half evening of searching for reviews, baffling at tech-data, and comparing one string of numbers to the next, I think I go for the option of "Here we got a standard package, adjust to your needs, and we'll assambly it for you." I kinda forsee that when I buy all the loose parts (wich is cheaper ofcourse), it will end like this:
:yay: Yippy-ya-yeah! I got all the parts I need!
:cool: Oooh! This box looks so shiny! Let's see what's inside!
:ahh: Rewatching for the 10th time the 1-2-3 steps "How to assembly your own desktop"
:confused: Which part was the Motherboard again?
:eyecrazy: Is this side up?
:scared: It got to go in like this. Do I dare to apply a little bit more force?
:bomb: Why doesn't the godson-mobo fit?
:duh: That is not the Motherboard I have in my hands ....
:hammer::banghead::wave::cdevil::cussing: No comments ...

I found this website (in Dutch) that is offering the service to choose your own parts (from their selected storage), and let them do the work of fitting it all together. I arrived (first time) at the following setup:
Motherboard : ASUS Z170-P
Processor : Intel core i5 6400
Memory : 4GB DDR4
Videocard : AMD Radeon R7 360 = Action :wtg:
Soundcard : Onboard 7.1
Harddisk : 500GB (same as laptop that is half-empty)
Voeding : (where the power comes into the computer ... don't know what it's called in English lol) - Corsair VS450
Special action : Free mouse :wtg:

In closing, note that the only game I play is Entropia and that I don't have the intention to get anything else. Playing at "High Settings" is top that I aim for. This setup at >850 euro is at the ceiling of my (initial) budget. If there is anything that I am overreaching, please let me know!

Ardorj :)

Not bad parts, but u should buy more ram, 4gb is not so much.. minimum 8gb is much better.

And i would also buy a soundblaster sound card, it is like day and night, compared with onboard sound. SB Cards are cheap, about 50-150$ depending what typ you want. It sound really much better. So if you like nice music on pc, this is the way to go.
 
Back
Top