Laptop - Light gaming & running virtual machines

2

2pies

Member
Hi,

I'm looking for a 17" laptop for the above use cases. Probably older games that have been reduced e.g. Starcraft 2, Far Cry 3 etc. The ability to run a decent test lab is important too.

So I want a laptop with a powerful CPU, lots of RAM, some fast SSD and a moderate GPU. I've looked at the various laptops available and it seems that the price will be largely dependant on which GPU I go for.

Based on the above, do you think it would be a bad idea to save a couple of hundred £ and buy a lower end GPU like the 1050 or, given the amount of money that all of the other components will push the price up to, spend a little more on a 1060 or 1070 to further future-proof it?

Thanks
 
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R

rt1707

Active member
2pies said:
Hi,

I'm looking for a 17" laptop for the above use cases. Probably older games that have been reduced e.g. Starcraft 2, Far Cry 3 etc. The ability to run a decent test lab is important too.

So I want a laptop with a powerful CPU, lots of RAM, some fast SSD and a moderate GPU. I've looked at the various laptops available and it looks lie the price will be largely dependant on which GPU I go for.

Based on the above, do you think it would be a bad idea to save a couple of hundred £ and buy a lower end GPU like the 1050 or, given the amount of money that all of the other components will push the price up to, spend a little more on a 1060 or 1070 to further future-proof it?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I think a 1050ti would be a good choice, better than the 1050, as it will easily the games you suggest as well as games released now. My guess is that it would be fine for any game released in the next three years for sure. The 1060 is a much better card but also more expensive. Depends if you want to pay the money, but also remember that it will be difficult to change later on. 1070 is a level above and from what you say I doubt it is worth it.

I'd spec:

i7 7700HQ
16GB RAM
250GB SSD
1050ti

The exact laptop to fit those components in I find to be a personal thing - I would take a look at the reviews out of the various systems and take particular note of what people say about the screen/touchpad/keyboard.
 
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2

2pies

Member
rt1707 said:
I think a 1050ti would be a good choice, better than the 1050, as it will easily the games you suggest as well as games released now. My guess is that it would be fine for any game released in the next three years for sure. The 1060 is a much better card but also more expensive. Depends if you want to pay the money, but also remember that it will be difficult to change later on. 1070 is a level above and from what you say I doubt it is worth it.

I'd spec:

i7 7700HQ
16GB RAM
250GB SSD
1050ti

The exact laptop to fit those components in I find to be a personal thing - I would take a look at the reviews out of the various systems and take particular note of what people say about the screen/touchpad/keyboard.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response RT.

One other question, do any of these laptops have reasonable soundcards/speakers?

The Proteus IV has the basic Intel 2, while the cheaper Optimus VIII adds the SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3. Is there a lot of difference between these?

I'm curious to know what type of sound I could expect when watching a movie or playing games without headphones on.
 
R

rt1707

Active member
32Gb sounds like a good choice to me! I can't advise too much about the quality of soundcards/speakers but you should google the name of the laptops to find reviews by third parties, which usually discuss that type of thing. Reviews of users on this forum are also very useful!
 
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