Germander_Speedwell
Member
Hi Folks,
I'm looking for some help to build a gaming laptop for which i am hoping to obtain a grant. Thus i am looking initially to set a realistic budget for my needs before settling on a final build once a grant/funding has been approved. I have never build a computer previously but am willing to invest time and energy in learning how to maintain a machine like this if it means i will get better value for money/a higher spec and the ability to upgrade parts over time to extend the life of my laptop.
Firstly some background info on myself and how i use my current computers:
I have very complex health conditions and have 24/hr live in care at home. Through covid my computer has been my lifeline whilst i have been totally isolated at home from the outside world. I use my laptop for helping to manage my health conditions, medical treatment and care team, it is my window to the world through which i connect with all my friends and support networks, attend appointments via video calls, continue learning about my craft- pottery- whilst my 1 day a week face to face sessions are on hold - and most importantly it has become a very important tool for managing my stress and anxiety levels.
I suffer from a condition called secondary adrenal insufficiency, where stress can basically make me life threateningly ill, through something called an adrenal crisis. I have gone through some extremely stressful times in the past 3 years due to family circumstances and gaming became my solace. I began playing games on my laptop for a couple of hours each day as a way of escaping from my surroundings and to give myself some anxiety free space. I play sedate simulation games like the sims 4, cities skylines, 2 point hospital etc and would love to play planet zoo too and find that having full control over a sandbox type game (rather than playing the high energy, high anxiety, AAA games) gives me a sense of control when things around me are chaotic and extremely stressful- in some ways it is a form of mindfulness for me, which also gives me a sense of achievement when so many of my previous hobbies are no longer possible due to the physical restrictions of my disabilities and health conditions. Unfortunately my laptop of 10 years has now completely died on me and the 2nd hand Acer mini computer i have been using as a stop gap is not at all up to the job. It doesn't even have a dedicated graphics card and cannot be upgraded.... it keeps freezing up on me and crashing- i cant play any games. Thus the need for a new laptop.
I would really appreciate your help to put together a machine that will meet my needs:
SPEC:
* A Laptop - Preferably 17" but am happy to consider a 15" build. My plan is to connect my laptop to a dock whilst using it in my bedroom for main gaming (i currently have a monitor hanging from an arm over my bed with bluetooth keyboard/mouse). I could then use the laptop elsewhere in the house during the daytime for things like internet browsing, health/care/medication management, writing letters and having zoom meetings. I could also then take my laptop with me to hospital admissions and when having respite care stays in nursing homes (at the age of 33... i need to take entertainment with me!)
* RGB Keyboard - Im going to be honest that the full RGB keyboard is a shallow gimmick that really appeals to me <3 and i particularly like the sound of the 4-zone RGB keyboard that some models boast. I think that means im looking at the Iconico and the Recoil chasis'?
* Processing - Capable of heavy loads in terms of having a lot of windows open at the same time- a bad habit of mine. But i dont have any specific plans to use it for video editing or streaming. I do however have a LOT of photos and music, which is backed up to the cloud, but i would like to have stored locally on one of my drives.
* Hard Drives - Atleast 2 drives. SSD is new to me as they were extremely expensive when i was purchasing my old laptop (Samsung Series 5 550P7C) I would love some education on how it works having a boot drive and a storage drive- where do you store the files for gaming? I currently have atleast 500GB of photos and music files, so storage drive would need to be atleast 1TB but would welcome advice on how big a drive would be sensible for me going forwards.
* Gaming - i currently am only able to play the sims4 on my Acer desktop, and that struggles. I have all 30 something DLC packs though, plus some CC! I also love other simulation games like cities skylines, 2point hospital, planet coaster and am interested in exploring more of these games, flight sim, minecraft etc, when i have a computer that allows me to! The one game i REALLY want to play is Planet Zoo and i know that this has a higher than average recommended specs than other simulation games, so i want to meet these spec requirements as a minimum, and perhaps a little above if it means that my computer is going to be well future proofed. I do not play AAA high end games. Link to Planet Zoo recommended specs: https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/planet-zoo/18717
* Monitor - I'm currently using a very basic 24" Samsung T24H390S LED monitor- it's 1920 x 1080P, 60Htz refresh rate and 15ms response time. I am aware that this is a low spec monitor but would welcome recommendations for an upgrade when funds allow.
BUDGET - Initially for my funding application i need to outline a budget. I had come to the conclusion myself that a budget of £1,500 would be appropriate, but i would appreciate some feedback on whether this is grossly over or under estimating for a machine of my needs. Obviously the less i ask for the more likely i am to get it, but there is also no point in asking for £500 for a machine that simply isn't going to meet my needs. I would like a computer that is going to meet my needs for many years, like my previous laptop did.
I would really appreciate some inital feedback on the budget and then some suggested builds that would fit that budget, if anyone is able to help me at all. I really do want to take the time to learn about building and maintaining a bespoke machine and would appreciate your guidance on where to go to start learning.
Many thanks for your help,
Anna
I'm looking for some help to build a gaming laptop for which i am hoping to obtain a grant. Thus i am looking initially to set a realistic budget for my needs before settling on a final build once a grant/funding has been approved. I have never build a computer previously but am willing to invest time and energy in learning how to maintain a machine like this if it means i will get better value for money/a higher spec and the ability to upgrade parts over time to extend the life of my laptop.
Firstly some background info on myself and how i use my current computers:
I have very complex health conditions and have 24/hr live in care at home. Through covid my computer has been my lifeline whilst i have been totally isolated at home from the outside world. I use my laptop for helping to manage my health conditions, medical treatment and care team, it is my window to the world through which i connect with all my friends and support networks, attend appointments via video calls, continue learning about my craft- pottery- whilst my 1 day a week face to face sessions are on hold - and most importantly it has become a very important tool for managing my stress and anxiety levels.
I suffer from a condition called secondary adrenal insufficiency, where stress can basically make me life threateningly ill, through something called an adrenal crisis. I have gone through some extremely stressful times in the past 3 years due to family circumstances and gaming became my solace. I began playing games on my laptop for a couple of hours each day as a way of escaping from my surroundings and to give myself some anxiety free space. I play sedate simulation games like the sims 4, cities skylines, 2 point hospital etc and would love to play planet zoo too and find that having full control over a sandbox type game (rather than playing the high energy, high anxiety, AAA games) gives me a sense of control when things around me are chaotic and extremely stressful- in some ways it is a form of mindfulness for me, which also gives me a sense of achievement when so many of my previous hobbies are no longer possible due to the physical restrictions of my disabilities and health conditions. Unfortunately my laptop of 10 years has now completely died on me and the 2nd hand Acer mini computer i have been using as a stop gap is not at all up to the job. It doesn't even have a dedicated graphics card and cannot be upgraded.... it keeps freezing up on me and crashing- i cant play any games. Thus the need for a new laptop.
I would really appreciate your help to put together a machine that will meet my needs:
SPEC:
* A Laptop - Preferably 17" but am happy to consider a 15" build. My plan is to connect my laptop to a dock whilst using it in my bedroom for main gaming (i currently have a monitor hanging from an arm over my bed with bluetooth keyboard/mouse). I could then use the laptop elsewhere in the house during the daytime for things like internet browsing, health/care/medication management, writing letters and having zoom meetings. I could also then take my laptop with me to hospital admissions and when having respite care stays in nursing homes (at the age of 33... i need to take entertainment with me!)
* RGB Keyboard - Im going to be honest that the full RGB keyboard is a shallow gimmick that really appeals to me <3 and i particularly like the sound of the 4-zone RGB keyboard that some models boast. I think that means im looking at the Iconico and the Recoil chasis'?
* Processing - Capable of heavy loads in terms of having a lot of windows open at the same time- a bad habit of mine. But i dont have any specific plans to use it for video editing or streaming. I do however have a LOT of photos and music, which is backed up to the cloud, but i would like to have stored locally on one of my drives.
* Hard Drives - Atleast 2 drives. SSD is new to me as they were extremely expensive when i was purchasing my old laptop (Samsung Series 5 550P7C) I would love some education on how it works having a boot drive and a storage drive- where do you store the files for gaming? I currently have atleast 500GB of photos and music files, so storage drive would need to be atleast 1TB but would welcome advice on how big a drive would be sensible for me going forwards.
* Gaming - i currently am only able to play the sims4 on my Acer desktop, and that struggles. I have all 30 something DLC packs though, plus some CC! I also love other simulation games like cities skylines, 2point hospital, planet coaster and am interested in exploring more of these games, flight sim, minecraft etc, when i have a computer that allows me to! The one game i REALLY want to play is Planet Zoo and i know that this has a higher than average recommended specs than other simulation games, so i want to meet these spec requirements as a minimum, and perhaps a little above if it means that my computer is going to be well future proofed. I do not play AAA high end games. Link to Planet Zoo recommended specs: https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/planet-zoo/18717
* Monitor - I'm currently using a very basic 24" Samsung T24H390S LED monitor- it's 1920 x 1080P, 60Htz refresh rate and 15ms response time. I am aware that this is a low spec monitor but would welcome recommendations for an upgrade when funds allow.
BUDGET - Initially for my funding application i need to outline a budget. I had come to the conclusion myself that a budget of £1,500 would be appropriate, but i would appreciate some feedback on whether this is grossly over or under estimating for a machine of my needs. Obviously the less i ask for the more likely i am to get it, but there is also no point in asking for £500 for a machine that simply isn't going to meet my needs. I would like a computer that is going to meet my needs for many years, like my previous laptop did.
I would really appreciate some inital feedback on the budget and then some suggested builds that would fit that budget, if anyone is able to help me at all. I really do want to take the time to learn about building and maintaining a bespoke machine and would appreciate your guidance on where to go to start learning.
Many thanks for your help,
Anna
