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Discussion - 2020 Gaming Laptop (1 Viewer)

surfdog21

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Jul 26, 2016
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I am positive there are some really good hardware experts in this community so I ask you, if money was no option, what would be the best gaming laptop for early 2020 and why? To multibox EQ of course!
 
Since gaming laptops focus on modern video cards (something EQ doesn't really use) you'd probably be better off with a workstation laptop that's heavy on RAM.

What besides EQ do you want to do with the laptop?

Why a laptop at all?

How many characters are you hoping to box?

edit: if you want to run an entire guild, you can load the Thinkpad P series with 128GB RAM
 
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Since gaming laptops focus on modern video cards (something EQ doesn't really use) you'd probably be better off with a workstation laptop that's heavy on RAM.

What besides EQ do you want to do with the laptop?

Why a laptop at all?

How many characters are you hoping to box?

edit: if you want to run an entire guild, you can load the Thinkpad P series with 128GB RAM
Any mobile CPU will not be able to effectively utilise anything more than 32GB of RAM due to bottle necking. New gen of Ryzen CPU might change that, but don't hold your horse.

FYI 32GB of RAM is suffice for 4-5 group boxing. Anything more you will be looking at desktops CPUs.
 
For what it's worth, if price IS an object, I tend to just rely on the Wirecutter for most things anymore:


I'm enjoying my predetor helios and I figure I could get 32-64GB of RAM in the thing (haven't looked at the manual yet to see what the chipset will handle in the two-slots and what so-dimm sizes are these days).
 
I have money. I travel so its nice to run a box group of six, which I do on my current laptop. I am looking for a real good state of the art one to run eq on is all. I hate lag.
 
I have money. I travel so its nice to run a box group of six, which I do on my current laptop. I am looking for a real good state of the art one to run eq on is all. I hate lag.
You should have little issue with pretty much any modern laptop with 16GB of RAM for a full box group. The lag will originate from your internet connection, so my best bet is get your own 4/5G connection plus VPN instead of using crappy hotel/airport wifi.
 
Tc2 hit the nail on the head, hotel wife is horrible. Even if you you upgrade to the premium it’s still not good. Grab a hotspot from any cellular store and get an unlimited data plan and your good to go.
 
If it's just a 6 box group and you're actually traveling, then I'd go with either an X1 Carbon or XPS 13 (or 15 depending on your eyesight).

Both are light, power efficient and sturdy laptops. Replacement parts are easy to find as are guides on how to fix them, and they retain value like Macbooks.

I used to urge people away from gaming laptops since they were 10+lbs and power hungry, making them awful machines once they were no longer cutting-edge. This may have changed recently with advances in efficient GPUs, I haven't looked into it.
 
Any mobile CPU will not be able to effectively utilise anything more than 32GB of RAM due to bottle necking. New gen of Ryzen CPU might change that, but don't hold your horse.

FYI 32GB of RAM is suffice for 4-5 group boxing. Anything more you will be looking at desktops CPUs.
True 4 years ago. Not anymore.
 
If it's just a 6 box group and you're actually traveling, then I'd go with either an X1 Carbon or XPS 13 (or 15 depending on your eyesight).

Both are light, power efficient and sturdy laptops. Replacement parts are easy to find as are guides on how to fix them, and they retain value like Macbooks.

I used to urge people away from gaming laptops since they were 10+lbs and power hungry, making them awful machines once they were no longer cutting-edge. This may have changed recently with advances in efficient GPUs, I haven't looked into it.
Not sure about X1Carbon but XPS definitely have thermal throttling issues.

I am currently using Aeros 15 with 32GB RAM which has excellent thermals with undervolting but expect jet engine fans, I do bump into CPU bottleneck before maxxing RAM (5 groups) and we are talking about 8750H. Any 9th gen 8 core mobile CPU will only make thermo worse.

The only significantly better laptop for this will prob be Helios 500 which uses a Ryzen 2700 desktop CPU, but then again you need to be seriously addicted to MQ to actually own that thing.
 
Thermal throttling is why I went with the Helios. Helios 300 is 6C/12T and you cans hove a decent bit of memory in it. As @tc215215 pointed out, the helios 500 or the other acer line pointed out by Wirecutter would probably be better. No real thermal throttling issues and general heat is under control (Wirecutter tested that). All the other 2019 gaming laptops, or at least most, seem to have some pretty bad heat issues.

That all being said, however, @Redbot raises a solid point on portability: Most super expensive gaming laptops will start at 4 points, the budget ones 5 pounds. I think you'd want a high end XPS 13 w/ 4K monitor (you can spread out your resources next to your EQ windows), shove 16GB of ram (you'll be 6-8 boxing -- maybe 10?) in there -- well, choose that config -- and you'll have something easy to carry with solid build quality.

This thread is making me think we start up a dedicated eqclient.ini/mq2 ini settings guid with a memory usage graph per character in a few reference zones...
 
Thermal throttling is why I went with the Helios. Helios 300 is 6C/12T and you cans hove a decent bit of memory in it. As @tc215215 pointed out, the helios 500 or the other acer line pointed out by Wirecutter would probably be better. No real thermal throttling issues and general heat is under control (Wirecutter tested that). All the other 2019 gaming laptops, or at least most, seem to have some pretty bad heat issues.

That all being said, however, @Redbot raises a solid point on portability: Most super expensive gaming laptops will start at 4 points, the budget ones 5 pounds. I think you'd want a high end XPS 13 w/ 4K monitor (you can spread out your resources next to your EQ windows), shove 16GB of ram (you'll be 6-8 boxing -- maybe 10?) in there -- well, choose that config -- and you'll have something easy to carry with solid build quality.

This thread is making me think we start up a dedicated eqclient.ini/mq2 ini settings guid with a memory usage graph per character in a few reference zones...
I regret picking the 4K screen on mine, and it's a 15" one. Buttons become so microscopic it's not even enjoyable the few keys to start MQ. Go for the 1080p version.
 
I regret picking the 4K screen on mine, and it's a 15" one. Buttons become so microscopic it's not even enjoyable the few keys to start MQ. Go for the 1080p version.
I just cracked my screen and was considering swapping it with a 4k one, thanks for the advice.
 
I regret picking the 4K screen on mine, and it's a 15" one. Buttons become so microscopic it's not even enjoyable the few keys to start MQ. Go for the 1080p version.
I run eq on a desktop with a 4k monitor and even then the stuff is microscopic if left at 4k. If you right click the eq exe and turn off the allow program to control resolution and then just max the resulotuin settings in the EQ settings tab before you load the game you will get the same exact look and text/button sizing as if your monitor was 1080p.
 
For myself while a laptop is say convenient for use, I myself dont like to use them for one single purpose. Even with a desktop computer with the smallest case possible. Still will produce less heat then a laptop. The laptop tends to get crazy over heated when put to the test and would be run like it would for EQ. No matter what you can get a desktop or laptop that will run all games at max settings and would be great for boxing on EQ. Another huge plus to a desktop, is if something breaks down it is 1000 times easier to get fixed or to replace a part.

While yes this is insane overkill for EQ, this is a project i had assigned to me in college called my Dream Machine. While its all the same companies from when i was in college just now days the parts are better.

The Red Queen
EVGA DG-87 Case
EVGA 1600w T2 Titanium Power Source
EVGA X299 Dark Motherboard
64gigs Corsair Dominator Platinum Special Edition ( White )
Intel 16 Core Extreme I9 9960x ( 9th Gen )
Sli 2 x EVGA FTW 3 Elite GTX 1080 Ti's
Evo Pro 1T M.2 HDD
EVGA Liquid Loop
12 Corsair 140mm Fans
 

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Tc2 hit the nail on the head, hotel wife is horrible.

First off there are way too many nails getting hit on the head around here. What are we... framing carpenters.

Thirdly and most lastly of all hotel wife is NOT horrible. I am not promoting promiscuity but dang it take your loved one out and treat her like a one night stand.

Just saying...
Playbetter
 
I'm going to throw out an interesting suggestion which is perfect for EQ, considering it isn't GPU bound.

Ultrabook. I got a LG Gram with a 17" screen. Crazy battery life. 16:10 aspect ratio 2k screen. The screen is damn nice, but it's glossy and not matte. The case is made of a magnesium alloy, it flexes but doesn't break.

It weighs less than 3 pounds. Less than 3 pounds and a 17" 16:10 screen, so it looks like a regular 1080p screen, just taller.

It also has Thunderbolt 3, I have a Razer Core X eGPU box which also powers / recharges the battery and have a 1070 fitted into that when I want a traditional desktop gaming experience on the laptop.

It has two NVME m.2 slots and can take up to 40GB of RAM (8GB onboard and two SODIMM slots).

The keyboard ain't that bad either, could have used a wider Enter button but whatever. WiFi performance is really good, too.

In my office I have a Ryzen box literally affixed to my wall that's my main gaming rig with multiple BenQ monitors and that laptop is simply badass on the go in regard to functionality, weight, battery life and performance if you don't need GPU power. You can have it on your lap and you aren't going to turn your legs into bacon either. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader, I use that to unlock the screen and it's perfect much like my LG G-series phones I use. Always works first try.

It does thermal throttle when you're doing benchmarks or with demanding games. A program called Throttlestop helps out, you can undervolt. That's what I use. I can't see a full box group making the CPU throttle, tho.
 
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I'm going to throw out an interesting suggestion which is perfect for EQ, considering it isn't GPU bound.

Ultrabook. I got a LG Gram with a 17" screen. Crazy battery life. 16:10 aspect ratio 2k screen. The screen is damn nice, but it's glossy and not matte. The case is made of a magnesium alloy, it flexes but doesn't break.

It weighs less than 3 pounds. Less than 3 pounds and a 17" 16:10 screen, so it looks like a regular 1080p screen, just taller.

It also has Thunderbolt 3, I have a Razer Core X eGPU box which also powers / recharges the battery and have a 1070 fitted into that when I want a traditional desktop gaming experience on the laptop.

It has two NVME m.2 slots and can take up to 40GB of RAM (8GB onboard and two SODIMM slots).

The keyboard ain't that bad either, could have used a wider Enter button but whatever. WiFi performance is really good, too.

In my office I have a Ryzen box literally affixed to my wall that's my main gaming rig with multiple BenQ monitors and that laptop is simply badass on the go in regard to functionality, weight, battery life and performance if you don't need GPU power. You can have it on your lap and you aren't going to turn your legs into bacon either. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader, I use that to unlock the screen and it's perfect much like my LG G-series phones I use. Always works first try.

It does thermal throttle when you're doing benchmarks or with demanding games. A program called Throttlestop helps out, you can undervolt. That's what I use. I can't see a full box group making the CPU throttle, tho.
dang, this is a good pitch lol
 
I saw those LG Grams the other day. I think it'd be a solid EQ option and potentially Feb box. While it'll be large the fact it's probably sub 4 pounds with the AC adapter... that's pretty nice.
 
I honestly dont care about weight, battery life. Just looking for hands down the best of the best laptop to play eq on. It does not matter how much it costs. I should have said all that from the beginning I guess.
 
I honestly dont care about weight, battery life. Just looking for hands down the best of the best laptop to play eq on. It does not matter how much it costs. I should have said all that from the beginning I guess.
i think the one i linked would do you very well
 
After months and months of looking around and talking with people in the industry I opted on ordering the Alienware Area 51 laptop. Its fully upgradable, and with a weight of almost 9lbs it will help keep my arms in shape for when I need to throw things across the room when the groups wipe!

I needed something to run auto cad on, and wanted to get my daughter who wants to get back into Everquest my 1 yr old Rogue Strix.

...I guess the bass boat will have to wait until next year! :)

Here are the specs:

CPU: 3.6GHz Intel Core i9-9900K (8-core, 16MB cache, up to 5.0GHz)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 (8GB GDDR6); Intel UHD Graphics 630
RAM: 32GB DDR4 (2,400MHz)
Screen: 17.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS, 144Hz, G-Sync
Storage: 2 x 512GB RAID 0 SSD (PCIe), 1TB SSHD
Ports: 3 x USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), mini DisplayPort, HDMI-out, Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x Alienware Graphics Amplifier, 1 x Mic-in, 1 x Headphone-out
Connectivity: Killer 1650X 802.11ac Wi-Fi ; Bluetooth 5.0
Weight: 8.4 pounds (4.76kg)
Size: 16.1 x 1.7 x 15.85 inches (410 x 43.18 x 402.6 mm; W x H x D)
 
After months and months of looking around and talking with people in the industry I opted on ordering the Alienware Area 51 laptop. Its fully upgradable, and with a weight of almost 9lbs it will help keep my arms in shape for when I need to throw things across the room when the groups wipe!

I needed something to run auto cad on, and wanted to get my daughter who wants to get back into Everquest my 1 yr old Rogue Strix.

...I guess the bass boat will have to wait until next year! :)

Here are the specs:

CPU: 3.6GHz Intel Core i9-9900K (8-core, 16MB cache, up to 5.0GHz)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 (8GB GDDR6); Intel UHD Graphics 630
RAM: 32GB DDR4 (2,400MHz)
Screen: 17.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS, 144Hz, G-Sync
Storage: 2 x 512GB RAID 0 SSD (PCIe), 1TB SSHD
Ports: 3 x USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), mini DisplayPort, HDMI-out, Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x Alienware Graphics Amplifier, 1 x Mic-in, 1 x Headphone-out
Connectivity: Killer 1650X 802.11ac Wi-Fi ; Bluetooth 5.0
Weight: 8.4 pounds (4.76kg)
Size: 16.1 x 1.7 x 15.85 inches (410 x 43.18 x 402.6 mm; W x H x D)

None of my business but what that booger set you back? That has better hardware than most peoples desktops!
 
This is what i'm getting soon, or the updated version for 2020

 
This is what i'm getting soon, or the updated version for 2020

Thats an awesome machine. I looked at the Zeyph ROG line and was contemplating that one for a bit. The Asus ROG I currently have has been great. My eyes though...must have the 17" screens :)
 
Thats an awesome machine. I looked at the Zeyph ROG line and was contemplating that one for a bit. The Asus ROG I currently have has been great. My eyes though...must have the 17" screens :)

I hated having to do the trade-off when I got mine. Why can't I have an ultra powerful ultra light 13" laptop with a 4K screen that doesn't hurt my eyes. :-(
 
Can’t wait for the new Ryzen mobile 4000 series lineup to come out. If it’s anything like its desktop counterpart, it’ll be perfect for boxing.
 
Anyone run their box group on a Mac? I’m looking at their new 2020 16 inch with 32GB of ram. Anyone running on a Mac use a virtual machine like Parallel Desktop? Or do you prefer Boot Camp?
 
I have a DELL G3 Gaming machine I7-8750, 16GB ram and 1050Ti card and it runs sweet!!! M.2 for main drive and a 1TB SSD for secondary storage. Just a touch heavier than most basic laptops, but not enough really to make a difference. You can get this style or even newer refurbished for under 1k.
 
Discussion - 2020 Gaming Laptop

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