My oldest has indicated he wants a laptop for his birthday in late April and he wants something that would be decent for gaming as well as for college. He's not a 24/7, always-on sort of gamer but thinking about getting something that's maybe an entry-level gaming laptop rather than a 65k baht ASUS ROG sort of machine? For example, we've maxed out an old i5 for the home gaming machine and when he comes across the few games that don't fly or crash, he moves onto a game that does. I believe Ryzen may be a better CPU option versus i7 machines depending on your price break?

 

Any tips and guidance on this?

 

Thanks!

NL

For a gaming PC the most important part is the graphic card.

It is a lot easier and cheaper to get the desktop gaming PC. That also allows later update with a newer graphic card, more RAM, etc.

 

It is basically impossible to get a high end gaming notebook because they would get very hot and would need lots of energy. That means a very limited runtime on battery.

 

Maybe consider two devices. A real gaming PC and a notebook for college. That would also allow you to restrict his gaming while he can still work on the notebook anytime.

 

If you want more detailed advice, then it is best you tell us which games he wants to play. Some games need very fast hardware to be fun. With other games they can still be played on not so powerful PCs.

 

 

There is a reason why those graphic cards have several big fans...

 

 

 

I gave an Acer Nitro 5 and am well impressed with its performance.

You may find it's cheaper and better to order from Amazon USA than to buy the laptops here. 

 

6 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I gave an Acer Nitro 5 and am well impressed with its performance.

Great machine.

 

Thanks for the tips and recommendations. I shared the info with game boi and he hooked up with his like-minded pals over the weekend and after initially thinking the ryzen machine was best, has decided i7 is the way to go. We have time to shop for best price now.

For gaming the most important bit is the graphics card, get a RTX3060 or better.

It should also have 16GB ram.

AMD or Intel CPU doesn't matter much, in the end it will depend on the specific CPU model, and it might also vary by game which one is better.

I cannot recommend Lenovo enough.  Legion for the best screen, which I have, or a lower model to save some cash.  Better built machines……..28 years of owning laptops 

You should consider a PS6 for gaming and a decent laptop for school. Many universities have special offers for students to get great discounts on laptops.

On 2/14/2023 at 9:36 PM, mrwebb8825 said:

You should consider a PS6 for gaming and a decent laptop for school. Many universities have special offers for students to get great discounts on laptops.

I'm not sure if I need the additional expense of buying two items. He's a part-time, casual gamer who hasn't professed any need for a PlayStation. Once he's graduated and off to work and earning, he can buy his own.

 

The Acer Nitro 5 is a decent gamer AND school laptop. One of the guys I work with runs programs that are extremely heavy on number crunching and also requires high resolution graphic capability. He ended up buying an ASUS i7, 17" gamer laptop. He's not a gamer but fellow workers like rib him about the fancy styling of his 'I'm working, not gaming' laptop.

I did this for my nephew last year. Got a Lenovo Legion 5 (RTX 3060, 16GB dual channel, 1TB SSD). Runs CS2, Valorant and school apps fine, just game plugged in. Prioritize GPU over CPU, a 144Hz 15/16" screen, and a cheap cooling pad. Local warranty beat importing. He’s mostly into CS2 and keeps asking about pistol skins. I pointed him to the best usps skins to play with  https://skinsmonkey.com/blog/the-best-usps-skins-csgo on a skin trading blog, handy if your son’s into that stuff too.