Question Broke surface book 2, Need new touchscreen laptop with gaming specs

Aug 30, 2020
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Alright, so hopefully you guys have enough experience to point me to a useful rig here. I had a Surface Book 2 and loved it, till water got inside. Now, i need a new Laptop. I loved the surface book 2, because it had very nice specs for a 2 in 1. The detachable screen was amazing, and i use blender and use it for art a bit, so a touchscreen is pretty necessary.

Now, this is a little less important but still quite, I need it able to game nicely. I dont need the new microsoft flight sim to play at 120fps. But for reference, id like it to game slightly better than the sb2. I had the 15 inch better spec version. I looked at the XPS 17, but people are saying ghosting is a huge problem, idk much about that but would it be worse to game on despite better gpu and cpu?

Basically i need a laptop, thats touchscreen and able to use a stylus of some sort, which also can game atleast as good as the best sb2 on market, hopefully better. I have a $3,000, please keep it around or under that.

Windows 10 is a must as well, so no Apple. Ive looked at the sb3, xps models, some samsung and acer ones, but im unsure if ive found any that are what im looking for. I know its really ambitious searching for a touchscreen laptop with rtx level gpus, but if someone could find me one around that price that games nicely id love you for it.

Examples of games it needs to run great; Smite, Paladins, COD, Dauntless, Planet zoo, Spellbreak, Insurgency, Mount and Blade, Civ 6, Gta V etc.

Im fully willing to buy a custom built laptop if anyone knows a place that can pull that off. Thanks!
 
Aug 30, 2020
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If you liked the surface book 2 why not just get a newer version of it?

You don't need a high end video card for the games you listed, none of those are current titles that need modern high end video cards. Razer has some touchscreen models with good video cards in them https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops
While i did love the SB2, its near impossible to repair even with a protection plan, and you really cant upgrade it in any kind of way. For the price l, that really hurts. Theres been quite a few games thay pushed my SB2 to the limit even with 1920x1080 with graphics settings changed, such as modern warfare which genuinely didnt look very good on the sb2. Also no thunderbolt, means its unlikely ill ever be able to attach very good external gpus and ssds.

The inking touchscreen was so amazing though im going to find it very hard to switch to something else. I wish there were something like the lenovo yoga or surface book that could hold better than a 1660ti. Also microsofts website screwed me out of quite a bit of money for no reason, im hesitant with them now.

I really wish there was a nice smart pen enabled rtx gpu laptop. I cant come close to finding one though lol.
 
While i did love the SB2, its near impossible to repair even with a protection plan, and you really cant upgrade it in any kind of way. For the price l, that really hurts. Theres been quite a few games thay pushed my SB2 to the limit even with 1920x1080 with graphics settings changed, such as modern warfare which genuinely didnt look very good on the sb2. Also no thunderbolt, means its unlikely ill ever be able to attach very good external gpus and ssds.

The inking touchscreen was so amazing though im going to find it very hard to switch to something else. I wish there were something like the lenovo yoga or surface book that could hold better than a 1660ti. Also microsofts website screwed me out of quite a bit of money for no reason, im hesitant with them now.

I really wish there was a nice smart pen enabled rtx gpu laptop. I cant come close to finding one though lol.

I don't mean repair your 2 or upgrade a 2, get the new 3 version.

And yes you won't find a laptop with a higher end video card designed for doodling on the screen with, they are made for good screen displays with high refresh rate, not for drawing on.

You can always get a laptop you want and then use a drawing pad with it.
 
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Aug 30, 2020
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I don't mean repair your 2 or upgrade a 2, get the new 3 version.

And yes you won't find a laptop with a higher end video card designed for doodling on the screen with, they are made for good screen displays with high refresh rate, not for drawing on.

You can always get a laptop you want and then use a drawing pad with it.
Yeah, ive considered a drawing pad but i guess im a little picky. As for the SB3, the reason i mention repairs is because if i do this this SB3, and anything happens to it, im screwed this time. No more replacing my laptop. Id prefer something like a razer in a sense where if a single part breaks, its easy and cheap to replace.

With the SB3, you habe a warranty, bring it to microsoft, wait for their certified techs, and they tell you they cant do anything. Hell for the SB3 youd really think itd be possible to just buy another base or screen, but you have to buy it as a bundle, if one breaks, you replace the whole thing or nothing, and the design of the base is made so that repairs are as hard as physically possible even for microsoft certified technicians.

Oh well, ill keep considering my options, though i may just end up getting the SB3 and being a bit disappointed by microsofts cut corners. For some of the most expensive devices out there they really still try to leech every cent possible off customers. Thanks for the help!
 
Laptops breaking it almost never easy or cheap to replace, if the motherboard dies or a component on it dies, you need to replace the motherboard, screen goes bad, need to replace the screen. For higher end new systems it is not easy to find parts to buy to do repair on your own.

I don't like the Microsoft hardware myself, but seeing how you did the surface book may be an option for you. You have some compromises to decide, fast gaming system or good touch screen system.
 
Aug 30, 2020
6
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Laptops breaking it almost never easy or cheap to replace, if the motherboard dies or a component on it dies, you need to replace the motherboard, screen goes bad, need to replace the screen. For higher end new systems it is not easy to find parts to buy to do repair on your own.

I don't like the Microsoft hardware myself, but seeing how you did the surface book may be an option for you. You have some compromises to decide, fast gaming system or good touch screen system.
Yeah i suppose repairing a laptop isnt cheap, but the surface series really lowers the bar on that one, you practically need a microsoft certified technician with a free week off just to clean out the fans lol. The way they glue the bottom on instead of using any sensible method is so strange to me. With the razer, i can open it and replace the ram, fans, battery etc, with the surface book i have to throw it in the trash when a single usb outlet fails, lest i want to deal with microsofts deductibles, weeks to fix and frustrating customer service.

Either way i probably suppose ill still get the SB3, just for the touch screen. It really is by far the single best touch screen ive ever had on any device ive owned. Ill probably end up saving money for a better gpu on my home desktop, but that means im also going to have to replace the power supply since its got too much of a load rn.

Either way, thanks so much! I wish i could just convince microsoft to stick a thunderbolt in the SB3, that actually may be the deciding factor for me. No thunderbolt means almost no external upgrades later if i need. Idk what made microsoft skip it.