Question Budget laptop recommendations (~$550-850USD) w/ good cooling and durability

[TeflonJon__]

Hey folks! I'm in the market for a solid budget laptop. My budget is $550 to $850USD. It'll be used for work and some gaming. The most intensive games I will be looking to play would be Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends. Other than those 2, I play loads of MTG Arena. I've listed my requirements below. If there's a really solid laptop that you recommend that has integrated graphics please note that, as my main need is for work and MTG Arena. If there is a good laptop that could run Warzone and Apex on medium to low settings at least ~50FPS consistantly, I will be very happy!

Please note: My current rig is from 2011 except for my g-card. I run a Phenom II X4 965 black edition, 12gb RAM, a 1050TI and a 7200RPM HDD and Windows 7. I am finally at my limit with how much frustration I've put up with using this ancient rig - ESPECIALLY using windows 7 without it being supported anymore. I have put in my time and I cannot wait to enjoy a SSD being able to boot up the O/S in like 10-15 seconds versus my machine now taking about 90 seconds for the O/S to be up and running and ready to start opening programs and apps.

If you would like to reach out to me directly, please message me on Tom's Hardware and I can give you my personal phone # if needed. Thank you all in advance for taking the time to help me with some recommendations, your assistance means the world to me! 🆒

Budget is $550 to $850USD and I am looking to pull the trigger on this by 2/15/2022.

Requirements -
Mandatory:
-MUST have Windows 10 installed
-MUST have at least 8gb RAM minimum as multitasking is paramount, but would prefer >=12gb
-MUST have an SSD with at least 512gb of storage
-MUST be between 15-17 inches
-MUST include Microsoft Office Suite as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
-MUST have decent cooling, I have used laptops in the past where just browsing the web and listening to music would make the laptop hot to the touch. I would really like to avoid that if possible.

Preferences:
-strongly prefer a dedicated graphics card so I can play Warzone or Apex at low-medium settings with at least ~50fps consistently
-strongly prefer a laptop that is durable and well-built (I don't want it to feel like a risk if I remove it from my desk and bring it with me into the world - I think at least a few of you understand what I mean by this)
-prefer to have Adobe or some equivalent PDF software included (unless you can recommend some ACTUALLY free PDF software that isn't just a 2 week trial)
-prefer a webcam, but not mandatory

Again, thank you so much for your time!

 

[punkncat]

I have been seeing reviews for an ASUS ROG as of late that I 'think' comes under the price point you want and believe it to be sold by WalMart if they have any left.

Check 'Dawid Does Tech' and 'Toasty Bros' on YouTube for specifics on the model.

As I recall from both reviews it did throttle a bit, so the good ventilation isn't really a feature at that price point. I want to say it was a 1650 GPU, but might be mixing up the details. I recall it only having 8GB of RAM but Dawid specifically opened the device and there was an available slot and non soldered (single) stick installed.

GL

 

[faalin]

Well this would fit the bill LINK but there is no office or adobe. 99% of laptops will not come with this and is an addon. Windows home and student is $120, adobe reader is free, if your wanting adobe acrobat its $300.


If your adding software into the price of the laptop your now looking at a $400 laptop which now very hard to get everything that you want.

Like Punkncat said i have a Asus ROG G15 laptop and it does very well for gaming, it does get warm when gaming but what do you expect when you start making laptops that thin, cooling is going to suffer.

 

[TeflonJon__]

Well this would fit the bill LINK but there is no office or adobe. 99% of laptops will not come with this and is an addon. Windows home and student is $120, adobe reader is free, if your wanting adobe acrobat its $300.


If your adding software into the price of the laptop your now looking at a $400 laptop which now very hard to get everything that you want.

Like Punkncat said i have a Asus ROG G15 laptop and it does very well for gaming, it does get warm when gaming but what do you expect when you start making laptops that thin, cooling is going to suffer.

Great point regarding the software. I will get that aftermarket, otherwise it'll restrict my options too much.

The ROG G15 looks great but the cheapest model i found was ~1300. Bit too much for my wallet.

 

[TeflonJon__]

I have been seeing reviews for an ASUS ROG as of late that I 'think' comes under the price point you want and believe it to be sold by WalMart if they have any left.

Check 'Dawid Does Tech' and 'Toasty Bros' on YouTube for specifics on the model.

As I recall from both reviews it did throttle a bit, so the good ventilation isn't really a feature at that price point. I want to say it was a 1650 GPU, but might be mixing up the details. I recall it only having 8GB of RAM but Dawid specifically opened the device and there was an available slot and non soldered (single) stick installed.

GL

Thanks - the ROG G15 is too pricey, but that MSI GF63 looks promising.

 

[TeflonJon__]

MSI GF75 this laptop looks very promising, especially at 144hz. any input?

 

[Nighthawk117]

Hey folks! I'm in the market for a solid budget laptop. My budget is $550 to $850USD. It'll be used for work and some gaming. The most intensive games I will be looking to play would be Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends. Other than those 2, I play loads of MTG Arena. I've listed my requirements below. If there's a really solid laptop that you recommend that has integrated graphics please note that, as my main need is for work and MTG Arena. If there is a good laptop that could run Warzone and Apex on medium to low settings at least ~50FPS consistantly, I will be very happy!

Please note: My current rig is from 2011 except for my g-card. I run a Phenom II X4 965 black edition, 12gb RAM, a 1050TI and a 7200RPM HDD and Windows 7. I am finally at my limit with how much frustration I've put up with using this ancient rig - ESPECIALLY using windows 7 without it being supported anymore. I have put in my time and I cannot wait to enjoy a SSD being able to boot up the O/S in like 10-15 seconds versus my machine now taking about 90 seconds for the O/S to be up and running and ready to start opening programs and apps.

If you would like to reach out to me directly, please message me on Tom's Hardware and I can give you my personal phone # if needed. Thank you all in advance for taking the time to help me with some recommendations, your assistance means the world to me! 🆒

Budget is $550 to $850USD and I am looking to pull the trigger on this by 2/15/2022.

Requirements -
Mandatory:
-MUST have Windows 10 installed
-MUST have at least 8gb RAM minimum as multitasking is paramount, but would prefer >=12gb
-MUST have an SSD with at least 512gb of storage
-MUST be between 15-17 inches
-MUST include Microsoft Office Suite as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
-MUST have decent cooling, I have used laptops in the past where just browsing the web and listening to music would make the laptop hot to the touch. I would really like to avoid that if possible.

Preferences:
-strongly prefer a dedicated graphics card so I can play Warzone or Apex at low-medium settings with at least ~50fps consistently
-strongly prefer a laptop that is durable and well-built (I don't want it to feel like a risk if I remove it from my desk and bring it with me into the world - I think at least a few of you understand what I mean by this)
-prefer to have Adobe or some equivalent PDF software included (unless you can recommend some ACTUALLY free PDF software that isn't just a 2 week trial)
-prefer a webcam, but not mandatory

Again, thank you so much for your time!

For Cod Warzone your going to need a dedicated GPU. In the price range your talking about your really looking the Nvidia 1650.

Budget laptops I would look at are the Acer Nitro 5, Lenovo Legion 5, Asus Tuf, MSI GF65 and HP Pavilion Gaming. Cheapest option would be something like this:
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pavilion-gaming-laptop-15z-ec200-2r1x7av-1
You could then add another 8GB of RAM and upgrade the SSD to a 1TB for less than your $850 budget ceiling.

In terms of build quality I would probably favour the Acer Nitro 5 and Asus Tuf out of those. Unsurprisingly higher end models from each brand like the Asus G15 you mentioned tend to have better build quality.

 

[Nighthawk117]

MSI GF75 this laptop looks very promising, especially at 144hz. any input?

it's a decent machine for the money, you get your 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. It's not an ideal machine for 144hz, it would require graphical compromises to achieve it and the 4 core CPU is going to struggle to deliver that smoothly.

 

[Nighthawk117]

MSI GF75 this laptop looks very promising, especially at 144hz. any input?

https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gf... laptop-_-34-155-929-_-Product&quicklink=true

That get's you both a more powerful i7 10750H 6 core/12 CPU and Nvidia 3050 GPU. $770 with the rebate, you could add another 8GB DDR4 RAM and still fit nicely within budget. A much better value proposition in my mind.

 

[Nighthawk117]

Also worthy of consideration:
https://www.newegg.com/top-cover-mi...3050_gaming laptop-_-2WC-0001-02S11-_-Product
AMD 6 core with 3050.

 

[TeflonJon__]

https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gf-series-gf63-thin-10uc-439-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155929?Description=3050 gaming laptop&cm_re=3050_gaming laptop--34-155-929--Product&quicklink=true

That get's you both a more powerful i7 10750H 6 core/12 CPU and Nvidia 3050 GPU. $770 with the rebate, you could add another 8GB DDR4 RAM and still fit nicely within budget. A much better value proposition in my mind.

Thank you so much Nighthawk117!! The two options you suggested were definitely the best options I've seen in my hours of research. - I actually just placed the order for this laptop about 5 minutes ago. The purchase came with Dying Light 2 (I have over 200hrs played on Dyling Light), and some type of MSI loot box that wasn't advertised with the purchase!

I really appreciate your time and effort, along with everyone else who replied with info and suggestions. ETA for delivery is 2/16!

Best wishes to you all!

 

[Nighthawk117]

Thank you so much Nighthawk117!! The two options you suggested were definitely the best options I've seen in my hours of research. - I actually just placed the order for this laptop about 5 minutes ago. The purchase came with Dying Light 2 (I have over 200hrs played on Dyling Light), and some type of MSI loot box that wasn't advertised with the purchase!

I really appreciate your time and effort, along with everyone else who replied with info and suggestions. ETA for delivery is 2/16!

Best wishes to you all!

Your welcome, enjoy your new machine