Question I need a School Laptop

[LegitBoss002]

I'm looking for a laptop that has a thunderbolt 3 port, as well as a decent processor (for running things like CAD and rendering) and at least a 1060. I've seen some pretty nice ones but they are mostly in the $1800 price range and I'm looking for something cheaper than that. I also want the laptop to be able to game on the side (hence the 1060) but it would not be my main system (I have a pretty decent setup at home with a 144hz 1440p monitor so the display on the school laptop doesn't have to be that incredible, just something to use if I'm not at home or if a friend comes over)

TLDR;
Need a laptop with the following:
1060
4+ core i7
Thunderbolt 3
Low price (poor college student)

 

[Seaweed Monster]

To help us recommend you a laptop, please complete this form:

1. What is your budget?

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

3. What screen resolution do you want?

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

5. How much battery life do you need?

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

13. What country do you live in?

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

 

[LegitBoss002]

1. What is your budget?
I'd prefer something between $1000 and $1400

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15-17 Inches

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1080p (high refresh would be nice, but as mentioned above not a necessity)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Portable (as mentioned above it's a laptop for school)

5. How much battery life do you need?
More than a couple hours but I don't need it to last the full day. (Gaming would be done while plugged in and it would be unplugged for less intensive programs)

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Some triple A games (Like gta 5), but mostly less intensive games (As mentioned above I have a PC at home I can use when I need a ton of power (Vega 64 & R5 1600))

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Some video/photo editing. CAD. Some simulation programs that aren't too intensive. (like multisim)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500gb min, if anything less it needs to be expandable. 1tb would be plenty.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
At least 4 years (I'd prefer to have a processor with more than 4 cores for this reason, as games are already starting to take advantage of more)

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Not needed lol

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Brand doesn't matter if it's a good laptop imo

13. What country do you live in?
United States of America

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

 

[Seaweed Monster]

I have picked a couple out that I think you may like. Some are cheaper than others but will be bulkier, unfortunately. Finding a gaming laptop that has Thunderbolt 3 with a GTX1060 was actually more difficult than I originally thought and not all I linked have Thunderbolt 3, only if indicated:

CUK GS63VR Stealth PRO Gamer (Includes choosable specification) $1,119 - $1, 399:

• i7-7700HQ - Quad core 7thGen
• 16GB DDR4
• 500GB NVMe + 1TB HDD
• GTX 1060 6GB
• 15inch 1080p - 120hz
• Thunderbolt 3
• 3.96lbs

This is probably the best 'portable' laptop due to its form factor.

ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop FX504 $1,251:

• i7-8750H - Hexacore 8thGen
• 16GB DDR4
• 256GB NVMe + 1TB HDD
• GTX 1060 6GB
• 15inch 1080p - 120hz
• 5.07lbs

ASUS - TUF Gaming FX705GM $1,119:

• i7-8750H - Hexacore 8thGen
• 16GB DDR4
• 512GB PCIe SDD
• GTX 1060 3GB
• 17inch 1080P 60hz
• 5.73lbs
• There is also a 512GB SSD + 2TB HDD model ($1,345)

HP OMEN 17-an120nr (Very bulky) $1,249:

• i7-8750H - Hexacore 8thGen
• 16GB DDR4
• 128 PCIe SDD + 1TB HDD
• GTX 1060 6GB
• 17inch 1080P 144hz
• Thunderbolt 3
• 8.33lbs

MSI GP Series GP63 Leopard $1,379:

• i7-8750H - Hexacore 8thGen
• 16GB DDR4
• 128GB SDD + 1TB HDD
• GTX 1070 8GB
• 15inch 1080P 120hz
• 4.80lbs

That is what I have found. There were cheaper and more portable laptops out there, but they either had a GTX 1050, 1050ti or MX150. Both capable of playing GTA 5 and older games (GTX 1050 & MX150 benchmarks).

Overall, it really depends on what matters most to you. Portability or performance.

 

[LegitBoss002]

I like the OMEN but according to a few reviews some models don't actually support thunderbolt 3 (and the amazon link doesn't list that as a feature, but I found this one from neweggthat claims it does)
I think if I get a laptop with no thunderbolt it's going to be this one as it has the best specs for it's price, but I'm really leaning towards thunderbolt support so I can use a thunderbolt docking station.
The first laptop is also nice, but I'm really liking the idea of a 6 core cpu

It's kind of blowing my mind that thunderbolt 3 is so hard to find on these laptops, I get that they're mid range but man it seems like a simple thing to add. For most of the laptops in this price range I'd pay up $100 more for the same model with thunderbolt 3 support

Edit: Wait that review might not be for the same model

 

[Seaweed Monster]

Yeah, it's a shame the CUK GS63VR Stealth PRO does not have the 8th Gen hexacore but looks pretty sleek and the 7700hq is still pretty powerful. Though, there is the MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-051 - $1599 that comes with the i7-8750H - Hexacore and Thunderbolt 3 too, but is $1599 😩

The OMEN HP from the newegg link appears to be the same model as the Amazon link - 17-an120nr.

If you click on the Amazon link and scroll down, according to Amazon's 'Customer questions & answers' you can see people confirming Thunderbolt 3 via USB 3.1 type C port. (Screenshot).

Yeah, the Acer is good value, but I did not mention it as it only had a 256GB NVMe, though you could always upgrade.