toshibitsu :
Brand doesn't matter too much. It's mainly about what components are in the system. Cooling can be very important though(depending on where you place the laptop & how much you use it). MSI gaming laptops normally have the best fan/heatsink configurations.
As for the video cards.... 1050's are the 'entry level' & move up from there. If you are spending $2,000 on a laptop, you should go for one that at least has a 1070. A 1070 will ensure you'll be able to play AAA titles on 1080p or 1440p @ high/ultra settings for a good while longer.
How long? That all depends on how quickly games advance. With engines getting better & technology like Nvidia's "temporal antialiasing"... they are advancing much faster then they used to. Back in the day, you'd be able to buy a top of the line system and have it last you up to 10 years. These days it's closer to 1/2 that.
That helps a lot. I think going with a 1070 or 1080 will maybe future proof it enough. I don't think the 1060 will. Even though I can longer sit for gaming online, I still want the option to do what I want with my computer. I'm choosing a laptop so I can have a little more portability if I need it in bed.
Like you said, tech is now advancing very quickly. If the newer cards are coming in Sept - Oct, should I wait?The older cards (1070/1080) could make the laptops cheaper so maybe I can max out my RAM. Or supply and demand could make them more expensive with fewer around. I have read that the 1080 is very close to the 1070 and it is certainly not the 1080Ti or Titan that is the flagship now.
Just for background info, my last computer was an Alienware desktop Aurora 2 with 2-gtx680s sli and then later an evga classified gtx690 because I wanted a sound card added. The sli never worked anyway. I have always chosen top cards as I like to work with graphics. When it was delivered I cried, I was so blown away. This huge strange thing with blue eyes like mine amazed me.
However, Alienware turned out to be a nightmare, even though I had a 4 year warranty. After one year and multiple fixes (6 motherboard exchanges, 4 daughterboards, several hard drive and video card swaps, and the chip changed twice (a K chip - don't remember which one) the computer would never load windows or boot up. They refused an exchange and the manager for tech support told me he was done. The senior tech who ordered the computer rebuilt in my house several times was upset but his hands were tied. The manager voided my warranty for no reason, left me with a huge paperweight taking up a ton of desk space and dumped me on my head. I did nothing to the computer to void a warranty. They did the diagnostics and sent the repair people. I had been with Dell for 25 years. So much for loyalty. I'm an old lady who had cancer so my hubby bought me a fancy computer to play games on so I would have something to do at night when I couldn't sleep. I liked fighting monsters lol. Even though I played the newer games, I the Heretic series was always my favorite, Grim Fandango and others were also favorites as well. I played them later on an old computer my friend gave me because the the new one didn't have floppy drive or dos. The whole miserable experience broke my heart. It cut me off from my friends. And it also cut me off from access to treatment protocols. I could not afford a lawyer but should have sued them. They still have my warranty money which could have gone towards a new rig.
I know alienware is still tops to many (but a far cry from when alienware wasn't dell and voodoo was still around. Dell just made them a commercial price point instead of the rolls royce of computers). And I am still attracted to the computers. But I also feel their specs may look great on paper but clearly the parts suck. And everything Dell is proprietary. However, I will never get over what they did to me and will never trust them if something goes wrong. I have a friend who would build me a desktop but I need a laptop now as I cannot sit in one place for long.
I appreciate all the help and suggestions I find here. Young folks seem to be miles ahead of me when it comes to tech. You can't even get subscriptions to computer magazines anymore with PCWorld and others either online or not that computer info driven. Thanks for the input.
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