Thin and powerful laptop

deepblue08

Distinguished
Aug 30, 2012
82
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18,635
Hey guys,

Next month, I am moving abroad for a year/two contract and thus selling my Gaming rig and old surface so I can purchase a strong laptop on which I can do both work and occasional gaming.

I will probably have a setup with laptop+1-2 monitors, so I would like something powerful. At my previous job I had a Macbook Pro 15" + 2 monitors and that worked well. I don't want to buy a Mac because their gaming performance is terrible, so I am looking for a Windows alternative.

So far I like Razor Blade 15" and XPS 15", is there anything else that you have experience with that would fit my requirements? Something as thin as possible but still powerful would be best.

PS: I don't play games often, but when I do, I play: PUBG, Starcraft 2, FarCry 5
 

Seaweed Monster

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Jun 7, 2014
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If I am being honest, 'thin and powerful' do not tend to work that well together for gaming, most suffer from high temperatures and thermal throttling. You just have to know what you're getting into when you go down that route.

So far I like Razor Blade 15" and XPS 15"
I have not heard great things about the Razor Blades to be honest, they have quality control issues and their high-performance gaming laptops come with inadequate cooling problems. The concept is great, but the reality is different. XPS 15 I do not know enough about to comment.

If you want to fill out this form to help us recommend you a laptop, that would be great:

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.
 

deepblue08

Distinguished
Aug 30, 2012
82
6
18,635
  • I am looking to spend $2-2.7k USD (Around $2.5-3k CAD)on this machine
  • 15" screen. HD is ok, but has to be a solid screen
  • Desktop replacement laptop, but one that can still be used for 3-4 hours outside for non-intensive work (Coding, Emails, Watching Udemy...)
  • I'd like to play PUBG, Starcraft 2, FarCry 5 on High, but I am ok with Medium if it's a good machine otherwise
  • I do a lot of coding, which isn't too CPU intensive, but I would like to be able to connect 1-2 extra monitors without slowing down the machine too much
  • Plan on keeping this laptop for 2-3 years
  • I do not need any optical drives
  • I had a dell XPS 13" recently, which was a great machine, almost powerful enough for my needs, but I have sold it. I am open to any brands, except maybe HP, I had their laptop die on me after 1 year in 2010
  • I live in Canada at the moment, but that will change in a month