Sleek and powerful laptop with 4k touch, RTX 2080, and great build quality?

[chsoriano]

I am looking for a gaming laptop that is sleek and powerful but also looks professional - something along the lines of a Razer Blade 15 or Dell XPS 15.

The Dell XPS 15 comes with several trade-offs (GPU primarily) and Dell's G-series becomes thick and heavy with big bezels. The Alienware line is even more so.

The Razer Blade 15 4k oddly doesn't have an RTX 2080 (while the 1080p 144Hz model does). And I wish the Surface Book 2 had more of the stuff I want because I love the build quality and form factor, but it's just not powerful enough.

I've looked into the Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9-9RT4K6MP - it seems to check all the must-haves but I am really concerned about build quality. Does anyone have any recommendations that I haven't considered?

Should I wait for the rumored 2019 Dell XPS 15 or Razer Blade 15 with 4k OLED? I'm willing to spend about $4k-4.5k (probably not much more) but I think around $3,500 would be reasonable for a powerful laptop that is still somewhat portable.

Must-haves:
1. core i7 8750H (or better)
2. 4k touch screen
3. RTX 2080 (or RTX 2070 with support for eGPU)
4. 32GB RAM (or 16GB upgradeable)
5. Less than 25mm (1") thick and <6 lbs
6. 1TB NVMe (or greater)

Nice-to haves:
1. OLED panel (I would accept a lower-performing GPU for OLED if the device supports eGPU)
2. Less than 20mm (3/4") thick and <5 lbs
3. Thin bezels (~5mm)
4. Webcam above the screen

 

[Golfdriver97]

I'm curious as to why a gaming laptop? I get you may want a portable computer, and I'm not trying to counter that. However, gaming laptops don't perform as well as the desktop counterparts. Also, the thinner you go, heat becomes a bigger factor.

Have you thought about splitting your budget to get a basic laptop and then a gaming desktop?

 

[chsoriano]

I actually already have a gaming desktop, not all the latest hardware but it has an i7-7700k and a GTX 1080Ti. I'm mostly looking for something portable that can still play games and be used for creative work on the go. I also intend to use it for work (corporate) so I want it to look professional.

 

[Golfdriver97]

If you just want looks and the ability to play some games, I'd go with the Razer. No point in spending the $4k on a laptop that might have to be replaced in a few years (looking at the battery needing to be replaced...probably not an easily replaceable part). Take the difference you want to spend and drop it into the RTX GPU on your desktop.

 

[Golfdriver97]

As an aside, I was blueprinting a PC for you before you said that you had one. Found a case you might like: https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...9SIAFST8KU7922%26ignorebbr%3D1&token=hHFC-LM1

 

[chsoriano]

Haha thanks. I really like Lian Li cases, but my current case is a Phanteks.

https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16811854039

 

[chsoriano]

If you just want looks and the ability to play some games, I'd go with the Razer. No point in spending the $4k on a laptop that might have to be replaced in a few years (looking at the battery needing to be replaced...probably not an easily replaceable part). Take the difference you want to spend and drop it into the RTX GPU on your desktop.

I was thinking about buying an RTX 2080 Ti for eGPU but I'm not sure I can get the performance I want out of it in an eGPU config. If it doesnt I can always throw it in my desktop like you said. My only reservation about the razer 15 is their mention of an OLED model soon and I dont understand why they couldn't put the 2080 Max Q in their 4k model. If they did I would have bought it already.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I'm not sure I can get the performance I want out of it

Your bottleneck will probably be the connection to the eGPU. I think even if you get USB C/Thunderbolt, it still can't compare to the PCI-E 16 lane.

Like I said, from my POV, my biggest concern is the heat output in tandem with the thickness of the PC. Those CPUs will get pretty toasty; case in point, look at the new MB Pro i9. It was getting throttled to the point where the turbo never kicked on for longer than a few seconds.

Laptops are getting even more to the point where they are considered disposable PCs anyway.

I dont understand why they couldn't put the 2080 Max Q in their 4k model

I can think of 2 reasons; either price or getting it to actually work. My guess is price. The combo may have driven the price up to a point where they didn't think people would buy it. And from a business standpoint, why build something that people either can't (priced out of their means) or won't (breaking the threshold that people will buy it) so that you sit on the inventory.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I use consoles for gaming so I am not really one to comment on this. But don't MSI make pretty good gaming laptops? Did you look at what they offer? Couldn't you get, for the same price, a high-end laptop, and, say an Xbox One X or PS4 Pro for the same money?

 

[chsoriano]

For some reason every MSI I've seen in person just doesnt seem to have good build quality. I'm not looking for "best value" to be honest, I'm just looking for "best" with the specs I'm looking for. I've been chatting with Dell, HP, and Razer about their high end models all lacking something. Dell did offer some extra configuration options for the XPS 15 but they are still using the GTX 1050Ti unfortunately.

I have a good desktop for gaming (i7 7700k, 1080Ti) and I have two xbox one x's, and a PS4 pro... so I'm really just looking for a powerful laptop with high end specs, great build quality, and looks professional.

 

[Golfdriver97]

For some reason every MSI I've seen in person just doesnt seem to have good build quality. I'm not looking for "best value" to be honest, I'm just looking for "best" with the specs I'm looking for. I've been chatting with Dell, HP, and Razer about their high end models all lacking something. Dell did offer some extra configuration options for the XPS 15 but they are still using the GTX 1050Ti unfortunately.

I have a good desktop for gaming (i7 7700k, 1080Ti) and I have two xbox one x's, and a PS4 pro... so I'm really just looking for a powerful laptop with high end specs, great build quality, and looks professional.

For the last part of your post: you want high specs that have great build quality and looks professional (I'm on mobile right now and it's easier to quote the whole thing than edit it).

If it was a PC that just plain looked sleek, and had your specs, short of gaming, is that something you would consider? To a degree, that was one thing I was wondering about when I first posted.

Most gaming laptops are going to have some styling to them that may not be professional looking.

 

[chsoriano]

If it was a PC that just plain looked sleek, and had your specs, short of gaming, is that something you would consider? To a degree, that was one thing I was wondering about when I first posted.

If it had everything else including a couple of my "nice-to-haves" like OLED and eGPU, then yes I would take a lower end GPU.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I'd personally go for a high-end Surface Book. I'm not a PC gamer.

 

[Mits71]

you should buy a Dell G7. it is very powerful and also a beautiful design...and powerful processor, Graphic card and RAM
you can check more details on RAM online... DDR3 vs DDR4 RAM

 

[Ryujingt3]

For me, I always had a bad experience with Dell machines, sadly. Usually the hard drive fails after a while.