(Part 2) Top products from r/GamingLaptops

Not sure if this is the best place to ask (or I should start a post) but I have a list of laptops that seem to be great deals for the specs that they're carrying. Just having a tough time deciding. They range from USD 1000~1600. There's one ASUS that could get as low as 1030 for a GTX1080 but the responses to it have not been so good. Just wanted some good advice on which ones I should get and ones I should be more concerned about. At least I hope others will find this list useful.

• *Sager/Prostar Clevo w 9th gen i7 + RTX 2060 for $1299 - 500GB ssd, 16gb RAM, 144hz (no gsync but eh)Probably the most tempting laptop. It's seems super cheap for a RTX 2060; might be the best bang for the buck laptop out there. But some others seem good enough and a bit cheaper such as the Helios and ASUS w AMD. Anyone think the extra $300 over 1660ti laptops is worth for this? I feel like this one I could use for a good three years before changing set up. That it'll last a bit longer. Any drawbacks with Sager/Prostar from anyone else's experience?
  
• Acer Helios 300 for $1088 - GTX1660ti; 144hz; 16GB DDR4; 256gb PCIe NVMe SSDMost affordable and well regarded option but I'm not sure abut the 256gb ssd. The higher storage ones cost a few hundred more but they were only a bit more expensive a few days ago. I like playing FIFA, Witcher 3, Metro, TW3K and some relatively newer games. Just not sure if the 256gb ssd is enough. Might have to constantly install and uninstall. The price-tag is really hard to resist, though. But maybe it's worth spending a bit more on the Sager with better storage and graphics card.
  
• ASUS ROG Strix GL702VI for $1100 but through some discounts I can get to as low as $1039; i5-7200HQ; GTX1080; G-Sync (but 60Hz); 256gb SSD + 1TB HDDThis seems like an amazing deal. But the responses have been mixed. But a $1k laptop with gtx 1080 that will last about a year or two seem too good to be true. A bit suss but hella cheap. But again... for the lowest pricetag, a gtx 1080 that will last me a year or two.
  
• ASUS w AMD Ryzen 7 + GTX 1660 ti for $1134Seems like another cheap good deal. But are ASUS laptops just not that well regarded? A lot of mixed reviews. But I like the design, the thinness. Plus it has a good entry graphics card.
  
• ASUS ROG Zephyrus for $1311 - This one has a GTX 1070, 7th gen i7, 16gb ram, and 256gb ssd. Once again, ASUS isn't well received in amazon. This one's a bit more expensive than the Sager/Prostar. But I like the slim design and the GPU cards should be more or less equal, right?
  
• ASUS ROG Strix Hero II for $1372 - 8th gen i7, RTX 2060, 16 GB RAM, 521gb PCIe SSD
  
• Acer Helios 300 for $1384 - Only difference is bigger storage, 512 gbs this time. Same GTX 1660 ti and everything else. Considering there are cheaper laptops with seemingly better specs, maybe not worth the extra $300? Plus the others around this range seem to offer better bang for the buck.
  
• Acer Helios 500 for $1400 - AMD Ryzen 7 2700, Radeon RX Vega 56; Vega 56 seems like a really good card. But should I be considering this when there are rtx 2060 n gtx 1080 laptops available for cheaper or around the same price?
  
• Sager RTX 2070 for $1499 - Seems like a great deal for a 2070 card. But might still be pretty pricey for me. Yet considering some of the others, for value, this seems really good
  
• Acer Triton 700 for $1502.49 - GTX 1080 w G-Sync 120Hz, 512GB SSD. Again, like teh Sager, this seems like an amazing deal for the card and monitor. Only drawback I see is the trackpad
  
• ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501 for $1549 - GTX1080 w 144Hz G-Sync, 16 GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 8th gen i7Similar price range as the previous two. I like the Zephyrus design better but that's really about it. But like the other ASUS laptops, it has mixed responses.
  
  Just for reference, I bought my previous laptop (now blue screened and unusable) four years ago. I wasn't (and still am not) very tech savvy so I wasn’t sure if it was a good gaming laptop back then. But these are the specs for my ASUS A501U: 6th gen i7; GTX 950M; 126gb ssd + 500gb hdd. I'm sure any one of these laptops will be great compared to my mingy 950M.
  
  Which one of these would you guys recommend? Thoughts on how black friday might change the price? Should I wait for BF or just get one sooner?

I bought my laptop from Amazon. Was a little worried about it being damaged during shipping but I was confident that Amazon would make things right if that happened. I bought directly from Amazon, rather than from a 3rd party seller (make sure it says "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" under the Buy button.) Unfortunately for me, when I bought it, it was $1,199 but fortunately for you, it is now $1,088. I'm honestly very surprised they lowered the price like that, considering it was already a steal at $1200 (IMO.) Oh, and for the record, I had no issues with damages during shipping. The laptop was in a box which was in a box which was in another box and there was plenty of protective elements within those boxes.

I have not had too many issues with my thermals, although this is my first gaming laptop so I don't have much to compare it to. I did a lot of reading before buying though so from what I have seen, I think it does a good job of keeping the components cool, even under heavy loads. The highest I have seen it go is around 85°C but once it gets over 80°, I usually either turn the fans up higher and/or get out my cooling pad (I bought this one from Amazon and have been pleased with it.) However, the fans can get really loud, so I use a headset when I have to turn the fans up. In general, the fans are not too loud, though (once again, just my opinion.) I will often play shows on Netflix or Hulu and can hear everything through the laptop speakers with no issues. I do carry around a portable bluetooth speaker for louder environments but when I'm just sitting at home, it is not needed.

I do remember reading that the older models of the Helios 300 (the ones with red accents and backlighting) had a lot of thermal issues and most people who either reviewed both or just owned both said that this model was significantly better in that regard. One thing that I have thought about doing is changing the thermal paste because that would apparently really help the older models but I have not seen any reports of anyone trying it with the 2019 model. I might just give it a shot because it seems like a very cheap and relatively easy way to shave a couple degrees off the temps. I'll have to look into that some more.

I actually have heard of that good xbox gamepass deal but I had no idea that it had PC games. As someone who has pretty much only gamed on PlayStation (at least since the early 2000's), I often forget that Xbox is owned by Microsoft so it makes sense they would have PC games. I will definitely be signing up for that after I finish writing this comment. Thank you so much for clueing me in.

One other thing, you will probably want to quickly buy another m.2 SSD because the one that comes with the laptop is fairly small. Just be careful about the one you buy because they are not all compatible, apparently. I am pretty sure that Acer has a list out there somewhere (though I don't think the list is all inclusive) but I bought this Sabrent 1TB drive based on what another reddit user recommended and have been very happy with it. It was extremely easy to install as well. I haven't gotten around to buying an 2.5" drive yet but I'll probably pick up a very large HDD around Christmas time. Or I might go for the SSD, maybe sacrificing a little bit of storage. I'll have to check prices at the time and think on that some more.

And no problem. I love talking about this laptop and I also enjoying helping people out so no worries. If you think of anything else you want to ask, I'll be here. If not, enjoy your new laptop!

A good gaming laptop, first and foremost has a good GPU, so starting with a 1060, then 1660, 1070, 1660ti, 2060 etc... So between 600 and 800, you could probably find a 1060 pretty easily.

Secondly you want a good processor (an i5 should be fine, look for an 8th gen, like the 8300H) I'd stay away from AMD/Ryzen processors, their laptop stuff is pretty garbage, their desktop stuff is phenomenal though.

Thirdly, 8gb of ram is fine, but keep in mind you may want to upgrade a few months to a year down the line (installing RAM is super easy, just YouTube it)

Fourthly, an SSD is really nice for gaming (vs an HDD). Alot of the laptops you look at will have 128gb of SSD + 1TB of HDD. While that will help your machine boot quickly (windows will be installed on the faster SSD) there is not enough room on that boot drive for many games, so you'll most likely be putting them on the HDD which will cause slower load times. I'd rather have 256gb of SSD alone than 128gb of SSD + 1TB of HDD. You can always upgrade your SSD later though and can get a fairly decent 1TB one for $100 or so (not quite as easy as RAM usually but still pretty easy, and there should be plenty of YouTube videos on that as well)

Fifthly do not worry about getting a 4k screen or whatever, there are no laptops than can utilize 4k to it's fullest on any games more recent than 2012, and those are beastly machines.

60hz screen is perfectly fine when you're on a budget, but 144hz is always nice to have if you're machine can handle it.

I can't think of anything else...

Edit:. This would be a good option:
ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop FX504 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JF6HRJ1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_1ronDbVTAD49G

Edit 2: this one as well, I had almost this exact laptop, but mine had an i7 and 16gb of RAM, I traded it in only because it wasn't powerful enough for the intensive 3d modelling I do for work. Really nice build quality and a super nice keyboard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CD3MRZD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SvonDbMNHQR00

I was just coming back here to respond with some Clevo resellers now that I'm at my PC, but /u/koimatsu did all the hard work.

I second his/her recommndation 100%. If your budget is $1000, that's definitely workable. You'll get the most for your money if you're not paying for a brand, like Dell or MSI or whatever. Clevo/Sager/Evoc cut a lot of the bullshit out, and you can get a reseller to put liquid metal / thermal pads in ther for your without voiding your warranty.

This stand is cheap and provides great air flow, you should get something like this for no matter any laptop you go with.


And with $1000, I'd recommend putting all that money into the CPU and GPU, since you can't really upgrade those. Don't worry about the storage or RAM and just upgrade those later. Plus RAM and storage have gotten very cheap. You could mow lawns for a weekend and afford to upgrade those.

Just make sure the laptop you go with has the capacity for more RAM and storage. You'd want one that can take 16GB (2 x 8 @ 2666MHz) minimum (32GB capacity is better, but unless you're doing programming or something you probably don't need to worry too much) some day when you can afford it. Dual channel memory is always better, but in the case where you're going to be upgrading, you should opt for 1x8GB and add the second stick later, so you're only buying one 8GB RAM instead of 2 to upgrade.

So yeah, get the best CPU and GPU you can, you'll be stuck with whatever decision you make. Everything else on the laptop is replaceable, even the screen.

After looking through the list some more, here's some oddities.

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The MSI Stealth you posted is a 1060. The Y740 is the same price for the 2060 version, and comes with Gsync. And it overclocks well.

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The Alienware 17 R5 you posted is outdone by the refurb 17 R3-5 on the Dell outlet site. With the 15% off coupon, it gets down to evne lower. Hell, there was a 1070 OC laptop on there for a grand.

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The Dell G7 15 doesn't have the 10 series option anymore. They're 1650, 1660Ti, 2060 and up. They're an oddly poorer value than the Legion laptops, though you don't have to wait near as long.

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That M15 is a good buy for the 2070 MQ version, but the M15 with the 2060 is better on the Dell site. Plus, for $50 more, you get a 240hz screen. That said, I'd say the m15 is tied with the Zephyrus on best splurge, but that's just me.

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There's also the Powerspec laptops at Microcenter for best value. The top part is metal, the cooling is fantastic, it has a full 2070, Gsync, ect for $1499 and $1599. And it has a good keyboard. The only issue is the bottom part being plastic. The equivalent PC (which are clevos) are quite a bit more.

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Actually, one last one. That HP Omen...is just bad. You literally get better specs for the same price here: https://www.amazon.com/HP-15-Inch-i7-8750H-Processor-15-dc1030nr/dp/B07NDYBX4G/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=HP+Omen+2060&qid=1556725219&s=electronics&sr=1-3-fkmrnull with the 2060.

First of all, great post.

I'm trying to decide which laptop to buy, whatever gives the best performance for the price.

I think that the non-mxq 2070 is the best bet for price/perf, since its quite faster than the 2060 and not that far from 2080 (since 2080s are at least $900-1000 more)

I couldn't find much info about this two, but for the price, I'm thinking on getting one of these:



AORUS 15-X9-RT4BD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MW5YKZC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

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Omen by HP 2019 17-cb0040nr

https://www.amazon.com/HP-17-Inch-i7-9750H-Processor-17-cb0040nr/dp/B07T7R73G7/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=HP+OMEN+cb0040nr&qid=1566162998&s=electronics&sr=1-3

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they are supposed to be full 2070 (not maxq) so that is pretty close to a 2080 maxq for way less $

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Of course if you think there's something better let me know.

If weight is not a problem, i would recommenced finding a Acer Predator laptop. The Helios 500 looks great and very future proof, although over $1,500. The Helios 300 is 15.6in and very portable, reasonably powerful, reasonably priced and probably the best bang for you buck gaming laptop out there. I had the 2017 Helios 300 and it was a great laptop. I have full trust in the Predator line of laptops, I have had a few over the years and have never had one that disappointment me.

Sager NP8957 0.78 Inches Thin & Light Gaming Laptop, 15.6 Inches FHD 144Hz Display, Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA RTX 2070 8GB DDR6, 16GB RAM, 500GB NVMe SSD, Windows 10 Home https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SYF46YL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nbEqDb8X09EYJ

These have intrigued me for a couple of weeks now. Rave reviews about this thing and getting a 2070 at $1,500 is absolutely bonkers value. From what I understand, they use kind of like a stock model type of build which is why it’s so cheap. It’s not going to be a sleek brand name setup, but wow it has some serious power. All reviews on Amazon are saying people love it.

Great saving on Amazon -$2099 ; best deal so far for RTX super thin gaming laptop

https://www.amazon.com/Zephyrus-i7-8750H-GeForce-Military-Grade-Chassis/dp/B07KS1JF2H?th=1

The [gx701] (https://www.amazon.com/Zephyrus-GeForce-i7-9750H-Processor-GX701GX-XB78/dp/B07QSJ6VWQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAJQYFXGBZ6MDO67HQ&linkCode=ll1&tag=smartphones0b39-20&linkId=9b96552540921b5843e1b526329c2358&language=en_US) would be a great choice, as it consist of the best gpu and cpu to date which performance like no other laptop. comparatively wonderful cooling system and built quality which aid in the components last.

What's your budget?

EDIT: Check this one, should run those games fine: ($700)

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-15-6-Inch-Quad-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1479927943&sr=1-5&keywords=GTX%2B970M&th=1

Has a quad core i5, 8 gigs of RAM, and a GTX 960M. You can easily get a much better one if you have a higher budget.

This is a much better one for $1100, graphics card is more than twice as powerful, has a quad core i7.
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GP62MVR-Leopard-Pro-218-i7-6700HQ/dp/B01M0COXDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479928798&sr=8-1&keywords=GP62MVR

I would do the following to be sure your laptop will last you several years:

1. Download software to monitor the temp of you CPU and GPU, personally I use MSI Afterburner
   
2. If your CPU temps are higher than 85C, consider undervolting using this guide
   
3. If your laptop is hooked up to an external monitor, get a laptop stand like this to increase airflow
   
4. Every 6 months or so, remove the bottom panel of the laptop, and use compressed air to clear out dust from the internal components
   
   Aside from that, I would also recommend replacing your slow 1TB HDD with a 2.5" SSD. I own a Y740 myself, and I replaced the HDD with this following this guide

100% agree that you need to simply acknowledge these gaming laptop will get hot even with the best cooling solutions. The i5 isn't as bad as i7 or i9.

I find that simply lifting the back end performs as well as a cooling pad. Add rubber feet, or these things, or a stand (this one is collapsible). Plus these won't break like some pads I've had. Personal opinion.

For a desktop PC here is a parts list that comes to below what you’d be spending on the laptop. It includes a monitor and keyboard and mouse also and the specs will allow you to easily play squad with no problems - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kNR8pG

As for a laptop, here’s one with a slightly lesser CPU but it has a better graphics card which will help. The CPU is still an 8th gen i5 which is plenty for squad, although the SSD is slightly small so it may be worth purchasing a bigger one down the line if you feel that you need it - https://www.amazon.com/IPS-level-i5-8300H-Processor-GeForce-Gigabit/dp/B07JF6HRJ1/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=gaming%2Blaptop&qid=1558697715&s=gateway&sr=8-11&th=1&psc=1

If there is any room in your budget I’d consider something like this as you’d get a huge performance boost and be able to play vastly more games at higher settings!

HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15.6" Core i5-8300H 15.6-inch Diagonal Full HD IPS Anti-Glare WLED-Backlit Display(1920 x 1080) with Narrow Bezel Design 8GB RAM + 1TB HDD Storage 15-cx0056wm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KQXHP4M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_L6JxDbPRQH85M

Not sure if this is still affordable to you or not though :\

Here're a few that you could look into: https://www.amazon.com/IPS-level-i5-8300H-Processor-GeForce-Gigabit/dp/B07JF6HRJ1/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=1050+ti+laptop+i5&qid=1557643378&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C9J1PY6/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dav0d2-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07C9J1PY6&linkId=07fb4d740c6d9844d3cf29b20cdde6ba

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i5-8250U-GeForce-E5-576G-5762/dp/B075FLBJV7/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=1050ti+laptop&qid=1557643634&s=gateway&sr=8-6

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you can probably run both games fairly smoothly with these laptops... Though not sure about that last one, I guess it sorta depend on how hard you gonna mod your skyrim... It's definitely powerful enough for the vanilla tho running on medium/high with more than 60 fps. The first two you can probably play most modern games with as well.

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GL63-9SDK-614-i7-9750H-GTX1660Ti/dp/B07Q433V3T/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=MSI+GL63&qid=1557699724&s=gateway&sr=8-3

thanks. This one seems pretty good.

I just went through this same agony and boy did it make my head spin. I was down to either alienware or Asus, I am really on par for Asus as a lot of my previous PC builds were Asus.

I love the Zephyrus because of its compact size. My biggest reason for going with the M model was because I didnt want to be strapped down by the memory and lack of secondary drive support. I wanted to have the main ssd chip for the OS and add a ssd sata for my secondary drive internally so I could install all my games on. The S model did not offer this.

The other thing that scared me about the Zephyrus was the reviews about issues. I did go ahead and opt for the 4 year assurion plan because I have had the same insurance for my cell phones and it is totally worth it.

Also reading about the GPU's gave me headaches, 1070, 1070 max q, 1080 omg which one?? I found that the regular 1070 was just as good as the max q if not better. Not as good as the 1080 obviously but I read reviews that the 1080 was a power hog and the laptop had trouble keeping up the performance.

I also liked the layout of the M model better than the S. The S also had a lot of negative reviews for the battery exploding and destroying the keyboard, no thanks. The M model keyboard is more centralized with a palm rest as the S model is clear at the bottom for cooling performance.

One more thought the 1080 max q isnt overall that great and it is using the older i7 7700, which isnt a bad cpu. At least with the M you are getting something newer on the CPU end. But that was another bonus for me. The model of 1080 Zephryus I was actually looking at was https://www.amazon.com/Zephyrus-8th-Gen-IPS-Type-i7-8750H-processor/dp/B07BP9LSVS/ref=pd_sbs_147_1/144-1114574-9739952?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07BP9LSVS&pd_rd_r=034411a2-8322-11e9-a3fd-f157ef2b5308&pd_rd_w=O9Fzh&pd_rd_wg=AqVsi&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=4FF3EVKT7HH3799BVQBF&psc=1&refRID=4FF3EVKT7HH3799BVQBF

Sorry that was a lot of jumbled nonsense but I spent several days looking through amazon before I finally settled so hopefully this helps. I did end up purchasing the Zephryus M model and it will be here tomorrow so I am super excited!

Aorus 15-X9-RT4BD is also a great option at $1948 on Amazon for full RTX2070 8GB VRAM 15" 144Hz screen 16GB RAM 512 SSD and 2 TB HDD

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https://www.amazon.com/Special-AORUS-15-X9-RT4BD-i7-8750H-2666MHz/dp/B07MW5YKZC/ref=sr_1_19?keywords=RTX+2070+laptops&qid=1555977310&s=gateway&sr=8-19

https://www.amazon.com/AORUS-15-X9-RT4BD-i7-8750H-GeForce-2666MHz/dp/B07MW5YKZC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=aorus+laptop+rtx+2070&qid=1573735246&sr=8-3

This one has a 2070 max p so it has maybe a 10-15% performance drop compared to a full 2070.

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-GeForce-i7-8750H-Windows-GL504GW-DS74/dp/B07MDDNCH2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=asus+scar+2+2070&qid=1573735198&sr=8-3

Asus has bad customer service sometimes.

These are two good options I could find with an rtx 2070 and meeting your budget and other stuff like refresh rate, Cpu etc. 8750h and 9750h are almost the same in terms of performance so don't worry about that. Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIZ60QY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_cfBjEAZGQak8X

If interested this is the X stand I got for my 15in Y740. It folds up and keeps the bottom open. Pretty durable and it should work with any 15in or 17in laptop.

This would be a good choice, and 256Gb is definitely lacking if you have tons of games on your library

Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078DPCY3T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vRzlDbEWZ219F

This thread is about month old so not sure if I'll get a response.

I bought this M.2 Drive for my secondary drive and it did not work. It either would not load windows from the primary after installation or the disk manager would not detect even if the BIOS did. What makes it different than the Crucial M.2 or the Sabrent both which have been claimed to work?

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I'm pretty much having this exact issue.

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EDIT: I returned the ADATA drive and bought the Sabrent. The Sabrent worked fine when I restarted my computer once after the installation.

you can check out the [acer nitro 5] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07KSK447S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=109WOGE1AC42F&keywords=acer+nitro+5&qid=1556073476&s=electronics&sprefix=acer+nitro+5,electronics,212&sr=1-3&linkCode=ll2&tag=gaming0789-20&linkId=de92cdb44d4140c2b12840a22a615d0d&language=en_US) which has the 1050Ti, IPS screen display, great processor performance for it's price and 7 hours battery life.

I seems to be, I did a bit of looking and couldn't find anything better. But if it's not too much more money for you you might be better off buying this model of that laptop. It's exactly the same, but it has a 1 terabyte hard drive as well as the 256gb solid state drive. There's also this, which is cheaper, but doesn't have the SSD or the core i7. Same graphics card though.

In general, you should be looking at a minimum for:

• 1050ti or 1060 GTX graphics card
  
• i5 CPU
  
• 8GB of memory
  
• 128GB SSD or 1TB HDD
  
• 1080p screen (preferably IPS), 60Hz refresh rate
  
  While you could go for a desktop, keep in mind that you would also need to purchase a monitor, keyboard, and mouse which would run you $100+. Also, for a kid, a laptop's portability is actually a good thing, since they can take it on trips and move it around the house.
  
  Since you aren't super familiar with the PC gaming world, I'd suggest buying from a major brand (e.g., Dell, Asus, Acer, HP, etc.) which would give you better warranty service and customer support. You could save some money going with a smaller brand, but you run the risk of worse quality control and less support.
  
  Going refurb is fine as long as it is a refurb done at the factory. They typically will come with a factory warranty.
  
  Some possible example choices:
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Gaming-i5-7300HQ-GeForce-AN515-51-55WL/dp/B074Q54GSR/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=acer+1050ti&qid=1549749366&s=gateway&sr=8-1
  
  https://www.amazon.com/8th-Gen-i5-8300H-GeForce-FireCuda-Windows/dp/B07HRZDDJX/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=acer%2B1060&qid=1549749479&s=gateway&sr=8-5&th=1
  
  https://www.amazon.com/HP-15-6-inch-Anti-Glare-WLED-Backlit-15-cx0056wm/dp/B07KQXHP4M/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=acer+1060&qid=1549749509&s=gateway&sr=8-9

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015PYZ0J6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Got it about a year ago, it did everything I needed, I'm not trying to run super demanding games

Just picked this up! Added a crucial 1TB NVMe as well. Not the fastest, but it's fast enough to not be a bottleneck. And for $80 I felt it was worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J2Q4SWZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This one has been reviewed well, and has 4.5 stars on Amazon with thousands of votes:
https://www.amazon.com/Havit-HV-F2056-Laptop-Cooler-Cooling/dp/B00NNMB3KS/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=laptop+cooler&qid=1563938169&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Its the one I'm likely to purchase when Lenovo decides it wants to actually ship my Y740.

I was recently in the same situation as you and I went with the Asus ROG Zephyrus S.

If you're looking for something extremely thin and light, yet also powerful, you can't go wrong with this. The only complaint I have is the RTX versions only come with 500 GB of storage, and if you want to upgrade, due to how cramped it is inside there's only room for a single NVMe M.2 SSD.

Omen by HP 2019 15-Inch Gaming Laptop, Intel i7-8750H Processor, NVIDIA RTX 2060 6 GB, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD, 1 TB HDD, VR Ready, Windows 10 Home (15-dc1030nr, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDYBX4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3ph3CbAK2FV7K

It's ver well hidden. Without a link it took me at least 5 clicks to find it.

What I still need to confirm is if it's a new one instead of a used or refurbished one.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-Overclockable-Aeroblade-PH315-51-78NP/dp/B07G1NLLWT/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540134892&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=acer%2Bpredator%2Bhelios%2B300&psc=1&th=1

last i checked, the checkout price for this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q433V3T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_X2y4CbSZ0E2YR

has 60$ shipping which i guess includes all import charges. I have seen ryzen 7 but performance is more important for me than battery life. And the reason i am waiting for nitro is because it will give same configuration as above laptop for <1100$.

I feel like more and more of these no name brands or weird ass brands are popping up. As far as I understand none of them are all that bad. Honestly they're all in the same ballpark of performance. They tend to compromise in very small areas like panel pixel response, storage capacity, keyboard. But even then, they totally do a 3+ to 4.5 star job on it all. Call it 'acceptable' with a sprinkle of nice occasionally. 500GB? Okay. SSD nice. Etc.

Eluktronics for example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N7GYZV2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_c1MrDbV02D5G6

D2D posted a video review on it too

And Sager here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SYF46YL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_h3MrDbGGE9E82

Not to mention Walmart OP brand.

To me, I don't see much wrong with them. They tend to take a decent and balanced design, slap their brand on it and sell it for some mark. So I wouldn't say you're making a bad decision, I'd just call it a budget decision. But it's up to you if you're gonna call for a laptop with all the bells and whistles or the $1,400 budget.

Looking to buy with 1600 as my budget, and I'm looking for something that can last for at least 3-4 years. Upgradeable parts would be huge.

So far I've found two laptops that could work, but I can't decide.

https://www.amazon.com/Zephyrus-i7-8750H-GeForce-Military-Grade-Chassis/dp/B07G5Z9H8R/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=zephyrus+s&qid=1559316803&s=gateway&sprefix=zeph&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Eluktronics-MECH-17-GeForce-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B07N76BGMR/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=eluktronics+mech-17&qid=1559316758&s=gateway&sprefix=eluk&sr=8-3

If you do end up waiting for Black Friday, might want to bookmark this Helios 399 bundle.

What do you believe this would run?
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-763BLK-Full-HD-GeForce/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=zg_bs_565108_8

When you say Asus ROG are you talking about this one Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 ?

ROG Zephyrus S GX701 Gaming Laptop, 17.3" HDR 144Hz FHD IPS, GeForce RTX 2080, Intel Core i7-9750H Processor, 32GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe Nvme SSD Hyper Drive, Windows 10 Pro, GX701GX-XB78 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QSJ6VWQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yaw0DbET56F00

It use i7 9750H instead of 8750H

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-15-6-Inch-Quad-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor/dp/B015PYYDMQ

what do you think of this one : ASUS ROG Strix Scar II GL704GW Gaming Laptop (Intel i7-8750H, 16GB RAM, 512GB Nvme SSD, NVIDIA RTX 2070 8GB, 17.3" Full HD IPS 144Hz 3ms, Windows 10) Gamer Notebook Computer, 17-30.99" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MM677Q5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_r2lVDb1BZGXDZ

Any info on pricing? Just bought a GX531G for a business trip. Should I return this and wait for the 9th Gen chips? If price gap is not that big, I'll probably just go with the new stuff (Zephyrus S GX502). Got 30 days to decide I guess.

Acer predator Helios 500

Done.

Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-51-72NU Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1070 Overclockable Graphics, 17.3" Full HD 144Hz G-Sync Display, 16GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CTL2YRY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_f3xUCbCNWXKEC

Where would this belong on the list? (The graphics card is max q)

update: price just went up to $1779 - no longer within budget. however,

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G5Z9H8R/?coliid=I5RYE8T86J1G8&colid=3T45FZGISPVT2&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

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down to $1250 - similar to OP but w/ bigger HD

Since you're cancelling your order for the G7, I would like to make a recommendation. Might I suggest the Asus ROG STRIX SCAR II (Yes, that is a stupid name) GL704GW. It costs about the same as the G7 and comes equipped with a desktop 2070 (115W). However, there is no 2080 model. I don't think any thin and light gaming laptop could handle a desktop 2080, except for the MSI GE63 and GE75 but those two cost a lot more than the G7 and the Asus whatever I just mentioned.

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-GL704GW-i7-8750H-Notebook-Computer/dp/B07MM677Q5/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=asus+rog+gl704gw&qid=1573668266&sr=8-5